Bud Spencer and Terence Hill – Slaps and Beans 2 Review

Developed by Trinity Team and published by Buddy Productions GmbH Slaps and Beans 2 is the smashing sequel to keep this Italian spaghetti western comedy pairing alive in the gaming world. I am not going to lie, I played the original because of the amusing name of Slaps and Beans. Little did I know it was going to be a scrolling beat-em-up in a similar vein to Final Fight or Streets of Rage. But these Wild West stars of the 70’s lend themselves to the genre well and make for a pretty enjoyable game.

                It is hard to labour much on the story as it only seems to paint the scene to allow for your two heroes to get into some fisticuffs. You begin on a makeshift raft stranded at sea with both Bud and Terence at loggerheads as Terence eats all of Bud’s beans. Soon enough, they discover some land in the distance and they swim the raft to shore. There begins the first of their troubles as a minibus carrying orphans has broken down and the guardian/driver of the bus is trying to fix it when some nasty evil-doers look to shake down the driver for money. Well, Terence and Bud aren’t going to stand for that injustice and proceed to fight back in a brief comedy skit interweaving a tutorial into the game as it goes over the controls.

                The graphics lend themselves to the 16-bit genre and if it was released at the same time as Streets of Rage it would fit right in. The difference is that Slaps and Beans 2 has some voice acting involved which, although at times sounds like an AI voice, is still better than just reading text. Considering the real-life Terence actor is 84 and the actor for Bud died in 2016 at 86 it’s unlikely it would contain the real voice actors. But the animation of the game is charming and there is still some amusement to be had in what unfolds.

                The gameplay is simple to pick up as it plays like a 16-bit game with just 2-3 buttons to worry about, which is also its downfall as these games can suffer from repetition pretty quickly if there is not enough variation. What is lacking in moves they do try to make up for in other ways, with weapons and other throwables to use in the game. They have also included some mini-games to break things up where, for example, you have to throw pots at enemies poking their heads through the curtains or at the window in true slapstick fashion. They also include some mini puzzling elements which utilise the different sizes of the characters. With Bud being the big strong brutish type he can break and lift things that Terence can’t, whereas Terence is more nimble and wily and can climb and swing on surroundings and he can throw items with more accuracy. This manifests in the game where you need to utilise both character’s skills and abilities to be able to progress the area which does add some much-needed variation to break up the play.

               Slaps and Beans 2 has a reasonable length for a game of this type and it’s not designed for multiple play-throughs. It is preferable to play Co-op with a friend as that is how you will get the most out of this game but it doesn’t offer any online multiplayer so it is local only. Those familiar with this genre may find the game a little on the easy side but I don’t know if that is by design to allow you to enjoy the other aspects of the game they have included. They have added in music which feels like it was taken from their movies and added in some animations and sound effects to try and bring through their slapstick humour but it may fall a little flat at those familiar with their work who probably aren’t the biggest gamers.

Conclusion

Slaps and Beans 2 deserves to have its day. It is not the best scrolling beat ’em up out there but it does enough to stand out. It has voice acting and animation which the others don’t have. It has some mini-games and puzzling elements which make it stand out. It also tries to add some humour to make the experience more enjoyable. So if you want to play a local beat ’em up with your friend or family then why not pick this up as there is some fun to be had.

This game was tested and reviewed on Xbox Series X/S. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.