Hey, did you guys know I like No More Heroes!? Crazy fact, huh?! Anyway, let’s talk about it for the twentieth fucking time why I love No More Heroes!
No More Heroes follows the tale of a young man named Travis Touchdown, a huge nerd with an figure collection, masterbates to porn all day, and spent all his rent money on a Beam Katana in an online auction. So, in need of money and some sex, Travis takes part in the United Assassin’s Association’s ranked fights in the hopes of becoming number one and getting laid. So, off he goes on a killing spree to take out the ten highest ranked assassins and to become number one. No More Heroes is not the deepest when it comes to character action games. I assure you, this is no Devil May Cry or Bayonetta, but that’s okay. Because No More Heroes is something else entirely. It’s… a game. It has elements of an action game, but also a ton of eight bit mini-games, along with an open world to explore. You aim the Wii Remote up and down depending on what attacks you want. Aiming it up will let Travis perform quick high attacks, and aiming it low will have him perform low, heavy attacks. You can also shake the Nunchuck to knock the enemies guard off so you can open them up for a wrestling move that does massive damage, and kills enemies if you are lucky to get all their health down. The game also changes up the levels a bit so you aren’t just killing enemies with a basic fighting system. Sometimes you’ll have to knock a ball back at them, other times you’ll have to avoid them while your Beam Katana is on the fritz. The levels are always changing, so it keeps the game interesting and fresh and not just hacking up guys in a linear hallway. But when you aren’t killing goons, your out in Santa Destroy, making money so you can go to the next fight. I hear people hate these parts, but I’m fine with them. And I really enjoy the mini-games (Most of the time). Collecting coconuts is a little silly and enjoyable for a moment, and of course, when you finish that, you can go and do actual assassinations, which allow you to perform challenges like fighting enemies with only wrestling moves or try to kill a set number of enemies in the time limit. And if you have some extra cash, you can buy all sorts of things, like wrestling tapes to learn new moves, new Beam Katanas and upgrades, or buy new clothes for Travis to where when he’s out on the job. But the real meat of this game are with the boss fights. While I do think the boss fights of No More Heroes 2 were better, and worse in some cases, the bosses in No More Heroes really stand out. Mostly cause no other game has bosses with this level of symbolism or just bat shit insanity. Some of my favorites are Dr. Peace, Shinobu, Bad Girl cause of course, and if you collect all the Beam Katanas in the game, you will get to fight Sir Henry Motherfucker, everyone’s favorite. It’s a nice secret final boss and a great way to reward you for spending all that time collecting trash just to buy all the Beam Katanas if you ask me.
No More Heroes is a classic game to me that I have always been fascinated in since I was a little kid… I was a weird kid. I’ve always thought the style of No More Heroes was incredible, and I am so glad that I became a fan at a young age. And please, Suda, tell me that ending of Travis Strikes Again was hinting at something.