No More Heroes I & II (Switch)

So unless you’ve been living under a gaming rock or are extremely casual, you’ll know the name Suda 51. Famous for making some of the most quirky and divisive games, one of which is the often mentioned No More Heroes. Now it’s playable on the Switch we are going to take a look at the ports!. 

So No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle are originally Wii titles, 1 had a Ps3 port but this port of the game is based on the original Wii release.

Both releases are thankfully uncensored so rather than your foes turning to ash, they explode rather violently into that goopy red stuff. This does wonders for the feel and look of the game as it furthers the “grindhouse” look and feel it has always had.

Graphically 1 looks a lot stronger than 2, I’m not sure if more work went into porting the original or that it just had a much stronger art direction but I found that 2 looked a little muddier and less impressive than I found 1. 

The performance is buttery smooth, I witnessed very little slowdown but did notice how cleaned up it looked and the performance improved, some cutscenes and animations looked a little goofy or off, minor trade-off.

Control-wise these ports offer the choice of motion controls or standard buttons. I know the fact the originals being on Wii and having motion control were a real deal-breaker for some and I can confirm the games are fully playable without, I actually went through the entirety of 2 without motion and jumping between Docked and Handheld to see if it impacted and it really didn’t.

Are the games worth playing in 2020? Well as a totally biased Suda fan I would say 110% yes. After the release of the mild Travis Strikes Again these are a fantastic reminder as to why the world is going GaGa over No More Heroes III. 

For those unfamiliar, No More Heroes features Travis Touchdown, the unlikeable wrestling enthusiast, Moe addicted, tale chasing Assassin who wants to be the number 1 ranked Assassin for the lofty goal of “getting some” from the mysterious and alluring Sylvia. 

Each “Ranking Battle” acts as a small stage in which you’ll fight countless henchmen before you get to the boss fights. I’ve always felt that the games are boss rush but with added fluff tacked on. The bosses are all great and are what make the series iconic. 

Another thing the series is known for is the side hustle. To pay for new clothes, weapons, or the next Ranking Battle in NMH1 you need to work. These jobs in the original game are mundane tasks such as lawn mowing or coconut collecting, these are 8bit inspired games in the sequel, parodying stuff like DigDug and Jetpak.

The narrative and the gameplay loves to bounce from one extreme to the next. Travis is a keen example for this, one second he is lusting over Syliva and the promise of “downward dog”, next he is preaching the importance of life, honor and how utterly disrespectful and grotesque the whole situation is. 

No More Heroes has always been seen as an easier entry point for Suda titles, The Silver Case being a VN and translated much, later on, Killer 7 is very marmite but should totally have more reverence than it does, No More Heroes managed to strike that cord between quirk and gameplay and these ports show it is still unrivaled to this day. 

Allow yourself to just accept the absurdity of the games, the quirks such as 1 and its giant empty open world, and you’re gifted some fantastic boss battles, insane cutscenes and a narrative that will stick with you for life. While not every aspect of the game slides together perfectly nuanced, it manages to tick boxes you didn’t even know you had when it comes to game expectations. It is phenomenal we have the chance to play these games, in a definitive form, uncensored, and on the Nintendo Switch which perfectly alleviates the grind of NMH1 jobs, if you have ever been curious or are a die-hard fan, now is the time to be a No More Hero! 

5

Summary

For fans of the niche and quirky, these are essential titles in their most definitive form.

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