A port of Suda51's cult classic, raw, provocative and one of a kind. The memorable bosses and caustic humor still hold up, even if the empty open world and dated combat show their age.
Your verdict
Category
Action1 player18+
Description
Otaku Travis Touchdown wins a beam katana and climbs the assassin ranking to reach the top in Santa Destroy. Published by Marvelous, released worldwide in 2020. Beam katana combat, ten assassins to eliminate, odd jobs between missions, an open world by motorcycle and provocative humor in this port to the console.
No More Heroes review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Facing a parade of memorable bosses with a beam katana remains the beating heart here: each duel demands its own rhythm, reading and stance, and the satisfaction of a clean hit stays intact. The empty open world and clumsy traversal betray the game's age, but the bite of the fights and the overall irreverence still hold. A cult piece to savor for its character more than its smoothness.
A cornerstone for the studio, the original No More Heroes makes every rank you climb a duel against an outrageously characterful assassin. Before the clash, a long monologue builds the foe's aura, then the Beam Katana cuts to the rhythm of dodges and charged blows. Grimy, funny and stylised, this gallery of killers cemented the series' punk identity.
When the game breaks the 4th wall
To save, you must sit on the toilet; to progress, endure chores worthy of a day job: from the very start, the saga openly mocks the rituals of video games while subjecting the player to them. The assassin knows he's watched, addresses you and ridicules his own quest for glory. This brazen irony, pioneering on HD consoles, has lost none of its insolence.
A questionable morality
Climbing the assassin rankings with a beam katana is the ambition of an otaku hero driven more by glory and money than by any noble cause. We methodically eliminate rival killers while savoring a cheekily provocative humor, without dwelling too much on the line of work involved. Watching a goal this trivial — becoming number one — legitimize such a pile of corpses is irresistibly offbeat.
