If you were to take lightsaber combat, mix it with open-world gameplay and add in a generic otaku character, then you pretty much get the most of what No More Heroes is. That, however, is not what you should break this title down to. No More Heroes certainly tries to broaden the spectrum of the many titles we are graced with in this industry. With its quirky story and gameplay, you can actually come to terms with the game if you can get past its quirkiness.

So, what’s it about?

No More Heroes introduces you to a rather unique character, Travis Touchdown. Through his efforts, of a winning a beam katana, he suddenly has the incentive to become a Hitman and take down the top assassins to earn his rank in the list. After winning this beam katana, he accepts a job and kills his first ranked assassin thus ranking him as number 11 in the United Assassins Association. Because of this other assassins in the same group now seek him out.

Although it stops there after your first gig, you are back at your hotel in sunny California. The appearance of an open-world is there, although there isn’t much to do in it. You just ride around in your motorcycle and pretend you can run over pedestrians like it’s nobody’s business. Players have to seek out part-time jobs around the city and travel on your bike from point A point B playing little mini-games to earn money, so you can find your next assassin hit.

How’s the gameplay?

With the Wiimote and nun-chuck in hand, you can control your character actions in the basic movements. Using the nun-chuck for your character and the Wiimote for your lightsaber, I mean, beam katana. You can also call your motorcycle with the Wiimote as well with the d-pad.

The combat is rather tricky and must be looked at carefully if you want to succeed in defeating the many assassins you will be faced with. Each assassin comes with his or her own special tactics that you must figure out as your fighting. The beam katana doesn’t actually use the free-motion that you may have been lead to believe. You unfortunately have to control the katana with the B and A buttons.

To continue with earning missions and getting your way through the ranks of the United Assassins Association, you must take up side quests in order to gain the money needed for your next hit. With these side quests, they easily take advantage of the Wiimote’s different styles. While it does add a refreshing aspect to the gameplay, it doesn’t add much to the overall handle of the game.

I’ve heard its Open World?

You may have heard that No More Heroes has the great sense of open world gameplay. That is true in some cases, but not rightly so in its entirety. It’s repetitiveness is so overwhelmingly present that you don’t get the feeling you are truly riding around in an open world environment. At most, you will be traveling around from point A to point B trying to complete various side quests to gain the cash needed to get to your next job. This is where No More Heroes takes a hit because of its linear perspective.

How are the Graphics?

Suda 51 has always amazed me at how they are able to create a completely original art style and be consistent with it. The graphics are crisp and take advantage of what the Wii has to offer, as its blood work is certainly realistic. Character’s are fully realized. Although, in some cases you might be able to relate to Travis Touchdown. As you travel around like a normal teenager and spend money trying to make yourself look like the biggest pimp on the block, you never actually talk to anyone walking around the streets. Overall, however, No More Heroes shines in this department and manages to get its point across without trying to mess with your head, aka Killer 7.

There must be music right?

The soundtrack to No More Heroes is a bit iffy. It doesn’t exactly have a soundtrack like you would normally find in the cinematic kind of way. Most of the sound consists of repeated themes over the course of different stages. You’ll get the occasional boss theme, of course, but that is hard to come by when you have to deal with the side quests in order to get the next boss. Even on the way to the next rank you find yourself hearing the same theme over and over again until you get to the top. So, its not surprising if you want to burn the disc afterwards because of its sound. Other than your standard sound effects with the voice acting, it is pretty normal and ultimately saves your ears until you get into the main stages.

Sounds like its pretty bad?

It may seem like I’m knocking this quite a bit, actually. No More Heroes seems like a gritty attempt by Suda 51 that is certainly not their best. Although No More Heroes has a very interesting story and some vibrant characters, it ultimately brings itself down for its sore spots. With its repetitiveness and uninteresting side quests, it’s hard to see how this title can redeem itself. The sheer tiredness of only using the A button to swing your beam katana is something that might make you tear off your fingers in frustration.

Plasma Factor

If you’re looking for that M rated Wii game you’ve been waiting for, you’ll get your full share of it here. While there are obvious problems that you can pin No More Heroes with, there is still some fun to be had with this title. I believe this is Suda 51’s “taking a break title”, and that their next one will surely be a gem. I found that it’s hard to like No More Heroes because of these flaws. However if you can look past that, you should have a pretty good time with No More Heroes.

Conclusion

While the overall feel of the game is just right for Suda 51's style, the gameplay in general appears to be unrefined and incomplete. Despite this, it is still something you can enjoy. I mean, hey, at least you can wield your beam katana with pride? So, you are left with the obvious choice of whether this is worth the purchase or not. Gamers, I would wholeheartedly recommend you rent this title first before committing to the price.