After appearing on the Nintendo Wii in 2008, No More Heroes dazzled gamers with its gory katana blade mechanics and engaging storyline. A sequel finally followed in 2010 and it was every bit as good as the original.
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise for Playstation 3 is basically the same game as the Wii version. For gamers not familiar with the story, No More Heroes is about Travis Touchdown and his ambition to be the number one assassin. It wasn’t always this way for Travis, though. As the story unfolds, we learn that Travis spends the night drinking at the Deathmatch bar. When he wakes the following morning, he realizes that he spent all his money buying drinks for a ‘smoking hot chick’. Now broke and with no options, Travis decides to accept his first assassination job.
After defeating The Drifter, Travis is informed by Sylvia Christel – an agent of the United Assassins Association (UAA) – that he is now ranked number 11 according to the UAA. After being assigned to kill 10 other assassins, Travis begins to obsess over being number one.
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise is divided into three parts: the main assassin missions, jobs, and side missions that can be obtained at K-Entertainment. The main assassin missions require a deposit, so before Travis can kill his next target, he needs to earn money using the job system. While the job system could be considered a mild diversion to extend gameplay, some of the mini games can be very entertaining. Collecting coconuts for a vendor happens to be the easiest of the jobs available. Travis must punch palm trees to loosen the coconuts and return them to the vendor. Like all the jobs, the event is timed and only so many coconuts can be collected. By rapidly pressing the Circle button, Travis will punch the tree. When the coconuts fall to the ground, you must press the X button to pick one up. Since the jobs are games of endurance, you have to rapidly press the X button to run back to the vendor cart.
Other jobs like mowing can be a bit more challenging. Even though the area that requires mowing is enclosed, the mechanics used to push the mower feel a bit clumsy. The R2 button will push the mower forward and the L2 button will move it backwards. If you miss an area, you can turn Travis and the mower around by pressing the X button, but sometimes you will overlap an area of grass. Since the event is timed, it can be difficult to finish the event when you’re struggling with the controls.
Once enough money has been made to pay the mission deposit, Travis can travel to the mission location on his motorcycle. The city of Santa Destroy has many benefits and should be explored in between missions, but as an actual environment, it feels very sterile. Pedestrians walk the streets and vehicles like police cars are abundant, but they don’t interact with the environment. If for some reason you hit a vehicle, Travis’ motorcycle will bounce off it. Driving at high speeds around a police car doesn’t have any effect, and while this may sound morbid, neither does running into a pedestrian when you drive into one by mistake. Basically, the environment serves as filler to keep you busy in between missions. While No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise is not trying to be Grand Theft Auto, some interaction between the pedestrians and vehicles would have enhanced the experience.
The missions are full of blood and brutality. Once Travis steps into a location, he is overwhelmed by groups of thugs. Combat is seen from a third-person perspective and entails attacking the thugs with Travis’ beam katana. Most thugs are fairly weak and can be dispatched in just a few hits, either by decapitating them or cleaving them in half. When an enemy is weakened and then dizzied, an on-screen indicator appears prompting you to press the R3 button. When this is done, an arrow will indicate the direction the right analog stick should be moved in. Depending on the enemy’s position and Travis’ swing, he will kill the opponent in spectacular, gory fashion. For each kill, you are rewarded coins (i.e. money) to help pay for future missions.
When you’re not slicing and dicing fellow assassins and thugs, you’re spending time in the city of Santa Destroy. Despite some of the gripes mentioned earlier, the city of Santa Destroy has plenty to offer. Aside from jobs, there are other locations to visit that have benefits. Places like the trainer open up after completing some of the missions. This location is a gym that allows you to increase Travis’ strength, vitality, and beam katana combos. The activities include bench pressing, squat training, and dumbbell training.
The training does cost money, but it’s well worth it. The more you train, the easier it will be to complete later missions. The exercises are a series of QTEs (Quick Time Events) that last about 30 seconds to 1 minute and they’re quite easy to do. When bench pressing, rapidly press the X button to lift weights 10 times within 1 minute. If done successfully, Travis’ strength will increase. Squat training, which increases vitality, has you rapidly pressing the L2 and R2 buttons 29 times within 30 seconds. While not difficult, it gives your fingers a work out. Dumbbell training requires a series of random buttons to be pressed. Once completed, it increases your beam katana combos.
Beef Head, a movie and video game store, is another of the many locations that eventually appears on the city map. This location can be visited to purchase wrestling movies that can help Travis learn new combat skills. Once purchased, these movies can be viewed at the No More Heroes Hotel where Travis lives.
While No More Heroes: Heroes’s Paradise is a port of the Nintendo Wii version, some changes were made to enhance the game. For starters, the mission system at K-Entertianment has been revamped so you don’t have to travel to the same location every time. If you want to repeat a mission, you are asked if you want to ‘jump’ there. Also, the game’s graphics have been revamped in HD. Despite being in HD and looking sharper than the WII version, no additional changes have been made to the graphics. A noticeable drop in frame rate does happen in congested areas of the city and even during certain missions, but it doesn’t affect the overall experience.
The biggest concern is whether No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise is worth the investment if you already own the Nintendo Wii version. Gamers who missed out on the Wii release need to experience this game. Despite some of its shortcomings, its hack and slash gameplay and mini games will keep you busy for hours. This doesn’t include the special items that can be collected throughout the city. As for those who already own the Wii version, it depends on whether you feel it’s worth owning for the HD graphic upgrade and the minor tweaks to the mission system.
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise for Playstation 3 is an entertaining game that delivers on its promise of action, blood and gore. With a decent storyline and good character development, there is no reason not to join Travis on his mission to be number one.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: Playstation 3
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
ESRB: M (Mature)
Price: 39.99
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise looks sharp in HD, but there were no additional improvements made to the graphics. | |
| Sound | |
| The music fits perfectly; it's an odd collection of rock and alternative beats. The voice acting is also impressive. | |
| Gameplay | |
| There's plenty of things to do in the city of Santa Destroy. When you're not doing missions to increase your rank, you're doing odd jobs or collecting items on the streets. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise is very addictive. Not only does it deliver on action, but on content and story. | |
