No More Heroes is a hilarious game that capitalizes on the Wii's abilities in clever and ridiculous ways.
In No More Heroes, Travis is the protagonist, though calling him the hero wouldn't be correct. He's a porn-loving, game-playing, anime-watching, Beam Katana-wielding poster child for immaturity, and he's got a taste for blood. In the beginning, you see Travis bust into a random mansion to off the 10th assassin, Death Metal. But defeating Death Metal is only the beginning; Travis's true motive is to kill all ten assassins to reach the coveted #1 rank. Led by the seductive Sylvia Christel, Travis must earn money to participate in the fights and then take out the many different and elegantly absurd bosses to advance to the ultimate prize. From the absolute start, you'll no doubt be captivated to see each of the different assassins' motives, storyline, and monologues. The story is full of adult humor and plenty of violence, but no fight manages to abandon such charm and hilarious nature. And don't think that each boss is simple. No, right when you think everything is figured out, out comes a plot twist to change your well-fortified plans. If you're looking for high-quality storytelling, No More Heroes delivers, but SUDA-51's nasty brand of clever humor makes the story a wild rollercoaster ride, where practically anything can (and possibly will) happen.
The story will draw you in, but you'll stay for the combat, which thankfully doesn't involve waving the Wii Remote constantly like many other games before it. Instead, pressing the A button lets you attack, where finishing a combo must be executed by swinging the Wii Remote in a shown direction. Travis can also perform kicks and punches with the B-Trigger (or pull off a cool Wii Remote and Nunchuk wrestling combo against dazed enemies) and can dodge using the D-Pad. The combo system is fun and visually stunning; Travis's attacks explode with blood and currency and the entire combat system is exceptionally stylized. Along with the simple controls, a slot machine spins after a solid combo. Match up three of a kind and Travis goes into Darkside mode, which depending upon the icon matched up, can be a multitude of different powerups. Try a quick button-pressing multi-kill or a Dragon Ball Z-style transformation. Finally, you'll need to recharge the battery on the Beam Katana occasionally, which involves holding the 1 button and shaking the Wii Remote. When brought together, the different abilities produce a smooth and stylized combat system that puts the simple "wave the Wii-mote randomly" combat system to shame.
Along the way, Travis is required to earn money to participate in each ranked match. So what's your everyday assassin going to do about that? Odd jobs. In Santa Destroy, Travis can visit the job center to get assignments to earn money which in turn can be used to enter the next ranked match. These jobs range from the casual like mowing lawns to the incredibly strange like tracking land mines on the beach. These different minigames make great use of the Wii Remote, although they aren't entirely time-consuming. Also, there's only a handful, and while they're not the best minigames seen on the Wii, they are fun and worth returning to. Also, the cash can be spent in a number of ways. If you don't feel like blazing through the ranked matches, there's a good amount of things to do with your hard earned funds. You can talk to your fighting coach to increase stats in the gym, purchase a video from the video store to learn new wrestling moves, or simply pick up some new threads to fight in. You do need to travel from different buildings in Santa Destroy, and it can be a bit of a hassle sometimes. None of these missions are particularly deep or particularly long, and having to return all the way back to the job center when you fail is a chore, but they're clever diversions that have enough charm to be worth checking out.
So now you have the cash and skills to challenge one of the ranked assassins in a fierce one-on-one battle. Prepare to be shocked, because the boss battles are just plain crazy. The assassins can range from a samurai schoolgirl to a senior-citizen with a shopping cart. Not only are the battles fun, but no boss battle is like the others. Earned skills and combos are put to good use along with some light puzzle solving to spice up the already intense battles. The fights can be a thorough challenge, as well, although nearby health and battery powerups to provide a balance. Even better is they're downright unpredictable. Right when you think you have an edge, the bosses will do something so over-the-top, you'll need to pause the game just to regain your composure. It's that cool.
The presentation is rich and undeniably alternative. Like Killer 7 before it, there's some striking cel-shading mixed in with some creative character designs. The dim lighting effects look great and the blood explosions look extremely visceral. Aside from some light frame rate slowdowns, the graphics are some of the best-looking on the Wii. The cutscenes are great to watch not only because they're good-looking, but well voiced. The voice acting is a thrill to watch; each character is presented in an incredibly fitting way, from Travis's devil-may-care attitude to Sylvia's seductive accent. The music is upbeat with excellent themes and the sound effects match every attack perfectly. You won't find a game on the Wii with such an incredible presentation as No More Heroes; from the visceral blood explosions to the rockin' soundtrack, it all is portrayed amazingly and unforgettably.
Pros
+ Combat is smooth and functional
+ Boss fights are full of weird and creatively-designed challenges
+ Unique controls don't abuse the Wii Remote's motion-sensing features
+ Slick graphic style makes combat look great
+ Story and voice acting are hilariously entertaining
Cons
- Returning to job center or mission building after failing a mission gets old quick
- Not enough jobs to complete
- Frame rate can get a bit cluttered
No More Heroes is an incredibly unique game that strides far past the Wii's collection of simple action titles and delivers an undeniably clever, remarkably brutal, and plenty fun action romp that must be played to be believed. The game, from start to finish, is an amazing mix of SUDA-51's rambunctious action style and smooth gameplay sequences, forming a game that really can't be duplicated. The storyline will captivate and shock at many points throughout and will be a prime incentive to persevere through the game's few annoying moments. An accessible combat system compliments the game's bottomless reserve of style, showing a unique approach to the long-used Wii Remote controls. Blatantly mature, remarkably complex, and undeniably stylized, No More Heroes could well be the first amazing action title for Nintendo's newest system. If you're of proper age, exploring No More Heroes is worth your valued gaming time and is a blast to battle through.