Perhaps one of the more conflicting Suda51 titles in terms of reception with the audience, No More Heroes 3 tries to bring new life for Travis Touchdown following years of trying new combat systems and narratives within Grasshopper Manufacture's titles. There are TONS of gameplay, narrative, and stylistic elements drawn from their older titles (a similar overworld to One Night Kiss, similar space fights to Liberation Maiden, a similar art style to Killer Is Dead, various characters returning from previous Suda51-written stories, etc.), and it's pretty obvious that this and Travis Strikes Again serve to be a celebration of everything Suda and Grasshopper have created for over 20 years of game development.
I'm going to be honest and upfront: Travis Strikes Again has the best story. Yeah, pretty unique take, right? But regardless, I think it's fine that this game went the direction it did. After all, Travis' development in TSA already did most of the legwork with the narrative and I don't think it had much to go by after that. That being said, there's still quite a bit to digest with this game's story: love, hatred, death, life, heroism, villainy.
Suda51 wasn't very subtle with most of these recurring themes, especially knowing how much of a New Order fan he is. But even then, it's interesting to see all of them being demonstrated through the interactions of Travis and the rest of the cast. You have the big bad villain of the story, FU, who serves as a reflection of what Travis used to be in the earlier entries. FU is in a relationship conflict with his best friend Damon, who you can hardly tell if the pair really love each other until the very end. Travis meets various characters who have their own reasons for fighting. Some fight for glory, some fight because they believe it's their destiny, some fight because it's the heroic thing to do (one person in particular is actually a coward under the guise of a hero), and some fight because they're just damn mad. The final hour of the game demonstrates that last fact pretty well. It's a perfect culmination of everything that occurred in the previous games, thematically speaking. Some might argue that the story was a little rushed or unfinished, but I think it works well anyway. There were some subversions of expectations that had me a bit frustrated at first, but in any case, it's a satisfying conclusion to a t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶y̶ tetralogy that begs to leave it the way it is.
Gameplay wise? It's the best that Grasshopper Manufacture has to offer. For No More Heroes veterans like myself, there is still a lot more to digest in terms of tech and strategies that allow for more fun with the beam katana. For example, learning how to reduce attack animations with jump attacks, learning combinations of light/heavy attacks with said jump attacks to maximize damage output while minimizing battery usage, learning that you can technically stock 2 Full Armors with an exploit, and finding new ways to look flashy all the while doing so. There are returning mechanics from 1 and 2 that are both easier and harder to complete. Dark Steps can be exploited by spamming the dodge button while holding the katana charging input, and extra damage from Kill Slashes are more subtle and are shown with the intensity of the light of the Blood Berry. There's just a lot to take in for those who want to find everything this game has to offer for gameplay. It's also a bit like Travis Strikes Again, so NMH3 mixes in traditional action gameplay with arcade style combat for a pretty unique and stylish experience. Fun? Yes. Monotonous? Yes. Conflicting? Yes. I don't care. I fucking love it.
Suda51 has a lot of love for this series and the way it ended should be left that way. I don't think we need a fifth installment because I wouldn't really be much point to it, unless you want something of a boring, quirky tale like No More Heroes 2. That's just me, though.
Playing this game for over 400 hours and I still can't get enough of it. Thank you, Grasshopper Manufacture, for creating a satisfying beginning, middle, and end to my favorite series.
Farewell, My Hero
I'm going to be honest and upfront: Travis Strikes Again has the best story. Yeah, pretty unique take, right? But regardless, I think it's fine that this game went the direction it did. After all, Travis' development in TSA already did most of the legwork with the narrative and I don't think it had much to go by after that. That being said, there's still quite a bit to digest with this game's story: love, hatred, death, life, heroism, villainy.
Suda51 wasn't very subtle with most of these recurring themes, especially knowing how much of a New Order fan he is. But even then, it's interesting to see all of them being demonstrated through the interactions of Travis and the rest of the cast. You have the big bad villain of the story, FU, who serves as a reflection of what Travis used to be in the earlier entries. FU is in a relationship conflict with his best friend Damon, who you can hardly tell if the pair really love each other until the very end. Travis meets various characters who have their own reasons for fighting. Some fight for glory, some fight because they believe it's their destiny, some fight because it's the heroic thing to do (one person in particular is actually a coward under the guise of a hero), and some fight because they're just damn mad. The final hour of the game demonstrates that last fact pretty well. It's a perfect culmination of everything that occurred in the previous games, thematically speaking. Some might argue that the story was a little rushed or unfinished, but I think it works well anyway. There were some subversions of expectations that had me a bit frustrated at first, but in any case, it's a satisfying conclusion to a t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶y̶ tetralogy that begs to leave it the way it is.
Gameplay wise? It's the best that Grasshopper Manufacture has to offer. For No More Heroes veterans like myself, there is still a lot more to digest in terms of tech and strategies that allow for more fun with the beam katana. For example, learning how to reduce attack animations with jump attacks, learning combinations of light/heavy attacks with said jump attacks to maximize damage output while minimizing battery usage, learning that you can technically stock 2 Full Armors with an exploit, and finding new ways to look flashy all the while doing so. There are returning mechanics from 1 and 2 that are both easier and harder to complete. Dark Steps can be exploited by spamming the dodge button while holding the katana charging input, and extra damage from Kill Slashes are more subtle and are shown with the intensity of the light of the Blood Berry. There's just a lot to take in for those who want to find everything this game has to offer for gameplay. It's also a bit like Travis Strikes Again, so NMH3 mixes in traditional action gameplay with arcade style combat for a pretty unique and stylish experience. Fun? Yes. Monotonous? Yes. Conflicting? Yes. I don't care. I fucking love it.
Suda51 has a lot of love for this series and the way it ended should be left that way. I don't think we need a fifth installment because I wouldn't really be much point to it, unless you want something of a boring, quirky tale like No More Heroes 2. That's just me, though.
Playing this game for over 400 hours and I still can't get enough of it. Thank you, Grasshopper Manufacture, for creating a satisfying beginning, middle, and end to my favorite series.
Farewell, My Hero