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Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes |OT| Directed by Suda51
- Thread starter NotLiquid
- Start date
Haven't finished the video yet, but it's wonderful to see some content producers excited to talk about this game.
Yeah, I think this game is going to be one that people will have stuff to talk about regarding it for years.
Yeah, for sure.
Haha, I just got mine in the mail last week because of this thread. Love Grasshopper and love Suda51.
Pretty late, but thank you for this. I ended up finding a GC copy of Killer 7 and I'm gonna be starting it soon. I was already planning to but it sounds like the ideal entry point to Suda's repertoire. I also already own TSC so I have that saved for later too.
This was wonderful, I really am in love with this game and I feel like the more time passes, the harder some of its themes hit me.
One bit I found odd tho is how he read the Metascore dialogue. To me, Travis responding with "are you scared of our Metascore? You're worried about gamee reviews? If so then just quit!" (or something along those lines) meant that Suda himself doesn't care (too much) about those things and that he just wants to do his own thing, but for some reason the video gets fixated on Jeane's initial comment and interpreta it as Suda 'holding NMH3 hostage'. Pretty weird.
So I've been playing this on and off and I finally beat the 4th game. I think with varied gameplay gimmicks, world length, and final boss it's my favorite so far. Also the aesthetic for the gimmick is pretty dope.
I'm really enjoying the game, even the battles! It's simple yet still satisfying. The side stuff really gives it the true Suda experience. Ramen blog is the best lol.
I'm really enjoying the game, even the battles! It's simple yet still satisfying. The side stuff really gives it the true Suda experience. Ramen blog is the best lol.
After this I need to play The Silver Case and Killer 7. It's absolutely necessary.
Does anyone know what the lyrics to the song that plays inside the apartment in the GP game are? Been trying to find it with no luck.
Yeah but that doesn't have the lyrics anywhere :( and I don't speak japanese so going by audio alone is no good. Thanks for linking it though!
Is there a good story analysis for the other Suda games that are referenced in this one? I beated TSA yesterday and I loved the insane story (the concept of the DeathDrive MK II and collecting the DeathBalls really clicked with me), but I had only previously played NMH1 & 2 and I think I missed a lot of nods specially in the visual novel. It's a shame that all those games are spread in so many different platforms, feels imposible to track them down.
I think this game will be considered a Switch hidden gem in the future, and every NMH fan should definetly try it. Now to wait for that DLC to arrive!
I think this game will be considered a Switch hidden gem in the future, and every NMH fan should definetly try it. Now to wait for that DLC to arrive!
Finished the game while I enjoyed the story and humour, I however felt that the game play wasn't as good as the first two No More Heroes game due to the combat feeling clunky and slow.
Either way I am gamed for No More Heroes 3.
Also what does New Game+ do?
Either way I am gamed for No More Heroes 3.
Also what does New Game+ do?
So how much is there to do once youve beaten the game, aside from the NewGame+?
I had completely written the game off after I saw the initial trailers. But after seeing that Meaning of TSA video in my Youtube feed, im really interested in checking it out now. I know next to nothing about what is included in the game, but I really want to pick it up.
I had completely written the game off after I saw the initial trailers. But after seeing that Meaning of TSA video in my Youtube feed, im really interested in checking it out now. I know next to nothing about what is included in the game, but I really want to pick it up.
Just went through the first boss to check this game out for a bit. It's NMH on a budget, as expected, but it also makes me think about the hack n' slash mobs that in these games usually fill the space between the well-designed bosses and stylish cut scenes.
I'm wondering just how I endured all that, since I last played the two main games so long ago. Is the normal combat just not as good in this game? I remember it being pretty basic and repetitive in the main games too, but still fun enough somehow. I remember in NMH2 enjoying building up to the power-up where Travis turns into a tiger, but everything else I rember is just slashing mobs until I got to a boss.
I'm wondering just how I endured all that, since I last played the two main games so long ago. Is the normal combat just not as good in this game? I remember it being pretty basic and repetitive in the main games too, but still fun enough somehow. I remember in NMH2 enjoying building up to the power-up where Travis turns into a tiger, but everything else I rember is just slashing mobs until I got to a boss.
My friend Matt 'AShadowLink' just released his video review of TSA. It's a long one, and it goes into a lot of detail with spoilers and the meaning of it all. I helped writing the script and we actually got a lot of points from this thread and everything we collectively discovered as the days went by. Hope you guys enjoy it.
And once again, I wanted to mention again how great of an experience this thread has been. Really shows you how passion for art binds people together.
And once again, I wanted to mention again how great of an experience this thread has been. Really shows you how passion for art binds people together.
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Gonne be honest, this is kind of selling me on the game.
I just finished! Wow.
I kinda expected more from the final boss, but the epilogue in a sense...I'm sitting here thinking about a few things.
Definitely some rough patches here and there but this is now one of my favorite Switch games thus far. I'm glad to have experienced it. Looking forward to the DLC and the future of the series :)
I kinda expected more from the final boss, but the epilogue in a sense...I'm sitting here thinking about a few things.
Definitely some rough patches here and there but this is now one of my favorite Switch games thus far. I'm glad to have experienced it. Looking forward to the DLC and the future of the series :)
That was pretty great, I'm seriously loving all the analytical pieces this game has sparked; really fascinating stuff. I particularly enjoyed the interpretation of the last level.
Oh and holy shit, I had somehow completely missed how
that asshole developer is named after EA's former CEO. I mean yeah the analogy was clear, but this is too much haha, Suda has 0 chill. Makes you wonder how EA even okayed his use of the Shadows IP for TSA.
Watched this shortly after beating Killer7 by the way, what an experience. I need to start TSC soon...
Finally had time to start this out, and I've been playing for the past week (just unlocked Golden Tiger)
but man, I think this is the least fun I've had playing a GHM game (yeah, I know).
I just hate every time I have to play any hack n slash section. I knew beforehand what this game was and wasn't(even for a grasshopper game), but I wasn't really feeling it since the first level/game. I decided to give it some time, but three levels later, no change. I just find the action sequences a chore and the level design dull. And seems like every level has some kind of frustrating element already preventing me from doing multiple runs (the ohko blue skull in the 2nd level and the platforming in the 3rd).
And it's a shame because I love literally everything else, the music, the aesthetics, the usual sound effects, the adventure sections, god! the intros to every game (my favorite so far Coffee and Doughnuts). I actually find the references to other games a little tacked on, but I'll wait till the end to see if there are some weight to them.
I know some could say the game is designed with co-op in mind, and that is much better that way. But the thing is, for me, Suda games (and any other ghm game) have always been a personal experience, those that I would not know how to share with others.
I know I'm a little late and I'm sure all this have been said before (I haven't read much of the thread in fear of spoiling myself), but I just felt like I needed to vent a little.
Anyway, I'll be back to the grind, and hopefully the whole experience can overshadow my problems with the game by the end.
but man, I think this is the least fun I've had playing a GHM game (yeah, I know).
I just hate every time I have to play any hack n slash section. I knew beforehand what this game was and wasn't(even for a grasshopper game), but I wasn't really feeling it since the first level/game. I decided to give it some time, but three levels later, no change. I just find the action sequences a chore and the level design dull. And seems like every level has some kind of frustrating element already preventing me from doing multiple runs (the ohko blue skull in the 2nd level and the platforming in the 3rd).
And it's a shame because I love literally everything else, the music, the aesthetics, the usual sound effects, the adventure sections, god! the intros to every game (my favorite so far Coffee and Doughnuts). I actually find the references to other games a little tacked on, but I'll wait till the end to see if there are some weight to them.
I know some could say the game is designed with co-op in mind, and that is much better that way. But the thing is, for me, Suda games (and any other ghm game) have always been a personal experience, those that I would not know how to share with others.
I know I'm a little late and I'm sure all this have been said before (I haven't read much of the thread in fear of spoiling myself), but I just felt like I needed to vent a little.
Anyway, I'll be back to the grind, and hopefully the whole experience can overshadow my problems with the game by the end.
I've just started this aswell, I've just beat the doppelgänger boss.
The game has so many good ideas wrapped up in absolutely terrible ones. The hack and slash sections are the least interesting part but they take up 80% of the game!
It feels like the game has a point it's trying to make... and I'm missing it. Like the empty open world in NMH1, just because it's trying to be clever doesn't make it any less annoying/crap.
The game has so many good ideas wrapped up in absolutely terrible ones. The hack and slash sections are the least interesting part but they take up 80% of the game!
It feels like the game has a point it's trying to make... and I'm missing it. Like the empty open world in NMH1, just because it's trying to be clever doesn't make it any less annoying/crap.
I played the game on bitter and it was a great challenge. I had a lot of fun with the gameplay that is about focusing on specific enemy types first and committing to heavy attacks with their huge recovery period when the time is right. I also enjoyed using chips combinations like electric chips + smoke bombs to make them explode.
You really have to plan out your attacks and learn patterns.
You really have to plan out your attacks and learn patterns.
Shouldn't be that big a deal. There are discrete "worlds" and visual novel sections. You do a world and then need to complete a visual novel to unlock the next world. The visual novel sections are pretty short and you should be able to mash through 'em in a minute or two if you don't care what they say.
Holy, bought the game + season pass and just beat the donut level. The boss was very easy, but I guess it made sense based on the premise of the level. The music on that level tho. Incredible music.
I agree that some section of the game are tedious, but the game is what it is.
If on the fence, I would tell people to buy the game no problem. I mean, there are no any other games like these anywhere, it is just incredible Suda51.
I agree that some section of the game are tedious, but the game is what it is.
If on the fence, I would tell people to buy the game no problem. I mean, there are no any other games like these anywhere, it is just incredible Suda51.
This is weird. I mean I totally understand not digging the gameplay but that is the game. There doesn't need to be a deeper meaning to it; the game is a a relatively low budget top down hack and slash because Suda wanted to make one. It has quite more depth to it than the core gameplay of NMH too, IMO, so comparisons to the other aspects of NMH don't really apply.
It's a lot of fun once you make peace with the fact that it's different.
I started to enjoy the fighting more towards the end, when the game started getting more demanding and I had to put more thought into it.
Beat it last night. That last level was a marathon, whew. It overstayed its welcome for me, though. I could have done with about 45 minutes less of it. I have no idea what happened in that ending, but I wasn't spoiled by the Internet about the Easter egg at the end, so that was fun.
I do wonder if
I think my favorite things about TSA were the music, the visual novel sections and the feature of finding and equipping new abilities, which is a nice advancement on the NMH gameplay.
The wind-down on the heavy slash is way too long, though, and it annoyed me how it would remember that I quickly pressed the slash button twice and then slowly execute two heavy slashes, even if by the end of the first slash I wanted to dodge some enemy attack. Oh well.
I also wish the writing were more coherent at times. It's a Suda game, I know, and this isn't my first rodeo with one of his games. But even for Suda the writing was impenetrable for me at times. (The localization needed one more copy editing pass, too...)
I managed to miss one ramen stand in the fourth game; I wonder if I'll get anything for going back and finding it.
I do wonder if
I paid $30 just to have two other games announced me, haha.
I think my favorite things about TSA were the music, the visual novel sections and the feature of finding and equipping new abilities, which is a nice advancement on the NMH gameplay.
The wind-down on the heavy slash is way too long, though, and it annoyed me how it would remember that I quickly pressed the slash button twice and then slowly execute two heavy slashes, even if by the end of the first slash I wanted to dodge some enemy attack. Oh well.
I also wish the writing were more coherent at times. It's a Suda game, I know, and this isn't my first rodeo with one of his games. But even for Suda the writing was impenetrable for me at times. (The localization needed one more copy editing pass, too...)
I managed to miss one ramen stand in the fourth game; I wonder if I'll get anything for going back and finding it.
I finally finished this game. I had not read any reviews or previews or watched anything about it so I could go in fresh.
Style and story were on point for a NMH game. Loved it. Sure, it was lower budget but we knew that. It was a fresh breath of strangeness that I loved.
The gameplay was OK. I enjoyed the variety of each DeathBall game enough to keep me going / staying interested.
The combat was relatively simple but to be honest I enjoyed a quick hack and slash romp without too much distraction. I guess after coming off of playing God of War 2018, where I'm spending a ton of time flipping through a hundred menus and sliding over thousands of upgrades and runes to compare +4 STR vs +2 Rune, then coming into a game like Travis Strikes Again where I can pick a 4-set mix of 20 some odd chips that are all unique and give a clear description, it was kind of refreshing.
There's a fairly good variety of enemies that each require their own strategy to really take out. There's a variety of chips you can equip and each enemy generally benefitting from a little extra thought to defeat, the combat gameplay stays pretty good through the short game length / doesn't overstay its welcome -- and I actually imagine playing on Bitter would make the combat more fun as you'd have to more carefully configure your Chips and be more defensive/strategic as the enemy groupings vary.
Boss battles were fun and interesting IMO.
I thought I'd hate the visual novel stuff but I actually loved it. It wasn't too lengthy.
The game is a little more self deprecating than it needs to be though, lol.
The stuff I didn't like were.. well, the level design could in some places just be too simplistic to be very interesting. When puzzle-esque elements were introduced, that helped a bit. But the final dungeon was a giant bland uninteresting maze and it went on a bit too long. I liked the combat just fine and I'm glad it didn't overstay its welcome (IMO) but it could have benefitted from a little more depth or interesting level environments to mix things up. I didn't really get into the 'shops' for shirts or whatever too much; as such I rarely bothered with all the Coins to collect, so those didn't really feel super rewarding to go out and get, but it's fine. One Deathball that irked me was the racing one. I felt a bit cheesed that you had to play the game and fail in order to progress, when there wasn't any indication that you were doing anything 'wrong.' And even when you get the upgrades, the last 2 races can be a pain -- might even be impossible -- unless you discover how to boost off the line at the start of the race, which is never mentioned AFAIK.
That said it's a solid quick and quirky Grasshopper experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I didn't read any reviews but there's one particular thing they must be referring to:
I mean there's a couple of other neat references in the game but I"m guessing anyone who talks about an end of game surprise must be referring to this.
Some thoughts on the game's practical purpose as a whole:
Style and story were on point for a NMH game. Loved it. Sure, it was lower budget but we knew that. It was a fresh breath of strangeness that I loved.
The gameplay was OK. I enjoyed the variety of each DeathBall game enough to keep me going / staying interested.
The combat was relatively simple but to be honest I enjoyed a quick hack and slash romp without too much distraction. I guess after coming off of playing God of War 2018, where I'm spending a ton of time flipping through a hundred menus and sliding over thousands of upgrades and runes to compare +4 STR vs +2 Rune, then coming into a game like Travis Strikes Again where I can pick a 4-set mix of 20 some odd chips that are all unique and give a clear description, it was kind of refreshing.
There's a fairly good variety of enemies that each require their own strategy to really take out. There's a variety of chips you can equip and each enemy generally benefitting from a little extra thought to defeat, the combat gameplay stays pretty good through the short game length / doesn't overstay its welcome -- and I actually imagine playing on Bitter would make the combat more fun as you'd have to more carefully configure your Chips and be more defensive/strategic as the enemy groupings vary.
Boss battles were fun and interesting IMO.
I thought I'd hate the visual novel stuff but I actually loved it. It wasn't too lengthy.
The game is a little more self deprecating than it needs to be though, lol.
The stuff I didn't like were.. well, the level design could in some places just be too simplistic to be very interesting. When puzzle-esque elements were introduced, that helped a bit. But the final dungeon was a giant bland uninteresting maze and it went on a bit too long. I liked the combat just fine and I'm glad it didn't overstay its welcome (IMO) but it could have benefitted from a little more depth or interesting level environments to mix things up. I didn't really get into the 'shops' for shirts or whatever too much; as such I rarely bothered with all the Coins to collect, so those didn't really feel super rewarding to go out and get, but it's fine. One Deathball that irked me was the racing one. I felt a bit cheesed that you had to play the game and fail in order to progress, when there wasn't any indication that you were doing anything 'wrong.' And even when you get the upgrades, the last 2 races can be a pain -- might even be impossible -- unless you discover how to boost off the line at the start of the race, which is never mentioned AFAIK.
That said it's a solid quick and quirky Grasshopper experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I didn't read any reviews but there's one particular thing they must be referring to:
If you talk to Shinobu at the end, you get some dialogue and then a roll of credits. After the credits you see Travis enter an emtpy gray room, and if you attack the 'dummy' there, Travis stops and says, "What are you doing here! Get the hell out! Can't you see that this is the next game that's in development! No I won't tell you what it is!" And then it fades out to a symbol of the star-rose emblem that is the iconic part of the No More Heroes logo. It's implying that Grasshopper has already started work developing No More Heroes 3. That's what it implies but we know that publicly Suda51 has basically said more along the lines of "we'll do NMH3 if Travis Strikes Again sells decently." So I wouldn't get my hopes up, even though everyone would love a Switch NMH3.
I mean there's a couple of other neat references in the game but I"m guessing anyone who talks about an end of game surprise must be referring to this.
Some thoughts on the game's practical purpose as a whole:
I enjoyed this game but looking back, it definitely seems like a quick, lower-budget project designed to sort of get the Grasshopper team comfy with the latest Unreal Engine in order to prepare for No More Heroes 3. Just given how much of the game praised Unreal Engine and how much of the actual game discussed Unreal development tangentially, and then the ending; all of this on top of how the whole game is clearly set out to be a sort of 'side story / spin off' at a lower budget.. It feels to me like a project designed to learn the new Unreal ropes and get a decent, lower budget project out to kickstart NMH3. I do not say any of this as a bad thing; its an enjoyable little quirky experience in its own right, but definitely doesn't feel like a "necessary" game in the NMH series. But I still think Suda51 fans like myself would enjoy it.
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The entire game was just crap. It was simply a brain dead shoe-string budget overhead hack-n-slash game with random back drops. The game lacked both substance and style as only few moments actually made me say "Whoa! Now this is different!"
In short the game feels like what it is, Suda wants to make No More Heroes 3, but is strapped for cash and isn't familiar with modern game engines. So he decided to make this title to kill two birds with one stone.
In short the game feels like what it is, Suda wants to make No More Heroes 3, but is strapped for cash and isn't familiar with modern game engines. So he decided to make this title to kill two birds with one stone.
That's what I was thinking too. Thanks.
So I have a problem. I just decided to play this game today for the first time since I bought it on launch. I have a physical copy from Amazon and when I boot it up I get the usual Switch loading screen then nothing but a black screen. I can still use the home screen button to back out. I've tried other physical games and they work fine. I have the latest firmware (system and game) and I did restart the system but still nothing. Is this a known issue or am I just unlucky?
I think i recall running into this when i first got my copy. I gave a few mins pressing buttons and it finally loaded for me. After that I it loaded fine every time since.
You have to wait for like a full minute for the game to boot. It's extremely weird cause you're just staring at a black screen the whole time but it will load eventually.