No More Heroes: Review
It’s that time again for my review of a game that has been out for more than a year…
This time it’s Suda 51’s masterpiece, No More Heroes from Grasshopper Manufacture for the Nintendo Wii. Now I’ll be the first to say, I was stoked when I saw the first teasers and trailers for this game, but was hesitant about Suda’s work due to Killer 7. While it wasn’t terrible, it left a sour taste in my mouth.
From the moment NMH was booted up, I knew I was going to love what I had my hands on. From its creative design and soundtrack, to its intriguing story, No More Heroes is a treat for any Wii owner and fan of obscurity.
STORY & CHARACTERS:
Immediately after pressing “A” we are thrown into the daily life of Travis Touchdown, our hero of the story and resident of the fictional town, Santa Destroy. Travis is convinced by the sexy and seductive Sylvia Cristel he must kill 10 others before him to obtain the rank of number 1. While Travis’ initial intention is for the love of Sylvia, his trek gets a bit more complex and complicated. With runs in with old friends and a ton of new faces, NMH will keep you slashing through assassin after assassin from beginning to the end.
One quick look at Travis and his living situation will reveal a lot about his hobbies and interests. Otaku (a Japanese culture fanatic) barely describes Travis, but should give a pretty good idea. From Lucha-Libre masks adorning his walls to Moe figurines displayed prominently along his shelves, Travis embodies every gamer to a “T.”
I won’t go into full detail of every character in NMH, but I will say, every single character oozes individuality and creativity. Suda 51 and his team did a fantastic job breathing life into every assassin Travis encounters along his 9-12 hour journey.
I walked away from NMH with so many fond memories of the intriguing assassins; like, Death Metal, wielding a massive curved beam katana easily or, Destroyman, with his crotch laser that will decimate anyone or anything in its path. I can’t give enough props to Suda and his designers for the amount of creativity used to give characters such life.
I wish I could say the same for the pedestrians and the town of Santa Destroy. Repetitive and forgettable is the best way to describe the town. While not being the main focus of the story obviously, I wish more work was put in to make the “overworld” more lifelike. All the buildings were practically the same and bland, that besides the buildings you could enter, may as well have been the same building looped over and over. While not a huge setback, with being a semi open world game, more touches would have been nice. Well, there is always the sequel.
GAMEPLAY & CONTROLS:
No More Heroes is not that complicated control wise, but don’t think you can simply button mash your way to the top. NMH takes a bit of strategy and timing to get to number one. With it being a Wii game, motion controls play a big role and the team Grasshopper Manufacture did a fantastic job with the controls.
With your katana attacks mapped to the “A” button and kick attacks to the “B” button combos are pulled of quick and seamlessly. You block and lock-on with the “Z” trigger. Following a quick combo, prompts will flash advising you to perform a waggle of the Wiimote in that direction. The fountain of blood that blossoms forth afterwards is spectacular. I can honestly say it never got dull slicing and chopping my foes in half. It flowed beautifully and battles ran as smooth as Travis’ beam katana through an enemy’s skull.
I had no complaint for combat controls but driving around town was a bit of a chore. It was a little odd that Travis’ bike would get caught on the smallest of objects, tossing you from the vehicle, and at the same time being able to knock down tree after tree. Bit of a bother when trying to get from one end of town to another. Another aspect that needs to be tweaked for the sequel is the camera.
Like most 3-D action games, tight spaces equal horrible camera views. Thankfully, there weren’t many cramped spaces throughout the game, but the times there were, ugh. The camera was controlled via the d-pad and worked well for the most part, I was never really in a bad situation as a result and thanks to a quick press of the “C” button, I would always be able to keep the camera on my back. Still, a bit of a bother in confined spaces.
My final point of interest is the jobs Travis will partake in order to challenge each assassin. Ranging from coconut collecting to mowing lawns, Travis will engage in just about everything to raise the money necessary to reach the next rank. While some are tedious, they really only need to be done once or twice, depending on how much money you want. I found myself completing a job and moving onto the next assassin mission. Maybe I am just good with my money 
GRAPHICS:
Again this is a Wii game so graphics are not the best by any means. If anything it looks like a top of the line PS2 game, not to say that it’s bad, just don’t expect 360/PS3 graphics. While working with a limited graphics engine, the team found a way to make everything (besides the overworld) look impressive. The colors really stood out to me; Travis’ bright red jacket and majority of the assassins garb stole the show in detail and looks. They really helped establish a real individuality in each assassin.
My biggest feat going into this game was voice acting. I was so nervous the actors would overact and sound horrendous. I was blown away at the quality of acting done in NMH. Every single character had its own “voice” and the actor really sold themselves to me. While there was cheesy dialog, of course, the delivery was so excellent it was forgivable and I found myself laughing out loud a quite a bit during the interactions between Travis and prey. Very creative story writing by Suda 51 and hope that wit stays intact for No more Heroes 2 and any future projects he is involved in.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
A game right up my alley, NMH delivered on every aspect for me. From seeing Travis deliver German Suplexes and Hurricanrana’s (never thought I would put my wrestling knowledge to test) to enemies and actually caring for the other assassins and their motives, I can’t praise this title enough. Suda 51 is one director and writer I will be watching in the future and following his projects and anything he is involved in.
With a terrific story and character design, every Wii owner owes it to themselves to rent, borrow, or purchase this title and give it a go. Given the limited games available hardcore gamers will play on Wii what do you have to lose?
This definitely gets 10 out of 10 from me.
I anxiously await No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle when it launches in 2010. Until then, believe in you and your Force. Now off to the Garden of Madness...
Later days, zabu!!
