There are few developers with a style like Suda 51, many parts of their creations seem outrageous, nonsensical or just plain broken to many while others sing praises of their artistic ideas. A large part of this style may be Japanese humor playing off Western games, such as adding a large open world but leaving it empty or the sudden switch from slicing people up in a sea of crimson red and then going and collecting pineapples for money. That said, Suda 51′s humor and style is alive and well in No More Heroes 2, so those who didn’t ‘get’ the previous game may find themselves equally as lost here, although much of the crazy is now tempered down and a little more optional.

Previously your climb to be the number one ranked assassin in Santa Destroy was often interrupted by driving around the world and engaging in mini games such as mowing the lawn or pumping gas. Sure some of the mini games were fun but somehow things are a lot less fun when you’re being told to do them, doubly so when you could be slicing things up with a beam sword. Now there’s no open world and no entry fee to fight the next assassin so you can just get right down to it and get into the combat if you wish but you’d be missing out on much of what gives No More Heroes 2 it’s uniqueness. There’s a dozen minigames available and all but a pair of them are rendered in a fantastic approximation of 8 bit graphics with some catchy tunes to match. The games themselves are reminiscent of Sony’s Work Time Fun in that you play a variety of small minigames with a basic goal. As an example of the typical toilet humor this game possesses here’s are few of the included games that diserve a special mention: ‘Lay the Pipe’ works much like Pipemania, ‘Man the Meat’ is a meat cooking game where you have to cook a steak to order or risk a fork in the eye and an 8 bit version of No More Heroes’ coconut collecting game is back and now known as ‘Coconut Grabber’.

The minigames offer a fun diversion but the real meat and potatoes is still in the combat. Swinging the beam katana is achieved with a simple touch of the A button rather than utilising motion controls, with the exception of deciding if your attack will hit high or low, which is adjusted by the tilt of your controller. The other controls are fairly standard and hold up extremely well even when under a lot of pressure. There are now four different weapons available to purchase with the money from the minigames, each have their own strengths and weaknesses, such as longer range or power but reduced speed. Switching between your beam katanas can make a huge difference, especially during a boss battle or versus some of the larger foes. Getting to the boss in NMH2 takes a lot less time than the previous game and in some cases you’ll go straight through to him/her, this is a rather double edged sword (katana) as often the constant waves of foes previously could seem a little drawn out, on the other hand, boss battles can be far more frustrating. The bosses are nothing if not interesting, the setting, the dialog and indeed the bosses themselves all set themselves apart from other games with their entertaining personality, it’s just the cheap shots and camera angles are a real problem and with the boss battles being such a major part of the game it can be a real letdown. Equally as disappointing is the disappearance of the running dialog during the battles that made the first game so unique.

If your looking for a reason for all the madness of NMH2 then you might be disappointed. You play as Travis Touchdown working to become the number one assassin by defeating everyone ranked above him. This isn’t a game that focuses on story, it’s more about the wacky dialog and frantic combat and in that way it succeeds, despite not feeling as if it surpasses its predecessor in any major way. The interface has improved and the minigames are a lot more fun but the combat itself feels a little left behind, even with the addition of the new weapons and the brief jaunt with a new character. If you thoroughly enjoyed the previous game then you’ll have a blast with this, as long as you don’t let your expectations run too high.

Mark Dell

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