To say that No More Heroes III is stylish is akin to saying it comes from Japanese game director, writer, and producer, Suda51 and his studio Grasshopper Manufacture. That part is kind of expected. A sequel of sorts to 2010’s stylish No More Heroes 2 for the Nintendo Wii, its roots go all the way back to the strange and memorable Killer 7 for the Nintendo GameCube. Here we get the same over-the-top presentation that is pure Suda51, albeit mixed with a disappointingly similar feel to protagonist Travis Touchdown’s last Switch outing.

For every little flourish; cappers in the form of a credit sequence from a faux ‘90s anime, Netflix-like ‘next episode’ countdowns, a boss battle that is essentially a hyperactive game of musical chairs -- there are just as many mechanics that feel dated. Having to charge the Beam Katana in a Wii-like waggle fashion feels silly. Running around a static and empty open world with little in the way of interaction feels a generation or two in the past. Not to mention that, well, it can get a little boring.


Not that feeling like a game from 2003 is a bad thing, it’s not. Metroid Prime came out around that time, and it still holds up as God Tier. Going even more retro is fine too, whenever No More Heroes III dips into EGA and CGA monochrome computing for little story vignettes it’s always captivating.

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To say that No More Heroes III is stylish is akin to saying it comes from Japanese game director, writer, and producer, Suda51 and his studio Grasshopper Manufacture.

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The open-world exploration and pacing in No More Heroes III however, is reminiscent of the disappointing 2019 release Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. In that it’s limited and doesn’t really come together. It’s style over substance. Things begin to drag when you’re running to and from instanced wave-battles or mini games with 2-3 more loading screens than there needs to be. Not to mention animation and controls that are merely functional and an Akira-style bike that controls like a temperamental overlay instead of something with weight or presence.


But, there’s no denying that No More Heroes III carries the DNA that has endeared the series to fans over the years. Travis Touchdown’s juvenile demeanor is here in full, as is the hyper-stylised violence that sees enemies split in two before spraying their bright red inside-stuff everywhere. There are also cameos and appearances from characters found across the entire series, and the presentation chops and changes through so many styles you can’t help but be impressed.

The structure is similar to what has come before too, Travis versus Baddies but expanded to cover the entire galaxy as he looks to make his way through the Top 10 galactic superheroes/supervillains one at a time. The premise is fun, entertaining, and chock-full of pop culture references and obscure call-backs. To the game’s credit these ‘Boss Battle’ encounters are anything but traditional, each one features its own hook, tone, or way-to-play.

In addition to the aforementioned game of musical chairs there’s a Starfox-like battle in orbit with Travis inside a mech suit, a creepy detour into survival horror territory as you explore an abandoned school, and many more memorable turns.


This side of No More Heroes, admittedly the core part of the experience, is the game at its best. When coupled with the surprisingly deep and rewarding melee and ability-based combat system, No More Heroes III shines as a solid brawler with its own distinct feel and flow. Where trinkets and oddities can be used to buff skills and special coins can be spent to increase things like Travis’s overall attack power and health rating.

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Travis Touchdown’s juvenile demeanor is here in full, as is the hyper-stylised violence that sees enemies split in two before spraying their bright red inside-stuff everywhere.

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The pacing issues do make the early parts of even this side a bit of a chore. The combat takes a couple of hours to become more than a simple game of alternating light and heavy attacks with the odd dodge roll thrown in. Once it opens up No More Heroes III becomes as frantically engaging as it is to watch and listen to. The soundtrack is exceptional, from the rhythmic drums that open each battle to the minimal techno and melodic electronica found elsewhere.

Talking up the look and feel of No More Heroes III, unfortunately, is something that sits alongside mentioning the game’s technical limitations and the sparse and disconnected world in which Travis’s adventure takes place. The environments are about as bland as something from the Wii-era, perhaps more so. Performance regularly dips, the image seemingly lacks any anti-aliasing, and the disconnect between activities and the environments means that you’re at least one load-screen away from doing something that isn’t going from one place to another.


With 10 galactic superheroes to go through, before you can take part in a Ranking Battle you need to find Designated Fights. These are glowy icons to find and trigger arena battles, and are indicative of the entire experience. As fun as the boss battles can get, No More Heroes III is essentially a string of single room combat encounters you walk to and trigger alongside simple unintuitive mini-games that coast on style alone.

As fun as it is to venture into a location called ‘Call of Battle’, a bombed out city with retro-FPS vibes, there’s nothing new it brings outside of aesthetics. Without any sort of detailed traversal or environmental interaction it all feels like you’re running around an overworld in an early 3D game from the late '90s. And with that one could argue that No More Heroes has always been about style over substance. The series’ unique blend of action and over-the-top self referential insanity is here, but one can’t help but wonder if that’s enough? Wonder how great a Suda51 joint could be if the mechanics and feel matched the virtuoso style on display.