No More Heroes 3 (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.1.1 Update + All DLCs

No More Heroes 3 is a 2021 action-adventure hack-and-slash video game developed and published by Grasshopper Manufacture for the Nintendo Switch. Marvelous published the game in Japan. It is the fourth installment in the No More Heroes series and is the third mainline entry in the series. Set eleven years after the events of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (2010), the game stars professional assassin Travis Touchdown and follows his return to the fictional city of Santa Destroy, as he must defend the world from a powerful army of alien invaders led by the galactic overlord prince FU and his nine soldiers who adopt the façade of galactic superheroes.

Production began during the final development stages of the spinoff prequel Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (2019). Series creator and director Goichi Suda had received many fan requests to make a third mainline entry in the franchise after the release of the second game, but the development of a new entry was postponed for many years due to Grasshopper Manufacture working on other projects. Upon the studio being shown the Nintendo Switch, Suda was inspired to return to the series, believing the games would be fit for the console’s audience and allow for a return to the series’ staple motion control combat via the Joy-Con controllers. Much like previous entries in the series, the game pays homage to and parodies pop culture media, taking inspiration from works such as Rocky III, Kamen Rider, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the filmography of Takashi Miike. Suda has described the game as the conclusion of Travis Touchdown’s story.

No More Heroes III was announced at E3 2019 with a planned 2020 release, but was delayed into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic slowing down development. Upon its initial Nintendo Switch release on August 27, 2021, the game was met with generally favorable reviews. Additional versions of the game with enhanced visuals and performance were released in October 2022 for PlayStation, Xbox, and Windows platforms, published by Marvelous in Japan and Xseed Games in North America.

GAMEPLAY

No More Heroes III is a third-person action-adventure game where the player assumes the role of the professional assassin Travis Touchdown, who must climb to the top of the Galactic Superhero Rankings. The game marks a return to the series’ open-world format last seen in the first game and has the player explore a man-made archipelago, taking on various side activities such as part-time job minigames, and defense missions where the player must battle waves of enemy. In a new addition to the series, the open world is split into five unique islands. The player can traverse around and between the islands with Travis’ new modified motorcycle; the “Demzamtiger”. Travel between islands can also be expedited via a fast travel system. To progress in the game, the player must accrue enough money from missions to pay an entry fee to a ranked battle. The player must then face off against one of the Rankings’ top contenders in a unique boss battle.

Combat plays out as a hack-and-slash game in real time. Similar to the previous mainline games, the combat is predominantly centered around Travis’ signature “Beam Katana”; a sword with a blade composed of energy. The player can perform various light and heavy combos with the sword. Successful strikes power up the player’s “Tension Gauge” whereas taking damage depletes it, higher tension leads to longer and more damaging combos. When an enemy has had their health sufficiently depleted, the player is given a directional prompt to execute a “Killer Slash”; an unstoppable attack with a large range that does heavy damage to adjacent enemies. Upon successful execution of enemies, the player activates the “Slash Reel”; a slot machine that gives the random chance of a currency bonus or a power-up. At times the player may lock swords with melee-based enemies, upon which they must perform rotation motions to counter the enemy. The Beam Katana runs on power represented by a battery that gets depleted during attacks. When fully exhausted, the player is left vulnerable and must manually recharge it. The player can perform a variety of professional wrestling techniques on stunned or diverted enemies to deal greater damage and instantly recharge the Beam Katana’s battery. Defensive maneuvers exist in the form of blocking and dodging. Dodging an oncoming attack right before it connects initiates a Perfect Dodge, causing enemies to enter a slow-motion state and leaving them susceptible to a flurry of attacks. If the player falls in battle, they are given a random chance of a stat boost upon retrying.

New additions to the series’ staple combat mechanics include the “Death Glove” carried over from Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. The Death Glove allows the player to perform a teleporting dropkick. An additional three unique skills are obtained that can aid in combat, which include the ability to perform psychokinetic throws, the ability to set up a sentry that automatically fires projectiles at enemies in a radius, and the ability to set down a field that slows down enemies within the radius. All skills operate on a cooldown timer. If the player rolls a jackpot on the Slash Reel (represented by a triple seven) the player can activate one of two “Full Armor” modes, which boosts the player’s attack options and allows them to fire projectiles. A third form of the Full Armor is employed for shooting defense missions, a new side activity that takes the form of shoot ’em up mecha battles where the player must defend the planet from large-scale aliens.

The player can return to Travis’ motel in between missions to upgrade various stats such as their health and weaponry. Unlike previous entries in the series, character upgrades employ a separate currency from the one that is used to purchase items and enter ranked battles. Scrap parts derived from battle missions can be sold off for additional currency or used at the motel to construct Death Glove chips that provide various unique stat modifiers, and the player can also order consumable items in the form of sushi that give players stat boosts in battle, such as increased damage or cooldown reduction on Death Glove abilities. At the motel, the player can also play minigames with Travis’ cat, customize his wearable attire, collect capsule toys from a gashapon machine, engage in a combat tutorial room, or use a time machine to revisit past bosses.

PLOT

In 2001, a young Damon Ricotello goes to the woods at night and discovers a crash site, encountering FU as a small injured alien larva. Damon decides to take care of FU while hiding him from government agents. The two become friends while searching for a way to return FU to his planet. After discovering a piece of alien technology at FU’s crash site, Damon is imbued with alien powers and assists FU in building a spaceship. They say goodbye to each other and FU departs, promising to return in 20 years.

Twenty years later (two years after the events of Travis Strikes Again), an adult Damon manages Utopinia as its CEO, utilizing FU’s alien abilities and technology to prosper and become a wealthy business magnate. An adult FU returns to Earth in a large spaceship, alongside nine additional aliens, and reveals to Damon that he became a prince after returning to his home world, only to be exiled to an intergalactic prison for destroying a neighboring planet. He announces their intention to team up with Damon and take over Earth by employing the popular trend of superheroism. Travis Touchdown, who had returned to Santa Destroy following years of self-imposed exile, awakes to the city being invaded and fends off waves of aliens together with fellow assassins Shinobu and Bad Girl. He successfully stops the invasion by killing its commander Mr. Blackhole, the first of FU’s companions.

After executing the President of the United States on live television, FU announces the establishment of the Galactic Superhero Rankings; a ranked ladder with himself at the top, serving as an open invitation to the strongest fighters to determine the fate of the planet. Still aggrieved by Blackhole’s death, FU accosts Travis and his friends at the No More Heroes motel. In the ensuing skirmish, FU incapacitates Travis before dismembering Shinobu and killing Badman when he arrives at her aid. The battle leaves Shinobu in a critical coma and Bad Girl is devastated over her father’s death, compelling Travis to enter the rankings to fight his way to number one and stop FU. During Travis’ ascent, the rankings are infiltrated by Native Dancer, who prematurely kills Black Night Direction. Travis dismisses Native Dancer’s story of being a time traveler but instinctually spares him after the battle. Travis later crosses paths with a grown-up Kimmy Howell after she is found having killed Vanishing Point, still seeking a fight to the death with Travis following their previous encounter in Desperate Struggle. Travis reluctantly kills her in their ensuing battle.

Travis spares the life of the fifth-ranked fighter Midori Midorikawa after they are intercepted by Kamui Uehara, who reveals that she joined the rankings after a misunderstanding and that the two are in a relationship. During a battle with mass-produced versions of the superhero terrorist Destroyman, Travis befriends the superhero and wrestling champion Notorious, who assists Travis in training. While Travis climbs the ranks, Damon acts on his own to kill Travis, hiring a contract killer who gives him a device that enables him to kill someone. Becoming increasingly frustrated by their inefficiency, FU kills off the two remaining rankers so Travis can face him. After making his way to the second rank, Travis is waylaid at the motel by his brother Henry Cooldown, who still resents Travis for events that followed their shared traumatic upbringing and has seemingly gone insane. After Travis defeats and seemingly kills Henry, he is ambushed and murdered by Henry while using the toilet.

After dying, Travis is sent to the world of Deathman, a video game that he grew up with, whose protagonist brings Travis back to life with help from Takashi Miike. Joined by the recovered Shinobu and Bad Girl alongside Kamui, Notorious, Midori, and Native Dancer, Travis heads to Damon Tower to fight FU, forcing him back to his larval form with everyone’s efforts. FU attempts to flee back to his planet, only for Damon to activate his device and detonate FU’s ship, killing FU in the process. Damon explains that he masterminded the alien invasion as part of his plan to kill Travis for punching him. Damon transforms Damon Tower into a planet-destroying mecha, but Travis successfully defeats it after summoning an Arsenal from Daemon X Machina. Travis and Damon finish their fight on a derelict battlefield in the style of Super Smash Bros., where Travis strikes Damon so hard he is completely vaporized.

In a post-credits scene, Travis and his friends give Badman a burial at sea before they are attacked by an alien armada led by FU’s father, King Jess-Baptiste V. They are saved by future versions of Travis and Sylvia’s children Jeane and Hunter, who also reveal Native Dancer to be Travis’ grandson Scott. The trio explains that Henry kills Travis in the future teams up with an alien force to destroy the planet, and asks Travis to join them to help them change the future.