Our most beloved otaku assassin is back, and even better than before!
Gameplay:
The old, freely explorable city is gone and now you can simply select where you want to go on a menu screen. You don't have to earn entry fees any more and therefore you can simply skip all of the sidequests if you want. The assassin missions were removed and money now gets earned through 8 bit side job mini games. Most of them are really cool and fun while they last, but they tend to be really frustrating and unfair in later levels. If you feel the urge to swing your beam katana outside the main story you can take on 10 different revenge missions. The fighting itself feels just like in the first game: extremely fun, gory and satisfying. What's new, it is possible to change between weapons in battle, and all of the 4 available katanas actually have their strengths and weaknesses and situations where it is best to use a specific weapon.
9,5/10
Graphics / Sound:
The cel shading graphics aren't the best out there, but they are, and this is much more appreciated, just plain stylish. The voice acting is done well and fits for every character. The bgm sometimes features some unique songs which I all liked to listen to.
9/10
Story:
The story starts out good and throws some interesting questions at you. You start of as rank 51, but you don't have to fight nearly as many matches. As you climb up the ranks you are always given a few new pieces of information to keep you on the track. But the ending left something to be desired. Where are those crazy twists No More Heroes 1 revealed during the end? Where are those wtf-moments? The ending of No More Heroes 2 can be seen as a joke in itself, but the first game just did the job better. What's cool, is that you can actually get a pretty decent meaning and some deep hidden messages out of this game if you look behind the "assassin matches are awesome" surface.
8,5/10
Characters:
Definitely the strongest aspect of the game. Travis as the cool anime otaku slaughtering his way through countless enemies, always having a cheesy quote at hand, is ironic in so many ways, that it just makes him the perfect main character for a crazy game like this. To not spoil too much, the ranked assassins you are fighting feature some of the most unique, coolest and fun antagonist you will ever face.
10/10
Extras / Sidequests / Replay value:
Upon completing the game for the first time bitter difficulty (which is really hard) and a death match mode in which you can fight all the bosses of the game again, are unlocked. The game also has various sidegames on it's own which you can play any time you want. But the game itself isn't very long and those extras are mostly just the same again.
7/10
To sum it up:
No More Heroes 2 is one of the most fun and cool games I ever played. Although the game is kinda short, numerous improvements compared to the prequel make this a worthwhile experience for anyone who doesn't take things in gaming too seriously.
9,5/10