No More Heroes 3 Review

Fans have been waiting over 10 years for another mainline entry in the No More Heroes series. Some Travis Touchdown fans enjoyed the release of Travis Strikes Again in 2019, but that spin-off title left people wanting more, and now, with the long-awaited launch of No More Heroes 3 on Switch, the series returns, and it’s better than ever. For the uninitiated, No More Heroes is a third-person, action hack and slash series created by Goichi Suda, who goes by Suda51 in the gaming world. The game series leans heavily on its M-rating, filled with profanity, gore, and other adult themes. Like a typical action movie, the main character Travis Touchdown enters a contest to see if he can become the number one assassin. He has to take on every boss that stands before him and compete in bloody battles with his trusty laser katana which is basically a lightsaber. No More Heroes 3 begins in the present, and Travis Touchdown has to once again go to the top of the assassination charts; however, this time, he had to face a horde of aliens. While some fans of the series may think that the gameplay formula seems similar to the previous games, that is not entirely true. Usually, players start out in Travis’ motel apartment in the city of Santa Destroy, which is essentially a town inspired by the US west coast. In previous games, players had to engage in mini-games and short battle challenges to earn money to fight the next boss. In No More Heroes 3, this has changed quite a bit. There seems to be a bit more variety in what players can do when they’re not fighting bosses. Instead of earning a certain amount of money by completing battle challenges and doing annoying mini-games, players have to explore different areas and complete three battle challenges. Of course, there are other mini-games to mess around with, such as the lawn mowing game and the toilet flushing activity, but nothing is required. It’s great that there’s so much fighting activity to be involved in, because the combat in No More Heroes 3 feels so good and fun. Travis has his katana behind him, and veterans should be immediately familiar with how he controls. However, there are some new abilities that Travis can acquire that add even more depth to the fairly basic combat. Travis can use the X and Y buttons to pull off heavy and light attacks, and when they connect with alien enemies that Travis encounters, the visual effects are impressive. Being on the Nintendo Switch, there are times when the game looks a little rough around the edges, but the battle scenarios always look visually appealing. The grain effects on each katana cut are always pleasing. And thanks to the game going into slow-mo for every enemy death, players will undoubtedly enjoy fighting enemies, be they main enemies or bosses. All the mesmerizing and frantic on-screen action that happens during battles certainly adds a spicy flair to the game, but some players may be disappointed with how the game runs outside of combat. When Travis explores Santa Destroy and the surrounding towns, the Switch’s frame rate drops a bit, especially when using Travis’ turbo boost on his motorcycle. Draw distance is limited, and texture pop-ins can be confusing. Thankfully, none of these issues occur in matches, but it’s still a problem that can frustrate players. As for the new abilities that Travis Touchdown can do, there are four of them, and each one has its own cooldown. The first one players will get allows Travis to perform a powerful kick move that hits a target enemy. Another creates a small field that deals damage to enemies within it. Another lets Travis pick an enemy off the ground and then throw them in a telekinesis-like motion. And finally, there’s one that can slow down enemies near Travis, allowing players to land some quick hits. Using these new moves provides a change of pace for No More Heroes’ hack and slash combat, but getting these techniques doesn’t make much sense when it comes to pacing. Players will gain the first of the four abilities early on, but the others are not acquired naturally throughout the game. Instead, the last three moves are given to Travis at once in an early boss fight. At first, players may feel like a superhero, but it can get old quickly, as Travis unlearns those moves as the game progresses. Combat in No More Heroes 3 is still engaging, energetic, and enjoyable, but it’s a shame that, by the end of it all, players will be doing the same moves over and over again. And that wouldn’t be too much of a problem if the bosses were memorable like in previous NMH games. While each boss fight is still fun on its own in No More Heroes 3, the cast of aliens doesn’t stand out compared to other fights. That doesn’t mean players won’t have fun, though. Travis and company keep making jokes and No More Heroes 3 doesn’t make sense at times. One minute, gamers will be listening to some of the best Japanese hip hop music in a video game while buying ramen, and then the next, they’ll be unclogging the toilet by waggling their Switch Joy-Con. There’s a boss battle that’s essentially a turn-based Final Fantasy fight; there are scorpions to be found all over the map; aliens gift Travis a t-shirt for clearing certain gameplay objectives; and there’s even a boss fight where players have to win a game of musical chairs. This won’t come as a surprise to fans of No More Heroes or Suda51 games, but the ridiculous nature of the series shines brighter than ever in this latest entry. Even if the gameplay gets repetitive at times or the cutscenes go on for too long, the game is pretty consistently enjoyable and will often put a smile on the player’s face. Now is the time to play No More Heroes for anyone who has always been interested in the series but has always been shy about getting into it. The game takes player expectations and throws them out the window, and manages to keep throwing players for a loop during the 10-15 hour story. No More Heroes 3 offers rewards for veterans, but is still good for newbies to play, even if just to enjoy the silly and absolutely absurd boss battles. No More Heroes 3 can be repetitive at times and doesn’t have the best bosses in the history of the series, but players new and old will have an enjoyable time with the game. It’s an amazingly bright and colorful game that just shows how wild Suda51 really is. No More Heroes 3 launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on August 27, 2021. Today Technology was given a code for review. MORE: No More Heroes 2: Every Boss, Ranked by How Difficult They Are