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Suda51’s ‘Lollipop Chainsaw’ is getting a remake
A new version of the 2012 hack-and-slash cult hit will arrive next year.
Nintendo brings the first two No More Heroes games to the Switch
Nintendo is making up for the delay of No More Heroes 3 with the surprise rerelease of No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle for Switch.
'Travis Strikes Again' comes to PC and PS4 on October 17th
You won't have to own a Switch to play a modern take on the No More Heroes universe. Suda51's Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes Complete Edition is now slated to launch on PC (via Steam) and PS4 October 17th. The expanded title includes both the core top-down perspective game as well as its Black Dandelion and Bubblegum Fatale add-ons. Naturally, you can expect the over-the-top slasher to take advantage of the extra horsepower afforded by both systems.
'No More Heroes III' pulls Travis into the garden of madness next year
No More Heroes III is heading to Nintendo Switch in 2020, starring charismatic, homicidal nerd Travis Touchdown and, most likely, a lot of hacking and slashing. The first look at the game featured Travis cutting his way through enemies in slick, flying mech suits.
‘Travis Strikes Again’ is an indie-sized comeback for Suda51
In 2010, Goichi Suda seemed unstoppable. The Japanese game developer, known by his nickname 'Suda51,' had just released No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, a vibrant clash of stylized decapitations and eccentric, oftentimes sexually-charged humor. The Wiimote-waggling hack-and-slash reviewed favorably, cementing Suda's status as a risk-taking auteur similar to American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. The next few games he released, however, didn't fare so well. Shadows of the Damned, Lollipop Chainsaw and Killer is Dead were all criticized for their groan-inducing jokes and general lack of polish. The excitement around Suda and his once-promising studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, slowly fizzled out. The punk-rock developer isn't finished, though. Two years ago, Grasshopper released Let it Die, a free-to-play dungeon crawler that blended Suda's unmistakable style with some procedural level design and light, Dark Souls-inspired combat. The game wasn't perfect, but the roguelike elements and freemium price-tag made it easier to overlook the so-so level design and occasionally cumbersome battles. Now, Suda is back with a No More Heroes spin-off called Travis Strikes Again. It's launching on Nintendo Switch next month and is, unsurprisingly, pretty weird. But maybe in a good way?
'Travis Strikes Again' puts 15 indie titles in one Suda51 game
Nintendo went all out this week showcasing a slew of high-profile games heading to the Switch, 3DS and 2DS -- titles like Doom, Wolfenstein II and Pokemon Gold. But, just last month, Nintendo was all about indie love. That's when the company and renowned ultra-violent game director Goichi "Suda51" Suda revealed Travis Strikes Again, the third title in the No More Heroes series. And, this time around, he's brought 15 indie video game creators along for the ride. Suda51's studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, debuted No More Heroes on the Wii in 2008 as a pop-culture-infused, cel-shaded, hack-and-slash adventure game starring Travis Touchdown, an anime-obsessed assassin with a lot of sass. And a glowing beam katana. Of course.
'No More Heroes' sequel hits Nintendo Switch next year
Suda51 and the snarky, over-the-top, ultra violent titles he makes -- like the Wii's No More Heroes and the more recent free-to-play experiment on the PS4, Let It Die -- are some of the best gaming experiences around. During Nintendo's live stream focusing on indie developers Wednesday morning, Nintendo revealed a brand new title from the auteur, Travis Strikes Again, which is coming to the Switch in 2018. There's even a new fourth wall-breaking trailer here, which sets up the new game's story.
BitSummit 4 takes over Kyoto with more indie games and devs
BitSummit is back. The annual Japanese indie game festival recently announced its lineup of musicians and speakers including Koji Igarashi of Bloodstained and Castlevania fame, Rez creator Tetsuya Mizguchi, Tom Happ (the man behind Axiom Verge) and Goichi "Suda51" Suda. Oh, and Sony Interactive Entertainment's president of worldwide studios, Shuhei Yoshida.
Suda 51's Let It Die delivers exclusive gore to PS4 [Update: trailer]
During Sony's E3 press conference, infamous developer Suda51 unveiled a short, intensely gory vignette for the PlayStation 4-exclusive Let It Die. Unfortunately, the live-action trailer offered no gameplay information, though the copious arterial spray made it clear that this will not be the sort of game you can enjoy with the whole family. Let It Die will debut exclusively on the PlayStation 4 at some point during 2015.
Suda 51 teaming up with Tokyo Jungle devs on new PS3 game
In quite possibly video game's weirdest collaboration, Tokyo Jungle developer Crispy's is teaming up on a new game with Grasshopper Manufacture's resident oddball, Goichi "Suda51" Suda. The game is called Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day, a playable interactive chapter part of Short Peace – an upcoming anime short-film compilation from Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo. Titular heroine Ranko Tsukigime attends school by day, but at night goes on assassination missions. Thankfully we graduated before murder became a mandatory part of the curriculum. Crispy's will handle development duties on Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day while Suda51 will assume the role of director. Namco Bandai has announced it will publish Ranko Tsukigime's Longest Day on PS3 this spring.
Killer is Dead, Deadly Premonition provide weirdness on demand for Xbox
XSEED has announced a pair of its latest games are now available for download on Xbox 360 through Games on Demand. Deadly Premonition is available for $20, while the more recent Killer is Dead can be yours for $50. Deadly Premonition is a very odd horror game from Swery, otherwise known as Hidetaka Suehiro. Players assume the role of FBI agent Francis York Morgan who is sent to investigate a ritualistic murder in the small town of Greenvale. Players may freely roam about Greenvale and undertake quests and participate in activities while hunting down the Greenvale killer. Killer is Dead, from Grasshopper Manufacture, takes place in the near-future and stars Mondo Zapper – an executioner with a robotic arm who is tasked with killing assassins and dangerous criminals the world over. In our review we noted that Killer is Dead had that undeniable charm that only Grasshopper can instill, even if it's somewhat hampered by simplistic combat and "dark direction and weird narrative a bit tainted by self-indulgence."
Black Knight Sword review: All flash, no flesh
While fairy tales have evolved over centuries into the family friendly Disney/Dreamworks films our nieces are all so fond of, they originally began life as terrifying stories of murder and misfortune designed to keep children in line, lest they find themselves in the oven of an evil witch.In that sense, Grasshopper Manufacture's Black Knight Sword takes an old school approach to the world of storybook fantasy, leaving warm fuzzies in a locked box beneath the stairs. Its dark tales of captured princesses, feuding sisters and the eternally damned are permeated by a sense of macabre wonderment that would make Guillermo del Toro proud.Unfortunately, the game is also analogous to fables of olde in a different, more tragic sense: It serves as a perfect cautionary tale for other developers, lest their own games buckle under the weight of their own sense of style.%Gallery-173410%
No More Heroes, Seaman and Vagrant Story creators making Level-5's 'Guild 01'
Level-5 has assembled a dream team of unconventional game designers for the 3DS "variety" game Guild 01, out in Japan next year. Four creators are each designing a single game, to be collected on a single cart. From Suda 51 comes Kaiho Shojo, a touch-controlled mech shooter starring a schoolgirl who is also "president" of Japan, and operates an 11-foot-tall winged mech. This game features animation from the studio Bones, suggesting a high-budget approach to these games (which are close to being considered "minigames"). Yoot Saito, creator of SimTower, Seaman, and Odama, contributes Air Porter, a game about managing luggage at an airport. There's really no overarching theme to these things! Yasumi Matsuno, the man behind Ogre Battle, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy XII, is making a "darkness fantasy" RPG called Crimson Shroud. Matsuno is actually working full-time at Level-5 now. And, weirdest of all, comedian Yoshiyuki Hirai (from the group America Zarigani) is designing a game about running an RPG-style item shop, called Rental Bukiya de Omasse. These details originate from Famitsu leaks; we'll certainly learn more this weekend at Level-5's event.
The Damned collaboration: How Shadows of the Damned found its closing act
It takes a lot of people a lot of time to license a track for a video game. Among other things, that's what The Damned drummer Andrew "Pinch" Pinching learned in the fall of 2010 when he worked with Grasshopper Manufacture composer Akira Yamaoka on the title track from this year's grindhouse-inspired third-person shooter, Shadows of the Damned. According to Pinch, it took "about a hundred emails" before an agreement was even reached regarding the collaboration. "I kid you not, they are VERY thorough," Pinch explained to me via email earlier this summer. He was speaking to the GhM side of the partnership, which he described as "treading a different path in the games industry" from other dev studios. "I did a bit of research and found out about Suda51 and No More Heroes," Pinch added. "[He] was regarded as a bit of an edgy rebel, which appealed to me immensely. It didn't hurt that his games looked great as well." The end product of the collaboration was, as we now know, the excellent (and if I may say so myself, rockin') final track from Shadows of the Damned. But that wasn't always the plan, as Pinch told me. "Initially, they [GhM] wanted what everyone wants -- an old Damned track. In this instance, a track called 'Love Song,' which in hindsight would have fitted the theme of the game rather nicely." But "Love Song" wasn't meant to be, and The Damned pushed to create an original track for the game.
'Sdatcher' radio drama will be distributed for free, sold on CD later
In a tweet, Hideo Kojima announced that the Snatcher-universe radio drama, "Suda 51's Sdatcher," will be released as a free download. A CD will be sold later to pay the voice actors, including many Metal Gear series cast members. There's still no official release date for the drama, but it was planned to be concurrent with Hideradio podcast number 300 -- they're on 298 right now. Kojima subsequently tweeted the character art of Jean Jack Gibson above. Kojima also said that he's heard the music Akira Yamaoka is making for the drama, which was to be '70s progressive rock and '80s electro pop. Per Andriasang's translation, Kojima likes it but questioned its reception by the masses. And when you bring in Suda 51 to make a podcast radio drama based on an adventure game from 1988, you don't want anything to get in the way of that built-in mass appeal.
Suda 51 would like to do No More Heroes 3, it just won't happen anytime soon
It appears that Suda 51 thinks the odds of another No More Heroes game happening in the near future are about nil. During Grasshopper Manufacture's recent streaming event, Suda said (translation via Andriasang) he'd "like to" do another entry "at some point," but it isn't something that would happen anytime "soon." Oh, now you've got JC crying, Mr. Suda. Wonderful. Character designer Yusuke Kozaki also offered an interesting proposition: a new game where Shinobu, the high school student by day, assassin by night who appeared in both No More Heroes and No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle is the main character. Kozaki also revealed that Grasshopper had come up with so many characters, it had enough for two more No More Heroes games. Okay, guys, now you're just being cruel! The remainder of the event then shifted to Frog Minutes, the studio's charity iOS game. We spent some time with it, which you can read all about here.
Grasshopper announcing new title next month
Suda51's Japanese dev studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, is working on a ton of stuff. Between Shadows of the Damned, Sine Mora, codename D and an uannounced NGP project, we have to imagine the folks at Grasshopper don't have much free time. Regardless, the studio will take a timeout on March 30 to host a Ustream event, during which Grasshopper will announce a new game -- perhaps that NGP title? Dubbed "Grasstream 2: Travis vs. Garcia" (named for the main characters of No More Heroes and Shadows of the Damned), the event will feature frank discussion from Suda51 on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, an acoustic performance of music from No More Heroes, the aforementioned "new game announce," and "hands-on impressions" of said game from "Vanilla Beans and model/gamer Kayo Sato." Yes, really.
EA's Suda51, Mikami horror collaboration will be at TGS; no mention of Wii, PC anymore
Last Friday, EA announced a "Tokyo Showcase" event to be held the night before the annual Tokyo Game Show kicks off. We speculated that it was a prime opportunity to share EA Partners' highest-profile project: the Shinji Mikami-produced, Suda51-directed, Akira Yamaoka-scored, Q Entertainment co-developed horror title first announced in 2008. David DeMartini told Eurogamer that the title would be revealed at TGS (we're guessing at EA's aforementioned showcase) and explained the unusual pairing. "The key thing is not for us to tone down Suda or try and Westernise Suda, but to try and make sure the game gets broad enough exposure that more people appreciate it," DeMartini said. "Obviously with EA's publishing and sales team [...] people are going to get an opportunity to finally listen to what you guys have been writing about Suda for a long time." DeMartini also confirmed that the game would, unsurprisingly, be released on Xbox 360 and PS3. What is surprising, however, is the omission of the Wii. The announcement press release stated that the title was in development for all three console platforms as well as PC: "The title is being developed for the PC, Xbox 360 video game system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Wii." We've asked EA to comment on the title's intended platforms, but more than likely we'll be waiting until the September 15th event.
No More Heroes 2 finally coming to Japan with deluxe edition
Marvelous has finally gotten around to announcing a Japanese release date for No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle. Suda 51's revenge-themed action sequel will be released in Japan on October 21 -- nine months after the game's North American release. Marvelous is compensating for the delay somewhat by offering a lovely "HOPPER's Edition" that contains the game, a soundtrack CD, a DVD recapping the events of the first game, and a new "No More Heroes 1.5" movie written by Suda 51, detailing what happened between the two games -- which means, we guess, that Travis didn't spend the whole time watching wrestling in his motel room. We hope. Those interested in this version will have to provide some compensation of their own, to the tune of ¥8,980 ($102). A regular edition will also be released for ¥7,140 ($81). Early purchases of either version will come with an "erotica comic" featuring character artwork and a recap of the previous game.
Japanese devs sound off about 3DS
Famitsu recently rounded up some high-profile Japanese developers to gauge their reactions to Nintendo's 3DS hardware. According to a translation by Andriasang, the responses ran from business-minded declarations of intent to somewhat philosophical thinking-out-loud. Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono seemed to be most able to keep his excitement in check. He was collected and business-minded when he said, "We'd like to put in some ideas that make effective use of the portability." Hideo Kojima was happy that he wouldn't have to change glasses to use 3DS and mused about the implementation of CO-OPs, the multiuplayer mode featured in Peace Walker, "and other things -- elements fitting of a 3D and portable game machine." Super Monkey Ball (and Yakuza) creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, already working on a 3DS Monkey Ball game, said that he would "like to make a variety of proposals" for games that use the Wi-Fi and 3D aspects of the system. Shinji Mikami and Tomonobu Itagaki were on their way to a meeting in which they planned to talk about the system (and eat yakiniku). Others developers got more ... philosophical. Suda 51, for example, wants to make "The Next Game," in the same sense that he sees 3DS as "The Next Hardware." Bayonetta producer Hideki Kamiya hopes to make "a 3D game where you can enjoy the feeling of existence given by portable 3D." Kamiya's Platinum Games partner Atsushi Inaba, "experienced a strong jolt of the feeling 'I want to make something.'" He added, "Since the start of the game industry, there's never been a system that better fit the words 'dream' and 'next generation.'"
