No More Heroes III REVIEW: A Wondrous Brawl Through The Garden of Insanity
This recently released hack-and-slash adventure game debuts on the Nintendo Switch with an insane mashup of different gameplay genres and wild storyline progression that builds upon the world of the cult classic No More Heroes series. Being the product of Suda51, head of game developer Grasshopper Manufacture and the lead writer/director of the series, NMH3 boasts all of this with that signature flood of personal style and creativity that’s been known to draw players in to try out, stick around, and almost immediately ask for seconds, thirds, and fourth servings. So what’s in this metaphorical dish that’s so addicting? I’m aiming to answer for that and then some, and hopefully show you why this game is so worth the time and money, mainly through the gameplay that’s wonderfully crafted and the story that accompanies it.
GAMEPLAY:
As a member of the hack-and-slash adventure genre, NMH3, for the most part, has you doing just that- Hacking and slashing away at your foes. This is the same thing that we’ve seen in the previous No More Heroes entries, where we have our mix of light attacks, heavy attacks, blocks, counters, and grabs to tear through adversaries in style. From quick, clean bisecting slashes to hyped up pro-wrestling moves and techniques, the same offensive options from before are here to help you feel like a proper superhero in action. Watch yourself though. You can only deal so many hits before your trusty Beam Katana runs out of battery. But that’s no problem, it’s rechargeable! Just make sure to shake your controller or mash the right input to top yourself off in a rather comedic manner.
Play your cards right, and you can quickly fill up your patented “Tension Gauge”, which can allow you to roll for an assortment of combat buffs, currency bonuses, and a super mode. Making use of theses goodies can either end a fight as soon as it starts, or make the resulting payout that much more rewarding.
But to the delight of many, including myself, you’ll find that NMH3 works to improve upon and smooth out this combat system, where your wide range of attacks are much more satisfying to land and pull off, without making anything a real hassle to setup or wait for. Joining your arsenal for the first time in the No More Heroes is the Death Glove, a tool that allows you to perform four different Death Skills which can help make things much easier to manage when in a fight. And if you happen to really get an understanding of how your enemies tend to behave in combat, as well as how you behave in combat, you can throw them into your own loops of combos and finishers, all up until you’re the last one standing in a fight.
However, that’s only if you manage to get the hang of which foes you’re taking on, which can range between quite a few baddies, and they can all cut you down to size rather quickly if you’re not careful. As the game’s focus is on facing intergalactic warriors and invaders, you’ll quickly find yourself pitted against some bizarre competition, sporting truly otherworldly designs that are a far cry from the general portrayal of aliens in other forms of pop culture media. This is especially accentuated with the game’s many bosses, the main events that make themselves known throughout the game’s story and are the proud members of the Intergalactic Superhero Rankings which you’re forced to climb through. Each time you get the chance to challenge the next Ranked Superhero, you’re quickly jumped into a one-on-one battle that will determine the new placeholder for that rank. On top of that, each and every boss tends to rock their own sense of theming, atmosphere, and unique battle styles of patterns and tactics that will keep you on your feet. No two fights are the same, so it’s imperative that you make sure you’re ready for anything. Just like with the usual fodder, failure to do so will earn you a quick death.
But how do you earn the chance to take on these extra-terrestrial foes? Well, you have to pay an entry fee first. How do you do that? You take the chance to check out the dozens of activities that are sprawled out over the game’s hub worlds. On your trusty motorcycle, you and ride around and find all sorts of different tasks to complete, ranging from the most predictable to the most outlandish. Not only are there basic wave defense missions and preliminary matches to take up and slash through, but there are even odd jobs and chores to do for folks around the different towns that might need your help. Mow the lawn outside someone’s home! Unclog this toilet! Pick up trash from these gator-infested ponds, and power slam them into oblivion if they try to attack you! (That last one isn’t a joke by the way. It’s a legitimate activity in the game and I’m proud to say that I’m not kidding about a task that’s so outrageously dumb that it ends up being pretty cool.) It’s through these odd jobs and more that can help you rack up funds rather quickly and pay your way to your next step to glory. And it’s all of the strange tasks you find that mainly add to the mashup of different gameplay styles and scenarios mentioned in the introduction of this review, along with the many boss fights throughout the game’s length.
STORY:
The story and plot is just as insane as the gameplay can get, enhanced by a certain style of writing that not only keeps the player’s interest with twists, development, and progression for its characters, but also does well in challenging aspects of life, culture and ideals that are fit for even philosophers to consider. Granted this is something that the No More Heroes series, along with many other games led by Suda51 himself, is well known for doing. The director/writer loves to express his creativity and thoughts on these deeper aspects of the life and mind of humanity, and this can be especially seen in numerous interviews on how he sees creating his games, especially when he sets out to write and create a world in his brand of weird, crazy-cool style.
Focusing on the story itself, while also trying to avoid spoiling those who haven’t played for themselves, the general structure is as basic as you can get. Progression maintains a steady pace that doesn’t get too out of line from what you’d expect in an action/adventure game, with most story-beats and cutscenes playing before and after each Ranked Hero boss fight. But while this plot progression seems rather straightforward and bland, that previously mentioned infectious style and aesthetic makes it all worthwhile to check out. Story chapters are sequenced like episodes of a brand new anime premiering on Netflix, decked out with a special intro and outro that I personally love too much to skip whenever they happen to play. The characters that take their roles in these “episodes” are all wonderfully written, with the main characters and bosses being given a substantial amount of depth, while side characters manage to make their appearances fun to see, despite the fact that they might not have much purpose in the overall story. Like any cartoon show or anime, a lot of encounters and events are absolutely nonsensical for the most part, and the game knows this. You won’t find this title getting overzealous in conjuring up some overly complicated plot filled with conspiracies or semester-long history lessons that span over a few hours. Instead, you’ll find that they provide as much info as you want to see, where you can find substantial backstory, history, and more if you ever want to put the time into researching it. If you don’t care about that? That’s perfectly fine. The game lets you focus on just playing game whenever and however you like, without shoving too much information in your face. A good way to sum it up is that NMH3 is a video game first, and a cool story second. And that’s just fine.
The highlights of our cast is without a doubt Travis Touchdown, the game’s main character, the antagonist Jess Baptiste VI, otherwise known as Lord FU, and his personal squad of intergalactic criminals acting as members of the Intergalactic Superhero’s ranks.
Having been through 2 absolute rollercoasters of adventures(3 if you count a recent spin-off game taking place before this game), everyone’s favorite assassin Travis Touchdown has shown considerable growth in NMH3. I don’t mean growth as a hero starting another adventure with super high levels and endgame weapons/armor either. He’s grown as a person, as he’s much more wise and mellowed out here than you would see looking back to the first two No More Heroes games, in a series that’s now spanned a little over a whole decade. He knows better than to arrogantly seek out glory and paradise like a hot-headed young man in their 20’s would be. Travis has seen what striving to be the best can do to people, and how it can take affect on both random strangers and people he considers to be close like family. Rather than learn from his opponents about different stages of life and what it means to be your own person like before, he tries to pass on that wisdom to others who haven’t learned yet. Granted, he can still be a total goofball and dork, letting his inner fan of video games, Japanese entertainment, and pro-wrestling out every so often, but he manages to bring himself back to earth and makes use of his experience when the going gets rough. He’s an adult, and he knows how to be an adult when the time calls for it. All while he’s trying to have fun with life and figure out how he can survive as long as he can alongside the few folks he deeply cares for.
And all that can very easily compare to the other side of this game’s conflict with Jess Baptiste VI, A.K.A Lord FU. Throughout the game, he seems more than ready to stake his claim to what he knows he wants, and he’s very much willing to do whatever it takes to get a hold of that. It’s almost like FU is in the same spot that Travis was back in NMH1, all hot-headed and arrogant when it comes to making a name for himself. While he works to conquer worlds across the galaxy and rule with an iron fist, there are moments before each of the game’s title matches where we see him actually having sincere moments with the respective boss we’re challenging. Through these small heart-to-heart conversations, he ends up talking with his fellow comrades about the same lessons Travis has had to learn one way or another, and grow bit by bit as a result. But, I won’t digress much more than this, as I feel like people would get a better idea of the game’s story by playing and experiencing it for themselves, rather than just reading about a stranger’s summarization. These are just my thoughts and feelings on what I especially like when looking back on this joyride of a game.
HOWEVER, I will give some fair warning for those who want to play this game as their first entry in the series- I highly recommend that you play, or at least watch the cutscenes, of the previous 3 games before jumping into NMH3. Yes, the story, game, and overall package are amazing as a whole. But the story goes about its development and world-building as if you know everything about what’s gone on before the latest entry started. So as fair warning, be prepared to see characters and mentions from previous games without much exposition or explanation if you commit to starting with this game first.
TO CONCLUDE:
In case I haven’t been clear enough, I love this game. I love the series, and I love the developers who bring it to life in my favorite format of entertainment. I think that it’s amazingly fun to play, and plenty fun to read between the lines and see how the writers have put their heart, soul, and mind into their work. If you’re still on the fence on checking this game out, that’s just fine. Check out some videos! Check with other folks who have played it! Do that extra bit of research to see if this game is for you. I don’t know if I’ll ever want to see No More Heroes become mainstream and appeal to the greater masses, but I really hope that I can help folks find a good time playing a new game. Much more so, I hope I can help them find a reason to become avid fans of a game about a geek working as an assassin to save the world. But hey, to each their own, right?
BEFORE YOU GO…
If you happened to have read through this whole review post, I’d like to say thank you for taking the time to check out what I have to say about one of my new favorite games of 2021. Writing about this has been immensely fun, and I’m just happy that I have a means to really express my thoughts and feelings on something I care a lot about, as video games are a huge part of my life. They’re my way of experiencing all sorts of new ideas, concepts, and lessons to learn, rather than just escape from real life. I hope you enjoyed hearing me out, as I look forward to talking about all sorts of games and such in the future.
Thank you once again, and take care, my friends.
