If you're not salivating over No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle then we can no longer be friends. I may be a little obsessed with Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda51's games, but NMH 2 is looking exciting even if you don't want to pick apart every aspect of Suda's games. 1Up got some more time with Grasshopper and decided to break down some exciting new facts about the game for everyone. They did it in bullet points, but I like paragraphs so I'm rolling old school.
Most of the reveals were actually already known, we just get to know more. We knew that we'd be able to play as other characters (Henry and Shinobu), but we won't get to choose to play as them. In parts of the story we'll be put in their shoes for a few levels. Each character has their own unique moves and abilities, so they aren't just skin clones either. More important is the confirmation of control styles. The game had been rumored to use Wii Motion Plus, but that seems to have been kicked out the door. Classic Controller gameplay is still in, however, and can be used for the entire game, not just the 2D retro game sections. The devs said they included this bit because of the large number of people in Japan who played Monster Hunter Tri with the classic controller instead of the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. I'm not sure how Monster Hunter Tri worked out, but I think that you'd be losing a lot if you went through NMH without motion controls.
Finally, they have confirmed that NMH 2 looks a whole lot better than the original game. Character models are better and so is the over all world. Hopefully, this isn't Suda diverging from his artistic message in order to make a game that looks better. I seriously doubt it, and I'm also guessing that better graphics make most people more excited not less.
Here are some fun random facts they also learned:
- "You hear the sound of Travis' key ring when he walks. This is actually one of Suda-san's habits as well."
- "Suda51 was not happy with the quality of the professional wrestling techniques created by animators, so he tried the actual moves and techniques on the animators."
- "Suda51 is crazy about cats. Travis has a cat in the game just because Suda-san wanted him to have one."
Weren't those both fun and random? Yea, I'm good at using adjectives.
Contest:
2:00 PM on 09.19.2009
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Dear Suda51,
I love you.
Perphaps you should have specified that you were talking about the non-wiimote gameplay before you commented. Idiot.
REALLY?!?!?
I'll probably play it in nunchuck-wiimote mode, though.
Yeah, i didn't really care for the first game, apart from the boss battles. The levels were tedious & it looked poor.
The only thing that kinda excited me about the new game is that the idea of sword figthing with wii motion plus can be really fun (as in Wii Sports resort, but more intense and with a more action style in the characters and backgrounds)
That made sense when this game was supposed to support Wii motion plus, but without it, the statement is just a lie.
Let's not give NMH too much credit, now...
How bout sending Chuck Norris to show those animators how to do a real kick?
Agreed. The physicality of swinging the Wiimote and nunchuk made me feel more in line with the exhaustion Travis was constantly feeling after battles. I do hope, however, that they worked on the motions being read easier by the controllers. Too often would a move not register, especially due to the damn nunchuk (fuck you, Boss Fight #4!) ...
I can see why Suda 51 would not include the motion plus. With the motion plus either the game has to have it required or it isn't needed at all. Also I'm pretty sure that %90 of people that bought NMH1 didn't buy the motion plus due to the fact that as true gamers they know that not all games are going to require this $20 add-on. So why make use of something that not everyone went out to buy? The original worked fine without "extra precision". I the wii motion controls were more quick-time events than anything.
Yeah the original's levels were tedious but did you play NMH to have a diverse environment or did you play it to kill mass amount of people?
If you don't want to buy this game based on the fact that it doesn't have a simple tweaking add-on then have a long wait for a good wii game that does make use of it.
"Finally, they have confirmed that NMH 2 looks a whole lot better than the original game. Character models are better and so is the over all world. Hopefully, this isn't Suda diverging from his artistic message in order to make a game that looks better."
How would the game looking better take away from Suda's artistic message?
If you think I give him too much credit here you should read the two posts I linked in the story.
Also, no motion+ is a good thing to me. You shouldn't need an add on for a game like this, where motion controls are just the icing on the cake, not the main course. NMH and its sequel are simple, button-based beat'em ups, and that's the way I want them to stay.
Also, we already have a motion+, cel shaded sword fighting game coming up on the form of Red Steel 2. One is enough, me thinks.
Motion plus can do amazing things for the gameplay. While New Super Mario Bros. is not a game that requires 1-1 precision, No More Heroes is a sword fighting game. Now, true gamers know how much more awesome motion plus sword fighting is than normal wii sword fighting, from having played Wii Sports Resort (a game that's a pretty good bargain being bundled with motion plus). The fact that any post-sports resort sword game is not taking advantage of the add-on to improve the sword fighting aspect is at best disappointing and at worst infuriating. Suda 51 has the ability to make me feel more like a Jedi than I have ever felt before, and he is deliberately not taking advantage of the opportunity. Personally, I want to know the reason; and I do not want to hear that it's because of the double blade Katana because I (and many others) would gladly trade that for 1-1 fidelity.
NMH2 will still be mine regardless.
hillarious.........
I do wish that they'd support use of two Wii Remotes, rather than a Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo, because of that damn cord hitting me in the face when performing wrestling moves. Grr...
Just because there are sword in NMH does not make it a sword fighting game, it's a beat em up game. The sooner you realize that the sooner you'll see why Suda 51 decided not to add the MotionPlus. Almost of your enemies in the game do not use swords. Nor is NMH a game that's supposed make you fell like a Jedi. If Suda 51 wanted to make you fell like a Jedi then he would've added force powers. I can't see how motion plus would've helped with a simple sword swipe or a wrestling move. The wii mote was accurate enough to pick up the moves in the original. I don't know about you but I don't want NMH2 to turn into a long version of the sword mini game in Wii Sports resorts. The most fun wii games have had the least motion use. Ironic isn't it? Brawl, Twilight Princess, SM Galaxy, NMH, Mad World. While the games that use more motion controls have sucked. Red Steel anyone? How about Mario & Sonic Olympics?
I'm not going to tell you what is and isn't fun because it's such a subjective thing to talk about. However, because Twilight Princess, NMH, and Mad World have what I consider an average reliance on motion controls, I would not put them on a list of games with the least motion use. I also notice that your list is conspicuously missing metroid, which I do not consider fun myself due to the motion sickness I kept getting in Corruption. Mind you, I loved most the motion controls in that game (the IR pointer was great and the nun-chuck lasso was just as finnicky as I would expect a real lasso to be), but motion sickness really screws up a game for me.