Just when you thought it couldn’t get any crazier, No More Heroes II: Desperate Struggle chugs a whole gallon of energy drink and explodes under the weight of its own awesomeness. This sequel does everything it’s supposed to do: The plot is bigger, the bosses are badder, and a lot of the issues from the previous title have been refined for a better overall experience. Grasshopper Manufacture has done it again!
Story
Travis Touchdown is back in town! After becoming the #1 assassin at the end of the game, Travis took a 3-year vacation from Santa Destroy, but is called back in by a revenge-seeking sibling of an earlier boss from the previous entry of the series. Travis, never one to turn down a challenge, returns to Santa Destroy to defend his honor. This is where things begin to turn for the worst. Through a series of misfortunate events, Travis learns that an old rival has completely taken over Santa Destroy, his best friend is murdered in cold blood and, to top it all off, his ranking in the United Assassin’s Association has plummeted all the way to 51st. Now, armed with new Beam Katanas and man’s greatest motivator: revenge, Travis Touchdown sets out once more to reclaim his #1 spot, seek revenge for his fallen friend, and make dead of anyone who tries to get in his way.
Gameplay & Mechanics
The controls of No More Heroes have been so solid since the first game there was no reason to adjust them. Instead, we get more combos, a new paint job for our action commands, and a few new types of Beam Katanas to play with. For example, the Peony is a massive longsword with increased range but low mobility, while the Rose Nasty are two Beam Katanas Travis duel-wields to decimate enemies with lightning speed. You’ll need all of these advantages when it comes to the new bosses you’ll be facing down. Seriously there are so many creatively ludacris fights you find yourself in, including a fantastical sequence where you pilot a Giant Mech modeled after one from Travis’ favorite Anime!
One of the best improvements to No More Heroes II: Desperate Struggle has to be traversal and the minigames. Grasshopper Manufacture has completely done away with the overworld and, instead, gives you a world map that allows you to fast travel to different locations as opposed to burning up the road on your motorcycle. The Minigames, while no longer essential, have been converted into small, 8-bit puzzles, action games, and racing games. Honestly, they’re one of the best parts of No More Heroes II: Desperate Struggle! Oh, did I forget to mention Jean: Travis’ cat? You get to play with Jean! Feed him, exercise him, and play with his little cat toys. Grasshopper Manufacture could make a game revolving around Jean and easily get a 10 / 10 from me.
Aesthetics & Sound
The graphics are sharper. The sound is punchier, and the voice-acting is just as top-tier as the original. Grasshopper Manufacture knew exactly what needed fixing and exactly what needed to stay the same. More blood, more explosions, and faster music created an immersive atmosphere where I was jamming out to the beat while pulling off stylish wrestling throws. The soundtrack in No More Heroes II: Desperate Struggle has got to be ones of my favorites of all time.
Summary
Grasshopper Manufacture knew exactly what they needed to do to improve their game, and they did just that. Punchy jokes, edgy material, and sequences that borderline copyright infringement, No More Heroes II: Desperate Struggle is more of the same great game with better action, better music, and even more game to play than the last. They fixed what little issues we experienced with the last title, and added some extras that I can’t wait for you to discover. This one was a wild ride and I can’t wait to get my hands on No More Heroes III coming out in 2021.
9.5 / 10
Check Out the No More Heroes II: Desperate Struggle Trailer.
For more information, please visit: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/no-more-heroes-2-desperate-struggle-switch/
And, here is the original game, No More Heroes, review:
One of my favorite titles of all time has got to be Saints Row: An Open-World action game that spoofs everything that makes GTA a colossal hit. Since then, I haven’t played anything that felt quite like Saints Row, that is, until I picked up No More Heroes by Grasshopper Manufacture & Suda51. When it comes to wild anti-heroes, over-the-top action and a wacky story filled with all types of satirical narrative, this game checks all the boxes. During these unprecedented times, No More Heroes for the Nintendo Switch has kept a smile on my face.
Story
Meet Travis Touchdown. He’s a bit of an asshole and a borderline lunatic, but hey: he likes Anime, wrestling, and videogames, so it’s hard to totally hate him. He’s basically me. He’s also an assassin, not like me, and is one of the most capable assassins in all of Santa Destroy. Unsatisfied with your rank of 11th Deadliest Assassin, you whip out your Lightsaber Beam Katana and take to the streets on an obnoxiously massive motorcycle to cut down the top 10 competitors in the city just to prove you are the very best, like no one ever was. That’s basically it. With such a simple premise, Grasshopper Manufacture left themselves with a comfortable budget to make this adventure as quirky and ridiculous as possible. Man did they go to work.
Enhancing the story is an incredible cast of interesting, maturely written characters who, even in such an absurd setting, come off as genuine, believable, and, frighteningly enough, relatable. This world is alive and you feel like if you didn’t go around cutting off the heads of everyone that got in your way, this world would continue to thrash about like a spastic turkey without you. The cutscenes are well-directed, the bosses are incredible, and the incredibly bizarre, sometimes creepy, cast of this title make Travis seem like he’s just a normal guy: That alone says a lot.
Gameplay & Mechanics
This is an action game through and through. You slice and dice through foes with a flurry of combos using your Beam Katana. In order to assist you in your quest to make everyone into gore-filled money pinatas, the Nintendo Switch offers two control settings: Standard & Motion Control. With Standard, you’ll be relentlessly button mashing combos, commands, and matching up with the Finishing Move prompt while toe Motion Control option will have you do all of this while, of course, swinging your Joycons around like a madlad. I highly recommend using the Joycon Grip accessory, or the Nintendo Switch Pro controller if flailing around violently in your bed isn’t your idea of a good time. No More Heroes nails the hack-and-slash vibe, allowing you to beat down enemies with punches, kicks, copyrighted wrestling moves, and eviscerating sword techniques to show just how pretty your enemies are on the inside.
Where No More Heroes began to lose me was, well, everything else. In order to face off against the next Big Bad, you need to raise money in order to set up the meet. How you raise money in No More Heroes one may ask. By doing side missions of course! We all know how mundane side missions can be, or at least, we thought. From mowing lawns, to shaking down pineapples from trees to sell, No More Heroes has got to have some of the most boring side missions I’ve ever been forced to sit through. I suppose if you’re an Animal Crossing fan this might be right up your alley, but for me, I could have done without. Then again, the more I thought about the game just being a spoof of the genre, the more I realized that maybe, just maybe, Grasshopper Manufacture made it this way on purpose. While the side missions themselves may not be as over-the-top as the rest of the game, it really brings this world, and your story to life: You really are just a normal guy who happens to be a professional assassin, and you gotta do what you gotta do if you want to grind your way to the top.
Aesthetics & Sound
No More Heroes is beautiful. It has an amazing visual palette that was impressive way back in 2008, and with the full HD of the Nintendo Switch, it looks good both portable and mounted onto your television. The cell-shaded aspect lends itself to the nonsensical style of gameplay and, unlike its past iteration on the Nintendo Wii, features a bit more bloodspray than before. Both the sound and voice acting are top-notch thanks to the Nintendo Switch’s enhanced audio technology. Bursting meat piñatas has never been more fun.
Summary
No More Heroes is one of those games that, once you pick up, it’s hard to put down. It’s an action game whose characters truly drive the story and shows exactly how big a payoff good writing can have. The combat is simple and easy to learn, the combos are flashy, and best of all: it’s fun. While the side-missions are just the opposite of fun, they have a narrative reason for being that way, so I won’t be too hard on them. Overall, I greatly enjoyed my experience with No More Heroes by Grasshopper Manufacture for the Nintendo Switch and am excited to jump right into Desperate Struggle!
8.5 / 10
For more information, please visit: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/no-more-heroes-switch/
Nintendo Switch Review
As the (self-proclaimed) King of Casuals, I'm always seeking out new titles to play and experience across all platforms. Eventually, I have ambitions to take the many different styles of this medium to create titles that will wow the masses in fresh, innovative ways.
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