No More Heroes: A Look Into Violent Media Part Three

This is the final stretch for my analysis of No More Heroes as we will be going through some of the best bosses in the game. Then we will look into Travis Touchdown himself, his story, and what all of this is trying to tell the audience. In the last part the game was really being obvious about its theme thanks to Holly Summers and Harvey then the game continues on with being obvious, but first we got to finally look into the main character himself, Travis Touchdown! http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-13839-no-more-heroes-a-look-into-violent-media-part-three-warning-mature-content/#.U_zH0fldWt3

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 19: My Top Ten Favorite Smash Bros Characters

I have mentioned before that I am a huge fan of Super Smash Bros. I’ve been covering a great amount of the reveals and I will easily get my thoughts out for the new game and the new characters when I can finally get to play the new game. Before that though I want to share the characters that I like to play as the most in Smash Bros. This has nothing to do with a tier list; it’s just my personal preferences with who I like to play as the most. I’ve played all the previous games of Smash Bros and even Project M and I remember always practicing with every character when I was younger. Anyways it’s time to start this list so let’s smash through it! - See more at: http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-13525-off-topic-my-favorite-video-games-part-19-my-top-ten-favorite-smash-bros-characters/#.U96gCvldVLY

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 18: The Wonderful 101!

I have talked about the Wonderful 101 before in my top ten video games list for 2013. I will have to say though after playing this game for a much longer time compared to how I ranked it before. For me this is so far Platinum’s best game so far! - See more at: http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-13510-off-topic-my-favorite-video-games-part-18-the-wonderful-101/#.U9xO6fldVLY

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 17: My Top Thirteen Favorite MadWorld Bosses

Madworld is an interesting game, I covered about this game before and how the most important part with game like this is the bosses. The bosses really make you want to get through the levels and just defeat them many times. I will say No More Heroes is easily the better game for many reasons, but for now I will go through the bosses from Madworld. Unlike No More Heroes there are more stinkers in Madworld as the first four I will mention are horrible to fight. (http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-12342-off-topic-my-favorite-video-games-part-17-my-top-thirteen-favorite-madworld-bosses/#.U30S2fldVLY)

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 16: My Top Ten Favorite Female Video Game Characters

Originally I was trying to get this post on Saturday, but with my most recent Gaim review being held back because of personal reasons like work and getting sick, I almost forgot to do this post. Last Saturday was International Women’s Day. For this I thought up of my favorite females from video games. I know a more obvious thing would be best Toku heroines, but the most I know would just be Sentai and I already did my thoughts on that before with my favorite colors Sentai warriors. Also video games have very interesting female characters as some can just be well sex appeal, there are deep characterizations for many of them as I want to go through my favorites. Also I am going to do one per franchise rule, so let’s start! Go to Herotaku to read the list (http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-11179-off-topic-my-favorite-video-games-part-16-my-top-ten-favorite-female-video-game-characters/).

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 15: Tales of Symphonia

I actually have something a little special going on. The beginning of this month I have been apart of a website that is trying to get back on it's feet. The website is called Herotaku as it's a site for news, reviews, and etc.. about superheroes, gaming, anime, and many other things. For this special moment I decided to make my blog for Toku only as my off topic posts or any kind of special month event to Herotaku. It's a way to help out the website to get some more views and it's nice to still get these posts done. I promise that part sixteen of My Favorite Video Games will be the best Madworld bosses, I got sidetracked from that list and just forgot about it. Anyways, head onto to Herotaku to find the article I have written and make sure to look around the website for other articles as there are many other people working hard. Again my episode reviews are going to be on the weekdays, mostly Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The exclusive Herotaku posts will be on the weekends if I have the time. The final thing to say is when I get more free time I will be doing exclusive episode reviews for Samurai Flamenco on Herotaku, so come and check out the amazing website. There is a contest going on right now for Super Megaforce so make sure to check that out as well.

(http://herotaku.com/) (http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-10935-off-topic-my-favorite-video-games-part-15-tales-of-symphonia/) I thank you guys a whole lot for the ones who leave comments or the ones who simply read my articles. I may not be the most popular blogger right now, but I'm going to continue to review and who knows maybe when I get done with college and find a place of my own, I could try video reviewing and see how that works. Again just thank you for simply reading, even if you just pass by the site, a view is still a view and I couldn't thank you more for that.

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 14: My Top Ten Favorite Games of 2013

To be quite honest, 2013 is really the opposite of 2012 for me. I found that 2012 was rather really weak in the gaming market and there were a lot of stories and controversies that really made me mad. What made 2012 for me though were movies, it was a very strong year for movies and as I said 2013 was the opposite. This year JRPG's came back with a vengeance and easily show off how the franchise can go back to it's roots and still be as fresh as it ever was. I feel like I want to rant about the movies we got this year, but I could save that for another time or for a completely different blog if I feel like it. Even for Toku I found 2013 pretty weak as I have been watching Gaim and it's not gripping me that well and we all know how Kyoryuger is treating me. I just want to focus on something positive and hopefully 2014 will have me doing that.

10. Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemis of Dusk

As I said JRPG's did come back and starting off the list is a JRPG that wasn't the biggest at all, but just a very relaxing one. The Atelier series is a very nice franchise if you got the time for it. It's sort of like Harvest Moon, but with a more standard JRPG like feel. There is Rune Factory, but it goes for a different style of JRPG's. Ayesha keeps a lot of the same usual methods from the past games mostly Totori and Meruru and yet really adds some new features and extended on the battle engine. The battle system is a usual turned based style as you take turns attacking and there are certain attacks that have more range as you can get more than one foe if possible. There is also item, spell, and defense usage like in Meruru, but Ayesha puts a new feature which I had a lot of fun with. When you build up on a certain bar you can perform back attacks and even if you don't have that you can easily move behind foes. Back attacks always cause a critical and it's very helpful with certain enemies. I had a blast with this part of the battle system. Along with that the story is a very nice and relaxing one, it doesn't go to amazing lengths, but I do miss those JRPG's. It's nice to just relax and forge items, do side quests, and explore to many new areas. Now there is a story of course as it;s basically Ayesha trying to save her younger sister. This game may not be the most ground breaking game, but I can always stick it and and waste five hours just making items and exploring.

9. Pokemon X and Y

Pokemon entered into the sixth generation this year as I do feel that the fifth generation could have expanded a little more, but with the 3DS Pokemon really took a huge step forward. I always had fun with the games, but after the third generation there wasn't a lot of new things happening. X and Y came around though and just gave fans a lot of new things. There is a whole new type of Pokemon, the Fairy types and I am quickly loving them. Finally there is a type that can really take on Dragons and be so cute at the same time. There were the Mega forms as well and I do love which ones got selected, but no fifth generation Pokemon got one. Along with this there weren't a huge amount of new Pokemon, but the new ones we did get were very strong like Aegislash, Florgres, Sylveon, and Greninja. There were also great expansions on how to play the game thanks to making battles easier online, trading is easier, a lot of online modes got better! Then the AI in this game felt approved, like I actually did struggle at some points with gym leaders or the Elite Four which is different for once. Now what I was really happy in generation five was the focus on story presentation as gym leaders did more than just fight and we had N. X and Y tried to do that, but easily not as well and did focus more on the competitive play and not the solo play. The whole game got a lot of new, but I guess we could have to wait three more generations for the next big step after this.

8. Mario and Luigi Dream Team

The Mario and Luigi series is surprisingly a very strong JRPG franchise than many people would think. I always had fun with the series just like Paper Mario until Sticker Star so I was a little worried with this game since Paper Mario had a bad game for once, my opinion of course. Dream Team didn't suffer from Sticker Star's problem and really expanded on the ideas that Bowser's Inside Story had. Along with that it brought back some nice elements from the past games and even some characters like Popple. Again the story isn't much like all the other Mario RPG's, but what always does it is the presentation. This game is heavily focused on Luigi and boy does he shine here. He is as silly as ever and the whole game is funny. Dream Team also really mixed up the Bros Moves with the help of using the 3DS by titling it or using the touch screen. Now I will say I could have dealt with less hand holding, but soon the game lets loose many times. There are some decently hard bosses in this game or just some nice little puzzles, I was actually surprised many times. Dream Team really keeps the Mario and Luigi series the same, but really keeps it fresh with a lot of surprises with the game play.

7. The Wonderful 101

I was liking Platinum a lot before this year, but my goodness they easily became one of my favorite companies thanks to this year. The Wonderful 101 is a great new way to make a character action game with the use of many characters and many moves. The story may not be much since it's just heroes fighting aliens, but again the presentation work is perfect. There is so much humor thanks to all the characters like Red being a righteous leader, but wanting to know everything and stumbling here and there. Blue who is a cool bro who just wants to slice things in half. Green, a french boy with a love for food and tries to look smart with his vocabulary. Pink who is a glamour girl who will snap at anyone who ticks her off and Tara Strong does her voice! Even the villains are lovable in this comedic sense as the man bad guy is a prince and the first time you meet him he tries to give you his complete back story. The Wonderful 101 really pokes fun at the superhero genre, mostly the Toku genre and it's great. There are many moments where the narrator is talking and everyone is just standing around and waiting for things to continue on. Now the game play is great as well, but the presentation can get in the way. Even though it's strong it's too strong as things can get a little confusing here and there. Still the controls work very well and even though the game can throw a little too much at you, you will have a Wonderful experience!

6. Pikmin 3

Now here is when the presentation is strong and doesn't get in the way of the game play. Pikmin 3 is a great step forward for the franchise as the use of the Wii U really helps it. You can see the whole map with it and even pause the whole game so you can plan out your activities. You can even use three characters at a time with their own groups of Pikmin so the pause method is very useful. The new Pikmin in this game, Rock and Flying were really great. Rock is an upgrade of Purple in someways, but are mostly just hard hitting when launched. Flying Pikmin are weak, but their flight ability can take down some foes very easily. I remember the Burrowing Snagret from the previous games and how evil that monster was. With the Flying Pikmin, he cannot even get them! Again the story is not strong whatsoever as it's just three people finding fruit for their planet. The presentation is the best part though as the environments are just beautiful and calming. The main story is pretty short as well if you know what you are doing, but being able to play again and again to repeat certain days and do better and better is great. There is also mission modes which really puts you to the test with fights or fruit gathering challenges. Pikmin 3 shows off why this franchise is easily going to be around for long and how Nintendo can really think of great ideas, I can't wait for Shigeru's new IP!

5. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

I talked about this game a whole lot before and again this year made me love Platinum so much more. Rising really took a lot of risks with the Metal Gear franchise and having Raiden go into the Character Action genre. This game really takes off with a huge sense of fun which I love the most. Like Wonderful 101 the presentation and humor really take off. It's silly and over the top and Metal Gear easily did this before with their games so it feels at home here. I will say I did love the story aspect of what's right and wrong with two groups fighting each other and with the many characters it was done so perfectly. Blade Wolf who was a prisoner who got free and becomes Raiden's sidekick, Jetstream Sam who is a wandering samurai who finds himself at a cross path with his life while looking for the fight he's been looking for. Mistral who found her true meaning with her group and did everyone thing she could for them. Monsoon who talked a lot about the memes and got Raiden to accept his past and himself as Jack the Ripper. The final boss is the best though and I don't want to spoil this guy at all, he's just so great. The action is very good as well and thanks to the amazing soundtrack it just makes everything feel way too good. This is easily the best soundtrack of the year as the heavy rock easily makes fast paced fights much much better. I will say I would have liked to see the espionage worked on a little better and even though they got rid a lot of it, they still tried to keep it. It should have gotten rid of it completely and did a No More Heroes style of moving onto different levels. Still I easily had fun getting my vengeance and I am ready to kick that to Revengeance!

4. Killer is Dead

This games comes from the genius who made No More Heroes, Suda 51. Now I am a big Suda fan and I do feel some of my enjoyment comes from being a fan of his style. Still there was a lot of terrible reviews for this game, now by terrible I mean they were just poorly explained. IGN is an example here as they give it a five out of ten and one thing they griped on the most was the Gigolo Mode. The main character Mondo loves women and he spends time with three certain girls, four if you got the DLC. Mondo even sleeps with the women as that is the whole purpose. This is just a fun little mini game and it's done with such a funny presentation that I cannot hate it. Also I love how Suda makes each girl different with just visually looking at them and other visual cues. Now IGN said this is shallow and disrespectful to women, but GTA 5 have strippers and an actual simulation of getting a lap dance, and that game got ten out of ten, that isn't hypocritical at all (sarcasm of course). So with that I got really made since this game deserves more attention. It's a very fun character action game that combines Suda's past works into one. It has the No More Heroes style of killing bosses, a Killer 7 feel with the art style and Mondo himself, and Shadows of the Damned with some of the monster designs and environment designs. The combat is very fast a fluid as I had a blast hacking at foes. There are even different sub weapons you can get as I love using them as they easily help in combat. The story is little, but it's so over the top and the presentation is way too much fun. There are many parts that tribute to different things and a lot of film tributes I must say. Mondo easily reminds me of Korean action stars and the whole suit look on him shows that greatly. He even acts like a James Bond like character as well. There is even a moment where Mondo and his team are watching a giant monster attack and they got 3D glasses on and eating popcorn and the one telling them of this looks like the colonel from KFC. There are even some great boss battles as I heavily replayed the game for many of these fights like Hamada Yama and David. Killer is Dead is a huge love letter to Suda fans and I actually see some good criticism for why people don't like it, but for me I love Suda and his style.

3. Tales of Xillia

Another game I have mentioned on the blog before even though Xillia released in Japan on 2011, for North America it was 2013 and I had a blast with this game. Tales of Graces F was really fun, but it didn't grip me in like Xillia did. Xillia also took a lot from Graces and yet keeping the usual Tales action JRPG style. Playing as each character was a lot of fun to do since each had a very different way of fighting. The story was very strong and the presentation was strong as well. I also really loved the anime cutscenes presented in this game, they were very top notch and amazing to look at. I also love how you can see the viewpoints of the main characters as some scenes really do help expand the lore and explain some mysteries I had with my first time playing the game. Again this shows that the JRPG genre has a lot coming for it even though it has been around for a long time. Tales of Xillia keeps a great amount of the usual Tales style thanks to the combat bringing back HP and TP, but expands on it with a full 3D map and being able to link up with other characters. Xillia really shown me a lot of greatness and I can't wait for the sequel and the upcoming new Tales game!

2. Fire Emblem Awakening

Holy crap did Fire Emblem show off what it's got. Fire Emblem has been around and ever since Smash Bros started to show case the franchise it became a lot bigger in the states. This is also thanks to how the franchise evolved thanks to Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Awakening was the next big game and it came out for the 3DS and it's easily the best game on the system so far. I have played this game so many times already as it's easily the most addicting game of the year. Each time I do a new playthough I can do many things completely differently. I can change my class as my character could be a Knight, Mage, or even a mounted warrior. The other characters can also change their classes as well and it's so much fun to experiment with this game. The presentation work is also very strong with a water color style for the animations which reminds me of Valkyria Chronicles. The story is pretty nice with some rather good twists and good focusing on the Chrom and Robin. There are also many side characters to love in this game and thanks to how the support system evolved it made each character lovable. The game even explores with the difficulty and my goodness does it get hard! I played it on hard and so far I'm on Lunatic, but there is no way I am going to try Lunatic+. It's amazing how much this game expands the whole franchise as I can't wait to see the next installment for it. Awakening easily got Fire Emblem to be a much bigger franchise than it was ever before and I hope it can stay like that.

1. Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of the White Witch

Now here is an JRPG that really went back to basics. First I have to say I love Studio Ghibli and their films and seeing their touch for this game really made me love a whole lot more. Ni No Kuni really brought back that feeling I had when I played classic JRPG's like the old Final Fantasy games, Chrono Trigger, and even my all time favorite JRPG Tales of Symphonia. Exploring to one place to another with the bird's eye view of the world and walking through, forests, desserts, and snowy fields just made me fully immersed with the game. The story really plays out like a Ghibli film and I love them so much so having that done in a video game style was perfect. There are many great moments in the game and with a great cast of characters it just makes it more fun. Oliver is a young boy who wants to save his mother and explores into a completely different world to save her as he finds out how connected this world is to his own. Oliver also reminds me of the classic JRPG characters like Chrono even though he talks, he has that righteous and hero attitude. His first partner, Esther is a young girl who joins him to thank him for rescuing her. She is easily not the damsel in distress though as she has her own abilities to fight both with her monsters and herself. Swaine who easily became one of my favorite JRPG characters had a tragic story with his past and royalty and just looking at him he's just a very different type of character for the genre. There are even great villains like Shadar who just has the perfect menacing feel to him and plays out perfectly. There are also many side characters you get to meet and it's so much fun to see who they will be like a Cat King or a Cow Queen. This game carries a lot of fun while being relaxing and addicting at the same time. It's one of the most perfect JRPG's I have ever played and this was the biggest game that shows that this genre can always stand.

So that is my list and so far looking at 2014 I got a lot to look forward to. I do think 2014 is going to be Nintendo's big comeback even though I was still very happy with what Nintendo had this year. With Bayonetta 2 coming around, the Xeno series continuing with Nintendo, Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei, Smash Bros, two new Yoshi games, Kirby Triple Deluxe, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, and much more. There is even Tales of Symphonia Chronicles coming out and the ending to the Blazblue franchise is coming around, 2014 I have big hopes for you.

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 13: MadWorld

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and how can someone be more thankful than playing a game where you participate in a sport that is all about murder, it's time to enter into a mad mad world. This is the first game that was made by Platinum which is a company that has been getting stronger ever since. I talked about Metal Gear Rising before and now I look back to their first game. What was interesting when this game came out there was a little battle going on about this game. No More Heroes was out during this time and people were arguing which game is better, personally I am with No More Heroes, but there is no doubt that MadWorld is a great experience as well.

The reason major why the NMH and MW debate got started was because MadWorld had a very similar structure to how it played. There were several levels and a boss waited for you in the end. There are even rankings and it's not a battle, but a competition. Where MadWorld differs though is that the game Death Watch got very popular and actually broadcasts on television. It's a little messed up to think a blood sport would get out to the public like it did. Well the story of MadWorld is about Jack who gets himself into the games for an unknown reason. One thing for sure though he delivers a deadly punch along with his deadly chainsaw attached to his hand! The game show got started by a terrorist group called "The Organizers" who inform an island that a deadly virus had been released. The only way out is to kill one another for the vaccine and soon Death Watch started because of that. The terrorist group even severed their ties to society itself so they are completely stranded and left to only fight. Jack is actually an agent trying to stop "The Organizers," but there is still a lot of unknown things about the man. There are other reasons why he fights, he's not a man of justice at all. He appears in this game without any sponsor and just starts from the top and even though his foes start to realize who he is they cannot get rid of him so easily since he became a big icon for the audience. Throughout the whole game Jack starts to meet interesting characters like the many ranked fighters he has to fight and even civilians who are still around the area. The story does get a little confusing I will say that, but going back to it somethings do make more sense and other things are still left to be a mystery for a reason.

I really love the game's style with how it looks. It's a huge reminder to the movie Sin City as everything is black and white except for the blood. Thanks to the black and white look, the red blood really pops out and there will be a lot of it. What's great is that a lot of the blood stains will stay around in the environment so have fun painting the city red. The areas of the game are pretty interesting as well. The first part of the game has a ghetto look with small buildings, tons of trash, electrical plants, and full of thugs. The second part of the stages has an Asian motif to them, but it's more of a very stereotypical way of representing that with buses, restaurants, ninjas, samurais, and a sumo ring. In the third level of stages it takes a horror element into with zombies, reapers, and full of slaughter house items. The fourth level of stages is a very futuristic theme with many of the grunts looking like robots and there are even aliens around the area. The final stages of the game takes a casino theme with giant poker chips, casinos, and roulette wheels. Then you get to the final stage where it's a boxing ring and boy it's one hell of a match. Madworld takes all of these themes and adds a huge touch of craziness as there are spiked dumpsters and walls around each area. There is even a restroom that can suck people down when they get stuck in it. The whole point of the game is to kill, kill, and of course kill and this game gives you a lot of options on how to do it. You can even combo certain moves on people as you could  make the foe wear a trash can, skewer the same man with a sign post, and then bash his whole body to the spiked wall. Jack can even get different weapons to wield as these can help with performing new moves and finishers, these can range to a spiked bat to a magnet cannon that uses people as ammunition. Now these choices are limited to certain stages so you can only get the spear during the second levels which is sad because that weapon is way too much fun. Even when you beat the game you can get new unlock-able weapons like the double chainsaw and the deadly Katana. This game is very straight forward which can be a flaw as well since there aren't many secrets to find as you can easily complete the game after one play-through even if you don't realize where things are. Still this game chucks up a lot of content and the best parts are easily the blood bath challenges!

The blood bath challenges are mini-games you can activate when you get a certain amount of points on the levels. Now you do have to perform in them even if you do have enough points for the boss battle. Even if they are forced most of them are a lot of fun. First is how they are introduced, each time a new challenge is shown we get to see the Black Baron. He is a very stereotypical pimp who keeps popping up telling the audience about the challenge. Then to demonstrate it, his girl kills in those manors like swinging him with a spiked bat into a giant dart board. The first game is the Turbinator which is pretty simple as you toss people into a giant fan while trying to keep yourself save from being sucked in. Then comes Rocket Reamer where you throw people onto tracks as they get hit by fast moving trains. Coming up is the Death Press, where Jack has to throw people into a pit as they get crushed by a giant slate. Man Darts comes up which is where you have to swing at people and make sure their bodies hit the Bullseye on the giant dart board. Money Shot comes next where you jam bottles of pop into people's head and send them flying into very sexy targets with spikes on them. Hanbai is next where you get to shove ninjas into firework cannons and make a lovely show out of them. Man Golf comes up where you tear off heads with a golf club and hope to get through the flying rings. Death Press comes back, but this time you throw bodies into a giant hand as it will catch other bodies and crush them. Road Rampage comes up where Jack rides his motorcycle and run over some aliens while making them crash into other obstacles. Money Shot comes back, but with aliens and a bonus UFO you can hit. The final one is Man Darts once more, but it's a lot harder thanks to Jack having to send varying grunts flying to the board. These mini-games really showcase how crazy this game can get and it's done so well where you can always get a satisfying kill in each and every moment of the game and just laugh about it at many times. Along with the over the top mood, there are two announcers who narrate during each level and boss fight. These two are the great things about the game even if their dialogue can repeat a lot of times. The two announcers have great commentary where they make fun of themselves or just make great jokes, for example they keep talking about how deadly one boss is, but every sentence ends with, "Awesome rack on her, though," and "True that." Even the people voicing them do a great job with bring these two to live as Greg Proops (Whose Line is it Anyways) plays the sad man with marriage issues, Howard 'Buckshot' Holmes. While we also got John DiMaggio (Futurama) voicing the very vulgar and dumb announcer Kreese Kreely who used to be a Death Watch competitor.

The majority of the gameplay is the combat as I didn't really describe how Jack fights. He has his standard punches where he can stun people. Doing punches is not a bad thing as it can weaken an enemy so far that you can preform finishers on them. The chainsaw can be used as it can really help with clearing out a crowd of foes. The chainsaw is a very helpful weapon, but it won't help you gain points as it kills foes easily the best uses for it is easily for the boss fights, but watch out the chainsaw cannot be used forever as it can overheat. Jack can even grab people which is helpful as you can toss people into certain places to kill them, to keep a hold on them you can headbutt them so they are still stunned. There are so many finishers in this game considering you can perform certain stage finishers, weapon finishers, and each boss has their own finisher. You can even finish people off by throwing them in fires, slot machines, and toilets! There are even normal finishers where Jack can throw people or perform finishers with his chainsaw. This really helps keep the game feeling fresh as you would want to really test out the many different options you can do. There is a problem though with the combat. Jack is a big brute and he can be a bit slower compare to other characters in this genre. He does have a good dodge, but there are moments where you will get hit because you are being swarmed. Also there are fast enemies as you can trouble keeping an eye on them, there are even moments where the game can slow down when there is too much on the screen. It's not perfect as the motion controls can even become an issue, there are struggles where you need to preform certain motions with the Wiimote and they need to be very precise. Sometimes it can just bug out though and Jack could fail a struggle even if you did the right motion and those moments can be life or death. So even though it's not perfect, you can still do a lot with Jack and the many weapons he can wield.

It's the worst with the reaper as failing his struggle is an instant death.

I will easily talk about all the bosses for a later moment as I will say MadWorld does share this with No More Heroes. The bosses are a very important part of the game as each fight is very unique and like NMH there are some flops, but MadWorld contains some really major flops. Overall MadWorld is a very over the top bloody Character Action game that I would also recommend. It may be slower than some of the other games and the story is odd and confusing. The presentation is well done though as you can get a lot of laughs thanks to the commentary from the announcers, the very over the top deaths, and the Black Baron!

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 12 Tales of Xillia

Ever since that Kyoryuger episode broke all of my hope for the series, I needed to get a game to completely finished to get myself in the typing mood. Xillia has an interesting story since it was originally made in 2011 for Japan only. The localization of this game took a while as Xillia came to other countries in this year. The same thing happened to Graces, well the PS3 version which was made in 2010, but became available in the year 2012 for other countries. I tried looking this up and I couldn't find anything so I would guess it was hard or something held the team back ever since Graces F. So how does a game that was originally made for the year 2011 stand up in the market during 2013?

The first thing that is very different about this game is how it starts. There are actually two sides to the story mode as you can pick the hero Jude, or the heroine Milla. Now don't expect a complete different story for both of them. Even with having the choice to see who's viewpoint there will still be very similar things happening in both of their stories. This isn't a bad thing because the overall story of this game is very enjoyable so I had no trouble revisiting the game. The story starts out with Jude a student of a medical school as he carries out his studies far away from his hometown. One day he stumbles into a major problem, while looking for his professor it seems that he is in the building, but for some reason the guards are saying he left. Jude finds a mysterious girl who sneaked into the area with the use of her spirit, Undine. Jude follows her and finds out that his professor is trapped in a container and he sees the man quickly die and evaporate. Then a girl in red appears and attacks him and soon the same girl saves him. Millia story starts out with her breaking into the building and we start to learn about her mission. Her mission is to destroy a weapon called the Lance of Kresnik which uses up mana to build up power. This not only takes the mana from people, but it also kills spirits and Milla needs to destroy the lance to protect both humans and spirits. The thing is that Milla isn't an ordinary woman, she is actually Maxwell, well to be exact the successor to Maxwell. For those who don't know Maxwell has been used before in the Tales series and he is usually the lord of spirits. So why is Maxwell here in a human form? Continuing on with the story, Millia gets a surprise as her most useful aid, the great four spirits are taken away from her! Without these spirits, Milla is unable to fight for herself as she had the Great Four do things for her. Jude helps her even more, but this just gets him into a further mess since he just attacked guards of the country and thanks to what Milla was doing, the two quickly become the most wanted criminals in Rashugal. There is a lot to be answered here as our two heroes keep fighting their way through to solve the problems and their own.

Now what is a Tales game or any JRPG without the other playable characters. The first man to help the two out is a mercenary named Alvin. He is a very relaxed man who just follows the money trail as that is his motif of work. The bad part about this is that he can be rather be too hard working as Alvin has a constant problem with other people and himself. Next, is a young girl named Elize who carries around a talking doll called Teepo. Elize has no memories of who she is and there is no answer for why Teepo can even talk in the first place. The young girl can even wield spirit artes and Teepo actually can help her while battling. Rowen is the fifth character who is a simple butler who helps his lord. Rowen is the oldest playable Tales character of so far with the age of sixty-two. This old man has a lot of tricks though as being a butler is not his true calling. The last ally to join is Leia, Jude's childhood friend. She meets Jude when he comes back to his hometown and quickly helps him out when he needs it. Along with that there are a pretty good amount of villains like King Nachtigal who we find out abuses his powers and easily uses his own people. He is the man who is behind the Lance of Kresnik and wants to use it so he can take down the opposing country, Auj Oule. There are many differences between the two countries like how one is more advanced while one is still developing. Either way though there is a powerful force in Auj Oule and that man is Gauis. He is the king of Auj Oule, but unlike Nachtigal he is man who wants to reunite all of Reize Maxia and will take many means necessary to do this with his team, the Chimeriad. Now there is a lot of unknown presences in this world as well as I will leave most of that as a secret. Overall the characters in this game were very well done, the playable characters all have their connections and moments. Even if Jude and Leia don't have much history with the problems, they make themselves be fully involved.

The gameplay of this action JRPG is probably one of the best I have seen. If you played Tales game before there is quite a mixture here and a lot of new elements as well. First is the usual Hit Point and Technical Point bars as one shows how much damage you can take and the other shows how many special moves you can preform. Xillia even brings in the AC counter which shows how many moves you can preform in a combo which was carried from Graces. You can increase this counter if you use weaknesses on the enemy or by special moments like blocks and dodges. Every playable character has many artes to them, but getting them is rather different. In past Tales games, one got new moves by how they preformed in battle. For example, in Tales of Symphonia, you could have completely different moves based on how you fight as there were many upgraded versions of moves, like Fierce Demon Fang and Double Demon Fang. With Xillia, getting artes is done with the Lilium Orbs. These orbs hold great powers like new moves, but they also contain skills and stat boosters. Xillia even gets a new bar for Skill Points which give each character a list of skills to equip to themselves. These skills can be elemental resistances, extensions to their stats, or even varied skills that help a character in battle like different types of guards or some help using magic. You can expand the orbs as well as when a character level ups there will get points to put into their orbs. So this time the character can grow much more than just simply leveling up. Another new feature that the game brings is linking. Thanks to the orbs, each character can link to each other as they fight together. There is another new bar that shows how much linking is being used as when it shines you can preform a link arte. If you use the right moves each character can combine their moves to preform a much bigger attack. I had a lot of fun with this as it really made testing out every character interesting and don't worry the CPU's in your party can do this as well or not if you want to. When you unleash a linked arte when the bar is full you will go into Over Limit where you can preform link artes right after another and you can even change around your links during this so it's easy to get some great combos. Along with each character having their own moves and special link artes, they even have their own abilities. Jude has a dash and dodge move which you can preform by perfect timing and this will get you behind the enemy. There are many variations between each character and this made it great to play as each character, so have fun testing out who your favorite is.

There really was a lot of new things for Xillia as it's a big step forward for the franchise as I can't wait to see what Namco is going to do after Xilla. Now this game does have some faults here and there. First even though there are a lot of scenes with voice acting, the acting can vary here and there. There is no terrible performance, but there are major differences between the pros and amateurs. The game really holds a lot of content in the main story as side questing does get affected by this. There are not a huge amount of side quests as most of them happen in the main story anyways. Now what is nice that some side missions can be done whenever you want to. There are some though you will have to do during certain chapters of the game as if you miss anything it will go away. What helps is a fast travel method as you can get to any city, dungeon, or road with ease. Now this can be limited during certain times of the story so don't expect to get free control with fast travel. Also the world map has a huge change as the Tales series usually has a bird's eye view camera for the world map. This time however the viewpoint is way closer to the ground and focuses more around the your character. This can lead to some problems exploring around as you can easily miss something if you are not a detailed adventurer. The camera for the combat though is great as it focuses on your character or can easily zoom out when you run around the map. You can actually stay in a 2D pattern until you go into free roam which has you walk around the whole stage with ease. Now for a game made in 2011 is still does look lovely as it's style is great. It does remind me of Graces, but with a lot more added details. During some moments the game can slow down during combat, but mostly when the field is swarmed with monsters. The biggest problem is that the atmosphere can feel odd at times and I would say it's because of how it was localized. Some scenes though can cut shorter than expected and there will be many moments when you can get bored with managing the orb since teammates can leave the part at certain times. Luckily there is an auto-leveling engine for the orb management, but I wouldn't recommend it since it's better to do what you want to do since you will be playing as the character. Even with some of these flaws this game really does carry itself with what it brings to the table as I hope the sequel can fix some of these problems.

Overall, I was very happy with Xillia. It was a huge step forward for the franchise even if they did have to cripple some parts like side questing. There is still a lot of content in this game as the main story took me 40+ hours and there is some good replay value thanks to having different viewpoints of the story with Jude or Milla. The animation was very top notch as some levels were really good to look and some the best anime cut-scenes I have seen. I would highly recommend this game to big JRPG fans and even the whole Tales franchise, it knows how to advance properly and hasn't given me any issues like Final Fantasy as in the recent years. The Tales franchise has a lot of strong standing titles and have some good gripping stories with some of my favorite video game characters, as some in the Xillia cast got in for sure. Tales of Xillia 2 will be coming out by Spring of 2014 so make sure you play the original before that.

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 11 Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

When I did my post on No More Heroes it made me realize on what is quickly becoming one of my favorite genres of gaming. Now for some people it's a simple action game, but I rather call them Character Action games. Character Action basically means you playing as a character in an action game, now it may sound odd, but compare No More Heroes with God of War. There are many differences between them, one is creative and has an original feel to it. The other is just the standard action platformer that really doesn't go anywhere unless you get a lot of pretty items. The two biggest companies that are known for this genre are easily Grasshopper and Platinum. The company Platinum was having it's start in 2009 with the game Madworld which I will easily talk about next week. The company is still rather fresh, but they are becoming a big name already with titles like Bayonetta and the recent Wonderful 101. What was surprising though that this company got to make a spin off game with the very famous Metal Gear series. Metal Gear is a big series as it has a large fanbase, so does this spinoff bring some new light for the franchise or was it a good attempt?

In this game, Snake is not the main character, but this is Raiden's story. For those who don't know Raiden was introduced in the Metal Gear series in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Originally his name was Jack, but he got rid of that name because of his past. He was raised by a man named Solidius Snake and made him a killing machine at a young age. Jack was soon known as "Jack the Ripper." Soon he got away from that life and became an agent and was even called "Snake" before he was given the code name "Raiden." I don't want to get much with his story since there is a lot to go into. So this game takes four years after Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Raiden still continues his work, but alongside the PMC Maverick Securities. The reason why this group is active is because of how the nanomachine technology used in the fourth game has now become into cyborg technology. Raiden was affected by the nanomachines and soon he was given a cyborg body of his own to control. We now play as Raiden as a cyborg as he fulfills his missions with superhuman strength. For the beginning, Raiden is incomplete, but still able to fight. On a job protecting the prime minister of Africa, the gang is attacked by a group called Desperado. They prove to be too strong for Raiden even though he took on a Metal Gear Ray by himself, but the other cyborg known as Jetstream Sam defeat him easily. Also the prime minister is killed by a villain named Sundowner and soon causes more conflict for the area. This is the true purpose of Desperado, they want to preserve war so they can gain from it. After three weeks, Raiden is given a new and more advanced cyborg body and quickly strikes back against Desperado.

This game was originally called, Metal Gear Solid Rising, but when it got cancelled and found it's way into Platinum's arm the title was changed to just Metal Gear Rising. Also another issue they had was with the stealth element of the game which is what Metal Gear Solid was known for. Atsushi Inaba who worked with Capcom back then with titles like Viewtiful Joe and Okami wanted to get rid of it since it didn't fit with the fast paced action. Personally I like the change since it's good for a spin off to take some freedoms. The added title Revengeance was added on since Kojima had the desire of vengeance since the first Rising project failed. There were even some changes in the story and script, but it still felt like Metal Gear with it's serious and goofy story. Mixing that along with how crazy Platinum can get we got one crazy game. So with stealth gone from Rising, what about the action?

You can still hide in the box.

Metal Gear Rising is a very fast paced game as the action can get insane. It's not too out of control, but prepare to have quick reactions for what to come at you. You fight new types of enemies new to Metal Gear along with some old foes like as the Metal Gear Ray as I stated before. Raiden has two types of moves, his main weapon is his sword of course, but he can perform two types of moves with them. He can use his main weapon for both attacks if you please, but soon you will have sub weapons that can help you with combos. Along with using your sword you can parry attacks by hitting the square button along with moving the analog stick in the direction of the foes' attacks. Also with parrying you can even bounce enemies off and perform heavy hits on them. When they are weak though you can let loose with the Blade Mode which is when time slow downs for Raiden as he can hack and slash through pretty much anything he wants. Blade Mode is very addictive as it never gets boring to use it as the game really offers you a lot of moments of how to use it differently. Even though there is no stealth, Raiden can still sneak around a perform Ninja Kills where you get a big strike on the enemy and go into Blade Mode to finish them off. A special move that Raiden uses called the Zandastu which makes Raiden rip out the enemies' fuel cell electrolytes so he can crush them to give himself an energy and health boost. The electrolytes is what Raiden uses to perform the Blade Mode so make sure to have it stored up so you can keep performing it. Raiden can even pick up other weapons like RPG's and cardboard boxes so have fun with exploring with those items. Each part of the story mode has a ranking systems has many fights will give you ranks on how you did. The ranks range from D to S as S ranks usually will go to you for not getting any damage or no alerts. The only complaint I have for the game is it's camera, things can get very fast and crazy and it's hard to move the camera during those moments since you need to block attacks. Then for some reason I couldn't find out how to lock onto enemies, maybe I just missed something though.

The story mode is a bit short, but there is a lot of things to do and still a good amount of replay value still. There are VR missions which are challenges you can go to whenever you want to. There is also BP points which you can gather up from the stages or foes. Then you can unlock new moves or enhancements for Raiden or his weapons. There are even side fights in each stage if you want to engage in them or not, but avoiding them will affect your overall rank negatively. The greatest part though of any Character Action game though is the boss fights. First is Metal Gear Ray which really gives you the feeling of how things will go down, it's a crazy fight that shows off a whole lot of what's to come. Next is LQ-84i who is soon called Bladewolf later on. He is a machine with a very high intelligence AI as he thinks a lot for himself and Raiden actually helps him out in the end. He is armed with a deadly chainsaw, heat knifes, and with his speed he can come at you from any angle. He can even summon foes, which actually helps you out if you don't get hurt by them. The final boss of stage two is Mistral, a female cyborg who finally found a purpose for herself. She arms herself with the arms of tiny robots to form her staff. She can even toss the little guys at you and beat you with those arms. Going onto stage three is Grad a machine that at first tries to block you from entering and fire missiles at you. Then it gets up and tries to smack you down with it's giant iron plates and fire you down with it's turrets. Monsoon is the next Cyborg you fight as he makes Raiden realize who he really is and making him accept his past. Raiden even awakens "Jack the Ripper" as it becomes a new power for you to use. Monsoon can control magnetism and can control his body to separate when he wants to so Blade Mode on him is very hard to do. Monsoon can also use smoke and appear and vanish to get a quick hit on Raiden. He even starts to send helicopters crashing at you and even making rubble combine into a giant death wheel. Raiden finally gets to fight Sundowner and he is a very hard fight, he has a shield which you can cut down after performing the Blade Mode correctly, but any wrong contact the shield will cause an explosion. Sundowner even comes with a giant chainsaw blade and even though he is covered in defenses his makes that into his offensives as well. The best fight comes when you get a rematch with Jetstream Sam as he is very skilled with his blade. He can come at you with high speeds and even when he loses his blade he will punch, smash, and kick you down. Then you fight another Metal Gear called Excelsus which is piloted by the final boss, who is a Senator, but he is a big surprise I will tell you that. Overall each boss as it's own charm with their stages and how they fight. Soon some of the machine bosses become normal enemies so get used to some of them.

Jetstream Sam, easily the greatest name ever!

I would highly recommend getting this game even if you are not a big Metal Gear fan. It's a very fun and crazy Character Action game that has a lot of charm that Platinum and Kojima give. The presentation is very nice and the fights are very good thanks to a mix of defensive and offensive combat. There is even some free DLC right now which gives you two new story stages where you play as Jetsteam Sam and Bladewolf. So quickly get your copy and carry out your Revengeance!

Off Topic: My Favorite Video Games Part 10 My Top 25 Favorite No More Heroes Bosses!

When I got done with my No More Heroes 2 post I just had to do this right after it. I went through so many papers for making this list as I really had to think which of the awesome bosses are my favorites. Some were easy to place, while others it took a very long time. Now there will be some SPOILERS to the overall series so beware! I will grade these bosses based on their design, character, and fight. "It's game time!"

25. Jasper Batt Jr.

I talked a good amount of this guy and how he really ruins the ending of No More Heroes 2. As I said before somethings work very well with this boss. His design is goofy and getting revenge on a kid who rides a hovercar, turns into a macho man, and then a parade float just feels wrong. I do like his character too because he's so determined to get the perfect revenge on Travis. He even tried to shun Travis out of the city when he became a more powerful icon and this kid alone changed Santa Destroy. The design and character works very well, but it doesn't mean the fight had to the most difficult thing ever. The first phase is just boring as you wait for him to come riding by. Then part two is throw "yourself out of a window" hard. It really only comes to the final part of phase two because he delivers teleporting and hurricane punches at you which are impossible to block and near impossible to dodge. Then phase three was just stupid and hearing that it was going to be a mech fight at the end, probably would have it made it better. When he's a giant it's very hard to tell where he can hit you and there is no way of blocking any of his attacks so have fun dodging all the time. Then his death wasn't that satisfying with him just exploding, no blood at all. So yea Jasper Batt is a pain in the ass, but he isn't the worst thing I ever faced in a game an F+

24. Million Gunman

This boss is just bland in many ways. First his design is pretty much an older looking Dr.Peace as he even has a golden gun like Peace did. I do like the clothes he wears though as it's nice and fancy, but that's about it. When Shinobu comes she rushes into the fight, so we get nothing from this man in terms of being a character. Then the fight is another pain since Shinobu's platforming can be difficult to pull off. Also with her taunting after her combos, this guy can spray her down with bullets. I do like the idea of him shooting bullets off of his gold. At least his theme is catchy as it makes me think of Cowboy Bepop for some reason. Overall, he's just a bland character with nothing special, a D-

23. Speed Buster

She is the oldest assassin in the series and this granny is packing heat. She is actually a witch from Speed City and that alone made her interesting. Her introduction was also well done as she kills Thunder Ryu, Travis' mentor. Then how she pretended to not hear Travis while she sets up her giant cannon! Now the presentation for her was awesome and her theme really makes her sound like the most epic grandma ever. Sadly the fight is more of an extension of the stage as you have to avoid the giant laser blasts by going into destroyed homes. Still at the end I like how accepting she was to have Travis kill her and how she talked about Thunder Ryu made it sound like there was some sort of rivalry between the two. She says someday Travis could be as great as him so she must know the man in some manor. This boss has great presentation, but the execution really make the fight boring though, a D+

22. New Destroyman

Oh my god, two Destroymen! I will easily talk about this guy later, but two of him is amazing. In the first game he got split in half so the two halves get robotic parts and each side gets a part of his personality. One is humble and acts like a noble warrior, but the other one is a pure scumbag who will swear any moment he got. Also this is the only boss fight where you face two at the same time, but it's with Shinobu.... Now this time there are ways to get away from the Destroyman in the sky and you can give hell to the one on land. Sadly, they can revive each other so be on guard when he's trying to revive his other half. So yea this being a Shinobu fight did make it a little underwhelming, but there is nothing wrong with two Destroymen, a C-

21. Matt Helms

This guy still gives me the creeps. That mask is just so odd to look at compare to the rest of his body. Now Matty boy does have an interesting back story. He's actually a child who was killed by his own parents, but before he did he made a contract with hell and became an immortal being. Matt Helms is more of a body he can create as he can still live on. I still have to wonder how he became an assassin though? The area you fight in an old home with a lot of rubble around and I love how you can destroy it to clear pathways. Matt's weapon is also a cool one as it's a giant axe with a flamethrower! Now sadly, his fight is very slow and that's because he's a heavy character. Still it's very easy to hack and slash at him and get prepared for dodges and clashes. He's probably the second easiest boss from the second game IMO. Again a lot of good presentation work and he has a good back story, but a easy foe he is a C-

20. Shinobu

Now here is the girl you got to play as. She was the third boss you face in the first game and I do like how much of a game changer she is. The two previous bosses before her, you can perform shadow step to really give them a beating, but she is the first boss to be able to dodge that ability. You really have to take your time with her and it can really get you if you are playing this game for the first time. Now unlike Matt Helm's area, the place is just small and you can run into random pillars, which can cause you a lot of health. I remember so many times when her big attacks hit me, only because I didn't see a pillar in front of me. Then I'm not a big fan of her character, she acts like a samurai from a movie and that was the point, but she did get annoying at points. I don't even like her compared to the many other characters so playing as her wasn't that big of a deal for me. It's easily the first hard fight in the series, but it can be for the wrong reasons though a C

19. Death Metal

Death Metal is a good first boss for good reasons. First he easily shows the player how some of the bosses will be following a certain theme as Death Metal has a well Metal theme to him. He even looks like Axel Rose. He is a rich man who lives in luxury and Travis himself is jealous of the man. The fight even has Travis thinking to himself about how great Death Metal's life is. Also Death Metal brings up the idea of paradise which comes up again and again in the game. His fight is okay as he really just twirl his sword around, but when he summoned two clones of himself that surprised me. It's a pretty easy fight though, but Death Metal does show off some great themes that the first game had and the tattoos he has are amazing! A C+

18. Charlie Macdonald

This is the man who summons a giant mech, yup a football player. I love how random the giant mech fight was since I was expecting him to have his cheerleaders fight Travis first and then we got to fight Charlie. Still this was really funny to see how Travis expected a giant robot to appear as he had his own prepared. Also I love his voice, it's so over the top and the voice actor really did that on purpose. He gives a very enjoyable time with this character making him sound tough and goofy at the same time. The mech fight is pretty cool, but again a little too slow for my tastes. Still being able to perform special attacks and blasting Charlie with the Buster Cannon in freaking space was great. The theme of the song is a mix of Sci-fi with a sports tune along with it, it's possibly the most random song I can think of. So even though this wasn't a football fight, the giant robot was an awesome idea and I wish there was at least one more giant mech fight, a C+

17. Cloe Walsh

This is a boss with a lot of great presentation. I love her bondage design as it really shows what type of character she is even before she talks. Also the whole fishnet thing is a personal thing I always like. Even the idea of her having poison attacks is amazing as she can even give Travis the kiss of death, literally. For some reason she gives a huge Metal Gear feel to her though as she really makes me think of the new female character from Metal Gear Solid 5. Sadly her fight is the easiest in the second game. She has very weak hit points and only one of her attacks are really hard to dodge as the other ones are very easy. Still I love her design and character a lot as she is somewhat of a seducer still and she easily plays with the bondage as she almost got Travis even before the fight. Finally her death was funny since it goes down her body as Travis slices her up and you see her butt jiggle at the end, it's so unnecessary and I love it. This boss has a lot I love, but too bad the fight was an easy one, a C+

16. Dr. Letz Shake

As I said before, Letz Shake was a man who couldn't fight in the first game so being able to fight him in the sequel is awesome! Now this time he doesn't have Letz Shake with him as it's the brain in the machine this time. This is Dr. Letz Shake and he has gained a thirst for revenge on Henry the man who killed him the first time and Travis just because he's Travis. The fight is pretty awesome as avoiding earthquakes is really heart pounding, when you risk it and hear the counter going down it really freaks you out. I love how the timer changes in pace so it can trick you in feeling safe when you actually under estimated how fast you can go. This is a much better boss that comes back as he takes a different look than last time and fights for himself. The best thing about him is how he talks, he talks like a robot no doubt as he even says "question mark" at the end of his questions. It always gives me a nice chuckle. This is the first B- here as he is a very heart pounding boss as his theme song is called Losing Bowel Control that really tells you what you are in for.

15. Harvey Moiseiwitsch Volodarskii

Wow what a name! The first thing that is great is his name as before you enter the level an announcer will name off the boss. I imagine this must have been a pain for the announcer to get one hundred percent perfect. Harvey is also one of the most creative bosses around, but again him being an easy fight does bog it down a little. His moves are very easy to dodge even when he puts the camera upside down and reversing your controls. He even has a one hit kill move, but it's the easiest thing to avoid as it's pretty much a quick time event. If you clash with him and lose he can change Travis' beam katana into a pretty staff as you cannot hurt him during this. He even sends birds flying at you, teleports around the stage, and can spin around. If you can't tell magic is the big theme here and that is very well presented here. I also love his scene where he is giving a performance for Travis and Sylvia, but everyone is pretending like it's a whole crowd of people. I even love his death, as Travis slices his eyes making him blind and sawing him in half with his own giant buzz-saw. Harvey is no doubt the most creative boss in the game as he does hold very interesting ideas and magicians are always awesome to battle, still he is very easy a B-

14. Mimmy

The first thing here is that you fight this Moe anime girl as Henry! You get to use the Cross Blade, Henry's dash, and projectile attacks! Henry is so awesome to play as so being able to play as him was a huge plus. Now with Mimmy she is some strange force that keeps Henry in this dream state. For some reason she has the number 42 on her which is known of the number to the answer of life itself, so is Mimmy God?! I guess that is pretty insane, but this is No More Heroes insane means possible! So yea her presentation is odd, but that makes her very memorable. Her design is pretty awesome as she has two giant armored hands that she uses the clap you to death and can fire missiles from the fingers. She can even fire lasers from her eyes! So yea Mimmy is possibly the strangest boss which is saying something and playing as Henry never gets old, a B.

13. Ryuji

Oh man this guy sure is awesome. Now this boss would be a lot higher on the list if it wasn't for his terrible bike fight in the beginning. It's near impossible to defeat on Bitter mode so you just have to get lucky. Enough of that though the on land fight is amazing! First his weapon is like Dark Star which was another boss you couldn't fight in the first game. So he can summon a freaking laser dragon from his sword! That alone makes him awesome! Now we don't get to know about him at all as he never actually talks. That gives off the stern samurai feel for him. His other attacks are pretty good too as he can dash at you at high speeds, stab you like ten times in a matter of seconds, and hack his sword around very well. He is a really good challenge, but the only thing that puts him out of the top ten is the bike fight so a B.

12. Nathan Copeland

This is another pretty odd boss for the series as he is a rapper who is rich, acts like a pimp, and speaks in a Shakespearean tongue. Heck the only reason he became the person he is, is so that he could fight Travis. Going on with that he wanted Travis to kill him as he wanted a marvelous battle to go out in a blaze of glory. Now his weapon of choice is a boombox that can fire missiles and can go over his arms to create metal hands for him. There he can do a short combo and even produce a soundwave from them. The best part is that he will give you hell with his area. He can make the floors move, gun you down with turrets in lion head pillars, make vases explode, and bring a chandler crashing on top of you. Finally his theme is a Japanese rap, which is something I don't hear often. So he is very creative in both his character and fight so that easily makes him a fun boss, a B+

11. Kimmy Howell

This cute dual wielding school girl is a really messed up person. She first gets a huge appreciation for Travis even calling him "Travis the Great." She soon starts to find an addiction with fighting and killing when she starts to become an assassin. She soon finds out that she needs to top her hero and that is by killing him in battle. This is all revealed in a letter she gives to Travis as he reads it while she plays her recorder. She even acts all shy in the beginning and then her tone changes greatly when she starts to fight. How she fights is really good as she is really hard to block and dodge. When you get stuck in her combo you are stuck until she is done. She even sends bubbles at you! Her taunt is "I love you." It's just so creepy to fight someone like her, but also way too funny at the same time. She actually doesn't get killed by Travis as he spares her so she could come back in the third game? I hope so because she was a lot of fun, a B+

10. Dr Peace

Dr. Peace is my favorite character from the first game which alone gets him in the top ten. He is a corrupted cop who has marriage issues and has a golden voice. I love the song he sings in his introduction, the whole song actually tells us the back story of a character that was kept a mystery in the game. I also love how he talks about his life to Travis. It's a really funny scene because he tells Travis of how he got a little taste of luxury thanks to the UAA while it was Travis' money that got him these pleasures. He also has some of the best lines in the whole series with my favorite being" Don't die too quickly, I want to gorge myself on this sense of fulfillment until I vomit." Now he actually fight is okay. I do love how we fight on a baseball diamond and it does feel like how a man with a sword would fight a man with two golden guns. I really love the showdown you have with the man at the end, it just fits his western theme so much. He's an amazing character as his fight still leaves me satisfied an A-

Holy crap is this guy insane. In his real life he is a postman who hides a dark secret. He is actually quite a humble man at times, but he suffers from split personalities so he has this side of him that is pure evil. The beginning scene shows this off well as he tries to get sucker punches on Travis. He soon gets him with his Destroy Spark, stunning Travis. Then we see more of his powers like Destroy Pow, Destroy Beam, and Destroy Buster which summons a laser from his crotch. He is so crazy that it's amazing! The fight takes place in a movie shoot where there are burnt corpses everywhere! The fight is pretty awesome as he uses his many moves and he can even fly as you knock him down by having the environment fall on him. His death is awesome as he tries to get Travis with his nipple turrets, but Travis stands exactly in the middle of him and slices him in half. Everything about him is just so insane and that makes him so loveable, too bad Travis couldn't face him in the sequel, an A

8. Captain Vladimir

You have to fight a deranged Soviet Union astronaut who uses a satellite to fire lasers from above! He comes in already preparing his laser as Travis is shocked to be fighting him. You fight him in an open meadow which really made me think an alien was about to pop up at any moment. His theme is also very sci-fi which easily helps his theme. His attacks are mostly variations of laser attacks, but he does hurl boulders at you and with his shield getting a full combo can be harder than it seems. Now I love when you break the shield since Vladimir goes crazy and sends in a one hit kill and a giant laser from his visor! When you kill him, the man gets to realize that he was on Earth the whole time making him have a happy death. "Glory to the Soviet Union." This boss was a big surprise since I wasn't expecting a spaceman to become an assassin, again he is another man I have to wonder on how he became one in the first place. Still he's very creative with great presentation work as he is a lot of fun to fight an A

7. Bad Girl

Bad Girl is a very interesting foe for the second rank as her main weapon is only a bat. Compared to the other assassins in the game she is rather normal. Now she is a messed up girl as she loves to punish men as her introduction scene shows her beating men dressed as gimps with her bat. She even sees the whole assassin fights as a job, but I can tell she got rather messed up by climbing the ranks. She dresses up as a Gothic Lolita and it's odd for a girl like her to be wearing it. Her theme fits very well as it really makes me think of a punk girl. Bad Girl is then a very hard fight which is the best part about her. She only wields a bat, yet there is a lot done with her. Other than swinging her bat around she can send gimps flying at you, make quick tremors, set her bat on fire, and even perform a one hit kill. She may seem very simplistic, but there is a lot of great work to make her very unique as holds a lot of surprises. The first A+

6. Skelter Helter

This is the brother of the past number eleven from the first game and was only seen in the trailer. So this is pretty much the fight with Helter Skelter that fans wanted. Again I love how the first boss is a very big reminder of the first trailer. It's funny that Travis doesn't even remember number eleven which is funny to people who will find him out if they started with the sequel. He is pretty much a very cool Cloud though as he holds a laser version of the Buster Sword and carries an insane gun. What makes him a very good first boss is that he teaches the player what kind of moves will be coming at them. He has great lunges, combos, and projectile moves all have a different way of block and dodging. Then his death is the most memorable of the series as he get's his head cut off, but it lands back on his body perfectly. This gives the man the last moments of his life as he starts talking in poetics about getting revenge on Travis. The man then tears his own head off! The face he had when he does it is burned into my memory for sure. So he's a very good first boss as he leaves a lot of great impressions. Okay all the rest of the bosses are A+'s so keep that in mind.

5. Henry Cooldown

This is the real final boss of the first game. He first appears when he kills Letz Shake and then he appears once more to fight Travis to finish their duel. How Henry fights is amazing, he gives off a distant look when he walks, but when he attacks he gives it his all! He is fast with his combos and getting shadow step on him is the best feeling ever! Clashing with him is a big risk as he can perform a one hit kill if you lose. He has very good dash moves that can always get me off guard at some point in the fight. Then he jumps around like Shinobu does, but much much better. Also you fight in the parking lot of the motel Travis lives at. The fight doesn't even have an actual end since the two both of their beam katanas at their throats when they lunge at each other in the air. Going on Henry gives a lot of last minute twists which really makes the last minutes a really funny experience and with his battle it always makes me feel awesome for defeating him. The end game credit song is amazing the same for Henry's theme which gets a remix when you play as him in the sequel. Battling him is always a true conquest!

 4. Jeane

Jeane is the woman who took everything from Travis' life as she killed both of his parents in front of him and destroyed his home. This is actually the reason why Travis gets stuck in the assassin fights as he tells Sylvia the whole story when he was drunk. She made all of these fights so that Travis could get payback on her. I love when she is revealed as Travis starts to remember the truth when Dark Star is telling him to remember. She then appears and kills the number one ranked assassin with one blow from her fists! Jeane's character is a really great one as she has a tormented past, but since she fixed her own life she acts more cheerful now, but she has a really dark sense of humor. The funny thing about her back story is that it is skipped because it is too graphic for the game. This is a huge fourth wall breaker as Travis hits the fast forward button so she can tell him. What's great is that when this part is slowed down, it will play at a normal pace so you can hear it. The fight then is amazing! She is fast a quick as shadow step does nothing on her at all, clashes only knock her out, and doing grapples will actually backfire on you. She has great combos and amazing dash attacks. What's better is that she uses Dark Star's weapon to summon the laser dragon to surround both her and Travis as she makes it get smaller and smaller. Personally I would have rather have Jeane be the playable character over Shinobu, but the story needed her to die since "Vengeance begets vengeance."

3. Alice Twilight

This is rank two right before Jasper Batt Jr in the second game as she is simply one of the best bosses. Alice is a very strong woman who does question why she has to fight. She is like the others though and wants to fight Travis because of his glory. He was a man who escaped the fighting before and others want to know his secret. She really sends a message to Travis when they fight as she was a true warrior. When Travis kills her, he snaps and starts boasting that he will stop fighting and will shut down the UAA when he is done with Batt. Now I love this part of the game because when he started to fight certain bosses it really made Travis question his reason for fighting. Well he knows it's for vengeance, but he still knows when he has fought a real fight. Alice wields six beam katanas and uses them in a spider formation as she can send them flying at Travis or slam on the ground with them. She will then fight on the ground, but her sixth and heaviest sword will come flying at you. The whole fight takes place during a sunset and it's such a touching battle with that nice touch. It really symbolizes a great battle and like Travis I will not forget the woman named Alice.

2. Holly Summers

My favorite boss from the first game is Holly Summers for many reasons. First is her design, she has a prosthetic leg that actually sends out the many explosives in her arsenal. She even sets up traps by having holes planted in the area, she will even re-dig the ones Travis fell into before. She can even blow sand at Travis, stunning him. She even uses an explosive to make herself do a back flip! Her best attack is the missile barrage she sends out as they will go around you and slashing her while they blow up is very satisfying. Then her character is very similar to Alice as she teaches Travis a great lesson. Back then Travis couldn't kill a woman when Holly sees this she tells him the real way of the assassin. She admits defeat from him and takes her own life by putting a grenade in her mouth and setting it off. She asks of him to not forget her name as Travis asks Sylvia her name and only that. He then buries her in the sand of where they fought. Holly was the first person to really affect Travis in an emotional way and her death still makes me the saddest since she was a very calm fighter who easily knew what she was talking about. There is one more though as we finally reached to number one baby!

 1. Margaret Moonlight

This is absolute favorite boss from this franchise as she has the perfect stage, setting, fight, and theme. First her stage is a whole mall as the first part has you slashing through hundreds of foes and then you start to go inside the mall and climb to the top. It is then night time and the female reaper waits on the roof for her foe. The moon lite roof top is just perfect to fight her as she sits on top of a billboard with a giant sniper rifle! Oh her weapon is amazing, it's the best, it even tops the beam katana! It's a sniper rifle that can transform into two separate guns, then two scythes, and then one big scythe! She will also dodge the shadow step and burst mode Travis has so you cannot be super flashy with her. Her design is a Gothic Lolita like Bad Girl, but how she wears is a whole lot different. It's purely black with white frills that easily give the sense of a female reaper. The fight with her is the best you dodge her sniper fire, she will lunge at you from the top when you get close to her and then she will vanish. She then begins to fire at you with her guns and when you get closer to her she will face you head to head. Then the best part about her is her song. Philistine is my favorite song, not just video game music just my favorite song of all time. It's an amazing theme with some of the best lyrics I have heard. The lyrics give off why she is an assassin which is to kill sinners and the song even mocks Travis. It is said she sings while fighting so I feel that she is the first boss to get Travis thinking of why he is fighting in the second game. Everything about her is just perfect and this is why she is my favorite boss of No More Heroes and all of gaming itself.

That is my list as I hope you enjoy these bosses as much as I do. They are a lot of fun and that is the best part of No More Heroes. I got so much burning passion for when the third game comes out. Feel free to leave your comments on the bosses you enjoyed the most.