Introspective Memorial

For the past months, starting with The Silver Case I've been analyzing Suda51's work on detail to see where the fuzz is with him and his works in particular. A clear obsession over someone's work? Everyone has their favorites; Franchises, names, characters, writters, composers, designers, companies all in the name of familiarity under the sense of comfort. No one can deny that Suda51 has made a name for himself in the industry, starting off working with several other companies before creating "Grasshopper Manufacture" his very own company. Their motto is "Video Game Band, Punk is Not Dead" which to a lesser extent refers to the act of rebellion and to standout for themselves in a little confined group of people with a clear identity, tastes and ideas. It is easy to assume that is just clever wording for "it's not for everyone". You might be right, GHM games set themselves to built a loyal fanbase with their products. They do a great job at keeping consistency, different genres or not their DNA is still prevalent.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is to a lesser extent a celebration of Grasshopper Manufacture and a introspective for Suda51 as a creator. It is a very personal title, a love letter to the indie scene and a message to the game industry I'd say. The game industry now can't sustain by itself, at least without making it obvious with predatory practices that directly affects the customer for the worst. Like Ouroboros, the game industry is eating itself up and is not growing as much as the people with money expect to. If anything, the indie scene has been growing and growing this last decade and that isn't a surprise knowing how most big productions turn out to be these days. There is a big sense of distrust amongst consumers, and everyday it seems to be getting worse. Grasshopper itself suffered through this during the best part of the 2010's, their "Dark Age" as I like to call it. Your EAs, Kadokawas, and some more that never got along well with the studio. After all that, Grasshopper shrinked to an indie sized studio and went up to create this game.

Travis Strikes Back is one of those titles that you would find in the Xbox Live Arcade or PSN Store for 20$, it kind of shows. But don't let that fool you, the Grasshopper DNA as I said before is pretty much present here and it is better than ever. Multiplayer hack and slash by day, visual novel by night. But again, underneath all of that is that powerful and personal message of unfullfiled dreams and successes that would end up carrying this company legacy. This is Travis's introspective as an assasin, climbing up the ranks to the top and enjoying what life has to offer after a hard day at work. You are already on the top, what's there to do now? How do you continue your legacy? Keep doing the same? Imrprove? Or start over? When you are lost, looking at your failures, achievements and getting to know yourself better to see what makes you, well, you is the best way to know where to head next. Travis's story hit a climax in No More Heroes 1, which asked that very same question. In Travis Strikes Back he looks back at fallen heroes, old men have already nothing to lose but their lives and this is where Travis's phillosophy shines through his speech. Not necessarily looking down on his enemies but giving his perspective on life and putting your work on the line. This is not the Travis we got to known in the first game, he has grown now, to be a wiser man. A perfect reflection to life experiences, Suda51 itself went hell and back to be where he's now and the same goes for Travis Touchdown. Aside from the main hack and slash game, we get a VN styled adventure which gives us further context of the story. Basically Travis in each scenario is searching for the "Death Balls" around the globe. As a celebration title, this game includes a lot of character from other GHM games such as Dan from Killer7, Sundance from F.S.R, Shirobayu from 25th Ward alongside others. More than anything they're cameos that don't impact much in the overall story and personally I see this just as a funny little gag.

It is as impactful as knowing you best friend deepest secret, explained by himself. All the frustrations, fears and getting to talk about what it is into on detail. What it believes, what wants to achieve, and mainly: personal goals for the future. It is not laid out to be a comprehensive documentary of the company or Suda51 itself, it is first and foremost a No More Heroes game. Though, it is without it's negatives mainly comming from the gameplay that can get old quickly. This isn't necessarily a problem since the game often goes back and forward with new gimmicks that break the main formula every now and then. Though I'd say I did felt this complain was completely valid on the last level.

All and all it is a solid action title, and a happy commemoration of Grasshopper Manufacture history. A happy reminder that even through they might have changed once or twice over the years, they still carry the soul of Punk.