No More Heroes is finally making a comeback on the Nintendo Switch. The debonair assassin, Travis Touchdown is making his return, but what happened to bring him to the precarious situation you see in the trailer for No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again? Don’t worry, we’ll catch you up.
The first No More Heroes was released in 2008 for the Wii. Directed by Suda 51, the game quickly became a cult hit thanks to its unique style and humor. The story follows Travis Touchdown, a down-on-his-luck Otaku who dreams of becoming the world’s greatest assassin. While he is staying at the No More Heroes Motel, he is approached by the buxom Silvia who has a way of helping him realize his goal. If he can fight and defeat the top 10 assassins, he can claim the top spot and even win himself a date with her. Raring to impress the girl and kill some people, Travis grabs his trusty Beam Katana (it’s like a lightsaber) and starts cutting people down.
The ensuing chaos is a mix of decapitating helpless soldiers and engaging in thoughtful clashes with seasoned assassins. Travis’ first outing is mostly about his climb to the top and the people he meets along the way. He kills his way through top ten, taking every life except that of number eight, Shinobu, because he acknowledges her strength and wants her to grow stronger.
During this time, Travis also meets a mysterious man named Henry, but more on him later. Travis makes it to number one to challenge his sister Jeane, who he has been itching to get revenge on after she killed their parents. Just as Travis is about to claim his revenge, another twist rears its head. The entire assassins association was set up by Sylvia after she heard Travis drunkenly ramble on about his plans for revenge. Jeane then revealed that their father was sexually abusive, which caused her to resort to sell her body to escape the house. She eventually became an assassin and fought to survive. Even though the air has been cleared somewhat, Jeane still tries to kill Travis, but she doesn’t succeed. Shinobu swoops in at the last minute, killing Jeane and helping Travis’ ascent to the top of the world of assassins.
You might think the game is over at this point, but you’d be wrong. After Travis is sitting comfortably on top, Henry returns, attacking Travis with his own Beam Katana. During the flurry of attacks Henry reveals two more tidbits of information: he is Travis’ twin brother and Silvia is actually his wife, so Travis won’t get that date after all.
All of this sounds pretty intense, but it only gets worse from there. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle released for the Wii in 2010, continuing the epic story of Travis Touchdown. He’s been out of the game for a while but Silvia emerges to draw him back in. A group that is looking to get revenge on the talented Otaku kills his best friend Bishop and Travis swears that he will get revenge.
He re-enters the game, this time as the 51st ranked assassin. The man who killed his friend, and the top ranked assassin, is Jasper Batt, the CEO of Pizza Bat and many other companies in the city of Santa Destroy. He once again works his way through the ranks, killing other assassins in increasingly ridiculous ways, and dismantling the United Assassins Association.
Travis Strikes Again takes place between the first and second games, when Travis was missing in action for three years. Badman, the father of Badgirl, an assassin who was brutally murdered by Travis in the first game, comes seeking revenge for his daughter. Both him and Travis get sucked into a phantom video game console, which leads to another series of boss fights and over the top showdowns.
All you really need to know to jump into the newest entry in the No More Heroes series is that Travis Touchdown is a raunchy killer who has made more than a few enemies. The series is known for not taking itself too seriously, breaking the fourth wall, and putting its characters in crazy situations that only get more insane as the games progress.
