No More Heroes 2 Impressions

It was quite a surprise to me last year when the announcement was made that there would be a sequel to the unique Wii title No More Heroes. I thought for sure the game had sold poorly and had already put it in the back of my mind of ever seeing a sequel, especially one so soon. But being a fan of creator SUDA-51 and his interesting game creation, I am, of course, excitedly awaiting his newest game.

David

If you’re unfamiliar with the series, NMH (No More Heroes) revolves around the fictional city of Santa Destroy and follows the main character and Otaku Travis Touchdown. In the first game, Travis climbed the ranks of an assassin’s guild called the U.A.A. claiming the number one spot and becoming the best at his profession. It’s still a little foggy on how the story will unfold this time around, but what has been clear is that Travis’ second adventure will be focused around revenge. It has been a few years since the events of NMH and Travis has fallen out of the ranks of the U.A.A. For some reason or another Mr. Touchdown has found the need to regain his title as the best assassin and one can be assured that his climb back to the top will be bloody mess.

At the Penny Arcade Expo, the demo for No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle was recently playable for the first time. It included a small run through of a level and an elaborate boss fight against a groupie throwing, beat box carrying, fur coat wearing rapper of some sort. The game is still just as crazy as the predecessor. The characters look to remain zany and over the top like original. At one point during the boss battle, while the enemy was shooting missiles from his beat box, chandeliers began falling and the carpet became an automated conveyer belt. It created a cinema like encounter that’s only seen in ridiculous Hollywood movies, quite a spectacle.

The visuals are not much changed. The game still sports its’ stylish cel-shaded look and one can only barely tell if the graphics have been upgraded. Then again, nostalgia tends to be very kind and the brain tends to remember older games more fondly their actuality.

The controls have undergone slight changes. The beam katana recharge mechanic has been changed from an up and down pumping motion to a side to side waggle charge. This was somewhat of an unwelcome change as it seems less sensitive, although this could possibly just be the unfamiliarity talking. Another change is that after taking a knockdown, a player must now jam on the A button until Travis stands up. This feels very unnatural and often times very tedious. Again these issues could just be caused by resistance to change.

Speaking of change, one of the problems with the original NMH was the lack of polish and detail. The world almost seemed empty at times. Though the style and presentation was fantastic, it was unpopulated and minor control issues created small nuisances to occur throughout game play. This gave the game an unfinished feel, like an incomplete thought.

The biggest concern with the newest iteration will be substance. Most of the complaints from the last NMH game surrounded the time spent during missions between boss battles. Mundane and nearly pointless tasks were set in front of the player to break up the action and add hours to the game play. Most felt these unnecessary as well as poorly done. There will be more side missions although this time they are presented with a stylish 2-d retro feel. There is no doubt that the presentation of these mini games will be spot on, but if it turns out that they are a simplistic as before, players and critics will be a lot less forgiving this time around.

In the end, the first NMH was a success because of interesting characters, tight controls, clever game design, and over the top violence and humor. It’s obvious that the sequel will include all of these. A SUDA-51 game has never been lacking in terms of style, craziness, or incomprehensible story.

Where the series needs to make improvements is in the category of depth. For example, one of the aspects added to NMH2 is the inclusion of new beam katanas. In the first game, Travis was limited to three different katanas. Each played similarly and slightly increased the damage while vary Travis’ blade technique. Announced for NMH2, there are two dramatically different choices in NMH2 in the form of the giant beam katana and the dual wielded katanas. The giant is of course a longer but slower weapon while the dual ones are katanas held in each hand. From a stylistic perspective, the dual katanas are awesome but besides that there needs to be more. In using them, during one of the attack animations, Travis is left open to attack. This is a huge disadvantage. So what will be the advantage? Besides looking cool, there must be something to make up for their short comings. The same goes with the giant katana. The game must offer a reason to use these weapons besides a visual enhancement. The success of NMH2 revolves around the ability to make improvements like the giant and dual katanas relevant to game play. If they serve a purpose and make the player want to use them, it will really move the series along and create a freshness for the sequel. If they are just somewhat cool weapons that take a back seat to utility, then NMH2 will not be much of a change from the first game.

Everything is set in place for the No More Heroes 2 to deliver. SUDA-51 has acknowledged the first game’s shortcomings and is looking to improve on the next chapter of his story. Currently the game is set to be released in Jauary 2010, but player will have to wait to see if the game makes its’ date.
David