Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ delivers a fast-paced arcade shooting experience that immediately throws you into the zombie-infested streets of Fairy Tale Land. You choose between Little Red “Ready To Rock” Riding Hood with her trusty machine gun or Momotarō with his razor-sharp ninja stars. Both characters move automatically forward, and you steer them left or right along a 2D plane while aiming and firing with the DS stylus. This intuitive control scheme lets you pepper enemies across both screens, giving a true two-screen shooting spectacle.

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The weaponry mix keeps the action fresh. Your standard machine gun boasts infinite ammo but requires a quick reload—simply lift the stylus from the screen—to keep firing without pause. Along your journey, you’ll collect limited-ammo power weapons like shotguns, laser rifles, and a flamethrower that lives up to the “BBQ” in the title. Double-tap the screen to launch grenades for crowd control. Resource management becomes critical on tougher difficulty levels, where conserving special ammo can make or break your run.

With 21 levels spread across seven fairy-tale-themed chapters, the pacing is relentless. Each chapter introduces two standard zombie-infested stages before culminating in an over-the-top boss battle. Enemies swarm in varying formations, and the occasional mini-boss guards weapon pickups, ensuring you’re always adapting. The unlockable Boss Attack and Survival modes add further replay incentive: clear the main game on higher difficulties to test your mettle in these challenge arenas.

The difficulty curve is well-tuned, offering a gentle learning curve on Easy before ramping up to Madness. Veterans of arcade shooters will appreciate the tight hitboxes and responsive aiming, though newcomers might feel overwhelmed once zombies and projectiles converge. Overall, the gameplay loop is addictive—cleaning out hordes with satisfying weapon swaps and pulling off grenade combos never gets old.

Graphics

Visually, Zombie BBQ leverages both DS screens to create a 3D world filled with twisted storybook locales. From the dark forests of Little Red Riding Hood’s home to the gingerbread ruins inhabited by undead Three Little Pigs, each chapter is dripping with atmosphere. The backgrounds seamlessly scroll between screens, giving a pseudo-3D depth that heightens immersion.

Character models and bosses are rendered in detailed 3D, showcasing grotesque designs like a mechanized Santa Claus or a skeletal Pinocchio. In contrast, the main characters and standard zombies appear as vibrant 2D sprites. Though this blend can sometimes feel mismatched, it allows for crisp animations on the lower screen where the action is most intense.

Special weapons and explosions light up the screens with bright particle effects, and boss attacks often fill both displays with elaborate attack patterns. While the DS hardware occasionally struggles with framerate dips during particularly chaotic moments, these drops are rare and never impede your ability to judge incoming threats.

Overall, the game makes strong use of the DS’s dual-screen format. The presentation never feels like a gimmick; instead, it reinforces the arcade feel by giving you a full vertical playfield. Animations remain smooth, and the color palette complements the macabre fairy-tale theme without ever becoming too grim.

Story

Underneath the onslaught of bullets and zombies, Zombie BBQ spins a darkly humorous tale. Fairy Tale Land is under siege by a mysterious plague that transforms its beloved characters into blood-thirsty undead. The premise immediately hooks you: classic heroes and villains turned monstrous, from Pinocchio’s puppet strings snapping like whips to a zombified Santa launching gift-box grenades.

Little Red Riding Hood emerges as the heroine you never knew you needed. Nicknamed “Ready To Rock,” she stomps through undead forests, demonstrating a never-say-die attitude that fits perfectly with the game’s tongue-in-cheek tone. She’s ably assisted by Momotarō, the peach-born hero from Japanese folklore, creating a cross-cultural tag team that keeps banter light and entertaining.

Story progression is delivered between levels through brief cutscenes and on-screen text, providing context without overstaying its welcome. You won’t find deep character arcs here, but the whimsical premise and inventive boss designs—an undead Three Little Pigs trio wielding bricks and hammers, for instance—compensate with sheer novelty. The narrative is best appreciated as a backdrop to the relentless action rather than a fully fleshed-out epic.

For players seeking a story-driven shooter, the plot serves just enough flavor. For everyone else, the offbeat fairy-tale mash-ups and continuous zombie-slaying provide more than adequate motivation to keep blasting your way forward.

Overall Experience

Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ is an arcade shooter that doesn’t overcomplicate things. Its straightforward controls, relentless pace, and creative weapon roster make each run feel satisfying. Whether you’re mowing down standard zombies with your machine gun or conserving flamethrower fuel for boss encounters, the core gameplay loop remains engaging throughout its 21-level length.

The game excels at replayability. Beat the main campaign on higher difficulties to unlock Boss Attack and Survival modes, which challenge you to clear all bosses in sequence or last as long as possible against endless waves. Leaderboards and time-based achievements further encourage repeated attempts.

While occasional frame-rate hiccups surface during the most frantic sequences, they do little to derail the fun. The graphics make inventive use of the DS’s dual screens, and the story’s darkly whimsical tone provides a unique setting that distinguishes it from other shooters on the handheld.

For fans of arcade-style action and offbeat fairy-tale twists, Zombie BBQ is a must-own. It delivers nearly ten hours of zombie-slaying mayhem, a charmingly bizarre story context, and enough post-game challenges to justify multiple playthroughs. If you’re looking for a portable shooter that marries classic arcade sensibilities with a wicked sense of humor, Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ stands out as a top-tier pick.

Retro Replay Score

7.2/10