No More HeroesPublisher: Rising Star (EU), Ubisoft (NA)
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
System: Wii
Release: Jan 22 2008, US
StoryNo More Heroes has one of the most engaging stories in a video game I have ever played.
The story follows Travis Touchdown, who is a stereotypical otaku – his motel room decorated with professional wrestling and anime collectibles – living in near poverty in the No More Heroes motel of the fictional town of Santa Destroy, California. After winning a beam katana in an internet auction, he runs out of money to buy video games and wrestling videos. After meeting with Sylvia Christel, he accepts a job to kill Helter Skelter, also known as "the Drifter," which earns him rank 11 by the United Assassins Association, a governing body of assassins. Realizing that he has the opportunity to make it to the top, he sets out to secure himself the coveted position of number one hitman in the UAA.
The plot and character development are amazing, and will always keep players entertained.
Sound 15/15
Pretty much all of the tracks have a Japanese punk rock feel to them, and it fits the game well. The soundtrack is one of the high points in the game, you might even find yourself humming along to a few of the tunes. The sound effects are also nice, from enemies screaming to the sound of Travis' Beam Katana slicing through people. The best part about the sound for No More Heroes, is the voice acting. The voice acting is simply amazing. There's never a dull moment in a coversation, since there is a ton of humor in the dialogue and the voices sound natural and aren't poorly portrayed.
Graphics 14/20
No More Heroes has a unique visual style. It's cell shaded, but has a flat look to it. Also, when enemies are killed, blood spills out from everywhere in a comical style. You can tell the game doesn't take itself too seriously. Most people should like the visual style, but more polish would have been great. The frame rate is also pretty choppy in some areas.
Appeal 22/25
The main story in No More Heroes will take about 8-10 hours to get through. As you go through the game, and after you've beaten it too; there are side quests and challenges. These consist of completing weird jobs like mowing a lawn, and the other consists of assassinating people or groups of people. You can also drive around on your motorcycle randomly around Santa Destroy, since No More Heroes is a sanbox game. If you aren't a big fan of extras, or don't seem to like them, the engaging story is sure to keep you coming back for more.
Gameplay 34/40
As I said before, No More Heroes is a sandbox game when it comes to the overworld. You can drive Travis' motorcycle all over Santa Destroy, and can go to various shops, jobs, and mission locations. The draw to the overworld is that it's kind of limiting. You can't go into people's houses or even talk to NPCs that are walking around. On top of that, it isn't a destructable world like in other sandbox games. With that aside, where No More Heroes beats out any other sandbox type game is in the action and combat. Grasshopper smartly mapped the main attack (a strike of the Beam Katana) to the A button. Kill attacks, which are performed when an enemy looses all its health, are commanded via Wiimote gesture, and are very rewading mainly due to the great cinematics that take place. Special finishing moves can also be unlocked if you find Wrestling Masks. The Beam Katan looses eneergy after a while, so recharging it is a must. You can do this in mid combat by pressing the 1 button and shaking the Wiimote. What Travis does on screen to recharge the Katana is funny in a crude way. Travis can also enter a mode called "Dark Side" if icons are aligned in a row like a slot machine, and give Travis different super attacks that can deals tons of damage to enemies. To make the combat even better, enemy deaths are hilarious in a sick way because of the amount of blood that pours from an enemy after it's killed. The main story takes Travis through the top ten assassin ranks, all of which have their own stages. The stages are unique to the boss of the stage. For instance, one of them is at the Santa Destroy Baseball Stadium. All the enemies, are baseball themed, and the boss is as well. The bad part about the assassin stages is that they can feel repetitive over time. I between stages, Travis has to raise money to pay for the next one. To do this, you have to take zany jobs like carrying coconuts, and you can also do mercanary jobs. Different Beam Katanas can be bought at the Katana Shop, and lots of different clothes can be bought at the clothes shop, so there is a lot of customization that can be done to Travis.
Travis recharging his Beam Katana 84/100
Despite its flaws, No More Heroes is a really good 3rd party Wii game. Every Wii owner should at least play this game, and since a sequel has been confirmed, that's more incentive to play this great game. Highly recommended.
Review by Zephyr
