No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii) Review
It’s been quite a while since I’ve played a sequel that completely rectifies the problems I had with the original. It’s also been quite a while since I’ve played a sequel that doesn’t quite have as much charm as the original either. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, releases exclusively for the Nintendo Wii this year, a full two years after the original, and manages to eclipse the sequel in almost every single way. That being said, it’s a bit of a shame that a lot of it lacks the charm that the original had. Putting all that aside, however, No More Heroes 2 is an extremely enjoyable sequel that is sure to please both new fans and old fans alike.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle takes place approximately three years since Travis reached the top of the ranks in No More Heroes, and Travis has since retired from the ranks. Unfortunately for Travis, this means he has lost his ranking within the United Assassins Association (or UAA for short) and other assassins have since filled the ranks. Cue a battle with a mysterious fighter with ties to Travis’ past, and Travis finds himself thrust back into the UAA rankings, specifically at Rank 51, by none other than Silvia Christel, the manipulative co-ordinator that Travis dealt with in the previous No More Heroes title. In addition to this, Pizza Batt, a megalomaniacal corporation, has taken over Travis’ hometown of Santa Destroy and killed one of Travis’ best friends. It serves as no coincidence that the highest ranking assassin is also behind Travis’s best friend’s murder, and these feelings of revenge are what drive Travis to proceed through the ranks.
Desperate Struggles features a much greater budget than the original game, and this is much better reflected in the game’s graphical style. While the game’s graphics are still cel-shaded, the game takes a much sharper approach to the shading, making everything look a little bit more smoother and realistic. Facial expressions portray emotions quite well, particularly in the game’s story-building cutscenes. Animations have been tweaked to remove those awkward moments during combat, while the environments are greatly varied with several different weather effects. From snow to rain to a clear, and cloudy night, No More Heroes 2 doesn’t fail to deliver graphically, and it’s clear that the developers put a lot more effort into the title this time around. In addition, the jobs Travis can do to earn more money are presented in an absolutely stunning 8-bit style that not only manages to capture the look of that era, but also looks amazing on larger TV sets too.
For the most part, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle plays a lot like the original game. Travis must earn money in side jobs, confront a wave of lesser enemies and then finish with a battle against one of the ranked assassins. What has changed though is the way a lot of these components are handled. For those new to the series, No More Heroes is an action game in which players slash away at enemies with the Wii Remote’s face buttons, and input a motion command to finish off enemies in a rather brutal and gruesome fashion. In addition to attacks with the katana, Travis can also kick and punch enemies to daze them, which then results in the ability to pull off a wrestling move which is performed with the motion controls of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
The developers have also tweaked and streamlined the game to feel a lot less strenuous, with a lot less grinding taking place, keeping the game exciting and, well, not boring. The combat system has been reworked to include multiple combinations of attacks, effectively allowing Travis to chain together punches and kicks with slashes of his beam katana. Combine this with what is effectively two different move sets to play around with, depending on the angle at which the player holds the Wii Remote, and you’ve got a rather robust combat system. In addition, Travis can now pull off a powerful heavy slash by waving the Wii Remote while targeting an enemy too, which is a bit too powerful sometimes as I saw myself relying on it quite a bit in later fights. In addition to these moves, Travis must recharge his beam katana by shaking the Wii Remote every couple of moments, otherwise the katana itself will become unusable. Finally, Travis also has a bunch of “emergency” moves that can randomly activate to give Travis an edge in battle, these range from more powerful attacks to more obscure advantages like turning Travis into a fire-breathing tiger. All in all, the “rewards” system is a rather nifty way to get Travis out of trouble. For those who don’t like to rely on chance, Travis can enter a kind of “overdrive” mode if he performs a certain amount of attacks without being hit himself. In this overdrive mode, Travis can quite easily clear out a room of enemies, though in some of the game’s hectic battles it can be quite hard to not get hit in order to build up this meter.
In addition to the Katana, Travis will also be helped by two other friends who use quite different weapons, which once again mixes up the gameplay quite nicely. The only downside to this addition, however, is that one of these particular characters has the ability to jump instead of the usual melee attacks that Travis can perform. This mechanic is integrated into a platforming puzzle about halfway through the game, but unfortunately it’s clumsy and very poorly done. Without a doubt, one of the most frustrating segments I’ve ever had to play in a video game comes from this segment of Desperate Struggle.
Between missions, Travis can travel around Santa Destroy to earn money that he can use to buy new clothes, new weapons and training to increase his maximum health and strength. There are four main weapons available to Travis, two of which are quite different to the standard sword. The biggest change, and probably the best change, is that there are no longer free-roaming areas for Travis to wander around in. Instead, upon exiting a specific area, the camera will pan above Travis and players can select where he can go and travel there instantly. It’s a much better system that, once again, removes the “grind” of the game and makes it a lot more interesting.
Whenever Travis attempts to make money through a side job, the game changes to an 8-bit-style minigame in the vein of old school NES games. These little games are fun and addictive and take the grind out of the money-earning component of the original game. In fact, I found myself playing these minigames a lot more than the actual game itself. These minigames have great music that fits the era and some really well designed graphics too. In addition to these side jobs, Travis can also play a video game based on his favourite anime, Bizarre Jelly 5, when in his apartment. On top of this, Jeane, Travis’ cat, has become overweight and players can invest time to get her back in shape and earn extra moves too. These extra features are all nice additions that make Desperate Struggle really feel like a complete package.
Without a doubt, the main attraction in the original No More Heroes game was the boss characters and the battles Travis had with them, though unfortunately, for some reason, these are somewhat disappointing in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. While the bosses are most definitely interesting in terms of design, they lack any back story or, well, any interesting back story akin to those in the original game. In fact, looking back, I find it extremely hard to recall the names of all of them. Oh, and for those wondering, Travis does not fight 51 battles, he sometimes fights about 12 enemies at the same time in one ranking battle. Still, despite the lack of truly memorable boss battles, there are some moments where the typical gameplay formula is changed around a bit, including a giant mecha battle and a motorcycle battle too.
Something that I particularly appreciated in the original No More Heroes was its diverse soundtrack that complimented each character’s psychotic nature perfectly. While No More Heroes 2 does feature a different soundtrack to its predecessor, most of the tracks have been lifted from a previously released “remix” album of the original game. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as a huge fan of the series I’ve already heard a lot of the pieces that are included in Desperate Struggle. That being said, the game’s music does a great job at matching the tempo of the action and is never under-or-overwhelming. The voice actors all return to reprise their respective roles and do a great job at delivering the lines, especially in some of the more comic scenes in the game.
There’s a lot to see and do in No More Heroes 2. In addition to the main quest line, which should take betwen 8-12 hours to complete depending on general skill levels, there are a lot of side quests that can be completed for money. On top of that, there is also a set of missions Travis can complete to avenge his best friend, which are a bit mindless but never the less add to the game’s length. For those who absolutely need to unlock everything, there are heaps of shirts, jeans, belts and other accessories for Travis to purchase, and the play time needed to earn enough funds is right up there too. So, really, Desperate Struggle will provide as many hours as you’re willing to put into it. Unfortunately, there are not many reasons to return to Santa Destroy upon completing the game. A Boss Rush mode is unlocked which is very welcome, but it’s a bit perplexing to not allow players to use the other two playable characters, without the help of an external, unauthorised cheating device. There is also another perplexing decision that allows lower assassins to challenge Travis for his rank, but this “feature” is only ever visited once in the whole game AND it’s optional and incredibly easy to miss (Protip: Keep revisiting your motel room after each battle!).
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle adds a lot to the No More Heroes franchise and also removes a lot of the stuff holding it back from truly reaching greatness. Despite some pretty glaring flaws in the game’s system, it’s pretty evident that the developers have had a lot more budget to work with and the fruits of this labour have truly come to fruition. I had a lot of fun with No More Heroes and felt slightly emotional when I realised this is probably going to be the last we’ll see of Travis’ story arc. Here’s to Suda’s next brilliant creation!
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle rectifies all the problems I had with the original game, and adds in a whole bunch of new features that feel just right. While the game does lack a little bit of the charm that the original game had, it is truly a shining example of how a sequel should be done.
Graphics 8.5
A bit rough around the edges, but the games artistic style is still pretty amazing. Environments and models are well made.
Gameplay 8.5
Some pretty lacklustre areas towards the end of the game, but overall a more streamlined experience makes this far superior to the original.
Sound 8.0
Reused music tracks are a bit disappointing. Overall though, voice acting is pretty well done and keeps the game feeling fresh.
Tilt 7.5
The main story line can be a bit short for most, but generally theres a lot to do here in terms of unlockables. Not a whole lot of unlockables unfortunately.
Value 9.5
There is lots of fun to be had with No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Despite the game feeling like a little bit of a drag towards the end, for the most part, the game is incredibly fun.
