You can’t talk about No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle without discussing the first game.
Suda51’s 2007 punk demo tape of a game was all unsanded edges, wonky controls, and enthusiastic but half-baked mechanics.
All that was delivered was a healthy serving of passive aggression towards the player, forcing them to grind through intentionally tedious minigames to earn the right to fight a selection of ludicrous bosses.
This made it something of a surprise when No More Heroes was a monster hit on Wii. Three years later Desperate Struggle landed, with the franchise’s ‘difficult second album’ a smidge more conservative but way more polished.
Does it being ‘better’ sacrifice part of No More Heroes’ soul?
The debate has been raging since Desperate Struggle landed in 2010, with many fans still salty that the sequel dares to be… * gasp * f-fun?