No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise
Encyclopedia
is an action video game developed by feelplus. The game is an enhanced port of the 2007
Wii
video game No More Heroes
, originally developed by Grasshopper Manufacture
and directed by Goichi Suda
.
The game was released on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan on April 15, 2010 by Marvelous Entertainment. In North America and Europe, it will be published by Konami
in 2011 exclusively for the PlayStation 3, featuring support for the PlayStation Move, and various fixes to the game's performance and graphics. This version of the game will also be released in Japan as No More Heroes: Red Zone Edition on July 21, 2011.
, Travis Touchdown
travels around on foot or his motorcycle in a free roaming world killing the top ten assassins in order to make the storyline progress. There are numerous part time job side quests to earn money which can be spent on weapons, training sessions, clothes and video tapes.
Most attacks are performed using a standard control scheme, with certain other moves, including the "death blow" and sword lock struggles, executed by following on-screen instructions. The beam katana can also be upgraded and replaced throughout the game by visiting Dr. Naomi. While the katana does not follow the exact position of the remote, it is able to distinguish between a "high" and "low" position which varies the character stance and the attacks done. In addition to attacks with the beam katana Travis can kick and punch, and when enemies are stunned he can throw them with a number of professional wrestling maneuvers
, which was previously done by manipulating both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Travis has a secondary mode, "Dark Side", that is accessed when three icons line up in a slot machine after a successful death blow.
which is equivalent to a "Mature" rating from ESRB
while the Xbox 360 version of the game remained uncensored similar to the North American release of its Wii predecessor causing it to receive a "Z" rating equivalent to the "Adult Only" rating from ESRB. However, the North American and European PlayStation 3 release of the game are uncensored.
, customers were awarded with bonus cards particular to each format of the game. PlayStation 3 owners were rewarded with the Cherry Card set, while Xbox 360 owners were rewarded with the Mango Card set. The cards featured semi-erotic poses from the female characters within the game.
magazine revealed that No More Heroes would receive a port to both the PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
from the company feelplus.
, announced that they would not be localizing the game. On June 28, 2010 Ignition Entertainment
, a subsidiary of Ubisoft, when asked if they were publishing the game abroad commented that they "were looking at it (but they) believe that another publisher will publish it." At Gamescom
2010 in August, Konami
announced at their press conference that they were bringing only the PlayStation 3 version to North America and Europe in 2011 with added PlayStation Move support. A Press release was also given to provide additional information on the improvements made on the Western localization of the game. A North American release was formally announced on the PlayStation Blog by Jeff Reubenstein, formally unveiling the title's Move support as well as PS3 exclusivity.
2007 in video gaming
-Events:*March 14: Microsoft announces Games for Windows - Live, a version of Xbox Live for the Windows platform. The service launched on May 8.*March 27: Microsoft announces the new "Xbox 360 Elite" stock-keeping unit . The revision comes with a bigger hard drive and the ability to output HDMI...
Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
video game No More Heroes
No More Heroes (video game)
, is an action video game for the Wii video game system. It was directed by Goichi Suda , developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Marvelous Entertainment Inc., Ubisoft and Rising Star Games...
, originally developed by Grasshopper Manufacture
Grasshopper Manufacture
Grasshopper Manufacture, Inc. is a Japanese video game development house founded on March 30, 1998 in Suginami, Japan. Grasshopper gained mainstream attention in 2005 for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 game Killer7...
and directed by Goichi Suda
Goichi Suda
, is the CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture. The "51" in his nickname, Suda51, is a pun on his given name. In Japanese, "Go" means 5 and "ichi" means 1. His works include Moonlight Syndrome, The Silver Case, Flower, Sun and Rain, Michigan, killer7, the No More Heroes series, and most recently, Shadows...
.
The game was released on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan on April 15, 2010 by Marvelous Entertainment. In North America and Europe, it will be published by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
in 2011 exclusively for the PlayStation 3, featuring support for the PlayStation Move, and various fixes to the game's performance and graphics. This version of the game will also be released in Japan as No More Heroes: Red Zone Edition on July 21, 2011.
Gameplay
In Heroes' Paradise, the player characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
, Travis Touchdown
Travis Touchdown
Travis Touchdown is an American video game antihero who first appeared in the 2008 Wii video game No More Heroes. 27 years old in No More Heroes, he is both an otaku and a professional assassin, wielding a beam sword weapon. He was created by No More Heroes director Goichi Suda, and voiced by Robin...
travels around on foot or his motorcycle in a free roaming world killing the top ten assassins in order to make the storyline progress. There are numerous part time job side quests to earn money which can be spent on weapons, training sessions, clothes and video tapes.
Most attacks are performed using a standard control scheme, with certain other moves, including the "death blow" and sword lock struggles, executed by following on-screen instructions. The beam katana can also be upgraded and replaced throughout the game by visiting Dr. Naomi. While the katana does not follow the exact position of the remote, it is able to distinguish between a "high" and "low" position which varies the character stance and the attacks done. In addition to attacks with the beam katana Travis can kick and punch, and when enemies are stunned he can throw them with a number of professional wrestling maneuvers
Professional wrestling throws
Professional wrestling throws are the application of techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming him down, which makes up most of the action of professional wrestling. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrestler's...
, which was previously done by manipulating both the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Travis has a secondary mode, "Dark Side", that is accessed when three icons line up in a slot machine after a successful death blow.
Differences from No More Heroes
There have been several changes to the game from the original Wii version. The main differences between the two iterations are:- High-definition graphics
- EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
(everywhere) and JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
(Asian territories only) voice acting. - An unlockable "Very Sweet" Mode, which depicts Sylvia Christel, Shinobu, Holly Summers, Bad Girl and Jeane wearing more "appealing" attire.
- Ability to stock up to three Dark Side mode charges, rather than having it activate immediately, like in the original.
- Unused Dark Side mode charges left over in the player's stock at the end of a Ranking Battle rewards Travis TouchdownTravis TouchdownTravis Touchdown is an American video game antihero who first appeared in the 2008 Wii video game No More Heroes. 27 years old in No More Heroes, he is both an otaku and a professional assassin, wielding a beam sword weapon. He was created by No More Heroes director Goichi Suda, and voiced by Robin...
with additional LB dollars (as was the case with unused Anarchy in the Galaxy stocks in the original version). - The song, "Heavenly Star", by the Genki RocketsGenki Rocketsis a virtual band. The group consists of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Kenji Tamai and Lumi. The face of the group is 18-year old Lumi, a fictional girl who was born in space on September 11, 2037, and has never been to Earth....
was removed. Same goes for the music video that players could watch in the motel room in the Japanese and European Wii versions. - The Ubisoft trailer (which only appeared in the North American Wii version) on the TV with the full Helter Skelter fight and Sylvia Christel introduction explaining the rules of the UAA has been removed and the exact same intro from the start of the game serves as the trailer.
- Sylvia's calls to Travis on his cell phone are now heard on screen because of the PS Move motion controller lacking a speaker (although the use of the Wii remote's speaker was optional).
- Ability to warp straight to any Side-Job or Assassin Mission once the player has beaten any of them at least once.
- A retry option was added to the Side-Jobs, Assassin Missions, and Free Fights. However, it only appears when the player has failed in either.
- Five new Side-Jobs were added: Signaling, Sign Spinning, Kitty Race, Bust A Coconut and People Bowling.
- Five new Assassin Missions were added; Guard Break, Power-Down Battle, Big Bang Anarchy, Shortcake Freaks and Crowded Train Carnage.
- Five extra bosses from No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle are available to fight at certain points in the game. These are Skelter Helter, Nathan Copeland, Kimmy Howell, Matt Helms and Alice Twilight.
- Players are now able to revisit Ranking Fights and cinematics from Travis' motel room armchair, in the form of nightmares and dreams.
- A "Score Attack" mode has been added that lets the player refight all 15 of the game's bosses and compete for a high score online. This is also the only way for players to refight all of the NMH2 extras as they don't appear in nightmare mode.
PlayStation Move support
Unlike the Japanese release of the game, the North American and European release of the game will include PlayStation Move support at launch. This is the only difference between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game. Players can use the PlayStation Move controller to recharge the katana, since the beam katanas run on batteries, as well as control it to execute attacks and advanced combos, much like the Wii version.Censorship
When the game was released in Japan, the PlayStation 3 version of the game was censored similar to its Wii predecessor attaining a "D" rating from CEROComputer Entertainment Rating Organization
The is a Japanese entertainment rating organization based in Tokyo. rating video game content in console games with levels of rating that informs the customer of the nature of the product and for what age group it is suitable...
which is equivalent to a "Mature" rating from ESRB
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
while the Xbox 360 version of the game remained uncensored similar to the North American release of its Wii predecessor causing it to receive a "Z" rating equivalent to the "Adult Only" rating from ESRB. However, the North American and European PlayStation 3 release of the game are uncensored.
Pre-order card set
By pre-ordering from Amazon.co.jpAmazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, customers were awarded with bonus cards particular to each format of the game. PlayStation 3 owners were rewarded with the Cherry Card set, while Xbox 360 owners were rewarded with the Mango Card set. The cards featured semi-erotic poses from the female characters within the game.
Development
On November 17, 2009, FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
magazine revealed that No More Heroes would receive a port to both the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
from the company feelplus.
Localization
Shortly after the announcement of the game in November 2009, the North American and European publisher of the original, UbisoftUbisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
, announced that they would not be localizing the game. On June 28, 2010 Ignition Entertainment
Ignition Entertainment
Ignition Entertainment Ltd. is a British video game publisher formed in April 2002. It was created from a selection of smaller developers and publishers, such as Archer MacLean's Awesome Studios.-History:...
, a subsidiary of Ubisoft, when asked if they were publishing the game abroad commented that they "were looking at it (but they) believe that another publisher will publish it." At Gamescom
Gamescom
gamescom is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is organised by the Bundesverband Interaktive Unterhaltungssoftware...
2010 in August, Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
announced at their press conference that they were bringing only the PlayStation 3 version to North America and Europe in 2011 with added PlayStation Move support. A Press release was also given to provide additional information on the improvements made on the Western localization of the game. A North American release was formally announced on the PlayStation Blog by Jeff Reubenstein, formally unveiling the title's Move support as well as PS3 exclusivity.
Reception
Sales for the Japanese launch of Heroes' Paradise were slightly better than with the original Wii version. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game sold 16,000 and 15,000 units respectively in their first week on sale in the country. IGN gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, praising the combat and updated visuals, but criticized the screen tearing, slowdowns, and the mini-games, calling them tedious.External links
- Trailer at 1up.com1UP.com1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
- No More Heroes: Red Zone Edition