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Desperately Struggle not to freak out at new No More Heroes 2 details
The latest Famitsu issue, in addition to some stuff about Metal Gear or whatever, also features a blowout article about the latest game from Kojima's friend and colleague Suda 51, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. The article shows that the UAA assassin's organization and its liaison, Sylvia Christel, have returned, along with (necessarily) new assassins like the #50-ranked Nathan Copeland. Desperate Struggle occurs three years after the events of the first game, and Travis Touchdown has been called back into action after Bishop from Beef Head Video is captured by gang members, according to IGN's translation. To take on these new assassins, Travis Touchdown has developed new techniques -- like dual wielding beam sabers, as seen in the scans. It may just be because the scans are tiny, or because we're insane for No More Heroes, but it seems the graphics have been refined for this adventure. We'll find out on the 30th when a new trailer debuts!
No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle at 'very end' of production, won't be playable at E3
Well, today officially sucks, because the game we anticipate the most -- Suda51's No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle -- won't be available to play at next month's E3, Goichi Suda told 1UP. We'd cancel our trip, but we already bought the frakking plane tickets! It's not all bad news, however, as Suda51 does hint at the game being at the show, just not in playable form. He also says that the game is "at the very end of production," providing hope that it will meet its scheduled US release of January 2010 on the Wii.
Marvelous Entertainment asks 17% of staff to retire, downgrades to 'Okay Entertainment'
Marvelous Entertainment, whose game division develops and publishes the Harvest Moon series, in addition to publishing games like No More Heroes, Muramasa, and Hero for 30Sec, is seeking "voluntary retirement" from around 20 staff members as a cost-cutting measure.Employees are incentivized to take the company up on its "offer" between now and April 3 with a special severance package. The retirements will take effect April 30 -- right around when Muramasa comes out in Japan. That's kind of unfortunate, because it'll make playing this awesome-looking game in a bit more bittersweet for all those former employees.[Via Edge]
Voice actor says Destroy Man returns in No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle
Josh Keaton, voice actor extraordinaire, recently dropped a huge bomb during an interview about his work on a new Spider-Man cartoon. Gaming enthusiasts will likely recognize Josh as Ocelot from the Metal Gear Solid games, but he's expanding his gaming portfolio, as he just finished doing Destroy Man for No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle. Considering Destroy Man faced off against Travis Touchdown in the first game, we're wondering just how he could make a comeback. Son of Destroy Man, maybe? Keaton describes Destroy Man as an "unapologetic jerk of a character," which we guess is techincally correct. We'd personally go with the awesome guy with the crotch laser. Or maybe the world's best handshaker, but that's just us. [Via Go Nintendo]
GameStop offers No More Heroes/Red Steel bundle
No More Heroes' combination of simple-but-fun brawling, compellingly freaky storyline, and, uh, t-shirt collecting just worked for us. We could play (and have played) that over and over again. If you never picked it up (and you're not too young to do so), maybe this latest offer of No More Heroes plus a game that isn't as good as No More Heroes will finally entice you into checking out Grasshopper Manufacture's very weird action game.GameStop is currently taking preorders on a NMH/Red Steel bundle for $30. We suspect that it'll just be a shrinkwrapped package of two games, rather than a single box like the image suggests -- having to print new boxes wouldn't really help Ubisoft clear out its back stock.[Via Kombo]
No More Heroes publisher eyeing more 'hardcore' platforms
Marvelous, publisher of Wii's wunderbar No More Heroes (and its upcoming sequel) in Japan, is hoping to make a move onto Xbox 360 and PS3. In an interview with Gamasutra, company president Yasuhiro Wada said its finances and the skill level of its employees are nearly to the point where it can produce games for the systems. "To be honest, we always wanted to make a game on the hardcore platforms, but at that time, there wasn't enough money or skill. But now, I think we're at the point where we can actually go into it and start thinking that we can actually do it," Wada said. Marvelous' titles to date have been on Wii, DS and PSP. According to Wada, once the company goes "hardcore," Marvelous wants to develop the titles itself. "We're always thinking about going multiplatform. But at the same time, we don't just want to give it to different people to make it. We want to make it ourselves. So, it may take a little longer than we want to, but we'll do it little by little, and then go multiplatform."
Suda51 says changes coming to Desperate Struggle's open world
Some people didn't find Santa Destroy to be as open and navigable in No More Heroes as the rest of us did, and Suda51 has definitely heard those concerns. During a recent interview with GameSetWatch, he said to "expect big changes for No More Heroes 2's open world." If by big changes, you mean bigger lawns to cut, more trees to shake, and bigger alleyways to mutilate dozens and dozens of enemies in, then we're on board with Desperate Struggle! Other than that, the interview mostly focuses on the difficulty foreign talent has adapting to their new surroundings at Grasshopper Manufacture. That doesn't mean you shouldn't read the interview in its entirety, however. So hit up this link right here. Need to catch up on the latest No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle news? Well, you're in the right place! Read up on who will publish the thing, as well as some of Suda51's goals with the new game. Also, jump into the discussion about MotionPlus and online play, both of which Suda51 is thinking about implementing.
Suda51: 'Big changes' in store for No More Heroes 2's open world
One of the most significant criticisms leveled at Wii's superb and stylistic No More Heroes was that its "open world" wasn't, well, very open. That's set to change for the sequel, says creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda.In an interview on GameSetWatch, Suda51 was asked about his long-time desire to build a true open-world game. He acknowledged that No More Heroes was a step towards realizing his goal, but as for the sequel, he said to "expect big changes for No More Heroes 2's open world." And what of series star, Travis Touchdown, now that there are truly no more heroes in the game's universe? "Actually, there are still some heroes left," he teased.
UK's Telegraph names Fable II best game of 2008
The Daily Telegraph has thrown two pence in with its own "best of" video game round up, naming its top 50 games of 2008. Like X-Play before it, the conservative UK newspaper named Lionhead's Fable 2 as the best game to come along in the last 12 months, romancing the crown out from under near-winners, Fallout 3 and LittleBigPlanet. Other games sitting atop the heap included Rock Band 2, Gears of War 2, Spore, Grand Theft Auto IV and No More Heroes, with Left 4 Dead and Professor Layton rounding the publication's top ten. Check out the rather comprehensive list and let us know if your favorites made the cut.
MadWorld's take on Wii music
As happens each month, some of the more interesting tidbits from the holiday issue of Nintendo Power have been transcribed by the tireless folks at Aeropause.The most eye-catching news, for us? A novel and particularly painful-sounding attack in Platinum Games' MadWorld. According to the magazine, you'll be able to lodge "a trumpet where the sun don't shine, leaving the unfortunate fellow to stagger around as he inadvertently toots the horn." Awe. Some. What's a trumpet doing lying around on the set of a futuristic game show about death and wanton bloodletting? Heck, don't ask, just shove.Other worthy factoids drawn from the mag deal with how No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda relaxes (by playing Burnout Paradise), and the news that Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers will have a two-player splitscreen mode. Hit up Aeropause for the rest!%Gallery-22964%[Via Go Nintendo]
No More Heroes 2 localization may be Ubisoft's struggle
No More Heroes was without a publisher in the US until Ubisoft picked it up, since Japanese publisher Marvelous Entertainment didn't have an American branch at the time. Since then, they've made a multi-game agreement with XSEED, and thus we assumed that company would handle the distribution of No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle when that title is released stateside in early 2010. According to secret sources in contact with IGN, the Marvelous/XSEED partnership may not extend to Desperate Struggle after all -- Ubisoft is "in negotiations" to distribute the new game. It doesn't actually matter who localizes the game in terms of content, if the new game's anything like the original, whose voice work was already in English. But Ubisoft is probably capable of getting more copies into more stores, so we approve of this potential arrangement.
Ten for under twenty at Gamefly's sale
In these belt-tightening, penny-pinching times, it literally pays to have a nose for the bargains. That's where we, or rather Gamefly, comes in. The game rental outfit has a broad selection of used Wii software for low, world banking crisis-friendly prices, and we chose ten of the best sub-$20 games to tempt you. Thar be bargains ahead! Baroque for $12.99 Battalion Wars 2 for $17.99 Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy for $9.99 Dewy's Adventure for $13.99 Geometry Wars: Galaxies for $16.99 Mercury: Meltdown Revolution for $15.99 NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams for $12.99 No More Heroes for $17.99 Sega Superstars Tennis for $9.99 Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure for $17.99 There's actually a ton more we could have mentioned, including Super Mario Galaxy for $32.99, Super Smash Bros. Brawl for $30.99, and Metroid Prime 3 for $26.99. Sadly, "One hundred and fifty-eight for under forty-two" just doesn't work as a headline. Hit up the "Source" link for the full set. %Gallery-3283% [Thanks, William!]
Suda51: No More Heroes 2 to be more serious -- but not too serious
We've recently featured excerpts from Suda 51's Eurogamer interview, but Eurogamer has just now posted the entirety of the chat, and it's excellent reading for anyone interested in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle or Suda. Talking about the new game, the charismatic game director mentioned his desire for a somewhat less jovial tone this time around: "I think it's time for No More Heroes to become serious. But it's going to have humour, don't worry. It won't be too serious." The revenge-based plot seems to fit in with this idea. In the first game, Travis Touchdown was essentially competing in a big game; having a real, personal stake in the fighting definitely changes the feel of the game. Suda even has a vendetta against Santa Destroy: "I wanted to make a lot more stuff, more detail. So this time in No More Heroes 2, I want to take my revenge. And actually, the theme of No More Heroes 2 is revenge, so..." There's also the all-important "weirdness" contingent. There's no poop talk yet, but Suda expressed his admiration of a past E3 promotion in which booth babes threw pants at attendees. "One day, I want to be able to throw pants to the public. That's one of my main goals."
Suda considering MotionPlus, online play for No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle
"Give us MotionPlus!" That seemed to be the most popular response when we asked you what changes you'd make to No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle. Luckily for us, Goichi Suda seems to agree (does he read Wii Fanboy reader comments? If so, hai, Suda!). Speaking to IGN (hit the break for the full video interview), the maverick developer discussed how he'd like to utilise Wii MotionPlus in the No More Heroes follow-up, despite not having touched the add-on yet. 1:1 beam katana action? Um, yes please. He's also "very interested" in online play, though sounded slightly less committed to the idea when he discussed it with CVG, describing it as "still up in [the] air." We'd probably take MotionPlus over some online mode, though if Suda feels like adding both to Travis' next outing, we suppose we can accept that as well. %Gallery-34131%
Rising Star Games announces Valhalla Knights, Muramasa, Arc Rise Fantasia for Europe
Rising Star Games has announced European releases for another set of Marvelous Wii games shown at TGS. Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, Marvelous's RPG, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the superhot sidescroller from Vanillaware, and Image Epoch's Arc Rise Fantasia are all headed to Europe sometime in 2009-2010. They're joining a pile of upcoming DS, Wii, and PSP games including Rune Factory Frontier, Avalon Code, Luminous Arc 2, and of course No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle. Even if nobody else released any Wii games in Europe, it would seem that Rising Star Games would have you covered! %Gallery-33431%
Rising Star on the two versions of No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle [update]
Rising Star Games, Marvelous Entertainment's European arm, gave a statement to Electronic Theatre about the dual-version European release of No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle announced by Suda51. On a basic level, Rising Star's Yen Hau confirmed the plans to sell two versions, not that we didn't believe Suda. Hau also detailed the exact differences between the two releases, and it's good news. "There's no difference bar the blood," Hau said. "If you remember the differences of the first game it'll be just that." The "uncensored" European release will be exactly like the US version, and the "censored" release will be like the Japanese version. This also means that Grasshopper is planning to release the game in Japan. We look forward to hearing more details about the logistics of this dual release -- like whether both versions will be available in stores, and if the packaging and marketing will vary. [Update: A Rising Star Games press release details the storyline of Desperate Struggle: "Taking place three years after the end of the first title, No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle sees hero Travis Touchdown embark on a mission of revenge following the murder of his best friend."] %Gallery-34131% [Via N4G]
TGS08: Suda51 confirms censored version of No More Heroes 2 for Europe
But, wait, before you break out that pen and paper and start writing that angry letter, know this: you're also going to get a fully-featured, bloodtastic game, just like those of us in North America! This time around, you're going to have the option of choosing which version of No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle you want, though we can't imagine why you'd want one without the buckets of blood and over-the-top violence. "We won't be able to make the same game for all territories," Suda 51 said. "For Europe, we're going to release two versions. One extreme version, and one with less violence." Why? Well, because so many Europeans bugged him about the version that released to their territory and how it was the same as the Japanese version of the game. "With No More Heroes 2 we want to please the fans too. I want the European users to be able to experience the extreme version." So celebrate, Europe. For once, you're being taken seriously! %Gallery-34131%
Wii Warm Up: On how Travis can win your heart
So our secret is out: we're already totally hot for No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle. Aside from its name and the brief trailer we gushed about yesterday, little is known about the title (it might not even be a Wii game), but our love for the first No More Heroes means we're already unhealthily excited for this follow-up. We recognize that not everybody feels the same way, however. In the replies to our 9/10 review of Goichi Suda's Wii debut, a number of people suggested they were -- gasp -- disappointed by the game. If you were one of those non-fans, what needs to change in the sequel to convert you? %Gallery-34131%
TGS 2008: No More Heroes 2 debut trailer
"I will be back" is all beam katana-wielding Travis Touchdown can utter in this debut trailer for No More Heroes 2, before he presumably jumps into battle against a woman with six metallic arms beckoning him to fight. Other than its existence and a possible second title (the trailer calls it both NMH2 and NMH:Desperate Struggle), we've got nada on the game or its platform (should it decide to venture away from the Wii). Check out the (currently unembeddable) trailer here.
TGS08: No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle trailer! [update 2]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/No_More_Heroes_sequel_VIDEO'; Not even sure if we can hold it together long enough to write some intelligent commentary about this announcement. Marvelous said that they'd reveal a game from a charismatic game creator at this year's TGS; they've revealed the creator to be Suda 51, and the game to be a sequel to No More Heroes, the best Wii game ever. Called No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, the game once again stars Travis Touchdown, and once again takes place in Santa Destroy. We don't know much else -- in fact, we're only assuming it's another Wii game -- but we know it's GOTY 2009, unless it takes longer to develop, in which case it will be GOTY 2010. We would like to wish everyone else at TGS good luck trying to get us to pay attention to their announcements. [Update 2: Marvelous's TGS press release (PDF) confirms that it's a Wii game. The best part? It's already scheduled for release in Europe (in February or March of 2010) and the US (January 2010).] [Update: We'll leave it on Wii Fanboy for now, but "Desperate Struggle" sounds suspiciously like one of those clever subtitles given to DS games.] %Gallery-34131% [Thanks, sn1per!]
