The first No More Heroes was a Nintendo Wii game I fell in love with. The protagonist was funny, awkward and weirdly relatable in a tale to defeat the greatest assassins in Santa Destroy in the hopes of getting laid with his beam katana that could only be charged by shaking it in a manner reminiscent of a teenager’s favourite pastime.
Yeah, something like that.
One of the great things about the first game was the wild personalities of all those you have to kill in order to succeed and your friends. Granted, the open world layout was a waste of time for many, but the wacky side jobs, plethora of things to do in the game, and the sheer personality and fun the game oozed out at every orifice was more than worth the entry price. However, the game didn’t sell amazingly, as is the case for many hardcore games on the Wii. Luckily, Suda51 was awesome enough to decide to create a sequel to No More Heroes, again on the Wii.
So, what’s No More Heroes 2 like, from what I played of it and what I saw? Well, it’s like Suda51 crafted a long love letter for fans of the first No More Heroes, telling them everything they wanted to hear. Not a fan of the open world? No More Heroes 2 has gotten rid of the open world, and instead there’s the ability to select a variety of locations to travel to once you exit the location you’re currently in, making travel a lot easier. Though, oddly, the format seems to have been swapped over, so locations are explorable, but the world is menu driven, whereas in the first game, some locations would be straight menu driven (such as Travis’s apartment). Liked the side jobs, but thought they could be more stylistic or reminiscent of the game’s style? Bam! The side jobs are now retro 8-bit affairs. They retain their ballistic quirkiness, but are now distinct from the rest of the game, and look awesomely retro. They’re more fun to play than the original side jobs as well, and you could easily lose yourself in the side jobs this time around, which was less possible in the first game. More stuff to do in Travis’s apartment? Travis can now spend his time in his apartment exercising his cat and playing videogames. Better looks? You got it! No More Heroes 2 refines the graphical style of the first game to create an even sleeker looking game that looks as great as the fun is to play. Which is a lot.
What about the combat? Well, okay, the combat isn’t too far removed from the first game, which is brilliant, but there are a couple of changes to the formula. For one, the hi/lo strikes of the first game (Travis would attack the enemy depending on how the wiimote was positioned… hi or lo), a mostly superfluous thing that only seemed to break up combat a bit, is gone. Kicks and unarmed strikes now do damage, and so they’re a more viable option to stun and hold back your opponents, whereas in the original, kicks wouldn’t do any damage, but only help to set up the wrestling moves. Wrestling moves? Still there. So, the fighting seems to be much the same, but more streamlined and easy to use, which is only a good thing for all concerned.
Once again, saving is done by evacuating your bowels, something other games, and even life should think about adopting.
And what about the enemies, the assassins that you have to fight? Well, from the looks of it, them and their battles seem to be just as hilarious and nutty as before, if not even nuttier in some cases. The battle I played was from Travis’s Number One fan, who decided the only way she could prove her love to him was to kill him, explained with a love letter written by her, read by Travis while she plays her flute in the background. A flute which turns into a double ended beam katana, and your pants from dry to wet. I may have spent more time on the floor in that battle than I’d have liked (Travis, on the other hand…) but it proved to be a fun, tough battle. Other Boss battles I saw included a fight between Gundam-alike robots fighting in the streets of Santa Destroy, and solidified how much I need this game. If you didn’t like the first game, there’s been enough improvements for you to justify exploration into the sequel. If you loved the first game, why don’t you already have this?
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is out now.
- Jokesound
