Possibly the strongest story in the series so far, while also being a love letter to Mamatoto. Really enjoyed all the interactions between characters. Even the guys get a lot of great scenes, Patton and Hubert especially. Minerva is an incredible antagonists, everything around her is perfect. The heroines are pretty good. It gets credit for introducing Miracle Tou, second best girl in the entire series. Getting every heroine end was kinda tedious, but they could be interesting. The gameplay is alright, not the best in the series, but not the worst either. It feels like a natural evolution of Mamatoto.

One of the best in the entire Rance series. A shining example of a remake done right. Stays true to the original, while also being incredibly unique. The gameplay is like a more fun and streamlined version of 01. It gives you multiple party members you can use freely. There's use incentives to try them all. The story is the first in the series with a more grand scale, in comparison to the previous smaller conflicts. Introduces the concept of Dark Lords and the Demon King. Gives a lot of lore and backstory for characters that the original couldn't. Of course, the real highlight is Rance and his interactions with various characters. The presentation is top notch. Music is full of nonstop bangers. Probably the best in the entire series. The voice acting is excellent, everyone is perfectly cast. Kanami and Sill's voice actors give a stunning performance that breathes life into these characters. I wish Rance himself was voiced more. Hearing his iconic "gahaha" post battle is great. Gyokai's art is extremely aesthetically appealing. Every CG is a treat. All the female character designs are stellar.

No More Heroes 2 is an odd sequel. It had very little involvement from Suda51, the writer and director of the first game. His lack of involvement can be felt throughout the entire game, culminating in an experience that's inferior to the first, but not without some fun to be had.
One the surface, the narrative is similar to the first game, Travis is out to be the top of the UAA, this time for revenge. The plot explores this idea of revenge and the cycle of violence that it causes. On paper, this is a really cool idea, there are many ways could be explored with a character like Travis. Unfortunately, it somewhat diminishes the execution with bizarre a bizarre tone and random humor. The first game had wacky humor too, obviously, but it also had grit and felt somewhat grounded. Desperate Struggle leans way too hard into the comedy, with stuff like mech fights and ghosts, which makes it hard to take the darker moments seriously. I also take issue with how Travis himself is portrayed. In the first game he's a pathetic loser who tries to act cool. In this game however, he's he's treated as some legend among other assassins and is fairly successful with women. Perhaps it was to show his growth, but something about it felt off. He's still charismatic and has excellent interactions, so I can't complain too much.
The gameplay is puzzling to me. Feels a lot worse to play than the first. Attacks feel clunky, you have less control over the camera and it's constantly getting in the way. The worst thing, is that almost every attack seems to knock you down. It's just obnoxious. Enemies take way to long to kill, even when you max out your attack. It's baffling, the first game had simple combat, but felt really satisfying to cut people down, so I don't know how they messed up this badly. The boss fights, which used to be a highlight, are mostly terrible. A majority of them are easy and rely too much on stupid gimmicks. There's only two that I'd consider to be pretty good, the rest are disappointing. That's to say nothing of how the bosses are now poorly built up and characterized. In the original game, there was some build up and Travis got bantered with his opponents before the fight, giving some insight into their character. It's actually impressive how well they're characterized in those brief scenes. Here, there's some banter before the fight, but not usually anything as insightful, leaving them to be largely unmemorable. I should mention the final boss, which is considered to be very disappointing to many. Quite honestly, I must respect it from a thematic standpoint, even if the fight itself is awful. The minigames this time around are abysmal. The first game had bad minigames, but this is a step below even that. They're themed around being like NES games and visually look nice, but actually playing them is often a miserable experience. The money you get from doing them doesn't exactly feel worth it either. Not that you'd need much money, as
there's not overmuch you need to buy. The lack of an open world is another thing which seemed to upset some people, but I see it as a positive. Less wasted time driving to a different location and it allows them to refine the visuals in the main areas you'll be going to. There was an attempt to give variety by allowing you to playa as other characters for a limited time. Most notably, Shinobu, a boss from the first game. the idea of playing as her is cool, but strangely, she has a gimmick where she's able to jump, which they try to utilize this during boss fights. This is obviously a complete disaster, the platforming for these sections is atrocious and they're some of the most annoying bosses. In addition, Henry is playable, and he's a lot more fun. He can dash, which is helpful. Sadly, he's only used for a single boss.
If there's one genuinely positive thing about No More Heroes 2 that shines even brighter than its predecessor, it's the music. It's all fantastic and sets up the atmosphere and conveys the emotions of the scenes extremely well. It's enough to motivate you through the most frustrating aspects and elevates the game significantly.
This review may sound negative, but I still think No More Heroes 2 is rather decent and worth playing. It's simply that all these flaws add up and are bothersome. It makes it feel like a downgrade in many respects, even if it isn't exactly a horrible game.

Good time. Will have to grind for the best items, which is annoying, but it's not exactly required to finish the game. The combat itself is simple and can get tedious, but you can always use auto combat. Not ideal for the more difficult encounters though, as the AI has a tendency of putting ranged fighters on the front lines, getting them killed. The narrative is where Rance IV really shines, following up directly after III ended. It has an interesting setting introduces some cool world building regarding Toushins. It's also the first time Rick is a party member, who is one of the best characters in the series.