the writing is so crusty it loops back to being enjoyable. almost a parody of anime tropes, to the extent that i'm not entirely sure this isn't satirical. the childhood friend girl-next-door love interest, the comic relief loser sidekick, the cute animal mascot, the stoic boy who's actually a super important special powers boy who got evil science done to him, and Toki. TOKI. she's the WORST, she's like how nerds remember the most marketable 'waifu' traits of Asuka and Rei Evangelion combined into a younger, edgier looking fanservice machine. the gameplay is probably the best mainline SMT has ever had up to this point, its atmosphere and art direction is nowhere near Nocturne's (tho what is) but this franchise's character writing hasn't ever been that strong. if you can have a good time with some anime babes saying shit like "homeslice went bananacakes" and dumbass edgelord demons telling you to unleash your joker's trick, then it's worth playing. if you can't handle that, you're a coward anyways.

Grasshopper and Suda's trademark creative personality unleashed on a scale not seen since the original. not as quiet and contemplative as Travis Strikes Again, 3 returns to the bold bullshit of the first without any of the overexerting quirk of the games that followed it. a return to form and, finally, the first No More Heroes game with combat that feels good and fun. honestly my biggest complaint is that i just wanted more - more weapons, more dialogue, more story (was pulling for another Killer7 appearance) and maybe a bit more variety. you can definitely tell this was a victim of both covid and a low budget, but it does the most it can. it had me grinning at the edge of my seat like very few games ever can. this is more of a 3 1/2 but it gets 5 stars for the Travis rap bit.

is ok. i feel like my expectations were maybe too high for the story everyone raved about, which i thought was fine. it doesn't do much new or interesting for me and the characters and their dynamics just felt like a massive step down from the original. i felt i understood the characters as people in the first game, whereas in this they are (literally by design) not as human and fleshed out. which is an artistic choice i respect but not one i like. i feel more for Caim, who doesn't talk, than i do 2B.

oh, and the combat is fine but not very satisfying. v floaty, lacks interesting options and impact.

one of the greatest games ever made - especially playing with Primehack on dolphin. shit is magical, even today. the atmosphere is thick, the kind of game you listen to just for the ambience. captivating and engrossing in a way few other games have ever come close to, it's a miracle this exists and is as good as it is. of all Nintendo series to get the 3D transition, I believe this is the best one. over Mario 64 and Ocarina. it's so goddamn good. cements Metroid as Nintendo's strongest large ip through art direction alone.

i played this before watching Twin Peaks and holy shit its comical how purely shameless some of it is - for instance, how the second victim was Anna's best friend who's dating a motorcycle enthusiast who gets caught with drugs in his motorbike gas tank. and there's a lot like that here, but the more the game goes on the more it finds its own identity. by the end, it's something completely different and very great. like how in its final stretch the game just decides, fuck it, we got boss fights now. stuff gets insane and it kicks ass and i love it dearly.