Before writing up my review for No More Heroes 2, I had struggled to come up with a score for it that reflected my thoughts about it adequately. Perhaps more so than other games I've enjoyed in recent memory, for me, the sequel to Suda 51's iconic gore fest was one that had its share of ups and downs. I suppose it's just standard for a Grasshopper Manufacture game anyway, but I found it hard to initially figure out what to think of the game as a whole. Should I give it a more favorable score? It did have improvements and when they worked, they were worthy of being rewarded. Or should I take the more cautious route and assign it a score that isn't flattering, but not degrading, either? For every good point it did have, I couldn't help but recall the stuff I did find problematic. To resolve the debate inside my head, I decided to start up a second run, just to make sure there weren't any ambiguities needing to still be ironed out once it was time to compose the review.
 
I didn't even have to finish that second run to finally push me over the edge. After redoing about half of the game and getting to know the mechanics even better, I was finally confident about giving it a score. It got the less flattering option.
 
This is an interesting turn of events for me because, to be honest, I really, really loved the original No More Heroes. It wasn't a perfect game, but I was, and still am, a fan of its style of combat and storyline. I've probably played through the game at least three or four and still pick it up for short bursts on occasion. It had a brand of craziness that I was more than proud to endorse and employed one of my favorite rosters of bosses in any game I've ever played. Holly Summers in particular remains a huge favorite of mine for a variety of reasons.
 
I expected to really like No More Heroes 2 because it was likely to be more of the same. To an extent, it was more of that and, in conjunction with issues I think it legitimately does have, it may have ironically been partially because of that I found the sequel to be less likable. Part of the original No More Heroes' charm was its individuality with regards to its gameplay and tone. It wasn't ashamed to be what it was and carved out its identity through those means. When you make a sequel to that, it may very well be difficult to replicate that again; a sequel often by virtue doesn't have quite as much originality to call its own as the first installment. This doesn't always have to be the case for a game to still be really, really great, but since the first game really relied on it to be such a cult success, I feel that may have been one of the reasons why Desperate Struggle didn't strike a chord with me nearly as much.
 
Is this nostalgia dictating my feelings? Probably yes, and that's okay. As the first real sequel Grasshopper Manufacture has ever done for one of its original IPs, it's no surprise that Desperate Struggle has to operate relative to the legacy of the original game, for better and for worse. I still felt as though it had enough mechanical and story faults to let those dictate the review instead of these more personal feelings, but at the end of the day, I'd be lying if I said my feelings about the original game didn't play a part in my liking the game less. Games have played such an integral part of my life that I can't outright ignore the emotional attachments I have to the experiences with them.
 
I don't expect everyone to agree with my review and if this GameFAQs thread is any indicator, Desperate Struggle is prone to inspire debates for a long time after its release. Again, that's okay. But I thought I'd devote this space to discussing more personal sentiments about the game as a whole that I didn't address in the main review. That piece still contains the majority of my thoughts about the game, but let this be a companion piece for those wanting some accented thoughts to accompany it. They are what they are and nothing more. I leave it up to you to finalize your own thoughts about the game.