No More Heroes originally released back in 2007 on the Wii and received decent reviews from critics. It was followed by a sequel, No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, which released last year on the Wii. Now that the game has had its time on the Wii, it has finally been moved onto the Playstation 3 by Konami and given some new content as well as Move support.
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise is a remake of the 2007 title released on the Wii. With some added content and the use of the Playstation Move, can it warrant a second buy for those who have already played it? And is it worth buying to begin with? Here are the Hots and Nots of No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise.
HOT
Story
The story of Heroes’ Paradise is unchanged from the original game. You still play as Travis Touchdown, an Otaku who won a Beam Katana in an online auction and decides he wants to be the number one assassin so that he can have sex with Sylvia, a mysterious girl he met at a bar. This involves taking out the top 10 assassins in the United States. While the story won’t blow your mind, the direction it takes as you journey through each boss encounter is over the top and hilarious. Each encounter and bit of story has its own bit of hilarity that makes the story that much more awesome.
Presentation
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise prides itself on being over the top and hilarious in every way. The cel-shaded graphics are nice and the lighting has gotten a big improvement. It’s an uncensored, insane and super violent portrayal of anime and an ode to classic samurai movies. The crazy nature the game portrays is one of the reasons you will keep coming back for more. It keeps you interested in the plot and the immature nature of Travis Touchdown plays out nicely as the game progresses.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Heroes’ Paradise is simple and effective. You can play using either the controller or the Playstation Move, but the game is better played with the motion controller in hand. Using the swinging motion to lop off body parts is much easier than having to button mash in order to achieve bloody victory. Using the regular controller is still simple but you will have to do a great deal of button mashing and stick spinning in order to achieve desired results.
The combat in the game is simple to pick up and learn, using only two main attack buttons with the ability to stun your opponent to perform a throw. The real challenge comes into play when you face the bosses, which each have their own unique fighting style for you to observe and learn. They can be difficult at times until you learn to dodge and attack at the right moments, but once you have it down you won’t have a problem eliminating them.
Added Content
The added content in Heroes’ Paradise offers a nice extension onto the game. The main game itself will run you anywhere between 15 to 20 hours depending on how much you do inside of Santa Destroy. The new game plus mode, extra bosses added in and Score Attack mode help to keep the game alive for a little bit longer. There are 5 new bosses in the game that are taken directly from the sequel and put into a dream fight mode that takes place during different portions of the game. The Score Attack Mode is unlocked upon completing the game and allows you to fight the bosses in the game for a score that is put up on leaderboards. The new game plus mode allows you to take your money and weapons from your previous playthrough and try out the game on Bitter or Very Sweet mode. Very Sweet mode is an easy version of the game where all the female bosses wear more revealing attire.
NOT
Sound
While the music was catchy at first, it got really annoying about two hours into the game. The music track you hear in the beginning level will be the one you hear for the rest of the game’s main levels. It just keeps looping and looping until your head gets ready to explode. The same goes with the track that plays while driving, the same thing over and over again. Some of the sound effects in the game are overused as well. The comments that are stated by the enemies and Travis after a kill are repeated more times than I can count on my fingers. My only wish is that they would have varied it up with the music at least.
Driving Is Terrible
It’s sad when one of the game’s mechanics that you have to rely on doesn’t even work properly. Driving is possibly the worst mechanic in this game. It’s wonky and you will constantly find yourself crashing and being thrown form your bike. Hitting a car causes the game to shoot your bike around it at times like the collision detection is off. Other times you will hit the car and be thrown form it. While driving around you will also notice screen tearing, pop up and slowdown which can freeze your game causing you to restart. It is definitely something they could have worked on.
Jobs Are Just Filler
In order to progress to the next ranked fight, you have to save up money by doing jobs and assassination contracts. These are tedious additions to the game that seem like nothing more than filler after awhile. At first they seem like something new and a good diversion, but part way through the story when you realize they have nothing to contribute they just seem like a waste of time.
Verdict
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise is an average game that offers little incentive for fans of the original to play it again on the PS3. Those of you out there who want to give it a shot should look into getting it either through rental or purchase as it is a decent game that will entertain you until it is over. Although there are a few problems with the driving and repetitive sounds and music, the game manages to keep out of the average hack and slash rut with its quirky nature and entertaining gameplay. It is one of those games that fans of anime or old samurai flicks should definitely take for a spin.
[Editor’s Note:No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]