Remember back when I talked about Lollipop Chainsaw and said that it was the most decisive game from Grasshopper before another game. Well, this is the now most decisive. Travis Strikes Again, a spin off, not No More Heroes 3, that people either like or hate. And in case it wasn’t super obvious, I love this game
I feel like it is important to remember that this game is a spin-off and not a main series game, and yet everyone still thinks this is NMH3 and a bad continuation. If this game spits on the legacy of the franchise, then Smash Bros, Pokemon Snap, and the entire Persona franchise are complete bastardizations of the true franchises. But that little rant out of the way, let’s talk about the game. Set seven years after the second game, Travis is attacked by Badman, father of Bad Girl, and the two are sucked into a game console known as the Death Drive MKII. Learning that the console grants the wishes of whoever collects all six Death Drive games, the two go through the games in order to collect them all and make their wishes come true. The game is unlike anything else in the franchise, playing from a top down perspective instead of the classic behind the back third person camera angle. The combat starts you out with it being real simple and bland at first, but once enemy types and chips are introduced, well, it somehow gets deeper than No More Heroes combat, and I love the first game, but it’s combat wasn’t exactly that deep. But here, you got light attacks, heavy attacks, jump attacks, dodges, charge attacks, and a mass assortment of Chips that unlock special moves, which you can use four at a time, so experimenting with them is always good to find your perfect match. The levels, while can go on a little long, are creative and fun to play through, like the tile puzzles of the second level or the bizarre racing level of the fourth one. Hell, the fifth level is a reference and a possible advertisement for another one of Grasshopper’s games. But the real selling point for this game is the co-op. If you got a friend, you can play the game with another player, first player taking Travis and second taking Badman. It really adds to the fun of the game and makes taking down bosses and going through the world’s a whole lot more fun, and with now eight chips instead of four… Oh man, the chaos that can reign. And the game feels way to meta at times. The visual novel sections with it’s witty fourth wall breaking humor, how the game talks about the boring sections and lack of time put into levels like the player was thinking that. How you are playing a game and Travis goes inside of games, one of which allows him to play VR games. This is some meta shit right here. I love it!
I get that this spin off isn’t for everyone, but it was for me, and it’s on the list, and that’s what matters. But seriously, Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture were never ones to try and please everyone. They were always very niche with their games, and this game is clearly no exception. I just hope this game sells well enough to get that No More Heroes 3 out. And if you think I’m playing through the Shinobu and Bad Girl DLC, you better fucking believe I am.