No More Heroes is an interesting game. As someone already familair with Suda and his work going in (and having pretty much the entire series' story spoiled by watching a friend play it), I didn't expect for there to be much to surprise me. Playing it yourself really does change the experience, however. The story never takes itself too seriously, but still manages to insert some surprisingly heartfelt moments in-between the somewhat cynical and crude presentation. It also loves being ridiculous and making no sense. I think there's some layers to it, and while I could talk about that, I think I'll save it for when talking to friends.
I didn't play on the Wii, but while the gameplay was decent and had some depth, it still felt a bit clunky. Due to the focus on targeting singular enemies (and hoping others land in your crossfire) it was common for enemies to land hits on me from off-screen, or to swarm me while fighting one enemy. It got annoying, especially if I tried tackling those no-hit missions. Fuck those, by the way.
I think where the combat works best in this game is the boss fights. Here, you duel one-on-one, learning the boss patterns and figuring out the perfect time to strike. Without those other enemies, you can focus on blocking and evading without worrying about groups of enemies grouping up on you. I enjoyed the challenge and all the different ways the game spiced up each battle. It was great.
What I didn't find so great, however, was the stuff in-between. I understand the whole "you feel how repetitive and tiring it is for Travis by experiencing it yourself", but it still doesn't change the fact that it isn't that fun and is boring and repetitive. I get the artistry there, but making something intentionally bad doesn't stop it from being bad. The minigames weren't awful, but they pale in comparison to the combat.
There's probably more I could say, but to end things, I don't think Suda is a genius or anything. His games have charm, but I feel the execution here could be hit or miss. There were really cool things, but also not so cool things. This feels like the kind of game you should play multiple times to appreciate fully, so who knows how I'll feel in the future. For now, I'll say this is a great game, but I'm not fully on the Suda train yet.
I didn't play on the Wii, but while the gameplay was decent and had some depth, it still felt a bit clunky. Due to the focus on targeting singular enemies (and hoping others land in your crossfire) it was common for enemies to land hits on me from off-screen, or to swarm me while fighting one enemy. It got annoying, especially if I tried tackling those no-hit missions. Fuck those, by the way.
I think where the combat works best in this game is the boss fights. Here, you duel one-on-one, learning the boss patterns and figuring out the perfect time to strike. Without those other enemies, you can focus on blocking and evading without worrying about groups of enemies grouping up on you. I enjoyed the challenge and all the different ways the game spiced up each battle. It was great.
What I didn't find so great, however, was the stuff in-between. I understand the whole "you feel how repetitive and tiring it is for Travis by experiencing it yourself", but it still doesn't change the fact that it isn't that fun and is boring and repetitive. I get the artistry there, but making something intentionally bad doesn't stop it from being bad. The minigames weren't awful, but they pale in comparison to the combat.
There's probably more I could say, but to end things, I don't think Suda is a genius or anything. His games have charm, but I feel the execution here could be hit or miss. There were really cool things, but also not so cool things. This feels like the kind of game you should play multiple times to appreciate fully, so who knows how I'll feel in the future. For now, I'll say this is a great game, but I'm not fully on the Suda train yet.