Ten years ago, the gaming world was blessed with Lollipop Chainsaw. A collaboration between the minds of Suda51 and James Gunn, the title is a zombie-killing brawler that pokes fun at the genre made famous by George Romero. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 game has been relegated to older gaming hardware. It is not backwards-compatible, likely due to music licensing issues. Luckily, a remake of Lollipop Chainsaw has been announced today. It will launch in 2023. [Update: James Gunn has clarified that he and Suda51 are not involved with this remake.]
Here is remake confirmation straight from Lollipop Chainsaw producer Yoshimi Yasuda, who heads Dragami Games:
Lollipop Chainasaw Remake の発表に関する Producer message をお届けします…!!!
Please check Producer message about Lollipop Chainsaw Remake.#lollipopchainsaw#ロリポップチェーンソー pic.twitter.com/ILeLTKNVZ3— 安田善巳 Yoshimi Yasuda (@yasudaD5) July 5, 2022
As Yasuda stated, gamers cannot access the original game on current hardware, and the original Lollipop Chainsaw team, as well as new staff, wanted to make the game more accessible to players. They purchased the IP from Kadokawa Games and are receiving support from Warner Bros. for a remake.
The bad news? There were a total of 15 licensed songs on the original soundtrack. Due to the aforementioned licensing issues, many of them will not return for the remake. Also, Yasuda mentioned there will be a more realistic approach to the graphics. This could irk some of the original game’s fans, depending on how it is implemented. Lollipop Chainsaw is a colorful, vibrant adventure, and its identity could be lost if any of that is taken away.