Back in early 2008, "No More Heroes" created quite a stir in the Wii community because it was one of the first M rated titles for the system, and was it was commonly looked to as a game for hardcore gamers. In addition to that, it was also famed developer Goichi Suda's (A.K.A. Suda 51) first creation for Nintendo's latest console. Even though most of his previous games were critically acclaimed, they were highly stylized, and didn't reach the broader gaming audience.
"No More Heroes" could be credited as Suda 51's breakout hit, based simply on the fact that it was his first title to receive a sequel in the west. "No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle" follows suit, toeing the line of ultra violence while mixing in sophomoric humor that will appeal to the teenager and/or wannabe assassin in all of us.
The Basics
It's been three years since Travis Touchdown took his crown atop the United Assassin Association (UAA), and, since he has opted not to participate, he has fallen in the ranks. Prompted by the murder of his friend Bishop, Travis, equipped with his trusty beam katana, begins to climb the ranks of the UAA again, working his way up from 51 seeking revenge, as well as a desire to put an end to the ranked battles.
Throughout the course of the game you play as Travis, as well as Shinobu, a fellow assassin who considers Travis her master, and his brother Henry. The additional characters are brought in by Travis' agent, Sylvia, to help take down some of the assassins standing in Travis' way. The game is once again set in the assassin-friendly city of Santa Destroy where there's plenty of thugs to kill, and side jobs to work.
The Highs
Fixing What's Broke
"No More Heroes 2" succeeded where so many sequels fail; they fixed a ton of stuff that was wrong with the first game. That's not to say that there was a lot of stuff "wrong" with the original, but it included a handful of cumbersome features that were either eliminated or cleaned up in the sequel. For example, the sandbox elements that had you driving around the city on your motorcycle are still included, but the driving around has been replaced with a menu that allows you to jump from place to place. In addition to that, the battle fees are no longer a requirement for you to go up against your opponents, so there's no tedious fund-raising in "MNH2." Overall, there's just a bigger focus on the actual battles, instead of the peripheral aspects of the game, which keeps "Desperate Struggle" flowing much more steadily than its predecessor.
Cuts Like A Ginsu
Unlike Travis' original adventure, "No More Heroes 2" offers two kinds of controls: Wiimote/nunchuck or the classic controller. Just over three years into the Wii's lifecycle the novel appeal of waggle controls has worn off, and, at least having the option to play with the classic controls in any game is an overwhelming relief. However, if you play "Desperate Struggle" with a classic controller, you'll be missing out on some of the best head slicing satisfaction that the Wii has to offer. The motion controls don't intrude on the gameplay at all, and generally only come into play when doling out finishing moves to the baddies in the game, and it's usually only a flick of the wrist at that. If you opt to use the classic controller, the movements are mapped to directions on the analog sticks, and, while it may be seem easier, the motion control's intuitiveness wins out.
Minigames-A-Plenty
Travis' side jobs in "Desperate Struggle" are another one of the features that has been significantly revamped from the original. Instead of required, money generating, minigames in 3D, "No More Heroes 2" features optional, money generating, mini-games in 2D – 8-bit style. Stealing some nostalgic inspiration from "Retro Game Challenge," "Desperate Struggle" features a series of original minigames designed to look and play like they came out in the 1980s on the Famicom. They're so well designed, and entertaining that they could have been released as their own mini-game compilation, and it would be worthy of a purchase.
Boss Battle After Boss Battle After Boss Battle
By definition a lot of the fluff is removed from the "No More Heroes" games, and most of the gameplay is distilled into boss battles. As Travis climbs the ranks, he goes up against a host of eclectic assassins with wildly different techniques and styles. From battling as a mech in outer space to battling a cosmonaut here on earth, "No More Heroes" covers virtually every base when it comes to its boss battles.
The Lows
Hack-n-Slash and Beat-em-Up and Hack-n-Slash
Grasshopper Manufacturing made some very obvious attempts to break up the gameplay by injecting variety into the boss battles, but taking down the waves of henchmen leading up to the boss is always the same. They also added in a couple of additional playable characters to change things up, Henry, Travis' brother, and Shinobu, a fellow assassin that considers Travis her master. They don't do much to hinder the monotony.
Much Like White Men, Shinobu Can't Jump
As soon as you start playing Shinobu's missions it becomes immediately apparent that they were added into the game to break up the tedium of playing as Travis for 8-10 hours. The one thing that stands out as the key change between the two characters, aside from the added breast physics, comes when you realize that they've given Shinobu the ability to jump. For the entire time that you play as Travis his feet stay firmly planted on the ground, and that's where Shinobu's should have stayed. Her jumping skills are nothing compared to what she can do with a blade, and the fact that they added platforming elements into her levels was just a bad idea. "No More Heroes 2" was designed a specific way, for a specific character, and attempting to shoehorn a second play style in causes some moments of serious frustration, especially since the camera isn't your friend in this game. The viewing angle, mixed with some of the areas that you are required to jump to and from make the game borderline impossible to play.
Authentic (Read: Painful) Minigames
As fun as the side job minigames are, they're just a bit too authentic when it comes to their controls and difficulty. Using the nunchuck's analog stick as a substitute d-pad is definitely part of the problem, and trying to go in one direction but actually heading in another as your time ticks away will cause some nostalgic headaches. Additionally, these games are just as hard as their inspiration, offering no level of forgiveness for being just a pixel or two too close to the mouse you were trying to exterminate. It's a love/hate relationship really.
The Verdict
Get past the annoying camera, and forget about Shinobu's missions, and "No More Heroes 2" should make every hardcore Wii gamers playlist as a solid continuation of Travis Touchdown's assassination saga.