I finished No More Heroes after obsessively playing it for two days and wow. Given my early review, I took the game at face value, but the more I played it the more I began to see the deeper meaning and I was pleasantly surprised.
I will say hindsight 20/20 that this game is NOT for everyone. Like I said, the game does have gratuitous violence, the language is foul and the morality behind the game is questionable. At first play it seems like a shallow (but fun) button masher and the gameplay does quickly get repetitive. But beyond the violence and the button mashing is an interesting satire from Suda51 explained through the interactive medium of video games. If you’re willing to go through the game (it’s really not as painful as it could be), you will see bits and pieces. At the end after viewing the ending, you’ll see the game as a whole and you’ll see it just as the characters in the game see it: A small work of art.
And I will say that after I played it and realized the meaning I did feel like a bit of an ass for falling into the stereotype that Suda presented. (￣□￣」)
This game is one of the more interesting games I’ve played and I will definitely remember this game for a long time. I will probably play it again down the road and feel the reminder. I’m not saying it’s life changing but I got more out of it than I expected, especially from a video game. The message has stuck with me. From now on when I play another action game (or any game perhaps) I will now ask the question: Why settle for 10 when I can be #1? XD
If you’re interested here are two in-depth analysis of No More Heroes (warning: spoilers inside):
Destroid’s article
Schlaghund’s article
Strawberry on the Shortcake!!