No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle starts off with a bang. The action is bloodier, the humor is more off-the-wall, and the experience is even crazier than the first. The game is influenced by things as varied as the Kill Bill movies, manga, animé, and even David Lynch films. Series protagonist, otaku, and deadly assassin Travis Touchdown returns in, what executive director Suda 51 considers, a story that’s much darker than its predecessor. Travis is on a mission to cut his way back to the top of the United Assassins’ Association and this time he’s out for revenge. As players assume the role of Travis Touchdown, they’ll behead a Final Fantasy character look-a-like, fight a giant mech high above the city, battle a team of cheerleaders, slice dozens of enemies creating buckets of blood, play with your pet cat, watch as the game repeatedly breaks the fourth wall, and morph into a tiger.

That’s all within the first hour. 

                                       

The sequel improves upon so many aspects of the original, namely the open world clunkiness and side mission banality. The tedium of moving around the open world of Santa Destroy has now been stream-lined. Instead of driving from place to place, players are given a menu with various locations and fast-travel to each one. While it’s somewhat disappointing to see the developers go this route instead of improving the open world design, in the end it’s a much-needed change. It speeds things along, allowing you to quickly get to the next ranked fight. Between missions comes the greatest addition to the series. Gone are the job missions of the last game that, while fun at times, were usually a chore to get through- especially considering they had to be played repeatedly. In their place are a set of incredibly crafted 8-bit style minigames. Travis will do anything to make a buck whether it’s delivering pizzas, frying steaks for finicky customers, collecting coconuts, or exterminating bugs. All of these jobs are lovingly rendered as bygone products of the 1980s. From the visuals, the audio, and scenarios, the job minigames are so much fun you’ll find yourself going back to them again and again.

                                      

While the manic stylings of Desperate Struggle aren’t likely to convert non-Suda 51 fans, the developers have sought fit to cram as much originality into every moment. Players are rewarded to a smorgasbord of insanity, full of Grasshopper Manufacture fan-service and refinements to the original design. So much time was given to creating one of the most unique experiences, not just on the Wii but on any platform. If only the same could be said for some the game’s technical aspects.

Desperate Struggle retains some of the same problems that hindered the last game. The game’s camera system can be very frustrating. In heavy combat situations, my view was often blocked by objects, walls, enemies, and more. There is no camera control other than a re-center button of which I made extensive use. Even with a lock-on system, the camera still lost sight of enemies. This is partly to do with the game’s less-than-stellar level design. Environments in Desperate Struggle felt cramped and bland. They’re usually just empty parking lots, empty buildings, or empty streets. There’s not much life in them and, at times, it felt like there wasn’t enough room to fight and maneuver. They really only serve as platforms for the combat. In a few instances, the poor level design only added to some of the frustation during boss battles. Many of the locations for the ranked matches suffer from the same claustrophobic design. It felt like there wasn’t always enough room to fight, dodge attacks, and still be able to keep an eye on what was going on. This wasn’t the case for every fight but it’s still worth mentioning.

Breaking up the action are a series of vignettes that conjure memories of David Lynch films. It’s clear that story was a much bigger focus this time around. While most of the sexuality in the game is a notch below juvenile, these moments take it to a much stranger place.

                                        

However, the boss battles are the real heart and soul of No More Heroes. As Travis battles his way to the top, he’ll encounter a series of assassins just as insane as he is. While I won’t spoil any of the big surprises, just know that Suda & Co. managed to create another cast of psychopathic characters even more memorable, charming, and deadly than the last bunch. While some of the encounters feel somewhat hackneyed (especially any that include use of Travis’ motorcycle) many will leave you breathless. They offer just as much challenge as the last game and each one is so different you might find yourself, between battles, skipping straight to the next ranked match.

Shinobu and Henry return from the first game as playable characters and the addition is a welcomed one. Shinobu is back from battling in Asia and has, unlike Travis, gained the ability to jump. While it mixes up her fighting style somewhat and allowed the developers to include a platforming puzzle, it doesn’t do anything drastic to the No More Heroes formula.

No More Heroes 2 does something more Wii developers should consider. It gives players the option to control the game via the standard Wii Remote and Nunchuck combo or playing via the Classic Controller. I started with the old standby but switched to the Classic Controller about halfway through and I’ll never go back to the original. Playing with the Classic Controller felt great and, even if some gamers would rather have motion controls, it’s nice to be given the option to use standard controls. This is how third party development should continue on the Wii.

In the end, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle took many of the things that didn’t work in the first game, scrapped them and, in their place, made a more stream-lined, energetic, hectic, thrilling experience. While I was initially sad to see the open world of Santa Destroy get pushed to the way-side, I can’t argue with the results. Despite still being bogged down by a clunky camera, the game feels much snappier and the 8-bit minigames are simply amazing. Add that to another great cast of epic boss battles, more oddball humor, more style than some game studios craft in a lifetime, and Suda 51 has managed to up the ante on a series I hope is around for a long time.