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News:Final Fantasy XIII announced for the Xbox 360
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feature :: no more heroes
No More Heroes
If Uma Thurman was a guy who likes to go potty.
You hear the constant whining about the Wii not having much quality third party support, that every million selling game on the system is made and published by Nintendo. There have been some rare successes such as Resident Evil 4 and Guitar Hero III but none by which have been original IPs like No More Heroes. A game developed by Grasshopper and the infamous Goichi Suda, or best known as SUDA-51. His back catalogue includes Killer 7 and the Silver Case (JPN only) not a huge developer on the scene but one that is noticeably alternative. No More Heroes was originally an Xbox 360 title however SUDA-51 felt that the controls that the Wii offered were too good to refuse, plus I’m sure the Japanese user base for the console would’ve pushed investors to side with the little white box.
I thought assassins like to use guns? I guess the best of the best in Santa Destroy prefer the Jedi approach and go with the light sabers. Travis Touchdown, protagonist and anime fan, purchases his Katana (read: light saber style cutting weapon) off the internet and works his way up to being the 11th ranked assassin in the United Assassins Association. So with 10 assassins in front of him, Travis searches to defeat all who stand in his way to being numero Ichi: The best assassin in the UAA.
Egging him on from the sidelines is the sexy French Silvia Christel. Silvia gives Travis his missions and informs him of where to go to search for his next fresh kill. A bit of innocent flirting goes on between the two, most of which takes place over the phone and has a touch of comical flavour to it. Nice for a quick laugh and an excuse to show off some side boob action.
Pixel slicing goodness
The visuals of No More Heroes is really not its strong feature. With everything else that goes on in this game it is hardly a fault that goes noticed. Cell shading with some jaggy edges are abundant but don’t take away from your overall experience. If you look closely during the cut scenes the mouth movements are precise to the syllables characters are saying. Not bad for a game that’s running on last generation graphics. Character detail of enemies, other than bosses, is lacking. Mostly generic but then again not many games differ from that.
In case you didn’t know the PAL region, yet again, is getting the shaft with No More Heroes. Now the copy I have of this game is from the US where they have rated this game MA15+, blood and all. Due to the recent bans on violent games, Grasshopper have taken the safe approach to PAL regions and minimise the blood splatter by making it black similar to the effect you see in Kingdom Hearts and recent Zelda titles. The effect is not very dramatic but it doesn’t fault the way in which you still play the game.
Check out this video for a comparison between the PAL and NTSC versions. Spoilers all round of course.
My advice here, if you can, is purchase a freeloader and a US copy of this game as the blood effect is so over the top is fits well with every other quality of the game. If Kill Bill was a video game, No More Heroes would be it.
The controls of No More Heroes aren’t what you initially think. There is no Twilight Princess-style swinging of the Wii remote to make your common slashes. The A button will do all your regular fighting moves with the motion sensing coming in for the final kill. Usually when hitting an enemy you would press A between 3-4 times then right in the middle of the screen a picture of your Wii remote and nunchuk would be accompanied by arrows or flashing lights to indicate the motion you need to complete. Simplistic at first but you will quickly learn to understand why this approach was taken. With the vast amount of enemies to kill, swinging your arms constantly is bound to sprain a few wrists or break a few tables and televisions.
The world of No More Heroes opens up into a sandbox city which Travis gets to drive around on his out of space motorcycle. Controls for driving feel unnatural and the act of traversing around Santa Destroy is more or less boring. It is needed though, to complete missions and to visit places to upgrade your weapons and strength. Thunder Ryu’s gym is a Personal Trainer’s nightmare! As if bicep curls, chest presses and squats alone will make you a number one assassin. Come see me after class Travis. I’ll make you a real man. The mini games are creative but don’t expect any real exercise. The unlockables are vast, with many shirts available for Travis however your time and cash is best spent on weapon upgrades.
The force is strong in you ...
Jerk and charge? Hell yeah. SUDA-51’s taking the mickey out of the Wii remote by making the recharge feature of your katana into a self gratifying motion. If you have used your Katana too much during battle you must recharge it by moving your Wii remote up and down in an obvious wrist strengthening way, if you get my drift. Even on screen Travis positions himself in such lewd manner that suggest something is getting ‘charged up’.
Grasshopper’s sense of humour is similar to that of Insomniacs, where it pokes fun at itself and the gaming industry. Just have a look at the short dialogue below to see what sort humour you get:
TT: Impossible? What do you mean?
Boss: Its too terrible, it alone would jack up the age-rating of this game even further.
TT: So what? Who cares!
Boss: What if this games gets delayed? You don’t want this game to become No more heroes forever do you?
Definite LOL material. Even saving your progress in the game is a joke. Going home to your apartment and taking a dump on your toilet constitutes a save. Running around collecting coconuts on the beach makes it look like you have a katana stuck up your bum. SUDA-51 has taken up every opportunity to poke fun at something and anything.
Set aside 10-12 hours of your life and you will get through the main game. Add a few more hours if you like to play explorer. It’s all the little things that really make this game complete. Loading times are short and bearable. The 8-bit style sound effects, menus and stage endings are nostalgic and are somewhat fitting for the console this is on. Unlockables are based around weapon upgrades and new shirts. All the whacky outfits and characters make this game pure gold for cosplaying.
This definitely rates as a Top 5-er in my Wii library. The fact that this game does the action genre differently by dressing it up and taking it to a cell shaded town make it admirable and interesting to play. Some may find the game play repetitive after a few hours, but stick it out I say, the story is worth it. I’m looking forward to SUDA-51’s next project Fatal Frame IV, again a title slated for the Wii.
I thought assassins like to use guns? I guess the best of the best in Santa Destroy prefer the Jedi approach and go with the light sabers. Travis Touchdown, protagonist and anime fan, purchases his Katana (read: light saber style cutting weapon) off the internet and works his way up to being the 11th ranked assassin in the United Assassins Association. So with 10 assassins in front of him, Travis searches to defeat all who stand in his way to being numero Ichi: The best assassin in the UAA.
Egging him on from the sidelines is the sexy French Silvia Christel. Silvia gives Travis his missions and informs him of where to go to search for his next fresh kill. A bit of innocent flirting goes on between the two, most of which takes place over the phone and has a touch of comical flavour to it. Nice for a quick laugh and an excuse to show off some side boob action.
Pixel slicing goodness
The visuals of No More Heroes is really not its strong feature. With everything else that goes on in this game it is hardly a fault that goes noticed. Cell shading with some jaggy edges are abundant but don’t take away from your overall experience. If you look closely during the cut scenes the mouth movements are precise to the syllables characters are saying. Not bad for a game that’s running on last generation graphics. Character detail of enemies, other than bosses, is lacking. Mostly generic but then again not many games differ from that.
In case you didn’t know the PAL region, yet again, is getting the shaft with No More Heroes. Now the copy I have of this game is from the US where they have rated this game MA15+, blood and all. Due to the recent bans on violent games, Grasshopper have taken the safe approach to PAL regions and minimise the blood splatter by making it black similar to the effect you see in Kingdom Hearts and recent Zelda titles. The effect is not very dramatic but it doesn’t fault the way in which you still play the game.
Check out this video for a comparison between the PAL and NTSC versions. Spoilers all round of course.
My advice here, if you can, is purchase a freeloader and a US copy of this game as the blood effect is so over the top is fits well with every other quality of the game. If Kill Bill was a video game, No More Heroes would be it.
The controls of No More Heroes aren’t what you initially think. There is no Twilight Princess-style swinging of the Wii remote to make your common slashes. The A button will do all your regular fighting moves with the motion sensing coming in for the final kill. Usually when hitting an enemy you would press A between 3-4 times then right in the middle of the screen a picture of your Wii remote and nunchuk would be accompanied by arrows or flashing lights to indicate the motion you need to complete. Simplistic at first but you will quickly learn to understand why this approach was taken. With the vast amount of enemies to kill, swinging your arms constantly is bound to sprain a few wrists or break a few tables and televisions.
The world of No More Heroes opens up into a sandbox city which Travis gets to drive around on his out of space motorcycle. Controls for driving feel unnatural and the act of traversing around Santa Destroy is more or less boring. It is needed though, to complete missions and to visit places to upgrade your weapons and strength. Thunder Ryu’s gym is a Personal Trainer’s nightmare! As if bicep curls, chest presses and squats alone will make you a number one assassin. Come see me after class Travis. I’ll make you a real man. The mini games are creative but don’t expect any real exercise. The unlockables are vast, with many shirts available for Travis however your time and cash is best spent on weapon upgrades.
The force is strong in you ...
Jerk and charge? Hell yeah. SUDA-51’s taking the mickey out of the Wii remote by making the recharge feature of your katana into a self gratifying motion. If you have used your Katana too much during battle you must recharge it by moving your Wii remote up and down in an obvious wrist strengthening way, if you get my drift. Even on screen Travis positions himself in such lewd manner that suggest something is getting ‘charged up’.
Grasshopper’s sense of humour is similar to that of Insomniacs, where it pokes fun at itself and the gaming industry. Just have a look at the short dialogue below to see what sort humour you get:
TT: Impossible? What do you mean?
Boss: Its too terrible, it alone would jack up the age-rating of this game even further.
TT: So what? Who cares!
Boss: What if this games gets delayed? You don’t want this game to become No more heroes forever do you?
Definite LOL material. Even saving your progress in the game is a joke. Going home to your apartment and taking a dump on your toilet constitutes a save. Running around collecting coconuts on the beach makes it look like you have a katana stuck up your bum. SUDA-51 has taken up every opportunity to poke fun at something and anything.
Set aside 10-12 hours of your life and you will get through the main game. Add a few more hours if you like to play explorer. It’s all the little things that really make this game complete. Loading times are short and bearable. The 8-bit style sound effects, menus and stage endings are nostalgic and are somewhat fitting for the console this is on. Unlockables are based around weapon upgrades and new shirts. All the whacky outfits and characters make this game pure gold for cosplaying.
This definitely rates as a Top 5-er in my Wii library. The fact that this game does the action genre differently by dressing it up and taking it to a cell shaded town make it admirable and interesting to play. Some may find the game play repetitive after a few hours, but stick it out I say, the story is worth it. I’m looking forward to SUDA-51’s next project Fatal Frame IV, again a title slated for the Wii.
