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No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Review for Nintendo Wii

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Review for Nintendo Wii

It seems like only yesterday when Travis Touchdown made his first appearance on the Wii in the original No More Heroes (NMH). It was this game that helped to show that the Wii didn’t have to be used only for family-friendly titles; it could instead also sport titles chock-full of violence, blood, gore, vulgarity, and underdressed, anatomically disproportioned characters. The original NMH still had its fair share of problems but there’s no denying that it had a style all its own, helping it to find a cult following and a decent amount of praise from critics. Luckily, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (NMH2) does much to improve upon the original, making the sequel a much more enjoyable gameplay experience throughout.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle screenshot

NMH 2 picks up three years after Travis Touchdown successfully slaughtered his way to the top, becoming the number one ranked United Assassins Association (UAA) assassin. Travis has seemingly walked away from the spotlight, leaving the world of assassination and killing behind. What actually transpired following the first title is left up to the player’s imagination. In an early comical scene Travis and Sylvia are discussing what has transpired, eventually stating that it didn’t matter and telling the story would only bore the player. Talk about breaking the fourth wall. Nonetheless, after Travis’ best friend is killed he must once again climb the ranks of the UAA in order to confront his friend’s killer, who sits perched atop the current list of assassins.

Last time around this was an easier task, needing only to slice through the top ten assassins that stood in his way of becoming number one. However, this time Travis starts off ranked 51, one of the many nice nods to series creator Suda 51 included in the game, and must carve his way to his friend’s murderer. Not to worry though, you won’t actually have to go through all fifty one assassins, more like fifteen, due to some humorous twists during your adventure.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle screenshot

The first of these artificial jumps through the assassin ranks comes in the form of one of the first few foes you’ll face, Charlie McDonald. He’s your stereotypical football jock character, complete with a half-naked personal cheerleading squad. At the beginning of the battle Charlie and his cheerleaders all rocket into space, forming into a massive killer robot. Fortunately, Travis also has a giant robot to pilot, stating that he always knew something like this would happen. What follows is an excellent Godzilla style battle, which when victorious, increases Travis’ rank to twenty five because all of the cheerleaders were also ranked. Most of the ranking battles found throughout NMH2 are equally odd, hilarious, and fun to play through ranging from an astronaut who can call down massive laser fire from an orbiting satellite to a girl with a double bladed-flute beam katana who also happens to be Travis’ number one obsessed fan.

While this part of the game is pretty similar to what was found in the original NMH, just about everything else has changed for the better. Two of the most common complaints about the first NMH were that you had to earn tons of cash to be able to take on your next ranking battle and that to earn this cash you had to take on the same few, not very fun minigames countless times. First off, you will no longer need to pay a single dollar to enter these fights, allowing you to progress through the game as quickly or slowly as you like. Secondly, the minigames have been completely revamped and now feel like a collection of tiny 8 bit games made available to you at any time once unlocked.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle screenshot

The minigames are a real blast to play this time around, making you feel as though you actually want to participate in them rather than having to in order to make it through the game. Some examples of my favorites include a game that has Travis tooling around a series of three-quarter view rooms, sucking various roaming bugs into a vacuum cleaner, and another that has him frying steaks the perfect amount of time in order to keep a restaurant’s customers happy. There are eight in all, one of which isn’t 8 bit-styled, and most have four levels apiece, so there is actually quite a bit of fun to be had with this optional part of the game. The cash you earn from participating in these entertaining experiences can also be used to purchase new cloths, accessories, beam katanas, and even food for your cat Jeane, who also has a series of replayable minigames attributed to helping her to lose her excess weight.

Another change made that helps to make playing through NMH2 a much more focused and enjoyable experience is how you’ll get around Santa Destroy. Unlike in the original, you’ll never need to drive your fairly sluggishly controlled motorcycle from event to event, searching for your next mission or minigame. Instead, NMH2 gives you what basically looks like a Don’s view (from Godfather 2) of Santa Destroy and a list of the available locations, minigames, and missions. All you have to do is select wherever you wish to go and you’ll instantly be transported to your destination, keeping you in the action rather than breaking it up with aimless and wonky driving segments.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle screenshot

The action itself even feels more refined this time around as well. Hacking through enemies using various combos feels extremely fluid, and the targeting feature seems to work better than it did in the first title as well. I had very few instances when the game targeted the wrong enemy and had almost no problems reselecting targets when it did. The ability to carry all of your useable beam katanas with you wherever you go is also a welcomed addition, making it quite easy to switch to the best weapon for the job on the fly. Players are even treated to the ability to dual wield with a specific set of beam katanas, which not only looks awesome it makes chopping down foes easier and more devastating.

There are even points in NMH2 when you’ll be placed in control of characters other than Travis. You’ll get the chance to play a small segment as Travis’ brother Henry and two missions as Shinobu, one of his former assassin targets. Henry has the ability to dash and fire projectiles from his sword and Shinobu is the only character in the game that can jump, so these portions help to add a more varied gameplay experience. While these segments are mostly fun, some of the jumping required in Shinobu’s stages can get a tad on the frustrating side since it can be difficult to judge distance and jumping angles when you have so very little control over the camera.

All in all, NMH2 is a much better game than its predecessor. Almost everything that detracted from the experience found in the original NMH has been addressed and is now vastly more enjoyable. Players are no longer taken out of the fun parts of the game to mindlessly repeat minigames in order to progress and aren’t forced to drive around town to find their next dose of combat. Instead, NMH2 is more akin to a shot of gaming adrenaline, delivering over the top action, entertaining minigames, and an enjoyably absurd storyline and characters directly into your veins without delay. If you’re a fan of the original NMH or are just looking for a great action title, you definitely need to play this game.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.7 Graphics
The highly stylized visuals are great and amongst the best on the system. 4.6 Control
Everything besides the jumping required during Shinobu’s segments works great here, and the motion controls used during combat make sense and actually enhance the overall experience. 4.7 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The voice work, sound effects, and music are all fantastic. 4.7

Play Value
Taking out the need to drive around Santa Destroy to get to all of your missions and not requiring you to earn money in order to progress through the game were great decisions that really pay off. Now you can simply enjoy the greatness of NMH2 in a more focused and entertaining way.

4.7 Overall Rating – Must Buy
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Dual Beam Katanas- Massacre your enemies in all new ways with single and dual-wield beam katanas and an expanded combo system.
  • Epic Boss Battles- New video cutscenes introduce the fifty UAA assassins standing between Travis and the top spot.
  • New Playable Characters- Take control of Shinobu with character-specific weapons, attacks, and combos.
  • 8-bit Mini-games- Suda 51 brings even more 8-bit elements, mini-games, and throwbacks to old-school gaming.
  • Travis Seeks Revenge- When an old friends is used against him, killing is the only way to find an answer.

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