The final chapter…

There is zero mistake when I boot up a Suda51 game. I have played just about every game him and his team at Grasshopper have put out over the years, and each one has left an impression. Mind you, not all of these impressions are great, but nonetheless each game leaves a mark. The No More Heroes series has been one of their most prevalent. It started on the Wii with gimmicks such as waving the Wii remote around like a fallacy among other quirky design choices. Now with the third game dropping some 13 years later the trilogy (?) of Travis Touchdown finally comes to an end…maybe. So, is this entry any different than previous ones? Will this game make a fan out of anyone who didn’t like the previous two? Probably not to both questions.

No More Heroes 3 starts off just like previous games. It is very strong in the opening hours with a Ghibli-infused anime sequence explaining the origins of the main villain followed by a barrage of cutscenes and gameplay moments that can only be described as chaos in motion. I adored the first few hours of the game and was hoping that momentum would carry on throughout the rest of the experience.

MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Switch
Price I’d Pay: $59.99

Once again Travis is tasked with taking down 10 bad guys while ranking up in between. Stylized cutscenes feeling out of Tarantino movies are abundant and the dialogue is five miles outside of zany-ville. Still I love the commitment to pop-culture references and gruesome dialogue. It just fits these games.

Let me be clear, the 10 bosses and their encounters are the highlight of this game. Each one poses a unique thread and mechanics that are the absolute best. No More Heroes has always been known for these encounters and the third game might be the best of the bunch. It is what is in between that really drags down the experience.

Boss encounters not only come with unique mechanics, they also are oozing with style. No More Heroes III switches between genres like it’s cycling through commercials. Each boss gets their own intro, and it ranges from anime-inspired cut scenes to podcasts discussing things. No one can call this game boring in its presentation. It feels like a rollercoaster ride through an LSD trip. It is what kept me pushing through the monotonous bouts between boss battles as the open world is a slog.

Like previous games Travis will be tasked with exploring an open world between bouts. This revolves around odd jobs and combat encounters that are used to build up clout for the next match. These have always been the weakest portions and I guess it was hoping too much to ask to tone them down for the latest entry. I still found these portions of the game nauseating at times. I didn’t want to do them, and that is why it took me a long time to get through. I just wanted to experience the encounters, not the fluff around it.

The open world is decent in size. It feels like something out of a game from the early 2000’s. Running on the Switch it even looks like one at times. Low resolution areas packed with low-poly model vehicles really do a disservice to some of the other design choices. The game just looks and runs poorly in the open world. Combine that with its mundane activities and it is a place I did not enjoy spending my time in.

The combat flows well with standard light and heavy attacks to work into combos. Travis also has a set of cooldown abilities that can be used to slow down time, drop kick foes, etc. This means that combat is entirely active all the time. I had to manage my cooldowns while also dispersing crowd control on enemies while avoiding their attacks. Some of them are frustrating at times as Travis doesn’t have a solid counter to some. They also added a jump button, but it does little to spice up the movement. Between all of this and charging my sword constantly combat can be cumbersome, but rarely boring.

No More Heroes III is a wild ride though a psychedelic warzone that begs to be experienced. The technical issues and slog of an open world drag it down at times, but it never stopped me from wanting to see it through. I really wish the game had been released on more powerful hardware as it is clear the team had bigger ambitions than the Switch could handle. Still if you have enjoyed previous entries then this is a no-brainer. Definitely a solid end to the trilogy and one of the most unique games you will play ever.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.