Suda51's games are eccentric, to say the least. The entire concept of a lonely loser who buys a weapon on the internet in order to impress a girl and become an assassin feels like it comes straight out of the notebook of a high school boy who doesn't get out enough – but this really is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the absurdity of No More Heroes 3. Aliens, cursed video games, and some of the most charismatic and "creative" characters you will see in practically anything make this game a wonder to behold. It’s true a Suda51 joint from start to finish, with all the good and bad that comes with it.
But let's start with the good. No More Heroes 3 is batshit. It's been a long time since Travis Touchdown was just your average loser living in a motel room – now the entire motel has become his home base with an extensive laboratory underneath, complete with all of the technology and allies he has managed to gain over the years – including those he met for the first time in No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again. If you want to get your fill of Travis lore, you will need to have played all of these games – but if you're just here to beat aliens to death with a beam katana, well that's far more easily done.
Mimicking the basic concept of earlier games in the series, Travis must once again rise through the assassin rankings, with the new troupe of aliens touching down on earth having taken all ten top spots on the board. If Travis wants a chance of fighting Fu, the leader of the pack, he'll need to beat everyone else first. Luckily, years of swinging swords and fighting against equally powerful and goofy enemies have prepared him well.
Battles here are third-person, and feel like a hardcore action game – think Ninja Gaiden, but with slightly less flair. Travis' overall health is fairly limited, as are items to refill it, so you'll need to dodge and evade enemy attacks regularly in order to overcome most battles – just taking hits head-on is a big mistake, and while basic foes will fall quickly to a few combos, tougher "designated" enemies will have far more powerful and creative attacks and abilities – many of these fights will require retrying if you go in not knowing what to expect.
But there are a few mechanics that can give you an edge. First is the slot machine mechanic – after you use a powerful slash against your opponent, a digital slot machine will appear on the screen and the outcome will give you some kind of buff. It might just be some extra currency, but it could also be the all-powerful Mustang mode, which can devastate the health bars of even boss enemies. In addition to that, you'll get another semi-random buff on retry after dying, such as a guaranteed Mustang mode, 1.5x attack damage, more health, or potentially nothing at all. It's a nice way to incentivise you to keep going even after a harsh defeat.
In the throes of battle is where No More Heroes 3 shines, and in between those battles is where it falters. After all, the game would be too short if it were just ten boss encounters, right? The levels of earlier No More Heroes games are almost entirely gone, replaced with the overworld and combat arenas. As you rise through the ranks you'll unlock more parts of the city and beyond, first starting in Santa Destroy, and slowly moving through to more parts of the world. In each area you'll find minigames, side objectives, shops, and several designated matches, of which you will need to clear several in order to earn each boss fight. But not only that – you also need to cough up money in order to enter the next big fight, which means you're forced to go out and seek out wave-based missions and side quests in order to make enough cash to progress. In between these big set pieces, No More Heroes 3 ends up feeling like a slog. This is not helped by the fact that performance during battles is great, but the overworld is ugly and runs poorly.
It's a struggle to reconcile how much I like No More Heroes 3 with how frustrated I get when it feels like it's wasting my time. Those big ranking fights always involve a unique boss battle with interesting mechanics, a nice challenge, and cheesy cutscenes that you'll want to make dozens of clips of. But when those fights feel so far away, my motivation to keep playing dies almost entirely.
The entire overworld could've been scrapped and replaced by a more linear level structure – and No More Heroes 3 probably would've been better for it – but what is here is still good. Whether or not you should buy it just depends on your love for Suda51 and his brand of niche Japanese absurdity. If you've played his games before, you know what you're getting into, and you'll appreciate No More Heroes 3 for all of its amazing moments and disastrous lows. If you're already feeling unsure of whether this game is for you, then you're probably best off waiting for a sale. Without knowledge of the previous games the story will go mostly over your head, and the action might not be good enough to sustain someone without an existing love for the series.
With that said, I'm glad we have No More Heroes 3. This is Suda51 to a tee: a wonderful and utterly ridiculous celebration of otaku culture and the series he's built up over the years. Travis' fourth-wall-breaking smart mouth makes me smile incessantly, despite how stupid it can be – and it can be very stupid indeed.
Next: No More Heroes Spirits Are Coming To Super Smash Bros. Ultimate This Weekend
Code was provided by the publisher for purposes of review. Reviewed on Nintendo Switch in both handheld and docked modes.
