No More Heroes

Reviewed by John Sacranie (January 28, 2008)

There are a decent number of activities to take on in Santa Destroy, but the open-world portions are the game’s biggest weak point. There is a huge lack of polish in the city, and niggles like the shoddy collision detection and the inconsistent frame-rate are very noticeable. It’s difficult to shake the feeling that these segments would have been better handled through a menu screen than an interactive environment. The city is never a boring place, but considering how much time you’ll spend on the town, the lack of polish is troubling and could be a deal-breaker for some.

Reviewed by Gary Hartley (March 22, 2008)

But it’s when you reach these off-key boss fights that No More Hereos has it’s best moments. You meet Dr. Peace, western-style six-hooters and 70’s porn ‘tash, crooning into the empty stadium, telling you it was always his dream to perform on a stage like this and how the money you paid for the fight made it possible. You converse like two old friends, then you try your best to end each other’s life.

Reviewed by disco (January 28, 2008)

Meet Travis Touchdown. Things aren’t going very well for him at the moment. He’s living in a pathetic hole of a room at the No More Heroes Motel. He’s practically broke, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. His home is crammed with anime posters, miniature figurines (including a human-sized Gundam in his living room), an entire collection of luchador masks, and his cat, Jeane. He spends his days watching old films of anime or pro wrestling matches. He rents porn from the local video store, makes il...

Reviewed by jiggs (February 01, 2010)

I've rarely played a game that prides itself on being "punk". Grasshopper Manufacture even revamped their logo with the motto "Punk's Not Dead" to reflect this brand new attitude. Yet it's not like Suda 51 changed styles. In essence, the demented game designer has been making punk games all along with his unconventional fusion of abstract pop art and minimalist game design. The only problem was he never had an image to fit his style...

Reviewed by Suskie (March 21, 2009)

In reviewing No More Heroes, it’s a natural instinct to compare the game to its spiritual predecessor, Killer7, but that won’t get you anywhere. The two games share a similar cel-shaded visual style and are both products of Suda 51, but that’s the extent of their similarities, save for the identical reactions they inspired from me: I don’t know what it is, but I like it.

Reviewed by timrod (February 07, 2008)

Let's face it. Most games Suda51 has made were a complete and utter failure at being good. You had some of the latter Clock Towers, which were bad to begin with and overshadowed by the vastly superior Silent Hill. You had Killer7, which was mediocre at best. You had Contact, which by many people's standards was at least a partial ripoff of Earthbound. Suda51's latest offering, No More Heroes, vowed to be his first truly good game, as well as a release that fills the four-month void between Mario...