No More Heroes (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.2.0 Update

No More Heroes is an action-adventure hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the Wii. It was released by Marvelous Entertainment in Japan in 2007, Ubisoft in North America, and Rising Star Games in PAL territories in 2008. The game was directed, designed, and written by Goichi Suda, also known by his nickname Suda51.

The game follows Travis Touchdown, an otaku who wins a beam katana in an auction, from which he inadvertently becomes involved in the United Assassins Association and is forced to kill assassins higher in rank to prevent other assassins from targeting him. No More Heroes was met with critical acclaim, with its gameplay, writing, and soundtrack receiving high praise, though its perceived repetitiveness was criticized. A port of the game, titled No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise, was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 with additional content in Japan.

Unlike the original, the international version of the game was published by Konami, and only the PlayStation 3 version of the game was localized in English. A port developed by Engine Software was later released for the Nintendo Switch in 2020, and for Amazon Luna and Windows via Steam in 2021. The game was followed by three sequels: No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (2010), Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (2019), and No More Heroes III (2021).

GAMEPLAY

Throughout the game, the player controls the character Travis Touchdown. The game has a free-roaming world, allowing Travis to move around on foot or his modified scooter, the “Schpeltiger”. The gameplay is open-ended, with the condition that the player must kill the top ten assassins to make the storyline progress. There are numerous part-time job side quests to earn money which can be spent on weapons, training sessions, clothes, and videotapes. Money is also required to compete in a Ranking fight.

Control is handled through the Wii Remote and Nunchuk attachment, with the Remote controlling his weapon, the beam katana, and the Nunchuk moving Travis. Most attacks are performed using the “A” button, with certain other moves, including the “death blow” and sword lock struggles, executed by following on-screen instructions. Further, since the beam katanas run on batteries, they must be charged from time to time by pressing the “1” button on the remote and shaking it.

Travis’s beam katana can also be upgraded and replaced throughout the game by visiting Dr. Naomi. While the katana does not follow the exact position of the remote, it can distinguish between a “high” and “low” position which varies the character’s stance and the attacks done. In addition to attacks with the beam katana, Travis can kick and punch, and when enemies are stunned he can throw them with some professional wrestling maneuvers, done by manipulating both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

Travis has a secondary mode, “Dark Side”, that is accessed when three icons line up in a slot machine after a successful death blow. In this mode, Travis gains a super powerful move depending on what symbols are lined up ranging from a speed increase to outright killing every enemy on screen instantly.

PLOT

The story follows Travis Touchdown, who is a stereotypical otaku – his motel room decorated with professional wrestling and anime collectibles – living in near poverty in the No More Heroes motel of the fictional town of Santa Destroy, California. After winning a beam katana in an internet auction, he runs out of money to buy video games and wrestling videos. After meeting with Sylvia Christel, he accepts a job to kill Helter Skelter, also known as “the Drifter,” which earns him rank 11 by the United Assassins Association, a governing body of assassins. Realizing that he has the opportunity to make it to the top, he sets out to secure himself the coveted position of number one assassin in the UAA.

After killing the tenth-ranked assassin, Sylvia reveals that if Travis stops killing, he’ll eventually be targeted by other aspiring assassins. Travis, now convinced there’s no way out, goes on to kill every other assassin except for number eight, Shinobu, whom he spares because he wants her to get stronger. During the 5th-ranked battle, he meets Henry, a mysterious Irish man who wields a beam katana similar to Travis’ own.

Before meeting the top-ranked assassin, Travis is told that the UAA was just an elaborate con set up by Sylvia, who overheard his drunken ramblings and organized his entry so that he could finally have revenge on his half-sister, Jeane, who murdered his parents. Jeane reveals in a fast-forwarded cutscene that their father had sexually abused her all her life, thus forcing her to become a prostitute to survive and become a killer. Travis is eventually saved by Shinobu and kills Jeane.

The game ends with Travis being attacked by another assassin before Henry saves him and challenges him to one last fight. It is during this fight that Henry reveals two twists: first, that he is Travis’s twin brother, and second, that Sylvia is his wife (which would make her Travis’ sister-in-law), and has a habit of disappearing before returning with lots of money (presumably due to conning people). Travis insinuates to Henry that he slept with Sylvia after becoming the #1 ranked assassin. Still locked in combat, the brothers discuss the nature of these revelations and their situation while they run down a long street. Finally, as the two leap towards each other for the final clash, the screen flashes and is revealed to be a painting hanging in an art gallery, where a little girl, Jeane, and her mother, Sylvia, are observing it.

The Japanese version’s instruction booklet, entitled the United Assassins Association Official Manual, contains a small manga that contains much of the backstory about the UAA and Travis’ first kill. This manga was not included in the North American release of the game but is available on the official website.