Well I am going to be done with my break from the blog with a nice random post. I have only discussed of No More Heroes in a recent top ten list where Travis Touchdown was mentioned. He is number two in my favorite video game characters list and with that the game he comes from, No More Heroes is an absolute favorite of mine. I love both the original and the sequel, but I didn't get the PS3 remake for the original. For those who don't know about No More Heroes, it was the first M rated game for the Wii and it was directed by Suda 51 who made Killer 7. It was originally going to be for the Xbox, but Suda was told that the Wii's controls were unique and would work better. Suda agreed and we got No More Heroes.
The story of No More Heroes is well different. I need to say this first, the game is very over the top with it's story. The characters, humor, and gore goes everywhere. Suda 51 usually likes to get a little crazy with stories as his humor is very random as anything he does is expected. If you are fans of Kojima you will probably like what Suda does as well, imagine if those two worked together on a game. Well going on, Travis Touchdown gets involved with the United Assassins Association since he was low on money ever since he bought a beam katana. He has to fight number eleven of the top assassins and if you saw the first trailer for this game it showcases that fight. I remembering being very impressed when I first saw this and then when I got to the game I was surprised because a lot of the over the top elements were not shown in that first trailer. Since Travis became number eleven he now will go higher in the numbers to become the number one hitman in the UAA. He even gets another goal, to sleep with the woman who introduced him into the fight, Sylvia. She is a very bossy woman who got Travis into this dog hunt as I said before. Travis has to continue fighting because if he ever stops he would be hunted down by the others. It's a basic struggle story, but there is more near the end and as I said thanks to how over the top the game gets it's not boring at all.
The gameplay is a hack and slash style as you play as Travis who cuts down anyone in his way. You get two types of slashes based on how you hold the Wiimote. There is high where you get faster slashs, but when you have it low you get slower and stronger slashes, these also have a higher chance of stunning an opponent. Travis uses his fist and feet for quick physical attacks as these are for stunning foes. Whenever a foe is stunned, Travis can use wrestling moves to slam an enemy to the ground and then you can finish them off with the beam katana. There is then blocking and you will have to vary with high and low to block multiple attacks. With blocking you even get a flash step move that will slow down time for a little while as you give hell to your foes. When an enemy is down to a certain amount of health an icon will appear of where to slash, doing this will finish off your enemy and this will also happen if you win clashes. Then we get into Santa Destroy, the fiction city where Travis lives. Travis needs money to attend the assassination fights as you will need to do jobs to get more money. There are side jobs like gather coconuts and mowing the lawn which can be fun when you do them at first, but doing them again and again it can get bothersome. The fun jobs are the assassination jobs where you get specific assignments to kill a certain target or just kill all the foes around you. There are even free for all missions where you will get highly rewarded for winning, but you can't get hurt at all so be prepared. Along with paying for fights you can also buy many things to help you in the upcoming fights. The two most important things are Naomi's lab and Thunder Ryu's Gym. Naomi gives you new weapons and parts for these weapons. The gym increases your vitality, strength, and your reach. There is then other stores like a video store where you can learn more
wrestling moves. Next is Area 51 which you can just buy some clothes to
look cool. Finally there is a bar where you meet a drunk who wants some
red balls as you will be rewarded well for finding them. I will say going to each location can be a hassle since the city layout it odd and driving the awesome yet bulky bike can be hard to turn at times. You even spend time in Travis' apartment where you watch the videos you bought, get your weapon and clothes of choice, play with your cat, view your collectables, and save which you do by going on the toilet. The best part of the game though are the boss fights, each boss is very unique and the first game has no dry eye. You will need to do much different moves for each boss compared to the simple lackeys you just cut down. They are all so great I will talk about each one.
The first boss is number ten who is Heavy Metal as he is a strong man who is heavily inspired by heavy metal no doubt and wields a much larger beam katana. He is a very wealthy man who lives in luxury, but he doesn't live in paradise he sees his living condition to just be a place to die at. He twirls his huge sword very easily and can even makes two clones of himself. Number nine is another man named Dr. Peace, a corrupt vice detective. He arms himself with two golden guns and you fight him at a baseball stadium. The scene before his fight though was the best as he talks about having a nice luxurious moment thanks to Travis' money he coughed up for the fight. Peace is a fast gunman with explosive bullets and they will send Travis flying and at the end of the fight there is a draw. Shinobu is the youngest assassin as she is an 18 year old high school student. She is number eight for a reason as she uses a katana and has a sonic boom like move called Sonic Sword. She suspects Travis of being her father's murderer cause of his beam katana as she get her revenge against him. She is the first boss where the flash step will not work fully against her and near the end she has two moves that can take more than half of your health. Next is number seven, Destroyman! He is a simple and peaceful man who works as a postman, but he is secretly sadistic as when he becomes Destroyman he gives Travis his full fury. With a huge variation of attacks which includes beams, shock waves, electricity, and flying also along with that he is a strong man so his attacks will hurt. A Swedish model with a prosthetic leg, Holly Summers is number six as she arms herself with that leg of hers and explosives! She even carries a shovel to make traps so that when Travis falls in them she can throw grenades at him. Holly helps Travis learn a very important thing about the fights which connects to Shinobu's fight. At number five is an assassin you don't even fight so yea moving on. Number four is a stage magician named Harvey Moiseiwitsch Volodarskii as he will play a bunch on tricks on Travis during this fight like trapping you in his magic tricks and flipping the camera upside down. Number 3 is the oldest assassin as she is a 78 year old woman who arms herself with a giant buster cannon! The whole fight is getting to her as who dodge her big laser attacks and trying to destroy the cannon. Along with this though the place where you hide can have some minions there so be prepared and DODGE! Number two is Bad Girl as she is a very messed up woman as she drinks constantly dresses up in a Gothic Lolita outfit and has gimps. She even starts firing the gimps at Travis by batting them at him and she even sets her bat on fire thanks to beer. I will keep number one a secret though, but there is one more boss after number one as it's the true final boss. Overall the bosses in this game are full of satire elements and many of their scenes have many Easter eggs and references. All of them have a different way of fighting them and each deliver a unique moment in the game.
No More Heroes is easily one of the best games on the Wii and the sequel is equally as great which I will cover in the future. The whole game is full of memorable characters cause of their fights. Also you will remember a lot of moments cause of how over the top it gets. Travis Touchdown is still my number two favorite character for many reasons even though in the first game he didn't get his really strong points like the sequel had. It's a chaotic action game and even with some little rough patches, like at sometimes you can be clustered in and will it will be hard to move then. The city is oddly designed and driving around in it can be a chore. The side jobs can get boring after doing them so many times, but they give you a good amount of them so just pick different ones at times. Also it's a game from 2006 so don't expect the best looking game, but I really love it's design and there are many moments where you will think of the 8-bit era. Now I feel like cutting off heads with a beam katana now!
Beam katana: Best video game sword ever!
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