We’ve seen a number of iconic duos in films over the years. Laurel and Hardy immediately come to mind, along with legends like Abbott and Costello. And, of course, we can’t deny more recent pairings, like Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in the 48 Hrs. films, as well as Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan doing their thing in the Rush Hour films.
But Terence Hill and Bud Spencer certainly deserve to be on that list. Throughout the 70s and 80s, these two Italian actors teamed up for a number of works, including the likes of Ace High, the Trinity films, and Miami Supercops. Though not as easily recognized on U.S. soil, the duo’s works remain tremendous draws internationally.
And now, oddly enough, they’ve reunited – sort of – in the video game world. In 2017, the developers at Trinity Team (smart move there) produced Bud Spencer & Terence Hill: Slaps and Beans, a beat-em-up that paid loving tribute to the duo across a number of scenarios from their films, including Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure. With just the right mix of nostalgia and beat-em-up tactics, the game successfully raised its funds on Kickstarter and found a strong following in the game medium.
Now we’re on the verge of a sequel coming, with Slaps and Beans 2 set to debut on September 22nd for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch consoles in both physical and digital format, as well as Xbox PC. And like the first, it’ll feature Bud and Terence getting into a world of trouble, based on scenarios from their films. Here’s a full feature list:
- A brand-new, explosive & ludicrous story adventure
- Enhanced combat system: Both heroes now have signature abilities and unique power-ups
- Anything can be a weapon! You can now use objects from the environment to beat the daylight out of enemies.
- The story can be enjoyed with your bud(dy) in 2-player couch co-op
- Tons of competitive minigames are included throughout the story to break up the pace
- The dedicated party game mode (minigames only) for up to 4 players lets you compete and chase those high scores
- Beautiful, hand-drawn pixel art for pixel-perfect slapping
- New music from Oliver Onions, the original movie composer, to harmonize with the sound of slapping
- Neither dumb nor mute: The game now includes voice dubbing in English, Italian, German and Spanish
- And lots of beans (and bananas)
Surprisingly enough, the game was a huge draw last month during Gamescom, one of ININ Games’ most popular offerings. Which just goes to show that, after all these years, the iconic duo remains a huge draw – and is also getting people interested in their films as well.
Not to mention the cool co-op aspects of the game and what you can do with the duo, such as grabbing the ends of a long table and running over enemies like roadkill.
Once again, the game is being developed by Trinity Team, and published by Buddy Productions GmbH, which actually was founded by family members of Bud Spencer. That’s pretty cool, if you think about it.
We’ll be covering Slaps and Beans 2 closer to its release, so be sure to check back. But, yeah, it’s fantastic to see a duo like this still get their due. Which reminds us – we recommend checking out They Still Call Me Trinity when you get a chance. It’s a riot.
