#The Otaku Assassin [Travis] | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

satoshi-mochida · 7 months

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Some thoughts and details on my last Gamefly rental, No More Heroes(Switch version).

An otaku named Travis Touchdown living in the city of Santa Destroy meets a woman named Sylvia at a bar, and after some talking, decides to join the United Assassins Assiciation(UAA), thinking he'll get lucky with her if he gets to Rank 1(and to earn money for all his otaku needs).

Like Skyward Sword, you can use the Joycons to replicate the feel of the Wii version, but I used the modern control scheme.

Basic controls:

X and Y attack with the beam katana high and low, respectively. While in Santa Destroy, pressing Y has someone drive Travis' motorcycle to him. Holding either button will build up a charge attack.

A and B are melee attacks which can stun enemies and let you use wrestling moves on them by jitting the shown directions on the Control Sticks.

Holding L and spinning the right control stick has Travis wank the beam katana around to recharge it.

Hold ZL to lock onto enemies. While holding the button, you can hit the right control stick left, right or backwards to dodge roll. I think you need to hit a direction on the control stick after guarding to dodge and slow time down to get a few hits in.

When you reduce an enemy's HP to near 0 or counter them by locking blades(or whatever an enemy is using) by spinning the Right Control Stick fast enough, you'll get a prompt to hit the Right Stick in a specific direction, which will do some more damage or kill most regular enemies. After doing one of these Finishers, there'll be a roulette for bonuses at the bottom of the screen, two of which are different types of Super Modes. Managing to get 777 will give you bonus money when you clear a Ranked Battle mission.

After each mission, Travis goes back to his motel room, and there are several things to do there:

Change clothes at Travis' closet.

Change which beam katana to use as you get more from his bed's drawer

Look at the map of Santa Destroy and check your records for missions

Listen to messages on the motel room's phone. I don't think there's actually any that pop up aside from in cutscenes, though.

Save the game at the toilet.

Watch the TV, which lets you rewatch certain movies, like the game's opening and tapes you buy from Beef Head.

Look in the fridge to get restore health...which I think is already at maximum outside of battles?

Play with Travis' kitten Jeane.

There's not much to do around Santa Destroy at first, but more gets unlocked as thew game goes on:

You can get Side Jobs at K-Entertainment and the Job Center, which can be repeated for more money. You'll need to do new jobs at the Job Center first to unlock new Assassination Gigs at K-Entertainment.

There's a training dojo at the Thunder Ryu Building, where you can increase the combo of each beam katana, and raise your Strength and Max Health once(?) between each Ranked Battle. Amusingly, a lawyer-friendly version of 'Eye of the Tiger' plays here. XP

Buy new beam katanas or add-ons for it at Naomi's Lab.

Buy new clothes at the Area 51 clothes store. On New Game Plus, some new shirts can be found around the city.

Buy a tape at Beef Head video store which will teach Travis a new wrestling move when he watches it back at his room.

There are 49 Lovikov balls to collect, which can be given to the drunk Russian man, also named Lovikov, to learn new techniques, including being able to Dash by holding A or B when the beam katana isn't out. Here's a map of where they are. It'd be a good idea to probably keep a checklist to mark off as you collect them.

Another set of collectables is trading cards that you can find in treasure chests while doing the Ranked Battle missions, which are all of wrestling mask(Suda51 loves wrestling). On New Game Plus, more trading cards can be found, but around Santa Destroy this time(which I forgot to do before sending the game back).

Before you can do the next Ranked Battle, you actually need to pay an increasing amount of money at the ATM, so you really need to do the side jobs to grind a bit.

Travis has a motorcycle to drive around Santa Destroy with, which is also used in one Side Job and Ranked Battle mission. A is accelerate and B is brake/back up, ZL is a nitro boost and ZR makes it jump. I wish it was used more or that you could have sections with combat on it.

One of the upgrades, the Accelerator, you can buy from Naomi's shop lets you find buried treasure around Santa Destroy, which will also be marked on the map/minimap. On the first playthrough, this will just be 1000 LB, but the new Trading Cards can be found this way on NG+

The last add-on from Naomi costs a huge amount of LB, and the best way to grind seems to be Assassination Gig 18.

The camera can be kind of a pain sometimes, mostly in tight areas like hallways, and it doesn't stay locked on as you dodge roll.

Two types of battles I had trouble with:

A type of 'fight' that happens a few times is having Travis hitting X or A when a line of enemies throws baseballs at you, and you need to hit it correctly to take them out, and it's three strikes to an out. I could never get the timing down to take out more than a couple of them. ^^;

As you progress, there'll be spots around town(and one Assassination Gig) where you fight a bunch of enemies but only have 1 HP.

Being a Suda51 game, it's a mix of bloody, absurd and over the top(along with some nice moments here and there), and is great for it. There's some deeper stuff about the game/characters, as well, with the second set of trading cards on NG+ having more details on the various Ranked Assassins(some of whom come back in later games one way or another).

An old but amusng detail is that Travis' design is based off of Johnny Knoxville, which fits really well. XD

I'd been meaning to play this for a while when it was back on the Wii, and all of the games are easy to play now, so I'll get to the sequels, eventually.

Next game being sent is: Detective Pikachu Returns.

#No More Heroes #Thoughts on my rentals

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perledelalune · 1 year

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MISTIFIED STARTER CALL & INFO- Margaret Moonlight

Finally getting to more of these on my blogs! I love this event, so I'm wanting to do stuff with all my muses for it. This is uncapped as usual so feel free to go wild! Information on potential data imprints below- I may add stuff at my leisure.

RESIDUAL DATA IMPRINTS:

The talent show: Seems that a band of middle school mall goths is up on stage in the auditorium, ready to perform. Surely this’ll just be a cute little showcase of the potential of some okay-ish student performance, right…?

The ranked battle: The mall rooftop- a place where all the greatest destinies converge. The place where a brash, determined young man will face off against the Reaper, and determine which of the two shall walk away on that day. Margaret already knows how the story ends, but isn’t it fun to watch all the same…?

SENTIENT DATA IMPRINTS:

Alice Twilight: A somber, pink-haired woman, the #2 ranked assassin, and Margaret’s older sister. Wields ASURA-6, a back-mounted device with a long tail to help her move around, as well as six arms, each of which have a beam katana at the end. Potentially hostile, though probably not to Margaret.

New Destroyman: A pair of cyborgs made from the two halves of the bisected #8-ranked assassin. One is well-spoken and polite, while the other is vile and abrasive. One fights with long-ranged attacks while the other uses close-quarters melee. Both are major assholes. Likely hostile.

Shinobu Jacobs: Self-appointed apprentice to Travis Touchdown- the man who Margaret fought and was killed by- and a very skilled assassin in her own right. A fairly serious person, always ready to prove her skill, though sometimes imitates her master’s otaku-isms. Potentially hostile.

#isola event: mistified rerun #isola starter call #isola rp ad

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ladydemolatronselfship · 1 year

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✨ Promo ✨

🌟I'm well as name Dominique

🌟This is mine first sideblog that will be containing any Selfship content Im making. Chosen do this as fun sideblog too and introduce myself to selfship community too.

🌟Well not so new in selfship as had some so called fictional crushes or liked fictional character but this time one of those ended more serious to be selfship and wanted to give any content with mine F/O in separate blog.

❤Mine most recent Fictional Other is videogame character from one Hack and Slash game, and he is as personality well Gamer and Otaku beside being Assassin, yeah here can talk on name of mine F/O since I will do many AU content of his cannon where he has cannon love. At least can tell name now as its for him as Travis Touchdown.

🌟I have slightly free views on term of sharing F/O the more the merrier as maybe I would find people to gush over too.

#new blog #self ship #f/o stuff #fictional other

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thunderrabby-blog · 1 year

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No More Heroes III [Game Review]

“Travis Has Gotten An Enhancement” Game Info: System: PS4/PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, PC Publisher: X Seed Games, Marvelous USA Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. Release Date: October 11, 2022 Otaku like for us here at Honey’s Anime isn’t usually considered super cool and tough, especially if you compare us to Travis Touchdown. The legendary otaku assassin from the world of No…

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hell--kat · 3 years

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#No More Heroes #Otaku #Assassin #Travis Touchdown #My Art #Fan Art

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woon0 · 4 years

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»»»» ❝ i am having feelings again. like some kind of fourteen year old kid or something ... you remember feelings right ? ❞

#ic; travis.#open.#HDJHBDKJBDK #otaku assassin feels something for the first time in over a decade

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berardbro · 5 years

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Travis Strikes Again

#travis strikes again #no more heroes #suda51 #grasshopper manufacture #nintendo switch #travis touchdown #badman #otaku #assassin #cat #ramen #death drive #fanart

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kifachu · 5 years

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It's kill or be killed

#drawing #doodle #art #doodles #drawings #digital art #digital drawing #travis touchdown #no more heroes #kill or be killed #Wii #suda51 #otaku #assassin #glasses #artists on tumblr #artist

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demifiendrsa · 2 years

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Publisher XSEED Games and developer Grasshopper Manufacture will release No More Heroes III for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store in Fall 2022.

The new versions of No More Heroes III will include improved high-definition graphics, higher frame rates, and faster load times.

A physical Day 1 Edition will also be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Xbox Series / One for $59.99. It includes a copy of the game, a 5.3 by 7.3 inches softcover art book with 70 pages of content, a CD featuring select songs from the soundtrack, and a seven by four inches Santa Destroy commemorative biker license plate, all housed within a custom box featuring a new original illustration by series artist Yusuke Kozaki.

Overview

Being the “number-one assassin in the world” isn’t what it used to be. Otaku hero Travis Touchdown is back once more, forced out of retirement to defend Santa Destroy, and Earth, in an intergalactic test of might while proving he’s more than just a washed up has-been who talks to his cat. Warm up those beam katanas, tighten the all-new Death Glove, and get ready to partake in outrageous boss battles against the evil Prince FU and his nine alien henchmen as Travis fights his way to the top of the Galactic Superhero Rankings!

#No More Heroes III #NMH3 #No More Heroes 3 #No More Heroes #Grasshopper Manufacture #XSEED Games #video game #PS5 #Xbox Series #Xbox Series X #Xbox Series S #PS4 #Xbox One #PC #Steam #Microsoft Store

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xb-squaredx · 3 years

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No More Heroes III: A Sequel That Shouldn’t Exist

As the gaming industry trudges on, it’s not hard to notice a trend; games are taking longer and longer to make and the costs continue to climb. Not only does this mean more time waiting for the next installment in your favorite series, but it also has a side-effect of making companies less likely to take risks. A game underperforming nowadays could spell the end for a studio or franchise, and so only the “sure thing” games get made by the bigger publishers. In hindsight, the sixth console generation was a last hurrah for budget titles; there were SO many games of varying length, polish and quality in the era of the PS2 and GameCube. It was a time when Capcom could release absolute bangers like Resident Evil 4 but also finance something “cheap” and weird like God Hand. A time when Nintendo was ballsy enough to have a game starring Luigi as a GameCube launch title. As the HD era kicked off, it became clear that these types of games just weren’t financially viable anymore, though for a time the Wii was home to a fair few hidden gems that were still cheap to make, with one in particular standing out to me: Grasshopper Manufacture’s No More Heroes. Somehow against all odds, we’ve now arrived at a timeline where this niche series about an otaku assassin has reached a third mainline installment as a major Switch exclusive, and there’s plenty to talk about regarding it.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Let’s set the stage here: way back in 2007 No More Heroes released to the masses on the Wii with a…terrible launch in Japan. The West took to the game very well, however, becoming one of Grasshopper’s best-selling titles. The nerdy, perpetually horny wannabe-assassin Travis Touchdown agrees to become the world’s best assassin because some hot chick he met at a bar said she’d sleep with him if he did. That’s it. That’s the plot! Using a beam katana he got online, Travis sets out on a surreal, bloody journey that can be funny, crude, and more than anything else…memorable.

The original game was not flawless by any means; the story ran the risk of being tasteless at points, the combat was definitely wonky and the open world was empty. Despite all of that, it was filled with a unique charm that only Suda 51 could deliver; Travis was an odd beast of a protagonist. Johnny Knoxville put through a Japanese lens, he could be badass and crude one minute, and utterly pathetic and hilarious the next. While the combat wasn’t nearly as refined as many other action titles, it managed to work in motion controls in a way that was incredibly satisfying, swinging the Wii Remote for the killing blow, making it the exclamation point at the end of the sentence that was that battle. Sure, the structure of the game was a bit of a grind; being forced to work crappy temp jobs to earn enough money to unlock the next assassination fight, then having to spend several minutes driving through a barren open world to get to some actual content. I would argue that all of this helped to reinforce how much of a loser Travis was outside of his assassinations and was a good juxtaposition for all of the slaughter. This all mixed together and resulted in a game unlike anything else. You would NEVER see a AAA game that would get this weird. They’d likely have an open world littered with things to do, or just cut to the next fight without showing all of the weird grinding and dead-end jobs, but that would just suck the charm right out of it. Ultimately, it’s the kind of game that only Suda could make, and likely only during this strange transitional period to HD gaming.

A sequel would follow a few years later and despite polishing up its combat, offering more playable characters and its story having a bit more gravitas to it, the lack of marketing coupled with the Wii’s declining popularity resulted in the game’s sales being quite a disappointment. It’s worth noting that around this time Grasshopper went through some changes; Suda would move to more of an executive role, with a rare directing credit on small games like Liberation Maiden on the 3DS. Over the years, Grasshopper would face issues with the changing gaming landscape and outside of a few successes (like Lollipop Chainsaw), their games continued to be niche at best. One of their more well-known fumbles was Shadows of the Damned which faced executive meddling from Electronic Arts and the game’s eventual finished state would hit Suda particularly hard. GungHo Online Entertainment would acquire the company in 2013, and later Suda would establish a smaller team he would lead over himself, separate from GungHo’s team. It would seem that the indie explosion of the 2010s had a profound effect on Suda and with a new Nintendo console on the horizon, this all culminated in the 2017 announcement of Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes.

TSA is an odd game, even for Grasshopper and Suda 51. It is one part tribute to indie games, one part No More Heroes continuation, one part celebration of Grasshopper’s entire catalogue of games, and it all ties together with a deeply personal examination of the trials and tribulations of game development. Travis spends the game going into the game worlds of launch titles for the fictional Death Drive Mk. 2 video game console, and he develops a deep respect for Dr. Juvenile, the acclaimed developer of these games, and comes to sympathize with the sabotage of her greatest work, which has heavy parallels to the development of Shadows of the Damned. TSA was not going to be for everyone, and was a far departure from the typical No More Heroes formula, but it was also extremely experimental. Large portions of the game’s story play out in old PC-styled visual novels, various other mediums are blended into the game’s sparse cutscenes and allusions to media that Suda loves are abundant throughout. I wouldn’t say the game itself was all that fun to play to be exact though; levels went on pretty long, enemies weren’t all that interesting to fight, and the game’s clearly low budget meant there was minimal voice acting, which severely held back the ability to really bring the characters to life. That said, getting to the end gave the clue that a proper mainline entry might not be that far away. Sure enough, at E3 2019, just a few months after TSA came out, No More Heroes III was confirmed for the Switch.

I’M NOT SAYING IT’S ALIENS, BUT…

When I completed No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, my visions for a sequel didn’t exactly line up with the No More Heroes III we eventually got, and I think that’s not entirely a bad thing. This game centers on Travis taking on a group of dangerous alien outlaws that set their sights on Earth. They’re well-mannered enough to agree to the whole Ranked Assassin battles that the series was built upon at least, so Travis is able to take them on one at a time as he slowly works his way up to Prince FU, the leader of the bunch. At this point, Travis has fought psychopathic assassins, cyborgs, supernatural forces and sentient computer bugs, so really a fight against aliens was clearly the next step. FU is a fun antagonist on his own; he gets WAY more screen time to flesh out his cocky, laid-back personality, compared to most series antagonists that only show up at the very end of the game. By going with aliens as the primary threat, this also allowed the character designs to get WEIRD, and gives a lot of potential for the boss fights of the game to be the craziest yet. I think the decision to fight off an alien invasion is an inspired one, but I wouldn’t exactly say that the end result was completely satisfying.

I want to dance around overt spoilers, but generally speaking I feel like No More Heroes III’s narrative is very weak overall. For as much potential as the alien plotline has, the vast majority of the aliens Travis has to fight aren’t all that memorable by series standards. In some cases this seems deliberate, but on the whole I feel like the premise was wasted. Adding to that, established characters in the franchise, such as Travis’ disciple Shinobu or the likes of Bad Girl and her father, Bad Man (who got a lot of focus in TSA) barely feature in the game at all, written out in a way that just feels uninspired. Meanwhile there are a few newer characters that get integrated into Travis’ entourage but they aren’t really given a lot of room to be developed and their presence here basically ate up the screen time that other characters could have gotten instead. Probably the most disappointing aspect of the story though is how little the relationship between the primary antagonists is explored. At the game’s start, we’re treated to a nice 2D animated sequence that shows a young boy named Damon meeting a young Prince FU, nursing him back to health and helping him to find a way back home. FU promises Damon he’d return in 20 years’ time…and that’s when this game kicks off. At first glance Damon is shocked at FU’s extremely aggressive demeanor and seems concerned with FU’s dreams of conquest, but then the rest of the game never really delves into it at all. We don’t find out why FU turned out the way he did (outside of some dialogue where he was allegedly “always” like this), and as for Damon…I have my own ideas about why he got so little focus, so put a pin in it for now. Ultimately, the story feels somewhat incomplete and rushed…and then I read an interview wherein Suda stated that around an hour of cutscenes for the game had to be gutted, and suddenly it all makes sense.

All that said though, I’d argue the overall presentation is still pretty good and hits a lot of high points. The game blends in a lot of different mediums and at every turn there are allusions to all kinds of media. Each chapter of the game is given its own psychedelic pseudo-live-action intro that homages old Ultraman opening themes, there’s a mecha anime-styled ending theme for each chapter, super-deformed eyecatches in-between chapters and…loading screens that mimic the Netflix interface as the next chapter begins. At every point you’re assaulted with different art styles and bright, garish colors and it can be a real feast for the eyes. That said, there are also parts of the game that are pretty crude, and I don’t think it’s wholly a deliberate choice. While the character models for Travis, other NPCs and enemies are all often pretty detailed and animated well enough, the environments are often very low-poly and lack detail. Driving through the open world sections in the game, you’re treated to some pretty bad pop-in and lighting that frequently breaks. Areas are just as barren as they were back in the Wii original, but it’s a lot less forgivable given the boost in power between the Wii and Switch. Parts of this game can look really nice, but other parts feel like they come from generations past. Audio-wise, I think III has a fairly solid soundtrack with a lot of variety, including lo-fi rap and techno, though I’m not sure how well it will hold up to the previous mainline entries for me. The voice acting, meanwhile, is fantastic and I’m glad most of the actors from previous entries could reprise their roles even all of these years later. Robin Atkins Downs IS Travis Touchdown and I don’t think anyone else could ever successfully play him, and across the board I think most everyone delivers a good performance, even if a lot of the cast had little material to work with. All that said, the combat is where I think this game surprised me the most.

I STUDIED THE BLADE

Across Grasshopper’s entire catalog, I’d say their action games are…functional, but often lacking in polish, though I’m clearly spoiled by the likes of Capcom and PlatinumGames action titles that prioritize the feel of the action above all else. The first two titles in this franchise are mostly fine and have good ideas; they just needed a bit more time to fine-tune things. TSA was more arcade-like in the action department and the focus there felt more designed around using your special Death Glove powers over your beam katana. I was a tad worried going into No More Heroes III but coming out of it, this is the best combat the series has ever had and quite possibly the best combat in any Grasshopper game. It feels way more polished and responsive, and you actually fight enemies that are varied in design, forcing you to change up your ways to approach them. Travis can still use a few Death Glove powers that run off of cool downs, but the game still allows for fun with the beam katana slicing and dicing opponents. Killing enemies triggers a roulette wheel that has the chance to give you a random power-up (up to and including Travis donning his new fancy power armor), and other aspects like his wrestling moves and his perfect dodge have way more use. In old games, you could only grapple enemies that were stunned with melee attacks, but in this game, if you can get behind opponents, you can just suplex them for free and it feels really satisfying to land a good grapple, and then performing a grab on a stunned enemy also replenishes your swords battery which allows you to keep fighting without stopping to uh…you know…shake some life into it. The Dark Step maneuver in the first two games was more than a little inconsistent, but in this game the Perfect Dodge feels more tuned. Dodge at the last moment and you can hack away at enemies while time is slowed down, or go right for a grab! I wouldn’t say the game’s perfect though.

While the combat is much improved and polished, there’s still some jank. For example, if Travis dodges and time slows down, enemies remain in their attack animations even as you hack away at them, and in a lot of occasions, the instant the slowdown stops I end up getting hit by the attack that I had already dodged…because the game still treats it as being active and the enemy never stopped attacking even though I was slicing them up in the slowed down time. Compare that with, say, Bayonetta, where attacking enemies while Witch Time is triggered put them into hitstun and prevented that exact issue. While I think the enemy variety is MUCH improved, with Travis fighting some really weird aliens that have more inspired designs than “thug with bat” or “thug with gun,” they tend to be a real pain to fight, and that definitely contributes to this game being a LOT harder than past entries on the whole. Travis lacks good crowd control, so he can get swarmed easily and enemies on average have a LOT of health, so you have to dedicate a lot of time to taking out a single target, all while the others are free to take shots at you from off-screen. Making use of all of your tools, from the Death Glove powers, to suplexes, to your roulette wheel can make a huge difference but on the whole some fights just feel like they go on for too long, and there’s little to do but fight.

Unlike past entries that had dedicated levels leading up to bosses, in No More Heroes III you have to instead traverse the open world to find “Designated Battles,” that Travis has to complete before the boss fight is unlocked, in addition to paying a fee, just like old times. These Designated Battles are usually just battling a few waves of enemies in an arena, though occasionally Travis will don his power armor and take to space to take on a huge boss in a shoot-em-up section. Bosses end up having little to no build-up since you just fight generic mobs of enemies that are disconnected from the fight on the whole, barring one real instance midway through the game. To a degree, the levels in the first game weren’t all that fun and cutting them out means little value is lost, but it did add some variety to the game and I really feel their absence. But maybe it would have been easier to accept if the open world sections had been fulfilling to explore on their own.

Unlike the first game, this time Travis has more than just Santa Destroy to explore. There’s also the suburban Perfect World, the desert wasteland in the Thunderdome, the dusty, war-torn Call of Battle ruins, the suspiciously plain Neo Brazil and Damon Tower, which is sadly the smallest area in the game, being little more than a corridor leading to the final boss. While it was nice to explore Santa Destroy again and see what changed, most areas in the game still feel very empty. In the case of places like the Thunderdome it makes sense, though Neo Brazil is little more than a parking lot…with a bustling city looming in the distance you can’t visit. With Suda it’s hard to tell if this is a joke on the player, or just issues with development. Looking at the map, many areas are labeled as a “forbidden zone,” and you never get the ability to travel there throughout the game. It’s anyone’s guess if this was done as a joke, a consequence of development scaling back, or perhaps planting seeds for future DLC. While I can somewhat commend Suda for bringing back the open world aspects that only the first game really had, I do question the execution and feel that the ambition might have been better spent elsewhere on the game. Why make SIX areas that feel lacking to explore, when you could have fleshed out a single area instead?

While I decry the game world for feeling a bit lacking, there are things to do. Travis can engage in various odd jobs to earn money for the ranking battles, and there are a few sidequests players can engage in. Compared to the first game, the grind isn’t nearly as much of a problem; you earn money for doing just about anything in the game and the jobs are often quick and mostly painless. Travis can pick up trash in rivers while fighting off alligators, unclog toilets, help the coast guard fend off giant alligator attacks, or race street punks on his bike to get them off the road and stop disturbing the peace. The only side activity I find to be absolutely bad is mining, where players are forced to navigate super tightly-packed mines where it’s both easy to get lost, and easy to fall into lava pits that immediately cause a game over. Said area is one of the only times in the game Travis needs to jump…and thank God for that because his jump is pretty stiff and laggy. There are also a lot of optional fights players can engage with that open up as the game goes on, but they mostly felt like padding. Not only are some of these later fights absolutely grueling (try fighting 25 waves of enemies for over a half hour!), they also seemed to glitch. The wrong mission would load in, which in turn prevented me from actually unlocking a good amount of later missions. Nothing game breaking of course, but if you’re going for 100% completion you might be in for quite the headache.

UNFLINCHING INDULGENCE

In the long gap between No More Heroes 2 and No More Heroes III, I did my best to expand my horizons when it came to games. I dipped my toe into a lot of franchises I’ve never played before, and played what some might call modern masterpieces. In that time, I think I grew quite spoiled by playing games developed by people that were masters of their craft, and when it comes to these smaller, more experimental titles, I often can’t help but compare them, which isn’t really fair. Like, OF COURSE Breath of the Wild wipes the floor with No More Heroes III when it comes to making a great open world. It’s no surprise at all that Bayonetta or Devil May Cry has more fleshed-out, satisfying combat. Major console exclusives look and run better than this game does a lot of the time, and to say that I’ve played games with better stories than this should probably go without saying. This goes beyond No More Heroes III and can apply to a lot of Grasshopper’s catalog; their games aren’t the biggest or shiniest, they aren’t the most polished and they often suffer from some pretty big flaws…but I still love them anyway because no one else makes games like them.

Like I said at the beginning, gaming has changed a lot in the last decade or so. The budget for games balloons and niche games grow ever smaller. We need these artsy, weird games now more than ever so we can actually have some variety. Not to get on a soapbox, but so much of modern gaming is made up of live-service games that are more concerned with being a constant form of revenue rather than being an entertaining experience, and if they aren’t that, they’re incredibly homogenized. But games with Suda 51 at the helm have an identity. For what they lack in raw visual fidelity or content, they make up for in earnestness and creativity. These are games where characters can just sit on the couch and shoot the shit about anime and movies they like; seriously, the ending of every chapter of the game just has Travis and Bishop talking about Takeshi Miike movies or the latest Kamen Rider show, and it’s clear Suda does this so that he can just talk about the stuff he loves. He uses these games to make commentary on what he likes or doesn’t like about the industry, and honestly I have to admire the courage it takes to be so indulgent. To just homage anything and everything at a given moment, to tie your games together into a loosely-connected universe filled to the brim with callbacks and continuity nods that only the most seasoned Grasshopper fan is going to get.

You have to be tuned to a very specific wavelength to really “gel” with Grasshopper Manufacture’s games, I think. I’m not trying to be elitist when I say that; it’s just that these games clearly aren’t for everyone. They’re dumb, they’re crude, and they are often really janky and barely hold together under close inspection. I can’t say I can recommend their games to everyone, but for a certain niche, if they “get” it? They’re gonna have a FANTASTIC time. Because they found a game that isn’t afraid to not always make sense, or work for everyone. They found a game that, despite any flaws it has, can still shine through and make a connection with the player.

I’d say at the end of the day I’m happy that No More Heroes III got to exist at all and it feels like a small miracle that it happened. In some ways this isn’t the ideal sequel I wanted, but in others it did things I never could have expected, which leaves me with a game that was still very memorable. Knowing that Grasshopper has had its ups and downs and the actual team on this particular game was quite a bit smaller than I had expected, I find that III is a fairly ambitious product. While to a degree it might be held back a bit by Switch hardware, I’m also sure that the pandemic impacted the game quite a bit as well. Seeing as this missed the initial 2020 release date, and hearing of aspects of the game that were left on the cutting room floor, this game was undeniably a result of compromise. That’s pretty much the case with most things though, and this series has even had some jokes about things that had to be cut from the games to ship on time, so it isn’t a huge surprise. Admittedly though, having over a decade to dream about what a true end to the No More Heroes trilogy could be definitely clouds my judgment on this game a bit; there’s a part of me that can’t help but wonder what could have been. At the same time, I’m just thankful this got to exist in any state, and if I’m being honest and looking at this game on its own merits, No More Heroes III is a fun, stylish, and occasionally uneven ride that leaves me hopeful that Suda remains in the director’s chair for more fun stuff down the line. For a game that I had begun to imagine would never exist, it made out OK, and the world is better for having more wacky appearances from Travis Touchdown. According to Suda 51, this is the last No More Heroes game, but I certainly hope there is more to come from his one-of-a-kind mind.

Start the game.

-B

#no more heroes #no more heroes iii #no more heroes 3 #nmh3 #travis touchdown #suda 51 #nintendo switch #action game #xb-squaredx

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zachasablog · 2 years

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Videogame News Digest Week of 4/15/22

Coachella is coming to Fortnite, developer Epic Games announced in a blog post. Fortnite has a history of hosting live musical acts such as Ariana Grande and Travis Scott so though this most recent collaboration with Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival won’t feature digital concerts, it’s none too surprising. From now until May 16th players can tune into Icon Radio in-game to hear music by 30 Coachella headlining artists including Billie Eillish, Harry Styles and Doja Cat. Players will also be able to purchase the “Rocking Coachella” and “Dancing Coachella” bundles, with the former being available this weekend while the latter will drop on Thursday April, 21st. In addition to a variety of new player skins the bundles also introduce accessories like the Finfin Back Bling, or Neon Biter Pickaxe which are “reactive to music.”

Fortnite developer Epic Games also received significant investments this week from Sony, as well as The Lego Group owner Kirkbi. Both companies have invested $1 billion dollars apiece in a move which Epic founder and chief executive Tim Sweeney said “will accelerate our work to build the metaverse and create spaces where players can have fun with friends, brands can build creative and immersive experiences, and creators can build a community and thrive.” For Sony this most recent investment comes in addition to previous investments, of $250 million and $200 million. Epic Games and The Lego Group have previously announced intentions to collaborate for purposes of creating family-friendly spaces in the metaverse. Epic Games in turn also announced this week their own investment in Brazilian game studio Aquiris, developers of throwback arcade-racer Horizon Chase, as well as a publishing deal for Aquiris’ next two games.

There were a number of game announcements this week as well, certainly none larger than that of Kingdoms Hearts 4. In a stream celebrating the series’ 20th anniversary Square Enix debuted a trailer for the game featuring a more photo-realistic Sora in what appears to be a real-world Tokyo apartment(so real-world in fact that dedicated fans have already located its actual counterpart.) Though the trailer does feature series stalwarts Donald and Goofy it's notably absent of any other Disney worlds or characters, though a hint of what many fans have interpreted to be an AT-AT foot in the trailer has kicked off speculation as to whether recent Disney acquisitions like Star Wars and Marvel may be on the table for the crossover series. In addition to the next numbered entry in the franchise Square Enix also announced a new mobile title, Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, with a closed beta test planned for 2022.

Publisher XSEED Games announced a wider release for 2021 Switch-exclusive No More Heroes III. This release will bring the latest entry in the saga of otaku/assassin Travis Touchdown to PS4, PS5, Xbox and PC this fall with “improved HD visuals, framerates, and faster loading times.” A day one physical edition includes an artbook, CD, and a replica of Travis’s “MOE '' license plate, which this reporter implores you not to put on a vehicle you don’t want keyed.

Pokemon GO developer Niantic showed off their first original game since their partnership with Nintendo, Peridot. The virtual pet game seems to take inspiration from the developer’s history with the pocket monster franchise, tasking players with raising on the titular peridots, each of which will differ in visual appearance, personality, their likes and dislikes, and their abilities, which Niantic says will be accomplished through a combination of artist created assets and procedural generation. Players will be able to raise their peridots from birth to adulthood and breed their peridots with other players to pass down traits. Peridot will utilize Niantic’s camera-based AR technology Lightship, which allows the game to “recognize different real-world surfaces such as dirt, sand, water, grass, and foliage.”

Ever embattled publisher Activision Blizzard also found themselves back in the news this week for a variety of reasons. Blizzard Entertainment debuted the first gameplay footage of Sojourn, the first new character shown from Overwatch 2. Sojourn’s kit places a high emphasis on player accuracy with a strong projectile secondary and high-powered hit-scan ultimate, and seeks to present a character that scales in proportion to player skill according to a blog post from Blizzard Entertainment. Sojourn is also the first playable black woman in Overwatch, the lack of representation in this regard has been a frequent point of criticism for Blizzard’s shooter.

Blizzard Entertainment also received an infusion of fresh talent this week with the official merger with Activision Blizzard studio Vicarious Visions. Vicarious Visions previously worked with Blizzard Entertainment on the 2021 HD remake of Blizzard’s 2000 dungeon crawler Diablo II. Prior to this Vicarious Visions has headed the HD remakes of Tony Hawk Pro-Skater 1+2 as well as working on franchises such as Crash Bandicoot and Skylanders. Vicarious Visions confirmed via tweet that the studio will remain based in its current location in Albany, New York.

However this week also saw allegations leveled against California Governor Gavin Newsom accused of attempting to interfere in the state’s ongoing lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for gender discrimination. The accusations come from the former assistant chief counsel of California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH,) Melania Proctor. Bloomberg reported that Proctor resigned in protest of the firing of DFEH chief counsel, Janette Wipper, by the Newsom administration. In an email sent to DFEH employees Proctor alleges that Newsom sought to interfere with their lawsuit, that he “repeatedly demanded advance notice of litigation strategy and of next steps in the litigation” and “mimick[ed] the interests of Activision’s counsel.” In a statement to Kotaku the Communications Director for Governor Newsom denied all allegations of interference claiming they are “categorically fake.”

Meanwhile, Activision breakaway Bungie has announced its transition to a “digital-first” structure. While full remote employ was only indicated available in California, Florida, Illinois, Oregon, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington in the initial tweet Bungie later clarified their statement on twitter. Don McGowan, general counsel at Bungie explained in a tweet “Basically it’s states where we already have a tax presence.” A spokesperson for the developer also elaborated in a statement to IGN that "this is only the start of our transition to a digital-first approach to hybrid work. We plan to open new locations and will make additional announcements as they become available."

Reporting out of Business Insider this week indicates that Microsoft is considering the addition of in-game advertising by “select brands” in certain free-to-play Xbox games. According to sources these ads would appear in racing or open world games as digital Billboards. Business Insider also reports that Microsoft is approaching the matter with caution, wary of disrupting games and irritating players. In a statement to Kotaku a Microsoft spokesperson commented that while the company is “always looking for ways to improve the experience for players and developers,” it had no further comment on in-game ads at this time.

Finally in the strangest headline out of the world of gaming this week; three persons arrested in London in connection with the hosting of an unlicensed Club Penguin clone. Club Penguin, the popular children’s MMO was purchased by Disney in 2007 and ultimately shut down in 2017. In the years since Disney has not hesitated to use legal force to shut down fan attempts to keep the online game alive. Popular clone Club Penguin Online was forced to shutdown in 2020 for copyright infringement. Now Club Penguin Rewritten, which started in 2017 and boasted more than ten million users, has voluntarily shutdown in response to a communication from Disney and turned the website over to City of London Police. The site now reads, “This site has been taken over by Operation Creative, Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU).” The three persons arrested in connection to the operation of Club Penguin Rewritten were reportedly released.

#video games #gaming #epic games #fortnite #coachella #sony #lego #kingdom hearts #no more heroes #blizzard entertainment #vicarious visions #activision #bungie #microsoft #club penguin #disney

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