No More Heroes: Remaster of the crazy Hack & Slash in the test
Table of contents
1 Goal-oriented work 2 The desolate California 3 Exaggeration is an understatement 4 Fun in the chaosGoal-oriented work
Of course we bring Don't kill the assassins for fun! When Travis is hanging out drunk in a bar, he meets Sylvia Crystal. She is an agent who hires assassins to pit them against each other. How so? We'll find out later. In any case, Travis promises her that he will rise to number one. Of course we get money for the grueling jobs. The main motivation of our protagonist, however, is the hope to be able to "enjoy himself" with the young agent, should he defeat all fighters. To achieve this rather unconventional goal, we pack our laser katana and go on the hunt for the other murderers.That is exactly as blunt as it sounds, but the game does not take itself too seriously and celebrates bullshit. So there are always basically stupid, clichéd story turns, which are provided with a wink and thus - just like the weird characters - fit perfectly into the chaotic, funny game. Under the guise of humor, however, there are also some more serious topics that are not as obtrusive as the crazy sides of the title.
Brutal bloodshed
We are about to experience the boss fight against the first assassin, whose place we want to take on the ranking list. Source: PC Games No More Heroes (buy now € 24.90) is a so-called hack & slash. Usually the genre scores with complex combos, there are only high and low sword blows, the same applies to kicks and punches. We can also block and perform an evasive role. At first glance, this seems very minimalistic, but the fast action and above all the satisfactory hit feedback make up for this fact. Our weapon, the beam katana, is always at the center of the fighting. Even the sound when swinging the sword sounds mighty in the best Star Wars manner, so that every blow is a pleasure. The combat system is supplemented by a special mechanic: If we reduce an opponent's HP bar to zero, we have to press the right analog stick in one direction to give him the coup de grace.Then the body of the Opponents split up and all enemies in the area go up in a fountain of blood - No More Heroes is by no means a game for children! Optionally, the stroke can also be carried out via motion control, which helps immersion. The short stop is all the more satisfying because the rest of the fights happen so quickly. On top of that, outside of the boss fights, you have the chance of a bonus that can be activated should you successfully split an enemy. The various bonuses include a one-hit mode, slow motion and a few more.
Compared to the bosses, normal opponents find a fairly harmless ending. Even if it always gets "a little" bloody - no youth approval! Source: PC Games The normal enemies do not pose a great threat, they are just cannon or rather blade fodder. The exceptionally designed bosses, on the other hand, give us all unique battles with special mechanics. The personalities of the killers are particularly impressive, because they are all crazy without exception. With their remarkable demeanor, all assassins are remembered. It is annoying, however, that the bosses can only be attacked when the game wants them to. An assassin is just standing around right now? It's a shame we can't hurt him.
The desolate California
Here we see Sylvia arranging Travis' killer jobs, she appears before and after every mission. Source: PC Games No More Heroes is done in a celshading style that makes everything look like a comic. In addition, the game tries to convey a certain 90s flair. The interface, the main menu and the items are always kept in a pixelated retro look. Our "hero" Travis Touchdown lives in fictional Santa Destroy, a sunny, Chicago-inspired city located in California. This can be traveled in the open-world manner with our motorcycle, but the game world is largely empty. It doesn't look spectacular, nor is there much to explore, it's just a means to an end. A simple menu would have done it at this point and saved a lot of time in which we travel through the pure wasteland. There is still a lot to do, for example we can take on a side mission.These are either simple mini-jobs, such as collecting coconuts or clearing away rubbish, but they can also be jobs in which we slaughter ourselves through ruffians. Since these tasks do not take particularly long, they are not annoying and often even provide fun and variety. They only get monotonous when you have to accumulate a lot of money, but this rarely happens. What is annoying after a short time, however, is that we have to drive through the desolate city again for each of these missions. We need the earned money from the side quests to take on the next main missions. However, we can also spend them on upgrades in the gym, purchase visual changes for Travis, who can be customized from head to toe, or buy new swords. Each of the laser katana looks different and offers a little variation in play style. So we can choose slow, very powerful weapons or faster ones that deal less damage.
Exaggeration is an understatement
Travis has a motorcycle with which we travel the open world. Unfortunately, there is little exciting to discover in this one. Source: PC Games Director Suda51 is known for its strange game concepts and questionable humor. This is exactly how No More Heroes works. As mentioned at the beginning, everything is so grossly exaggerated that we can only laugh about it. Bosses are almost mortal-kombat-like broken down into individual parts and dialogues are full of jokes, clichés, allusions and curses. In addition, every woman wears unnecessarily provocative clothes. The title obviously doesn't take itself seriously and doesn't even shy away from breaking the fourth wall pointedly and addressing the player directly, or pointing out how ridiculous the current situation is. In addition, each character is crazy in their own way. Travis himself is a wannabe-cool nerd who only watches anime and wrestling in his spare time, plays video games and knocks out inappropriate sayings while having fun doing his assassin job. The game dares to be unique and unique and can convince all along the line.Fun in chaos
Even if we are often distracted by a dreary open world and simple side missions, No More Heroes prepares one thing above all else: fun. Regardless of whether we watch crazy cutscenes, read dialogues or slaughter ourselves through opponents - Suda51 knows what strengths the title has and knows how to present them. No More Heroes for the Nintendo Switch is a remaster of the Wii, not the PS3 version. Means: Fans have their beloved look again, just a little nicer. Nevertheless, we keep looking at muddy mush, because not all textures in the area are rich in detail. But the unusual characters still look good.In 2021 the sequel to the No More Heroes series, No More Heroes 3. The first two parts and the spin-off title Travis Strikes Again are set to appear: No More Heroes available for Nintendo Switch.
My Opinion
By Yannik CunhaAuthor An action-packed, unique mix of adult and childish No More Heroes lives the essence of video games : It's just a fun pastime. The title by no means takes itself seriously and mercilessly takes everything, in every area, to extremes. The dialogues are always as funny as they are stupid. Although I'm a fan of Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, the simple fighting in No More Heros is just as much fun as it is in the more complex genre competitors. Swinging the beam katana around and chopping opponents into their pieces just feels incredibly good. If you are a fan of anime and manga yourself, or if you have something to do with the crazy Japanese culture, you will certainly have fun with No More Heroes. The fact is: Nobody will forget the experience anytime soon, because the crazy characters alone leave a lasting impression. Adult action fans can look forward to ten to 15 bloody hours with Travis Touchdown! No More Heroes (NSW) 8/10
Graphics - Sound - Multiplayer - Pros & Cons Good camera Nice soundtrack Unique story and narrative structure Crazy characters Recognition value Camera problem solved Fast, simple gameplay ... ... for veterans of the Genres but maybe too easy Monotonous side missions Boring open world Invulnerable bosses (if the game wants it that way) More pros & cons ... Conclusion A unique, brutal game that promises fun in any case.
