No More Heroes (Wii) Reader Review

Y'know, I think that I'll be stopping this whole Voting business now, either I forget to stick up some choices on Mondays, or there is little to no interest in the matter.
It'd be a good thing, a little more unpredictability injected into proceedings. After all, this weeks review is on the title that lost out in the voting stakes last week. Bet you never saw that coming. ...hmm, maybe you did.
Anyway, onto No More Heroes now. This is going to be difficult to review in my usual way, as NMH is far from being a usual game, as I'm sure Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation can agree.
Well then, lets give it a go.
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No More Heroes started life as simply Heroes, revealed near the release of the Nintendo Wii. The man helming the Project, Goichi Suda (also known as Suda51), had previously made Killer7 for the Gamecube, the inspiration from which this game clearly derives.
Released early this year in Europe, the newly-named No More Heroes struck up some good sales, and received favorable reviews.

So then, how does the game hold up in the eyes of this 'masterful' reviewer?

The hardest thing to really 'get' about this game, is probably the story, but I'll try and get it across to you.
Basically, this Otaku bloke (a Nintendo fan, wouldn't you say Mr Fischer? ) buys a Beam-Sword-thing off eBay (-insert Darth Vader Breathing here-), and aims to hack the hell out of the top ranked assassins with it, to get to said top.
Okay, it's simple in theory, but just you wait until you play it. It's a whole new Ball game.

The characters in the game are a particular highlight, primarily because of the excellent Voice-Acting, but also because of the diversity of the cast itself.
You have the main hero (or anti-hero, depending on your views), Travis Touchdown. His love interest, and the organizer of the assassin fights, Sylvia Christel. Travis' mentor and Gym instructor, ex-wrestler Thunder Ryu, and each of the ten assassins themselves, of which consists of a magician, a superhero, a mines expert, and a Schoolgirl, to name but a few.

No More Heroes uses Cell-Shading visuals throughout, akin to the Wind Waker, Jet Set Radio, or indeed, Killer7. The shading in this game, although similar, has a unique feel, a more darker, nitty-gritty feel that comes into its own. The bizzare and unconventional visuals compliment the rest of the game perfectly.
One thing that has to be addressed regarding No More Heroes' looks, is that there is no Blood in the European Version. A downer you might think, but the replacement, swarming Black ash, surprisingly works just as well, and it most likely wouldn't in any other game.

The workings of the game-world, and the Gameplay that accompanies it, give No More Heroes a distinctive vibe, as a mix of GTA and Dynasty Warriors (only, you know, no-where near as repetitive).
As previously mentioned, the aim of the player is to defeat the assassin that is ranked one place higher than you, but to get to that, there are smaller missions to take care of in the game overworld, to get some much-needed cash. Simple stuff, like picking up litter, rescuing Kittens, or Mine-Detecting on the Beach. Dull you might think, but these missions are purposefully so, as then the player's need to get to the meat of the game, the assassin missions, are heightened, and made more memorable as a result.
The words 'Sword' and 'Wii-remote' would automatically give an onlooker the impression of a 'swing remote to swing sword' game mechanic, but that isn't the case here, although the alternative is just as fun. The A button takes care of basic sword swipes, the B button on the underside delivers a meaty boot to the face, the positioning of the remote (held high, or held low) determines the nature of the aforementioned attacks, the Analog stick on the Nunchuk controls Travis as you would expect, and the Z trigger allows Lock-on, for maximum accuracy. Elementary, my dear Watson.
Of course, this is the Wii we are talking about, so motion has to creep in there somewhere, and it does. At the end of a combo attack on an enemy, the final hit consists of a quick-fire slash in a designated direction, which certainly gets the blood pumping, and will make you thankful that Suda51 didn't pick this control for the entirety of the fights.

Music definitely kicks butt in No More Heroes. Many of the tracks take the form of remixes of the main theme in the game, but seeing as how that one is great already, it's certainly not a bad thing.

No More Heroes offers 3 difficulty levels (two at the start, the hardest choice is unlocked after the first playthrough), and lots of collectables to obtain, including trading cards and clothing, so there is plenty of replay value here. And that's not even mentioning the secret (and brilliant) ending.

Definitely give No More Heroes a try, the zaniness and originality of this game is exactly what the games industry needs.

(BTW, the clip below is the intro to the game, it was the best I could find to represent what the game is like, so if you don't want to spoil the start for yourself, you had better not watch.
Oh, disregard the blood too. Trust me, the Black ash is a decent alternative.)