Comments on: No More Heroes

By: Dan Bruno

Dan Bruno — Sat, 10 May 2008 05:01:16 +0000

Hey Michael! Thanks for stopping by.

You ask an interesting question. I found the Bad Girl fight tough to wrap my head around, but I’ll see what I can do. (Spoilers follow.)

Bad Girl is the most overtly sexual of Travis’s female targets — she exudes a mix of submissive innocence (her coy nickname, her Lolita-esque little girl outfit, her crying) and violent dominance (her baseball bat, her endless conveyor belt of cloned S&M-bound men). If we set aside the old woman Speed Buster, she’s also the only female target who Travis enjoys killing.

Significantly, the final blow isn’t just a straight-up decapitation. Travis impales her with his beam sword — which, I remind you, has been infused with phallic symbolism throughout the game — as she unsuccessfully tries to beat him away with her bat. “Naughty girls need spankings,” he mutters. After bleeding to death, Bad Girl goes limp lying on top of him with her legs spread, the sword still sticking through her body.

Now, what does that imagery remind you of?

No More Heroes is not a game about rape, but when we consider its conflation of violence and sex there’s an unmistakable edge to the sexual humiliation theme. In the end, Travis’s “revenge” goes beyond the hackneyed fights of destiny with Jeane and Henry. He’s trying to be something more than the loser otaku everyone takes him for and get back at them in the process.

By: Michael Clarkson

Michael Clarkson — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:51:09 +0000

I found it interesting that most of the sexual content has to do with sexual humiliation. I mean, without spoiling too much, Travis is deceived, used, and humiliated in nearly all his relationships with women, and then there’s the dialogue every time he goes to “train” with his “master”. Not to mention the regular calls he gets from the Beef Head video girl, which also have overtones of humiliation to them. Travis’s success with women usually involves killing them. Speaking of which, do you think the fight with Bad Girl might symbolize a confrontation with his sexual haplessness?

By: Dan Bruno

Dan Bruno — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:05:39 +0000

Korey: Ha! I’m pretty bad at those fights too.

If you’re interested, there are some videos on YouTube comparing the censored and uncensored cutscenes. Here’s Death Metal’s, er, death, with more comparisons in the Related Videos sidebar.

Michael: The humor is certainly what’s driving me forward right now. Maybe it’s because I just finished Twilight Princess, but I find the combat itself a bit lacking. Playing left-handed (Nunchuk in the right hand, Wii remote in the left) might have something to do with it too, since the wrestling move instructions keep throwing me off. It’s all good, though.

I think this is one time when I feel confident that the phallic symbol was intentional. I mean, come on. ;)

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:33:40 +0000

I’m glad you mentioned the comedy in the game. I don’t think that aspect has received enough attention with all the other stuff going on. I laughed out loud many times, which rarely happens to me. I’m an especially big fan of the cell phone calls before each battle and the recorded messages from the video store. Of course, some of the bosses are pretty hilarious too. :-)

You English majors see phallic symbols everywhere, don’t you? :P

By: Korey

Korey — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:08:21 +0000

I just picked up No More Heroes not so long ago. I’m about halfway through, but have gotten distracted by another game. I really enjoy it too, but I find myself just wanting to push through to get to the next boss fight. And maybe I’m not that great at the controls yet, but I find those free fights where you only have 1 health incredibly difficult.

Lastly, I’m playing the Japanese version, and it feels quite different without the blood. Instead there’s all this weird black stuff that comes out. I haven’t fully formed my thoughts on it yet. I need to compare some of my game play to videos of the US version, and I’ll probably do a blog post about it sometime.

I’ll be glad to get through the rest of the game.

By: Dan Bruno

Dan Bruno — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:24:31 +0000

I have indeed, Renaissance Man — his recommendation was actually one of the reasons I was interested in trying it out. As I wrote in the comments here, I take his criticism with a grain of salt, but I also pay especial attention to the games that he speaks highly of because there are so few of them. :)

By: The Renaissance Man

The Renaissance Man — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:58:31 +0000

Have you seen The Zero Punctuation review of the game?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/3554-Zero-Punctuation-No-More-Heroes