To me No More Heroes 2 was a lot more enjoyable than the first. It fixed the major issue I had with the first game which was the boring overworld and the boring grind to the next level/boss (and while that was the whole point of the first game it was just something I was not a fan of). When playing this game I also noticed it was quite a bit easier than the first which I liked, because I could basically shut off my brain as I kill everything in my path, but I also felt like there was never any learning curve like in the first game. I felt like the bosses were at the same level of quality as the first (with the exclusion of the final boss because it fucking sucks). Another thing I really enjoyed with this game is the parts where you played as Shinobu and Henry since they offered a new a new fighting style for them both. The job system was also improved in my eyes with them being Retro style minigames except them being in engine (except the 8th job which was basically the same one that was in the first game).
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle ramps up the over-the-top style, absurd humor, and satisfyingly gory combat of its predecessor. Travis Touchdown returns to climb the assassin ranks, this time with an expanded moveset, more playable characters, and deliciously weird bosses to battle. While the open-world elements are streamlined, the repetitive side jobs and occasionally frustrating camera hold it back a bit. Yet, those who crave stylish action, unique minigames, and a hilariously bizarre narrative with surprising heart will find a gem in No More Heroes 2.
This review contains spoilers
NOTE:EMULATED ON DOLPHIN. THE PC PORT IS A FUCKING DISASTER DO NOT RECOMMEND.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is a strange sequel. In some ways I prefer this one due to the much stronger pacing and general improvements to the gameplay. But at the same time I'd rather go back to the first game because its story wasn't so fucking boring.
Starting off strong I'd say that NMH2 gameplay wise is a remarkable improvement across the board. No shitty overworld and a lack of money required for assassinations makes the overall pace feel so much faster and I'm all for that. Combat has seen some changes too with an overall more simplified (but still just as fun) control scheme, alongside some new mechanics like Katana switching mid combat and the tension gauge. While in the original you never had much reason to change back to a previous upgrade the weapons in 2 are distinctly different from one another and benefit in different situations. Peony for example is your general crowd control tool with its extended range while the Rose Nasty is the fastest in the game allowing for better DPS. The tension gauge on the other hand acts as this games super mode, allowing Travis to go haywire on enemies which helps with a lot of the bigger fights (and some bosses if you're good at not getting hit). Another change I absolutely adored was what they did with the side jobs, as instead of drab mini-games they are instead all video game inspired and much more fun this time around. This videogame inspiration also carries over to the training which has also seen some changes. While it is a bit sad to see the combo extenders gone and the attack training can be a nightmare in the end, I still rather liked them and would say they're slightly better this time around. Also holy FUCK is the soundtrack in this one an absolute blast, with tracks like Dose Of Innocence and Philistine being absolute bangers.
It isn't all good sadly which takes us to the biggest issue with NMH2: the tone and story. While the original had some moments of humor and zaniness it was still a mostly bleak experience with a loser protagonist that challenged the player to think about all that has happened. In 2 a lot of this is thrown out the fucking window for a more light hearted and wacky experience. From fighting a giant robot controlled by a Jock and his groupies to a dream sequence with a literal anime girl, 2 is much more blatant this time around and loses a lot of charm for it. Another awful change is to Travis Touchdown, as this time around the game decides to make him the "Hero" of Santa Destroy and to be idolized by some of the assassins. To me this kinda goes against the entire point of the original and makes for an all around less memorable experience, which is not helped when the game blatantly copies things from NMH1 (the Alice fight narrative wise is just Holly Summers again). On the subject of bosses I didn't have nearly as much problems as I did previously but they're still not that good save for Kimmy,Ryuji, and Alice. Most of my issues is just how nothing a lot of them are, with most being pretty damn easy due to just how much damage you can do in the mid to late game. Not helping this is when the game decides to switch up from Travis to let you play as Shinobu WHO FUCKING SUCKS. Going from dope ass wrestling moves to a completely worthless jump kit and back to back AWFUL bosses make this section a chore to get through (atleast the Henry exclusive fight is good). People tend to rag on the final boss as well and while I do think his second phase is a fucking nightmare (mainly the walls) I didn't think it was the WORST OF ALL TIME. A much more minor flaw is the general lack of side content, with only the aforementioned side jobs and some cookie cutter revenge missions being all you get.
At the end of the day I can't really choose if I'd take NMH or Desperate Struggle. On some days I'd happily return to mowing the grass if that meant experiencing 1s more unique moments. But on some other days I just wanna watch heads roll and not care about things like grinding out money or exploring a bad open world. About on par I'd say.
7/10
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is a strange sequel. In some ways I prefer this one due to the much stronger pacing and general improvements to the gameplay. But at the same time I'd rather go back to the first game because its story wasn't so fucking boring.
Starting off strong I'd say that NMH2 gameplay wise is a remarkable improvement across the board. No shitty overworld and a lack of money required for assassinations makes the overall pace feel so much faster and I'm all for that. Combat has seen some changes too with an overall more simplified (but still just as fun) control scheme, alongside some new mechanics like Katana switching mid combat and the tension gauge. While in the original you never had much reason to change back to a previous upgrade the weapons in 2 are distinctly different from one another and benefit in different situations. Peony for example is your general crowd control tool with its extended range while the Rose Nasty is the fastest in the game allowing for better DPS. The tension gauge on the other hand acts as this games super mode, allowing Travis to go haywire on enemies which helps with a lot of the bigger fights (and some bosses if you're good at not getting hit). Another change I absolutely adored was what they did with the side jobs, as instead of drab mini-games they are instead all video game inspired and much more fun this time around. This videogame inspiration also carries over to the training which has also seen some changes. While it is a bit sad to see the combo extenders gone and the attack training can be a nightmare in the end, I still rather liked them and would say they're slightly better this time around. Also holy FUCK is the soundtrack in this one an absolute blast, with tracks like Dose Of Innocence and Philistine being absolute bangers.
It isn't all good sadly which takes us to the biggest issue with NMH2: the tone and story. While the original had some moments of humor and zaniness it was still a mostly bleak experience with a loser protagonist that challenged the player to think about all that has happened. In 2 a lot of this is thrown out the fucking window for a more light hearted and wacky experience. From fighting a giant robot controlled by a Jock and his groupies to a dream sequence with a literal anime girl, 2 is much more blatant this time around and loses a lot of charm for it. Another awful change is to Travis Touchdown, as this time around the game decides to make him the "Hero" of Santa Destroy and to be idolized by some of the assassins. To me this kinda goes against the entire point of the original and makes for an all around less memorable experience, which is not helped when the game blatantly copies things from NMH1 (the Alice fight narrative wise is just Holly Summers again). On the subject of bosses I didn't have nearly as much problems as I did previously but they're still not that good save for Kimmy,Ryuji, and Alice. Most of my issues is just how nothing a lot of them are, with most being pretty damn easy due to just how much damage you can do in the mid to late game. Not helping this is when the game decides to switch up from Travis to let you play as Shinobu WHO FUCKING SUCKS. Going from dope ass wrestling moves to a completely worthless jump kit and back to back AWFUL bosses make this section a chore to get through (atleast the Henry exclusive fight is good). People tend to rag on the final boss as well and while I do think his second phase is a fucking nightmare (mainly the walls) I didn't think it was the WORST OF ALL TIME. A much more minor flaw is the general lack of side content, with only the aforementioned side jobs and some cookie cutter revenge missions being all you get.
At the end of the day I can't really choose if I'd take NMH or Desperate Struggle. On some days I'd happily return to mowing the grass if that meant experiencing 1s more unique moments. But on some other days I just wanna watch heads roll and not care about things like grinding out money or exploring a bad open world. About on par I'd say.
7/10
You have NO moe
lame.
Cuts right to the action but that action isn't always worth your time.
Assim, no momento que se faz uma sequencia de um boneco ação que o combate da sequencia é pior, levando em conta que o combate do primeiro é apenas divertido...temos um problema gigante em mãos.
STRAWBERRY ON THE SHORTCAKE
it's like the first one but i liked it more
Não é do nivel do primeiro, mas tem seus méritos, é um jogo legal apesar de parecer menos inspirado.
I'll be real I did spend the majority of my life just assuming Suda had directed this game, when in reality he wasn't as involved as I had thought.
I think the gang at Grasshopper did their best with this, but I do not envy having to make this one. How do you even make a sequel to No More Heroes? The original's narrative shits itself (on purpose) and completely breaks down to make a statement on narrative as a whole. How do you continue that?
I have very conflicting feelings on this, the writing is straight up just not as good and it feels like the meta-narrative of the original was glossed over. One thing that seems to always be in contention is the games whole "fifty assassins" promise which I always thought was kind of funny, like if anything feels distinctly Suda and Grasshopper it's the way the game plays with those expectations. The problem there is there are very few assassins that come close to matching the first games rogue gallery (maybe like four of them I could probably remember)
The gameplay has never really been the draw here but it's clear that something went very wrong during developments, new big bold ideas feel like they were pale imitations of what they were going to be (Great idea to play as Shinobu, no idea why you would introduce platforming and give her some of the worst bosses in the series)
This brings me back to my original question. How do you make a sequel to No More Heroes? Apart from some standout scenes and moments this game feels confused and lost with it's identity, trying to fabricate this zany crazy image that people seem to think the first game was and not including it's griminess and darkness at it's core.
Also the final boss was so bad I just straight up quit and looked at the ending on YouTube, sorry if this affects my gaming cred but what the hell where they thinking.
I think the gang at Grasshopper did their best with this, but I do not envy having to make this one. How do you even make a sequel to No More Heroes? The original's narrative shits itself (on purpose) and completely breaks down to make a statement on narrative as a whole. How do you continue that?
I have very conflicting feelings on this, the writing is straight up just not as good and it feels like the meta-narrative of the original was glossed over. One thing that seems to always be in contention is the games whole "fifty assassins" promise which I always thought was kind of funny, like if anything feels distinctly Suda and Grasshopper it's the way the game plays with those expectations. The problem there is there are very few assassins that come close to matching the first games rogue gallery (maybe like four of them I could probably remember)
The gameplay has never really been the draw here but it's clear that something went very wrong during developments, new big bold ideas feel like they were pale imitations of what they were going to be (Great idea to play as Shinobu, no idea why you would introduce platforming and give her some of the worst bosses in the series)
This brings me back to my original question. How do you make a sequel to No More Heroes? Apart from some standout scenes and moments this game feels confused and lost with it's identity, trying to fabricate this zany crazy image that people seem to think the first game was and not including it's griminess and darkness at it's core.
Also the final boss was so bad I just straight up quit and looked at the ending on YouTube, sorry if this affects my gaming cred but what the hell where they thinking.
I got some down bitches i can call
pretty much a downgrade from the first in every imaginable way. boring gameplay, less interesting characters and themes, but they still got some great interactions between characters at times :D
No More Heroes 2 is a strange beast.
It doesn't understand the first one. The power fantasy that the original makes a joke with becomes the fantasy the sequel sells for the player. Henry who was a Vergil parody for a hack and slash parody now becomes Vergil but the version of DmC, Shinobu becomes a fetishized character and Sylvia who was the way of the game literally says to the player that the game is a joke now becomes a kinda of femme fatale and a fetishized character too. And Travis even if the game start with him being a anime hero for the sake of the power fantasy, by the end becomes a character more aline with the way of Suda's writing. I could go on and on about this because it's all you see for the first half of the game, the minigames were turned into a way of grinding instead of a nice way to make the game flow better, the way the game deals with sexual content is way worse and so on. But at the same time, No More Heroes 2 does a lot of cool stuff.
The combat is amazing, as good as the first one. Melee being a full playstyle makes all Fire Pro Wrestling references cooler, the scenery being a big part of the fights makes everything so more dynamic and cool, the juggle combos. Is just very good, even more so with the multiple swords. Is just not as smart as Travis Strikes Again and No More Heroes 3 with the enemies and bosses. But the boss battles in No More Heroes 2 are usually in between mid and very good, for some reason when you got the Ryuji fight the game decides to make every boss just as good as the first one and is in the final half that the game becomes great.
The power fantasy left, Travis becomes more like Travis, the text and cutscenes becomes good. Is like the devs suddenly remembered what makes No More Heroes 1 great and they decided to try that but with a vengeance story while dealing with the way those characters interacts with violence. And even the final boss is interesting, he is like Iwami from Yakuza 6, a shit guy trying to play the cool guy with a shit fight because he couldn't do anything.
Nobutaka Ichiki did a cool work, sure I would love to see Suda51 version (even more after discovering that the game was supposed to be inspired by Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2) but I liked his take and I hope someday he get a chance to make a big project of his own.
It doesn't understand the first one. The power fantasy that the original makes a joke with becomes the fantasy the sequel sells for the player. Henry who was a Vergil parody for a hack and slash parody now becomes Vergil but the version of DmC, Shinobu becomes a fetishized character and Sylvia who was the way of the game literally says to the player that the game is a joke now becomes a kinda of femme fatale and a fetishized character too. And Travis even if the game start with him being a anime hero for the sake of the power fantasy, by the end becomes a character more aline with the way of Suda's writing. I could go on and on about this because it's all you see for the first half of the game, the minigames were turned into a way of grinding instead of a nice way to make the game flow better, the way the game deals with sexual content is way worse and so on. But at the same time, No More Heroes 2 does a lot of cool stuff.
The combat is amazing, as good as the first one. Melee being a full playstyle makes all Fire Pro Wrestling references cooler, the scenery being a big part of the fights makes everything so more dynamic and cool, the juggle combos. Is just very good, even more so with the multiple swords. Is just not as smart as Travis Strikes Again and No More Heroes 3 with the enemies and bosses. But the boss battles in No More Heroes 2 are usually in between mid and very good, for some reason when you got the Ryuji fight the game decides to make every boss just as good as the first one and is in the final half that the game becomes great.
The power fantasy left, Travis becomes more like Travis, the text and cutscenes becomes good. Is like the devs suddenly remembered what makes No More Heroes 1 great and they decided to try that but with a vengeance story while dealing with the way those characters interacts with violence. And even the final boss is interesting, he is like Iwami from Yakuza 6, a shit guy trying to play the cool guy with a shit fight because he couldn't do anything.
Nobutaka Ichiki did a cool work, sure I would love to see Suda51 version (even more after discovering that the game was supposed to be inspired by Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2) but I liked his take and I hope someday he get a chance to make a big project of his own.
Weaker than NMH in all aspects, besides graphics and MAYBE combat. Even so, PEAK game.
FUCK JASPER BATT JR.
This game was fun but god the story was boring. Also I don't miss the open world from the first game as opposed to a lot of people. The worldbuilding was not worth the tradeoff of having to ride through an empty and lifeless feeling map with little to see.
This game was fun but god the story was boring. Also I don't miss the open world from the first game as opposed to a lot of people. The worldbuilding was not worth the tradeoff of having to ride through an empty and lifeless feeling map with little to see.
Desperately Struggling to find something good about this game.
I haven't even played this I just needed to make that pun.
I haven't even played this I just needed to make that pun.
swinging to a 4
The sequel definetly feels like a proper video game more than the first one.
The world lacks moe power!!!
The world lacks moe power!!!
I don't think this game particularly upset me, but it surely didn't make me shout that it's a peak game, it's a good game, and a decent continuation of No More Heroes, but it does miss alot of the flair and style I just had with the original. However, I still enjoyed this alot.
Devil May Cry 2: Grasshopper Manufacture edition.
Though I do not particularly enjoy doing this, for this review I will primarily be comparing this game to other titles. I believe this game doesn’t really form its own distinct identity outside of “The Sequel of No Mo Heroes” and as a result it’s really difficult to talk about it as though it were an independent work that stands on its own.
No More Heroes, like many SUDA51 games, is an incredibly multi-faceted work with brilliant commentary on a wide range of topics relating to video games and human life, but No More Heroes 2 lacks any of this clever writing and game design that has made Grasshopper Manufacture such an endearing company up until this time. It makes sense since SUDA51 did not serve as director and his role of writer is somewhat ambiguous as well for this game, and it shows.
In my review of No More Heroes, I specifically focused on the game’s commentary on the repetitive nature of video games and how it uses an intentionally poorly structured game loop to highlight this repetitiveness among other things. This structure is completely changed in this game. Now, you are able to directly go into the rank battles one after another without having to pay the ranking fee. The side jobs are still present in the game, but are completely optional. The annoying unfun side jobs of the original which mirror jobs in real life have been replaced by much funner 8-bit style arcade games. What these changes do is make the game much better paced and better structured from a gameplay perspective, but ruins some of the artistic goals of the original.
This wouldn’t be a problem if the game made up for it with its own ideas and themes, but it does not. This is why I say that this game has no separate identity outside of simply being the sequel of No More Heroes. Its primary theme, revenge and the cycle of violence, is something already present in the original. It is just far less subtle in this game. All the humor, the characters, and the tone of the original is preserved and dumped directly into this one as well. In fact, in some ways this game is even a flanderization of No More Heroes. The sexuality has gone waaay up and so has the general ridiculousness. This game WILL make you look at Sylvia’s breasts and even if you avoid one cutscene with a zoom up on them it will eventually catch you slacking.
Even the core narrative of this game is, frankly, a rehash of the original that lacks any of the deliberate commentary of the original. No More Heroes 2 copies No More Heroes whenever it can and makes reckless changes without really thinking very hard for why the original is designed the way it is. This is why at the top of this critique, I compared this game to Devil May Cry 2. They are actually decently similar games in many ways. Both lack the director of the original game they’re a sequel to, both are far more ridiculous than the original in their events (DMC2 has demon tanks and helicopters and this game has mech battles and weird giant batman parody babies), both are pretty pointless sequels, and both completely misunderstand what made the original good in the first place.
Now of course, DMC2 and this game is not a 1 to 1 comparison. No More Heroes 2 is far better than DMC2 and succeeds in many of the aspects the latter fails, and I honestly might be stretching a lot with this comparison, however I feel like they fall into similar pitfalls.
Despite all of this, I still reasonably enjoyed my time with this game. Even if it does not quite have the wit of the original, it most certainly has its charm, and that may be enough for me. The gameplay is still extremely button mashy but so much fun, Travis is still a loveable jackass, and you’re still able to play with Jeane the cat though she’s gained a bit of weight. Most of the things I enjoyed about this game were already in the original, however. Still, 3 whole extra stars to this game for making playing with Jeane more interactive. Very excited to see what SUDA51 does with her in NMH3!
Though I do not particularly enjoy doing this, for this review I will primarily be comparing this game to other titles. I believe this game doesn’t really form its own distinct identity outside of “The Sequel of No Mo Heroes” and as a result it’s really difficult to talk about it as though it were an independent work that stands on its own.
No More Heroes, like many SUDA51 games, is an incredibly multi-faceted work with brilliant commentary on a wide range of topics relating to video games and human life, but No More Heroes 2 lacks any of this clever writing and game design that has made Grasshopper Manufacture such an endearing company up until this time. It makes sense since SUDA51 did not serve as director and his role of writer is somewhat ambiguous as well for this game, and it shows.
In my review of No More Heroes, I specifically focused on the game’s commentary on the repetitive nature of video games and how it uses an intentionally poorly structured game loop to highlight this repetitiveness among other things. This structure is completely changed in this game. Now, you are able to directly go into the rank battles one after another without having to pay the ranking fee. The side jobs are still present in the game, but are completely optional. The annoying unfun side jobs of the original which mirror jobs in real life have been replaced by much funner 8-bit style arcade games. What these changes do is make the game much better paced and better structured from a gameplay perspective, but ruins some of the artistic goals of the original.
This wouldn’t be a problem if the game made up for it with its own ideas and themes, but it does not. This is why I say that this game has no separate identity outside of simply being the sequel of No More Heroes. Its primary theme, revenge and the cycle of violence, is something already present in the original. It is just far less subtle in this game. All the humor, the characters, and the tone of the original is preserved and dumped directly into this one as well. In fact, in some ways this game is even a flanderization of No More Heroes. The sexuality has gone waaay up and so has the general ridiculousness. This game WILL make you look at Sylvia’s breasts and even if you avoid one cutscene with a zoom up on them it will eventually catch you slacking.
Even the core narrative of this game is, frankly, a rehash of the original that lacks any of the deliberate commentary of the original. No More Heroes 2 copies No More Heroes whenever it can and makes reckless changes without really thinking very hard for why the original is designed the way it is. This is why at the top of this critique, I compared this game to Devil May Cry 2. They are actually decently similar games in many ways. Both lack the director of the original game they’re a sequel to, both are far more ridiculous than the original in their events (DMC2 has demon tanks and helicopters and this game has mech battles and weird giant batman parody babies), both are pretty pointless sequels, and both completely misunderstand what made the original good in the first place.
Now of course, DMC2 and this game is not a 1 to 1 comparison. No More Heroes 2 is far better than DMC2 and succeeds in many of the aspects the latter fails, and I honestly might be stretching a lot with this comparison, however I feel like they fall into similar pitfalls.
Despite all of this, I still reasonably enjoyed my time with this game. Even if it does not quite have the wit of the original, it most certainly has its charm, and that may be enough for me. The gameplay is still extremely button mashy but so much fun, Travis is still a loveable jackass, and you’re still able to play with Jeane the cat though she’s gained a bit of weight. Most of the things I enjoyed about this game were already in the original, however. Still, 3 whole extra stars to this game for making playing with Jeane more interactive. Very excited to see what SUDA51 does with her in NMH3!
It's technically better than the first game... but it's also missing a lot of the spark of the first game. It also has an absolute nightmare of a final boss full of difficult to dodge attacks and instant kill moves.
Better than the first game in literally every way, and it annoys me that NMH fans consider this to be weaker than the first game.
Man I do love this game but its ending is so ehhh music is really good and i love its characters
Downgrade
I fw this game so hard its definitely not as good a game as the first nmh but the dual beam katanas are so peak and the little mini games to earn money are way more fun imo and you dont have to drive around on that piece of shit motorcycle
this is just nmh1 if you took away everything clever about it and cranked the stupid factor up to 11. still fun, but overall a pretty pointless sequel, nmh1 would probably be a little bit better if the direct sequels didn't exist, but i get that the first game has a lot of fans (including me), and most fans want more of what they love, so i guess the sequels were kinda necessary to keep most of the fans happy. i'm glad other people like this game, but i don't.
TRAVIS, IT'S KILL OR BE KILLED
No More Heroes 2 is weird, and in many ways at that. It feels like for every thing it does right, it does another thing very wrong. The sidejobs were made more fun with an interesting style, but their also completely optional. The combat is deeper and more frenetic than the first, but the fun, if flawed, open world was scrapped for a simple world map. The story takes the power fantasy that the first game parodied and plays it rather straight, only to change gears and continue the first game's message on violence, with even more character development for my boy Travis. And the endgame throws 3 amazing and emotional bosses at you in quick succession, only to end the game with one of the dumbest bosses I've ever fought. The entire thing adds up to a mixed bag, but it's a bag I did enjoy. Plus it's got a banging soundtrack and CAPTAIN VLADIMIR!!
No More Heroes 2 is weird, and in many ways at that. It feels like for every thing it does right, it does another thing very wrong. The sidejobs were made more fun with an interesting style, but their also completely optional. The combat is deeper and more frenetic than the first, but the fun, if flawed, open world was scrapped for a simple world map. The story takes the power fantasy that the first game parodied and plays it rather straight, only to change gears and continue the first game's message on violence, with even more character development for my boy Travis. And the endgame throws 3 amazing and emotional bosses at you in quick succession, only to end the game with one of the dumbest bosses I've ever fought. The entire thing adds up to a mixed bag, but it's a bag I did enjoy. Plus it's got a banging soundtrack and CAPTAIN VLADIMIR!!
No esta mal, y me gustan algunos cambios a la jugabilidad del primero, pero deja a deber en los jefes, y varios enemigos se me hicieron molestos.
Una evolución bastante notoria de las mecánicas del primer juego, incluso siento que fueron mejoradas además de la inclusión de diferentes armas lo hicieron bastante ameno de jugar... Pero no todo es color de rosa.
Lamentablemente, Desperate Struggle tiene los jefes más olvidables de la franquicia y una re-escritura de Travis Touchdown que no venía al caso.
Pudo haber sido 100000% veces mejor que hubieran esperado años más en sacar una secuela pero ya escrita por Suda.
Lamentablemente, Desperate Struggle tiene los jefes más olvidables de la franquicia y una re-escritura de Travis Touchdown que no venía al caso.
Pudo haber sido 100000% veces mejor que hubieran esperado años más en sacar una secuela pero ya escrita por Suda.