[WII] No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

[icycalm]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41032.html

This got me thinking again. It's really a shame about the art in NMH: so stylish, and yet so carelessly wasted on such a shitty game. Someone like Team Ninja or Capcom should hire Suda's artists and give him a bunch of Americans already -- the BioSchlock guys, for example, or the Bethesda guys. No one would miss them.

Extra lols:

Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51 has told Eurogamer that No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, the sequel to his cult Wii action game that was announced yesterday, will release in two versions in Europe, one censored for heavy violence.

"We won't be able to make the same game for all territories," Suda 51 said in interview at the Tokyo Game Show. "For Europe, we're going to release two versions. One extreme version, and one with less violence."

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=256788

P.S. Review of the original here:

http://insomnia.ac/reviews/wii/nomoreheroes/

[Cpt. Coin-op]

I recall reading in several places that Suda51 would only do a sequel if the first one sold well enough. Which means this is probably going to be more of the same A-mashing frenzy as before.

On another note, there's talk of an actual anime production based off of the fictional anime that Travis obsesses over:

From what we've played and seen, we think the characters of No More Heroes, and many of your other works, would be well suited to anime. Ever thought of branching out in that direction?

As you may know, our publisher, Marvellous, actually does a lot of animation work, so it's something that has been discussed.

We were actually in discussions to do something with the Bizarre Jelly characters as seen on Travis' shirt, but I have no idea how serious they were.

Hey, tell your readers if they want to see it, write in and give them the feedback. There's every chance it could get made.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/ar ... ?id=184821

[NeoKubrick]

The dialogue was fresh in No More Heroes:

"That was quite a move. I'll admit you've got potential. If challenge had a taste, you'd be quite delicious."

[El Chaos]

Here's a new trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmnAKGwduCQ&fmt=18

It doesn't seem like it changed much.

Via http://www.mundialgamer.com/mensaje31639.html#p31639

[icycalm]

Grasshopper Manufacture CEO Goichi Suda says the company will need to look beyond Wii if it is to evolve No More Heroes into a major franchise.

Although Wii commands a greater install base than its rivals, thirdparty games aimed at the core market continue to struggle on the platform, and Suda has aspirations for the franchise he says can’t be satisfied on Nintendo’s console.

“I really want to make NMH a big franchise,” he told us on a recent trip to see No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, “and with this second episode have bigger success. I’m putting a lot of care into developing this IP, as I feel there’s a lot of potential.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/no-more-heroes-will-“need-a-new-platform”

If the next game is on a real console, sans wiiwaving fagotry, they might end up putting some effort into its mechanics, and hey, it might end up being good. So yeah, good news.

[icycalm]

From the CVG interview linked above, circa March 2008:

What is it that drew you to developing No More Heroes as a Wii exclusive?

I was one of the privileged few who was shown the Wii controller before its official announcement [at TGS 2005].

I immediately set out to create a full action game that could take advantage of this unique controller, and No More Heroes was born.

My publishers wanted to make an Xbox 360 game, and actually wanted No More Heroes to go onto that platform, so I had a hell of a time trying to convince them to let me make it on Wii without spilling the controller's secrets (laughs).

Maybe you should have listened to them (laughs).

[Molloy]

This month's Edge magazine.

"It's like taking a shit," says Goichi Suda, Grasshopper CEO, as he relaxes on his (office) seat. We blink first. "A lot of things influenced No More Heroes - things I saw, or heard, and something that came from inside. Something that needed to be eliminated from my body, like waste. That's why I created No More Heroes."

"I realised I had a lot more that needed to be eliminated from my body. No More Heroes 2? New taking-a-shit."

[lock]

It's like taking a shit. Something that needed to be eliminated from my body, like waste. That's why I created No More Heroes.

That explains many things. lol

[El Chaos]

• Travis' Schpeletiger (motorcycle) is now twice as long, and features better controls.
• The dev team includes the original No More Heroes team, as well as newcomers for the sequel.
• The schoolgirl assassin from the trailer is Kimmy, and she wants Travis all to herself.
• Each fight ends with a 2d Travis walking across the screen to hop onto the Schpeletiger, which is accompanied by a new old-school chiptune.
• Suda thought about Travis using other weapons in the game, but decided against it.
• Bishop should play a larger role in this game.
• Travis left Santa Destroy for 3 years, and when he comes back he sees just how much the city has changed.
• A small portion of the original Santa Destroy will still be playable, but there will be many new locations.
• Fights will take place in a "new school", "construction yard", and a graveyard, as well as many more locations.
• Improved and new side jobs, including a return of coconut collecting.
• One new side job involves being a plumber.
• Destroyman returns as a cyborg.
• Collecting cash to fight bosses will not become boring or repetitive, says Suda. The addition of two other playable characters, and some boss fights that feature more than one boss should keep things moving along.

Extreme improvement, as you can see... God, is Gouichi Suda capable of developing a somewhat competent 3D action game without the aid of Shinji Mikami or someone else?

Via http://www.mundialgamer.com/mensaje37390.html#p37390

[JoshF]

If he was he wouldn't be forced to resort to bohemianism, which is something used by untalented people to convince themselves they're talented. Ask your local abstract artist at the coffee shop for details.

[El Chaos]

There is a special feature going on at 1UP, briefly: there will be no Wii MotionPlus support, and there will be Classic Controller support. The idea of enhanced Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 ports is getting some traction.

[El Chaos]

Some new pictures:











More here: http://www.the-magicbox.com/0912/game091227a.shtml

[icycalm]

lol, apparently it's even worse than the first one, to the point where even the artfags can see it:

So yeah, after beating this I have to say it feels a little phoned-in. It's definitely more solid than the first one as a game, but it's lacking that Suda feel in a lot of ways, and as it winds up it becomes clear that they kept their best stuff for the beginning and didn't really care how it ended.

It's not bad, and if you wanted more NMH then here it is, but if there's such a thing as "Suda 51 by the numbers" then this is it. The loopy plot twists are pretty much gone and the wacky antics are about what you'd expect, so nothing really comes out of nowhere and surprises you.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 172#687172

I avoided this thread until I had a chance to start playing the game. So far, I'm not quite sure what to think.

From the very start, the storytelling doesn't seem as good as the first game. I'm bored during the cut-scenes and the characters just aren't that interesting.

Something about the combat feels off. I'm just not as interested this time. Others have mentioned the darkstep changes. Recharging the beam sword seems a bit harder this time.

When I started the game, I jokingly thought the city might have been replaced with a navigation menu, only to find that is exactly what happened. The problem with the NMH1 city was that there wasn't enough to do in it. On the other hand, it did make the place feel like a city. That is now missing. Riding the bike also gave the player a break between load screens and cutscenes. I find I miss driving in the city.

Replacing the part-time jobs with sprite-based minigames was a good idea. The NMH1 part-time jobs were mostly annoying, but I find myself playing some of the new jobs for fun.

On the other hand, I'm not liking the training minigames. The instructions for the strength training were lacking, to say the least. I still haven't figured out the stamina training. I alternate pressing the buttons, but my guy doesn't even lift a leg until right before he falls off the treadmill.

The tutorial first fight was terrible. Every few seconds the game just interrupts the action to tell you a new command, not even related to what you are doing? It is like they wanted to make the most obnoxious tutorial that they could imagine. For more annoyance, your beam saber drains seemingly in an instant and the fight is interrupted for an unrelated cut-scene. The first game did a much better tutorial stage.

Either way, the fellows who extrated the textures and polygons and whatever technical stuff found out that without the cel-shading filter, they looked absurdly good.

http://www.pimp-productions.com/media/s ... u-test.jpg
http://www.pimp-productions.com/media/s ... final2.jpg

EDIT: According to an old post, the textures are of 512x512 and 1024x1024 quality, which is pretty insane for a game that runs on at best 480p hardware.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 186#687186

Reading through the gamefaqs thread, there is a lot that has been obviously cut and Marvelous have been bleeding money all year (They pulled their stake out of Rising Star last week) so I guess that was a huge factor this time. Rising Star don't have a date for Europe yet and the rumor mill is saying it could be as late as August/September. The future of Marvelous supposedly hinges on Heroes Paradise doing well on the 360/PS3 along with their DS games.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 642#688642

I've played through 2 boss battles (after the tutorial). I'm not sure I'm feeling this game. The story has completely failed to engage me so far. I'm waiting for the big joke that makes it all worth it, but I'm also worried it's not gonna come.

I miss almost everything the first game did that this one doesn't do. Namely (and this may be unique to me), I miss making money by doing side-job assassination missions. The don't-get-hit missions from the first game did get tiresome, but there were a couple (like this kill-as-many-people-as-you-can-in-three-minutes mission that opened up near hte end of the game) that were pretty much as enjoyable as any other part of the first game for me.

Really miss feeling like Santa Destroy is a (lonely) city.

Not being able to walk around Santa Destroy, but being able to walk around inside other places I couldn't walk around before (like Travis's motel room) is kinda weird.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 759#688759

I just noticed something. Back at the apartment after the Matt Helms fight, Sylvia tells Travis that he has to pay his own travel expenses. Travis complains along the lines that with all the money he is already spending, she should at least cover bus fare.

Except... Unlike the first game, Travis isn't actually paying money to compete.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 145#689145

I beat this 3 days ago and am wondering what people earlier in the thread were talking about when they said the levels were varied.

Most of them felt exactly the same to me and towards the end they were ridiculously long and boring.

Most of the bosses were either so easy I opted to fight them with punches and kicks or just frustrating due to some dumb shit. I can only think of 3 at the moment that felt fair and challenging*, like the final boss of the first game.

Ultimately the only improvement I saw over the original game was the mini-games, which were actually fun.

*if it's not available from the start, I don't count hard mode in the way I perceive a game's difficulty (i.e. I have no qualms with thinking of Heroic as the default difficulty in Halo 3 because it's possible for me to use that in my first playthrough.) I don't like replaying games and I shouldn't have to for a decent experience.

Hello, bullshit platforming sequence. What are you doing in my No More Heroes?

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 757#690757

This isn't a game that begs you play it. It's a game that knocks on your front door, waits for you to answer in a towel and your favorite pair of slippers, rips your head off, and shoves itself down your throat.

I realize disagreeing with IGN is pointless, but I feel like pointing out that my experience with this game was pretty much the exact opposite of that. I felt like I had to play through it immediately and nothing, save for the occasional group of gunmen and some of the final bosses moves, felt at all threatening.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 197#689197

There is no variety in the levels. You face the same enemies everywhere, and there is nothing special about the areas themselves. The only differences are whether you fight a few enemies at a time and move forward or face several waves before you advance.

NMH1 had character to its levels that is complete absent here. There is nothing like the fire alarm at the school. Nothing like the minefields in the beach with soldiers coming in on helicopter. Nothing like batting back pitches in the baseball stadium or riding down grunts on the baseball field.

The bosses are lacking in this area as well. There is nothing like Badgirl batting gimps at you, or her sucker attack. There is nothing like Holly's pit traps in NMH1, with the mad scramble to escape before her grenade goes off. NMH2 sniper girl has those exploding barriers, but she doesn't actually take advantage of them. She only hits them when Travis avoids her shots or happens to be behind one.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 140#691140

I think the Destructiod piece is just trying to read way too much into the game, just like all the "It's Suda51 making a statement" as a catch-all for every bad design aspect.

I think the bosses aren't as well established this time more likely because the game was simply rushed. If the leaked script is real, then the game had planned for up to 20 Revenge missions with an actual connecting storyline involving Travis' hunt for the specific guys that killed Bishop. It also involved things beyond just going to a random place to kill some generic grunts.

The Revenge missions in the final game are nothing like that. I'm sure someone has made the argument that Suda51 was making a statement about the hollow nature of revenge, how it affects people, and how Travis sees these guys in particular. But it isn't. It is just something that was most likely scaled back drastically for resource reasons (money, time, and the like).

And the main thing really missing from the battles that makes the bosses less memorable is the lack of themed levels. It is clear that the game was getting scaled back. Seriously scaled when you consider all the cuts, including the whole city. Cutting out (or never working on) the individuality of the levels would be a quick way to save money and time. If Suda51 wanted all the stages to be generic from the start, we wouldn't have the few remaining unique bits that are present, such as the helicopter shooting at you in the first building or the second campus ambush. We probably also wouldn't have jumping built into the Shinobu stages.

The leaked script also implies that there was more concern for boss designs originally. It specifically mentions that poison girl's battle was supposed to have the added special factor of wind. The second Akashic point battle was supposed to have minions along the way, not just a bike ride. The Rank 2 battle's location really was supposed to be a riddle that the player solved, not just skipped by the player picking "Ranking Battle" from a travel menu.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 668#692668

And of course they also vomit the same brand of fucking nonsense that they vomited in regards to the original:

it's very much a game's game.

http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopi ... 879#686879


I might copy-paste their comments into a review and throw it on the frontpage, since there's no fucking way in hell I am ever going to write about this game -- even if I end up playing it, which I probably won't. So basically, the copypasta job is the only way this game will ever see a decent review. Check this shit out:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platfor ... e%20heroes

Only one review at 60, one at 70, and one at 75, and all the rest are about 80 fer fuck's sakes. And the game is barely worth 2/5.