It's difficult to explain No More Heroes to someone unfamiliar with its concept of lavish excess. While the series began quietly on the Nintendo Wii, it soon made waves with its unique combat system and often juvenile tone, earning itself a cult following. The first mention of the game’s iconic Beam Katana and its rude recharge method is usually enough to raise an eyebrow, and that’s before mentioning the main character Travis Touchdown, a diehard Otaku who happens to be the best assassin in the world.
The latest game in the series, No More Heroes III embraces that absurd tone unashamedly and continually manages to trip itself up with a variety of outdated design decisions. The result is a repetitive gameplay loop with flashes of inspiration sprinkled throughout the experience.
Anyone who’s played the previous No More Heroes games will be instantly familiar with the premise. Travis Touchdown, legendary assassin, is drawn into defending the world from a terrible alien invasion led by Jess Baptiste VI, otherwise known as FU. In order to save his city, Travis must defeat ten powerful assassins to climb the intergalactic rankings and eventually stand against FU himself. It’s a part of the game that works best; No More Heroes III fires on all cylinders when players are starring down a gigantic boss seemingly created by strapping multicolored polygons to a moving cactus. It's a series that staked its claim on zany boss fights, and the third entry in the franchise continues that trend with aplomb.
SUDA51 is a designer that champions the idea of absurdity in his video games. No More Heroes III is a gaudy, lurid splash of different tones and styles. It can be a jarring experience as characters talk with poor accents and monologue about films; it becomes easier to accept throughout the runtime, but it’s certainly not for everyone. While No More Heroes III's confidence is compelling, it’s also irritating at times. Players looking for any kind of consistency in terms of aesthetic or tone should seek a different game.
When No More Heroes III is allowed to let its hair down and have fun, it’s an incredible experience. Every boss is unique, sometimes even challenging the form of the game itself. Defeating Velvet Chair Girl through an elaborate game of musical chairs is an idea that shouldn’t work, but No More Heroes III pulls it off without missing a beat. The game’s boss encounters all feel confidently designed, each being a visual spectacle that (usually) makes the tedious preamble tolerable.
Where No More Heroes III struggles is the downtime between bosses. To qualify for the next fight, Travis must earn enough money and complete various Designated Matches to challenge the next ranked assassin. It’s initially a novel idea as mowing grass, picking up litter and driving off waves of gigantic alligators rising from the ocean feels like a fun distraction from the intense combat sequences. Yet when you’re forced to do them over and over again, the silliness begins to wane and the game’s breakneck pace grinds to a painful halt.
Of course, players don’t need to complete these minigames to earn money. They could complete combat missions instead, but the same problem applies. While No More Heroes III’s combat system is mechanically sound and satisfying in the moment, it grows repetitive quickly. There’s a decent spread of enemies, but once you realize how to deal with them, even these skirmishes turn into a chore to earn some cash.
While completing these side-objectives is annoying, the game’s lifeless, boring open-world exacerbated the problem. Split into three hubs, Travis will need to visit a variety of locations that, while visually distinct, are functionally identical. All the locations in No More Heroes III feel like a sandbox without any sand. They’re empty and dull, and despite the game tasking players with hunting down a variety of collectible for side-quests, it’s never a compelling process. Sure, picking up what we’re told is a delicious scorpion treats players to a cute Animal Crossing reference, but the map is so large and sparse that exploring it never feels worth the effort. One must wonder if No More Heroes III would be a more enjoyable experience if it were a condensed series of boss encounters with all the in-between filler stripped away.
The thing is, these are problems that have plagued the No More Heroes series since the very first game. Despite the third title leaning into what makes the games so compelling, it’s still so attached to the past that it pulls itself back from greatness. No More Heroes III is the best game in the franchise, that much is obvious. It’s equal parts annoying and inspired, a vision from a creator who’s confident in his own creativity. While its eccentric, bombastic style continues to surprise from the opening cutscene to the final credits, No More Heroes III lacks any kind of meaningful substance, resulting in a visual feast that seems intent on continually getting in its own way.
CBR was provided a copy of the game for review purposes by the publisher.
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