10 Beloved Franchises That Haven't Been Good In A WHILE
5. No More Heroes
The gaming industry has been oversaturated in content for quite some time. As a result, it's harder than ever to stand out.
That's why it's impressive how Grasshopper created something as unique as No More Heroes. The uber-violent, anime-inspired, cel-shaded hack-and-slash combines professional wrestling, lightsaber duels, shootouts, racing, and retro mini-games. Even though it's risky to juggle a multitude of genres, No More Heroes pulled it off. Just to prove it wasn't a fluke, the sequel was bigger, better, and more over-the-top.
Sadly, NMH stumbled just as it was taking off. 2019 saw the release of the first spin-off, Travis Strikes Again, which was a top-down title with platforming and RPG elements. Despite maintaining the tongue-in-cheek humour of its predecessors, this instalment was lambasted for its repetitive and grind-heavy gameplay.
However, the series looked like it was destined for great things after No More Heroes III's epic trailer dropped several months later. But when NMH III hit shelves, it was obvious Travis Strikes Again wasn't a once-off screwup. Rather than paying homage to other mediums in an organic way, No More Heroes III felt like it was chucking in pop-culture references for the sake of it.
For example, the final battle is a parody of Super Smash Bros. Rather than doing something innovative with this idea, the entire fight is over in under a minute. So, what was the point of ripping off Smash Bros. in the first place? The gameplay was nowhere near as imaginative as before, encouraging the most die-hard fans to skip this instalment.
Two mediocre entires isn't the end of the world, but it's not reassuring when you realise the last great No More Heroes was way back in 2010.