Okay, first thing’s first. No More Heroes is weird. You play as Travis Touchdown. An anime-loving, porn-collecting, wrestling fan. Not your normal hero. It gets stranger. Having won a lightsab… I mean… a ‘beam katana’ in an online auction, Travis takes on the task of killing the top ten assassins in order to become number one. And his motivation really just ends there. He just wants to be the best. No More Heroes is the latest creation from director Suda 51 and his team at Grasshopper Manufacture. Weird games are really their forte, as seen with the Gamecube’s Killer 7. But No More Heroes isn’t just a super-violent action title. It’s a big deal actually. Can developers really take a chance not creating mini-game collections on the Wii? Especially with an original, M-rated title clearly geared towards the hardcore audience? Grasshopper jumped in head-first with this one, going where really no other game has gone on the system. Now was this a mistake, or is No More Heroes a hero for the hardcore gamer on the Wii?

Travis won’t be able to go out and kill these assassins immediately. You’ll first need to pay a finder’s fee. You can gain money by going to a job center and taking on errands. Now these aren’t the standard “deliver this package” or “protect this guy” style missions. You’ll instead need to perform these incredibly asinine tasks such as collecting coconuts, pumping gas, finding lost kittens, mowing grass, etc. It’s quite hilarious to see this assassin-wannabe cleaning graffiti so he can go out and start killing people. There are other “shady” missions you can take on as well. One of which will have you hired by a pizza restaurant to assassinate the head of a rival chain in order to eliminate the competition. It’s quite ridiculous.

But, the real meat of the game comes from the combat itself. Now we’ve always complained how games on the Wii tend to tack-on the combat controls to take advantage of the waggle, doing things that could’ve been done easier, and honestly, better with a button-press. Even Twilight Princess was guilty of this. It’s crazy I know. I mean using a button has worked for well over 20 years, but could it work on the Wii? Thankfully, someone listened to all these complaints. No More Heroes does combat right. In fact, it does it better than anyone else has on the platform. Swinging the beam katana is handled by just pressing the A-button, and the B-trigger is used for physical attacks to break your enemies’ defense. It’s simple and it works. But not to say that it doesn’t utilize the Wii controls. In order to finish off enemies, an arrow will appear in the center of the screen. Swinging the controller in that direction will end their life in a super-ridiculous, Kill Bill-styled, over-the-top explosion of blood. Also, when enemies are stunned, you can press ‘B’ next to them and perform a wrestling move on them by following the directions on-screen. The Z-trigger will lock you on to an opponent where you can also block incoming attacks and dodge by pressing the directions on the D-pad. You can also take a high or low stance by tilting the controller up or down. Doing so has an affect on your strong attacks. High-stance strong attacks will focus the strike in-front of you, while a low-stance attack will attack enemies at your sides. It all just works. Waggle isn’t over-abused, the combat remains strong, and there’s a decent amount of depth. It would have been cool if there was a bit more of a combo system, but what’s here is just fine. Your beam katana also runs on batteries (how badass…), so when it runs out, you will need to shake the controller to charge it back up. Well, you’re shaking the controller. Travis looks like… well… you’ll see.

The combat does break things up once in a while. After having slain a foe, a little slot-machine will play at the bottom of the screen. If you manage to get a solid row, you will unlock various special abilities for a short spurt where you will become super-powered. Sadly, the combat can still feel a bit repetitive. This is mainly due to the fact that all the grunts will attack you in generally the same way, and they all feel the same. Some may attack you with bats etc., while others may just try and shoot you, but they still feel fairly generic. If there was a wider variety in enemies, some being super nimble, others being incredibly strong etc., the combat would have a bit more life to it, but that’s not the case. Nevertheless, the over-the-top, Tarantino-styled violence still manages to make every kill feel very satisfying, especially when you manage to behead about seven grunts at the same time. Or maybe it’s the fact that when killing them off, they’ll cry for the loss of their spleens. Heh heh….

While fighting the various thugs may feel somewhat repetitive, it’s the boss fights against the assassins themselves where the real fun comes from. Now these are probably the craziest bosses I’ve ever faced-off against. Each one has a very distinct personality, and it kinda shows up in how they fight. It’s quite simple actually. Hold off a bit until you understand their attack patterns, and look for an opening for you to get close and slice ‘em up. That sounds pretty repetitive, but no, it’s far more compelling. While the basic strategy is the same for all of them, they each fight and attack you in very unique ways. Some will keep their distance to pin you down with long-range attacks. Many will try and distract you with bizarre gimmicks, such as turning the world itself upside down, or digging holes all over the field for you to fall into. Each one feels very different, and you’ll feel so compelled to keep going just so you can find out who the next ranked opponent is.

Speaking of which, might I say that the writing for No More Heroes is very strong. While there are some very convoluted moments (especially near the end), the game manages to poke fun at itself for it. It even makes fun of other games like the infamous Duke Nukem Forever, the title that has been in development for over 11 years. The dialogue itself is what makes the experience so excellent. While Travis could’ve remained a very simple character, the writing actually manages to show various sides to him. At some moments he seems like a complete jerk, but then others can show a buried sense of honor under the surface. He actually becomes far more interesting than you’d think he would be, and you actually can feel for him when the game wants you to. The story itself isn’t so strong, but the writing will definitely keep you really engaged. But while the game is great at its serious moments, it has an incredible sense of humour, and a great sense of style. It can be incredibly funny, whether it’s due to the great sense of wit, or its complete wackiness. This isn’t Oscar-worthy writing, but it’s just so enjoyable, and so over-the-top that you can’t help but just love it.

The progression of the game really remains interesting too. The formula of “collect money, kill people, boss fight” sounds like it could become quite repetitive. But right when you think you’re going to be doing the same thing over and over, the game knows how to throw your perceptions out the window. It just knows how to mix things up. I don’t want to spoil anything because the surprises are really awesome, but let me tell you that they are very satisfying, and very enjoyable.

The general style of the game is great. In fact, it’s probably one of its greatest strengths. What makes it so great is that it revels in the fact it’s a videogame. It knows what it is, and it loves everything about it, and has fun with it. You save the game by going to the bathroom. All the menus etc. are presented in this great 8-bit pixelated style. And I have to say, it has the simplest, but absolute coolest load-screen ever.

But the game isn’t just these mission-based levels. You’ll be able to drive around the city of Santa Destroy on your sweet motorbike in a decently-sized open world. Sadly, the open world itself is unquestionably the weakest section of the game. It just lacks polish in a lot of ways. For example, there is a lot of pop-up. The draw-distances are quite short, so the city feels very small, wherever you are. If you collide with another car, even if you’re going head-on, the collision detection is very… flat. Basically you just halt. No damage will be done to the car, chairs won’t go flying when you drive through them, people don’t react when you push them as you run around. They just continue their walk animation as you push them around with about a foot of disconnect between the two of you. It feels just so bland. Now I’m not the biggest fan of the GTA games, and I’m glad that No More Heroes didn’t just try to be that same game with you jacking cars etc. But at the same time, the game really lacks that sense of chaos, or consequence that makes those games and those open world environments so much fun. It’s an incredible shame. And you can’t take on side quests from these civilians, they won’t react to you. It’s all just very removed. Honestly, it feels half-complete. It’s like the wrong version of the open-world was sent off to manufacturing.

Not to say that there’s nothing else to do in the open world. Despite the job center, and K-Entertainment where you will take on assassination missions, there are a few other locations throughout the city. There is a gym where your trainer will encourage you to strip before training. While here, you actually can train to increase your strength, vitality, and length of your combos by pressing a button so many times, or performing squats and lifting dumbbells with motion controls. If you find and collect these ‘Lovikov Balls’ hidden throughout the city, bringing them to this strange Russian man in an alley will upgrade your abilities by giving you a new attack, letting you see enemies on your mini-map, etc. Your friend Naomi (who apparently builds beam katanas) will have various upgrades for your weapons, and will occasionally have a new beam katana for you to purchase. Go to the video store and pick up various wrestling videos which will teach you new wrestling moves to use (no, I’m serious). And then there’s Area 51, a clothing store where you can purchase new jeans, t-shirts, jackets, shades, and belts to customize Travis. And if you don’t have any money, check the dumpsters for cash or for some really sweet t-shirts (who no one would throw away in their right mind). But if you just want to chill out, head back to your apartment. Here, you can save, play with your cat, switch which katana you’re using, and go to your closet to change your outfit. I’m not going to lie, Travis has the sweetest fashion sense ever. What I’d give for some of those jackets, shirts, jeans… so anyways! Video games…

Visually, No More Heroes has a really interesting cel-shaded look which adapts itself well to the great character designs and over-the-top style of the gameplay. But despite this style, there are still a lot of technical shortcomings. There’s an occasional bit of slowdown here and there. There are some really blurry textures, some disconnect between surfaces, short draw distances etc. And quite honestly, the open world looks really bland. But then at the same time, there are some areas that just have a really cool look to them due to the style. And animations look quite good. Especially with Travis and his great combat moves.

There’s a pretty solid soundtrack here too. Most of the songs are really just remixes of the main theme of the game. But there’s one track (Heavenly Star by the Genki Rockets) which you’ll constantly here in the background which is quite catchy. The sound effects are great and really sound chaotic. The game even uses the Wii remote’s speaker and makes you hold it up to your ear for when you receive phone calls from Sylvia, the seductive girl from “the organization” who convinced you to do all this and who constantly teases Travis with the notion of sleeping with him. The voice work is over-the-top and fits perfectly with the style of the game.

The game will last you a good 15 hours. Add or subtract to that number depending on whether or not you try and pay for the various upgrades, find the various t-shirts, earn better ranks with your missions etc. Not to mention that there are three difficulty modes, one of which is unlockable. And after finishing a full run-through, you can go back and start with all your upgrades to go for full completion to and unlock the ‘real’ ending. It’s a good, full game. Something we don’t get to see much of on the Wii.

No More Heroes is a very good game that just manages to peek into greatness. The combat is probably the strongest we’ve seen on the platform, and let’s hope more developers handle combat as smartly as this game does. But the strength of the game lies within its style and presentation. Its love for being a video game just brings an enormous level of charm to the experience. It’s funny, it’s compelling, and it’s fun. But the game really just loses points in its technical shortcomings by not taking advantage of the hardware, specifically with the open world. Grasshopper earns an enormous amount of respect though, for their willingness to take a huge risk with this title. No More Heroes has its faults, but ultimately, it’s a great game to pick up, especially for the core gamer audience. This is the game you’ve been waiting for. Let’s hope developers see this as proof that core titles can work on the platform. And our fingers are crossed for a sequel.

Gameplay
Arguably the best combat on any Wii title. The boss battles are the real highlight of the experience. Unfortunately, exploring Santa Destroy feels empty and ultimately, half-finished.

Visuals
Cool visual style and use of cel-shading. The character designs are excellent and animations are really cool. The retro-styled interface is just awesome. But beyond that, short draw-distances, some bland textures, and occasional framerate dips.

Sound
Cool soundtrack. Excellent voice work from entire cast which fits with the wacky style of the game. Great 8-bit sound effects to accompany the neat retro interface.

Stuff
Lots of shirts, jackets, belts, jeans, and shades for you to buy. Plenty of upgrades and new techniques to learn. Lots of jobs and missions to take on. Good solid length averaging around 15 hours. Three difficulty modes to go through.

Waffle Factor
The great Tarantino-styled action, 8-bit presentation, fantastic characters, and awesome cutscenes make this one of the most entertaining experiences on the Wii thus far. Probably one of the most unique experiences we’ve seen in a good long while. Finally, an original, quality, mature title pointed at the core gamer.

SCORE: 8.3/10