Mark discovers why ‘coconuts are God’...
A stylised action title from one of Japan’s most idiosyncratic gaming visionaries, western publisher Rising Star Games are calling February Wii stunner No More Heroes their 'big bet', while Nintendo label it a potential system seller. Directed by Goichi Suda, the man behind acclaimed cult classic Killer 7, and published by the company behind mainstream hit Harvest Moon, they may be on to something.
No More Heroes is part hack-and-slash, part open world free roamer, and 100% sheer style. We’ll focus on the style first, because it’s the thing that most jumps out at you from the boxart onwards.
It’s got that same cel-shaded comic book look as Killer 7, but No More Heroes has a far more immediate charm. The main character, Travis Touchdown, is based on Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame; he’s uber-cool, but also a bit of a loser at the same time.
One of the coolest weapons ever devised – the lightsaber-like Beam Katana – and possibly the best videogame sword fighting control scheme we’ve seen.
That contradiction shines through in his character design – ripped jeans, leather jacket, oversized yellow pilot shades – his geeky figurine-collecting Otaku lifestyle and his brilliantly cringe-worthy leeching towards No More Heroes' blonde bombshell and agent provocateur, Silvia Christel. "Will ya do it with me!?", he begs. "Just once!?". It’s almost embarrassing, but hilarious for it.
Sylvia is both his lust object and entrapper; proclaiming him the eleventh best assassin in the city of Santa Destroy when he kills the guy previously in that position in No More Heroes' intro. Thus, Travis decides that becoming number one will get him into Silvia’s 'affections', while at the same time unwittingly finding himself a target on for upcoming would-be killers – leaving him no choice but to keep climbing the assassin ranks to stay alive.
Luckily Travis boasts not only hands-down one of the coolest weapons ever devised – the lightsaber-like Beam Katana – but possibly the best videogame sword fighting control scheme we’ve seen.
Cool combat
No More Heroes doesn’t rely entirely on motion sensing for sword swinging like Zelda, and nor does it resort to button bashing, but instead mixes the two – with a couple of presses of A starting a combo, and the finish being a QTE where you move the Wiimote in a specific direction for a specific type of slash. It’s both accessible, and ensures you have to concentrate and co-ordinate yourself at the same time. We'd love to see a Star Wars game that plays like No More Heroes.
There’s other moves in No More Heroes too. Pumping up and down on the Wiimote recharges the Beam Katana, the B button lets you do wrestling moves (for which the last move needs a combination of Wiimote and Nunchuk movement) and enough successful attacks give you a powered-up state called 'Darkside mode' (another Star Wars reference) which gives Travis abilities like slowing down time and a huge critical strike, all guaranteed to earn wads of moolah.
Drenched in character, soaked in tongue-in-cheek humour and showing ingenious use of the Wii hardware, this is entertainment Quentin Tarantino would be proud of.
And you’ll need it, because to enter into 'ranking matches' – what No More Heroes calls its story missions, where you fight a horde of henchmen through a level, and finally face off against the next highest ranked assassin – you’ll need the requisite cash.
Luckily, as a free-roaming game in between action stages, No More Heroes lets you ride around on your super-styled motorbike, taking sub-missions like assassinating minor targets or more mundane money-earning tasks like… mowing grass… or collecting coconuts. 'Coconuts are god', don’tcha know. You can also explore to uncover new wardrobe additions and wrestling cards that give you new moves – all of which you’ll need to get the true ending.
In that respect, No more Heroes is a bit like Assassin’s Creed in structure – but for our money, despite not being as big or as densely detailed, is far more vibrant and immediately playable. Genuinely drenched in character, soaked in tongue-in-cheek humour and showing ingenious use of the Wii hardware, this is entertainment Quentin Tarantino would be proud of and a rare type of game destined to appeal to both the casual Wii crowd and the hardcore gaming fraternity, who’ve long been demanding a title of this ilk on Nintendo’s motion-sensing system.
Preview by: Mark 'Kick-Ass' Scott
Version Tested: Wii
Preview Published: 11.01.08