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This review contains spoilers

After marathoning every single No More Heroes game over the course of two weeks it's finally time to finish with No More Heroes III. Some people love this game and call it one of Sudas best while just as many deride it and call it an absolute sham of an experience. I'm somewhere in the middle with it however, as while it certainly does shit the bed in a lot of places, its also a pretty decent action game oozing with style.

After how rough an experience Travis Strikes Again was I had no hope for III gameplay wise but I am pleasantly surprised to say that it might have the best gameplay of the entire series. While I do miss beam customization and the grind for abilities is the worst its ever been (seriously why get rid of training), the overall feel of it and revamped mechanics makes it so fun. The slot machine being much more useful and changing up how wrestling moves work creates the fastest paced combat in the series, and the returning skills/death chips make Travis feel very versatile in combat. Another great change is the designated fights that replace levels this time around. In addition to the ATM feature of 1 returning you are also forced to do some minor skirmishes in order to fight a boss. While the locales are a bit generic I generally like this in comparison to levels because of how short and sweet they all feel, never taking too long and being pretty easy to get too in the small hubs this game has. Also this game goes balls to the walls in so many ways and I fucking love it for that, easily being the most stylish Suda 51 game with tons of fun moments throughout (FU is also a phenomenal villain that manages to be consistently entertaining). Little things like the fake intros and VN sections returning from TSA just adds to the overall experience and makes going through the journey worth it.

All that being said No More Heroes IIIs biggest sin is....the fucking visuals. Powered by Unreal Engine 4 (an engine that actually LOOKS GOOD ON SWITCH) the game manages to consistently look like a budget Wii game with character models in particular looking like acid attack victims. Its a real shame because a lot of the alien designs do look great and in the animated cutscenes they really shine but in game its rough. The overworlds also suffer this being pretty empty areas with only sparse things to do (like side jobs or the aforementioned matches). I don't hate this feature as much as others do because the hubs are super tiny but it also could've been axed and nothing would be lost. Speaking of nothing, NMH3s overall narrative is another weak point that feels like a complete clusterfuck, with many things either feeling intentionally screwed over or things just being blatantly unfinished. The assassins are hit with this the most, as a good chunk of them YOU DON'T EVEN FIGHT, being replaced with either nothing burgers (the musical chairs beast) or some odd nostalgia dumps (Kimmy Love and Henry Cooldown). After TSAs pretty solid story this feels like a massive kick in the balls that permiates throughout the 17 hour runtime, with the only saving graces being the aforementioned FU and the pretty solid characterization of Travis, who gets some great moments (like the rap with Kimmy or the entire ending). Finally the soundtrack might be the weakest in the series, with the only tracks I liked being the ramen store theme and Kimmy Loves theme.

NMH3 is a true mixed bag of a title that feels less like the satisfying continuation of a series and more of a shitpost. It does make me curious as to where Grasshopper will go with the series probably never getting a sequel due to Marvelous owning the majority of the IP. Not the worst of the series but certainly not its best outing.

6/10

this game is lowkey kind of just crack. suda51 was ABSOLUTELY on something ; but whatever it is, i genuinely loved it.

Perfect way to end a series you're losing the rights to. The video game equivalent of smearing shit all over the walls before getting evicted, but in a way that that's REALLY fun and cool, especially for anyone watching Suda do it. A complete goofy blast, with Suda openly indulging in all his interests, inspirations, and shit he just thinks is cool.


When starting a new game series I usually try to complete the first game first and go down the chronological path of entries to see the evolution.

No More Heroes III is one of the first ones where I've decided to just jump to the most recent one, and it felt appropriate. The game is insane already, so trying to figure out what's even real and canon was an experience that I feel only added to its atmosphere.

NMHIII is a stylish boss-rush/character action game in the vein of old Treasure games. It will never stand still and will pour its creativity through constant genre and artstyle switches.

This game is admitteldy style over substance, but NMHIII is an undisputed king of style and isn't even remotely similar to games that just want to look pretty for 12 hours. The gameplay is somewhat lacking, but I always wanted to see what would come next.

The general structure of the game is quite weak, though, and I wish all the battles you had to do to get to the next boss were optional. Unfortunately, the game never really switches up the required three battles > boss routine and that's its biggest weakness. In-game justification for all of that is collecting money to donate for the next round, but I wish the player had the means to procure the money by any means, as the game's open worlds feature plenty of collectibles and minigames.

It feels weird to want less combat out of an action game, but the small battles are pretty dire, and new enemies stop showing up at around boss 3 out of 10, which make them feel like grinding with the combat system that's so simple.

I can see someone feeling like this game is too wacky, but much like something like the original Deadly Premonition, it puts its whole ass into being what it is so it never really feels out of place, whether you're mowing down intergalactic threats or cleaning toilets (that are an equivalent of Ubisoft's towers in the open world).

I loved my time with this dumb game and I will definitely check out its prequels. Sure, it's janky, it's ugly in places, but it's got so much style and personality that it's hard not to fall in love.

wastes pretty much every legacy character by instantly killing them off or crippling them. travis is pretty good in this game as usual, but considering this is supposed to be the finale of the series it really ends on a whimper. game looks like shit too, but at least the combat is pretty fun. FU had some great moments but when you actually get to fight him it isn't interesting at all. Travis going full toku mode is based too

Love Will Tear Us Apart, again

No More Heroes III is a very strange game. It's more No More Heroes people long yearned and waited for. What? Was it 11 years since No More Heroes 2? Do not try to look it that way, rather it was just 3 years after Travis Strikes Back in case you are really into Grasshopper and Suda51. This is not an easy game to talk about, at least for me as I have very conflicting feelings towards it.

It takes the best aspects of No More Heroes, with the overall improvements found in No More Heroes 2 combat and the Death Glove's abilities added from Travis Strikes Back. So, this is for me the most fun combat No More Heroes ever had and probably one of the core aspects the team at Grasshopper focused on during it's development. It is really fun on a fundamental level, never gets old on sequential playthroughs or any combat sequence that is. But this is just the combat, aspects such as the open world and the mini-game do not hold much of the importance as they once had in the first game. It is sparse, messy, unorganized but the open world is somehow still beautiful underneath it's ugly appereance. As while it doesn't convey exactly what it wants to communicate, it's clumsiness and overall silly, empty yet full of personallity appereance makes it seem like an honest to heart attempt at making an open world. Ambition when the budget is not high, in a console that isn't particulary made to handle a load this heavy. A recipe for disaster that to some extent was fixed in the prior home-console release.

As a tradition in Grasshopper titles, the presentation is as distinctive as it is very in line with Grasshopper. It is bold, rash but most importantly confident of itself and knows were to go regardless what throws at you. It is not afraid to surprise you, nor afraid to show it's true intentions. There is passion plastered all around it. To me, this is a direct contrast to Grasshopper's "Dark Age" as while their signature style was still there, it was afraid to be seen, didn't hold enough meaning or was totally turned down in favor of cohesion with the base game visuals. No More Heroes III embraces it's wacky but endearing presentation with open arms and runs with it, as far as possible without looking back.

As far as the story goes, it's a direct contrast to Travis Strikes Back seemingly confined but personal adventure. This time is an over the top alien invasion over not just Santa Destroy but the world itself. Sets the tone perfectly, and doesn't get much deeper than that. As usual in Grasshoppers work, there are undertones that don't get explored directly but are hidden and left for interpretation. And this is exactly why I love talking about Grasshopper titles so much. It is not without it's flaws though, or rather bits that seem unfinished or aren't fleshed out for the most part. Things that flat out doesn't get explained and appear out of thin air, expecting you to care or have previous knowledge of it. Midori, Kamui, Blackhole, Bishop's brother know Travis, but he doesn't know any of them. So it comes out a bit akward, extending some of that fanservice Travis Strikes Back lefts us. It's like being in a party up late at night, most people left but you are left with a couple of strangers and old friends to share drinks with. What is important is the narrative that unfolds all the way to the end, and there is a lot to unpack there just as No More Heroes did back then. In No More Heroes the rank, and the assasins were and work around Travis arrival. It was the sign of his future, or what he could be in that world of assasins but in No More Heroes III everything works for FU, as everything centers around him. See the contrast? FU is number one on his very own rank on a contest he suddenly came up with while invading earth. FU is Travis if he never had fight to make it to the top, because he was aready up there from the beginning. The assasins bend their knee to FU for different reasons that get explored as the story goes on. In fact, Travis goes for FU not only becuase he's annoying but as an act of revenge. It is close enough of what No More Heroes 2 did back in the day. Simple, but it works at the end of the day. Travis Strikes Back already stablished "most" of the principals that would mold No More Heroes III story, go play it if you haven't.

Suda51 and the No More Heroes series go a long way, and the games made him more known here in the west. It was this sucess that leaded into giving this franchise a try once again with No More Heroes 2, and serve his reflection in Travis Strikes Back. No More Heroes is Suda51's son or the embodiment of everything he likes mashed into one product. This is the end of the series, one that was never meant to be more than a one-off job but ultimately grow bigger as we know now. And it is strange because every single game from this franchise feels different from each other with something that makes them unique and standout from each other and don't pile up as "This, but better" as most franchise tend to do. III's wacky ending doesn't tell me that this is specifically the end, but the start of something different. A new era of sorts. It's like sending your kid to college on another city far off were you live from, making sure as a father that everything would be ok before his eventual departure. Over the top, as high as it can be to make sure all of what the team wanted is fullfiled as ridiculous as it might sound.

Go out with a bang!

Uma gameplay legal mas meia bomba em alguns pontos e uma arte muito carismática e bonita

Indo pra parte que importa, a história desse aqui não é tão boa quanto as do 1 ou do TSA. É um puta fechamento bom do personagem do Travis, mas esperava um pouco mais da história (e do jogo em si)

Se Deus quiser não tem sequência

PS:(Depois de refletir sobre porque esse jogo ser tão esquisito e ver oque outras pessoas tinham a dizer, dá pra se interpretar que esse jogo é uma carta de ódio ao estado atual da arte tal qual o primeiro NMH, e usa a si mesmo como sacrifício pra exemplificar tudo que o Suda sempre foi contra. É esse o caso? Nunca saberemos, mas agora esse jogo significa bem mais na minha visão)

I've killed two of the aliens, and that's it. The first two installments I loved, but I think this series has become stagnant in this installment and is no longer as innovative as before. Repetitive and clunky combat. The 'open world' itself didn't work in the first installment, and now they give it more importance… Poor design decisions everywhere. Still, the art remains very cool, tacky but stylish. And character design is great as always. It's a pity.

It isnt nmh1 but i still like it

This one hurts, as a major fan of the series. I loved a lot of this game story wise, and it retains a lot of the charm. Yet it felt so hollow by the end. The gameplay is fun, but the same copy pasted arenas over and over again killed the enjoyment. It is lacking in customization and substance. There's hardly any content besides the main story.

This game just felt really rushed and slapdashed together. It's just MISSING something more that prevents me from loving it. For me, the weakest title.

It's a No More Heroes game, you're not going into it expecting it to be interesting, or even particularly fun - but it has a running B-plot that is Travis and Bishop having a filmbro 'podcast' where they talk exclusively about Takashi Miike at the end of every chapter so unfortunately my hands are tied in saying this is a very very good game. Go watch Ichi the Killer 5 times for a better use of your time.

This jumps around a bit too much for me. Probably would've been more fun if I played the other ones, though.

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

unjustified grinding holds it back

i LOVE this GAME it was the first nmh game i completed, and it was really fun to play!! :DD

I really wanted to like this more than I did.
The hope was that Suda had got his juice back with Travis Strikes Again and we'd have something here that was worthy of being a sequel to the original.
What we got here is a fun albiet very shallow sequel that seems to double down on this series's worst impulses. More "wow that's crazy" shit with millions of references to boot.
I kept waiting as well, everything about the game felt off and it made me feel we were approaching some thematic richness that just in the end didn't end up being there which is a real shame.
I didn't have a bad time with No More Heroes 3, but it's clear that what I want No More Heroes to explore and what Suda wants it to explore are very different and that's alright I guess.

Imma ball 'til the day I fall

No More Heroes 3 é um retorno emocionante à série, mas como qualquer jogo, tem seus pontos positivos e negativos. Vamos explorá-los:

Pontos Positivos:
Boss Fights Épicos: No More Heroes 3 oferece lutas de chefes surpreendentes e memoráveis.
Visual Atraente: O estilo artístico é vibrante e cativante.
História Divertida: A trama envolve assassinos alienígenas e uma competição sangrenta.
Combate Intenso: O sistema de combate hack-and-slash é empolgante e variado.

Pontos Negativos:
Preenchimento entre Chefes: O tempo entre as lutas de chefes pode ser monótono, com minijogos e missões secundárias.
Ausência de Níveis Temáticos: Diferentemente dos jogos anteriores, No More Heroes 3 não possui níveis temáticos antes de cada chefe.
Problemas de Desempenho: Alguns relatos de quedas de taxa de quadros e problemas visuais.

Jogos Semelhantes:
Ghost of Tsushima: Combate intenso e belos visuais em um cenário samurai.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Combate hack-and-slash com uma história sombria.
God of War (2018): Lutas épicas contra deuses nórdicos.

Duração do Jogo:
A campanha principal leva cerca de 12 horas para ser concluída.
Para 100% de conclusão, espere gastar em torno de 27½ horas.
No geral, No More Heroes 3 é um jogo divertido, mas com algumas falhas. Se você gosta de ação extravagante e personagens excêntricos, vale a pena conferir!

Good start, but unfortunately dull open world and only arena fights are lacking a lot. I like the whole approach and creativity, but it just falls short. In the end, I think NMH1 as a playthrough is enough.

I’ve Still Got Somewhere To Go Home To.
A pesar de tener tantas falencias tanto en rendimiento como en diseño de niveles, el que varios de los jefes resultaron ser reemplazados por otros o que el mismo juego se sintiera "corto", muy difícilmente puedo odiar No more heroes 3.

Es un cierre perfecto en la historia de Travis y también tomó un camino muy acertado a la hora de involucrar las mecánicas del Death Glove como en Travis Strikes Again. Me lo he pasado 3 veces y lo volvería a hacer a pesar de todo.

Felt a bit like it was cut down in some areas, likely suffering due to being made during Covid, but still this is a really great installment with a tone of soul, fun moments, and cool themes. Was kinda like a better version of 2


This is a game for the fans. It feels like a reward for sticking with the series and GHM for so long with how it hits all the right notes that make these games so very special