No More Heroes Review for Wii

     When the next gen consoles were rolling around, I put my money on the Wii. I would later come to realize I should have just gone with a Xbox360, but it was a new control scheme by which I was mesmerized by. I'm not a gamer that scoffs at silly ideas, I'm a gamer that embraces them. I remember not having very much to play which saddened me. I had spent all of this money on a console that I was desperate to spend time with but lacked any real way of doing so besides making random Mii's.
     Then there was a rush of trailers for Wii games made for the hardcore gamer. No More Heroes was the one I was most excited for. The music was awesome, the visual style was very different from everything else (by that I mean that it looked like a hyper-violent Jet Grind Radio.) I could not wait for this game to come out. Then it finally did and I fell quickly in love. It met every expectation and then blew them out of the water. This was a game I was starved for and I didn't even know I was hungry.

     No More Heroes is about a man named Travis Touchdown who wins a beam katana on an internet auction and decides he should start killing people with it. Travis is then drafted into an association for assassin's, tasked with the goal to become the #1 assassin. His prize? To get some from a pretty, French girl, Silvia Christel. Yeah, where's the Oscar?
     It's two years later and No More Heroes 2 is on its way. Is the first one still awesome? Should you play it before the second one?

Gameplay

+ One button to rule them all... The control scheme in No More Heroes is very simple. It plays up the fact that there's depth in it's mechanics, and there is if you should try to dive into it, but all you really need to know is keep mashing A. When A doesn't work, mash B. No matter how the game controls, it's incredibly satisfying all the time. 
     You will attack with your beam katana until an enemy's health runs dry. Then you will be prompted with an arrow pointing either up, down, left or right. You are to swing the remote in the direction the arrow is pointing thus prompting Travis to either slice his enemy up the middle or lop his head straight off.
     Let's say the enemy is blocking every attack you make; Press B. Your target will be stunned leaving them open for an awesome wrestling move for awesome damage. Just press B again to grab them and move the remote and nunchuk in the given direction on the screen. They didn't die you say, press A after the move's done to give'em a lil' death poke. 

+ More than meets the eye. Despite the simple controls, there is actually a fair amount of depth to the fighting. Targeting an enemy will help you block. You can dark-side dodge a whiffed attack to slow down time and link attack combos together at super speed. You can even choose between low and high hitting combos by pointing the remote up or lowering it down. Over time, all of the advanced stuff will come to you and you'll feel like a pure bad-ass. Or you'll just mash A and B and not care. That works too.

+ Not for the faint of heart. This game can be punishing. If you're a total hardcore gamer that loves beat-em up's, the difficulty of the game should delight you as it did, me. If you find that you're not the best gamer and you get frustrated easily, put the game on "sweet" mode which is No More Heroes easy mode. Not only will the game be easier for you to get through, the game is just as fun! No need to worry about missing out by taking the easy route. 


+ Join the dark-side! Every time you off an enemy, a slot-machine will activate on the bottom of the screen. Should you get a match of any three symbols, you'll be graced with a random dark-side power. You'll be able to shoot death-balls from your katana, press a prompted button to insta-kill all of those in front of you, slow down time, lots of awesome stuff, all activated by Travis reciting the name of one of his favorite snacks. These powers are not unlimited though. Once activated, a tiger at the top of the screen will begin racing towards a finish line. When it reaches the goal, time's up and you're back to as you were.

+ Like a boss. The bosses in this game are so fantastic! Every time you kill one, you want to get to the next as fast as possible. Each one has their own personality and style to get addicted to. I'd have a hard time forgetting any of them, the dialogue they had to offer, and the challenge they could provide. The other cool thing, for me at least, was that I'd always have just a sliver of health every time I beat a boss. It lent every battle an epic feel that I just barely scraped by, yet still proving I'm destined to be number one and catch some French tail! I don't want to tell too much specifically about any of the bosses because it's just too easy to spoil. Just know that you've never fought any boss like these ever before.

+ Same old song, different dance. On your way to the blow-your-mind awesome bosses, you just kill. A lot. You'd think this gets old but it doesn't. In every level, they find some new way of having you go through the same motions while retaining a refreshing feel to the grind. Sometimes they even break up the action for a few minutes with something completely different and funny for you to work on. The game barely ever becomes dull when you're going through an assassination.

+ Working overtime? In No More Heroes, you need money. You need it to get into the next assassination, buy clothes, weapons, workouts, wrestling movies, the list goes on. You could kill small-time crooks for cash, but that's for "first-raters". How do you become a first-rater? You start at the bottom, just like everyone else. And you know what? You'll like it! You'll participate in epic endeavors such as collecting coconuts, tending a gas-station, catching run-away kittens, and picking up trash! They all have a unique way of using the motion controls and while these tasks would normally be a bore in the real world, they're a delight in No More Heroes.

+ SHOPPING! If you're the type of gamer that collects things, may God have mercy on your soul with what you can get in this game. The clothes in this game are so cool... And so expensive... But so cool...They always put more and more within your reach after every assassination and this goes for clothes, videos, weapons and the rest of the lot. You normally need a lot of cash to make it into the next assassination. Unfortunately, I like to spend my money like it's the last day on Earth. I was glad I did every time.

+ Herrrreee kitty, kitty, kitty! Travis owns a cat named Jeane. When you're in Travis' apartment, you can tend to Jeane anytime you want. You don't have to. There's nothing stopping you from doing it either. Sometimes I just liked to curl up with Jeane and pet her into a purr-ful bliss. Interacting with Jeane wasn't something that had to be there but it only adds to the overall experience and I, for one, am happy I was able to spend some precious minutes of my time with my kitty.

= Where is everybody? You travel through a city known as Santa Destroy. How many people live in Santa Destroy? Dunno. There's never anyone around to speak of. In fact, there's not a lot of anything at all. And you'll spend a lot of time in this barren city. The only thing it's good for is finding hidden collectibles. Why isn't it a minus? Well, it doesn't exactly detract from the game. I never really hated it and a lot of the time, I actually enjoyed exploring even though there wasn't much to see. There's also a method to it's madness but we'll get to that in the presentation section though. On to more gameplay points.

- Sweatshops "R" Us. Let's say you went all out on shopping and now you have no money. Well, you're going to have to do a lot of work to get the fight money you need for the next assassination. And we're talking a good chunk of work here too. Now, being a perfectionist, I'll normally get all the cash I need while I'm trying to gold medal all of the available missions and jobs. 
     The problem is how long it takes to get a mission, go to the mission, and then travel back to mission HQ to get another one. Should you fail a mission, you do not get a retry. You need to go back to the HQ and request the same mission and then drive back to try it again. It sucked. Now, while I didn't hate it too much and I know that it's a necessary evil for what the game is trying to accomplish, it's things like this that ruin a game for some people. 

Story and Presentation

+ My mind has been blown... No More Heroes is one of those stories that makes almost no discernible sense but it's one of the best stories you ever heard anyway. While the game's outset might be simple, Travis interacts with each assassin in a different way creating unforgettable scenes and dialogue. And as you near the end, there are so many twists, it'll make your head spin and your legs give out in the best imaginable way ever.      This game never does take itself seriously though and neither should you. It's when the game takes a turn for the serious that it really gets under your skin and makes you think. I love it when games make me think, even when I'm only over-analyzing at best. Overall, the story is fun, thought-provoking, and most importantly, memorable.

+ I am what I am. Suda 51 (The director, writer and designer of No More Heroes) is known for quality games. If he made a game utilizing popsicle sticks for graphics and blowing your nose as the main game mechanic, he did it because that's the way he wanted it to be, not because he's ignorant to what constitutes a game nowadays. This is the case of No More Heroes. The game is the way it is because Suda wanted it that way for a reason. There are a few analysis of this game on the internet and they all dive into why you have to grind for cash, why Santa Destroy is empty, why certain people act the way they do and why things look the way they are. It's a statement and an experiment in gaming. The passive won't catch on to it at all while the shrewd will be left with the largest smirk they've ever had.
     If you play No More Heroes for what it is at face-value, it's a better than average game. If you take the time to analyze the message it's trying to get across, it's nothing short of an artistic masterpiece. If you have a Wii and you like games that pull you out of the ordinary, give you a chance to experience something you truly haven't experienced yet, there's no reason why you haven't played No More Heroes yet. So when you play this game, if you ever think, "Why am I playing this?" Or "Why did they do the game like this? Such a terrible idea..." Just remember, there's a reason behind it all.

+ Style, style, style! No More Heroes truly has a style of it's own. It attempts to look realistic, yet comic-bookesque at the same time. The entire hud and pause menu are inspired 8-bit designs. All of the characters within have their own flair with every inch of their unique design speaking to you of their pasts and personalities. All of Travis' lines and movements express his cocky and childish nature sublimely. When it comes to No More Heroes' style, it only makes you beg for more.

Graphics

= Sorry, wrong number. No More Heroes does not harness what the Wii is capable. In fact, at times, it barely even looks like a Gamecube game. It's not trying to look pretty though. Like I mentioned above, the graphics aren't the way they are because the developer sucks at making good looking games. They made it appear the way they wanted it to. It doesn't push boundaries in graphics because that's not the point. Alas, what is here though is decent enough. It's not like it's the butt-ugly game of the century or anything. I've seen a lot worse on Wii too.

Sound

+ Music to my ears! Indeed. The music is addictive as all hell. Every boss has their own theme, unique to their personality. As Travis performs menial tasks like mowing lawns, you can hear the muffled treble of his catchy samba music. Stores feature a special song called "Heavenly Star" by the Genki Rockets which comes from the awesome puzzle game Lumines and it's guaranteed to get stuck in your head. I got No More Heroes' soundtrack on my wishlist, for sure!

+ I love your voice! Now, the game isn't completely serious and the characters are supposed to be filling in stereotypes. That being said, the voice acting is just above par. The actors may sound like they're not giving it their best effort at times but they're actually supposed to sound like that, once again, on purpose. Given all of the above, I personally adore the voicing in No More Heroes. I love hearing the delivery of every line. Some of them are just so perfect, I want to hear them over and over...

Should You Buy It?

     Personally, I say yes. Right now, you can get it new for a fairly cheap price. In any case, if you own a Wii, find some way to play this game; Rent it, borrow it, steal it (No, don't), just play and beat it at least once. I know the grinding can get hard, just do your best to push through it. It's worth it. And after you beat it, think of what conclusions the game brought you to. Think about it really hard. Then read an analysis of No More Heroes (There's a great one on Destructoid) and congratulate yourself for participating in one of gaming's most masterful experiments.

No More Heroes was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Published by Ubisoft for the Nintendo Wii. Played through Mild and part of Bitter and Sweet difficulties whilst collecting everything in the game for 20+ hours.