March2023
I ain't afraid o' no ghost
In the original 1998 Ring movie from director Hideo Nakata, the entire film's premise revolves around a vengeful spirit called Sadako, whose internal rage gave birth to a video tape curse via a phenomenon known as ‘thoughtography’. While Sadako is ultimately the driving force behind the film’s narrative, it’s only...
August2021
Review No More Heroes III (Switch) - A Swaggering Joke Of A Game That Suda51 Fans Will Love
FU Fighters
It's certainly a relatively novel take on the whole E.T. thing. You all saw that instantly iconic "Goddamn Superhero" trailer back at the 2019 Game Awards, right? Cute little alien FU (pronounced "foo" - careful now) returns to earth 20 years after he was taken in and cared for by hapless Elliott-alike Damon Ricitiello (last seen in...
Review The Silver Case 2425 (Switch) - Style Over Substance In This Pair Of Early Suda51 Epics
Case closed
Every now and again, we review a game that's just absolutely no fun. The review process can sometimes be a bit of a drag — we know, complaining about a job where you play games for a living is like being annoyed that your career as a biscuit taster is making you put on weight — and unfortunately, The Silver Case 2425, a two-in-one...
November2020
Review No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle - A Confident Sequel And One Of Grasshopper's Best
No, MORE Heroes!
Bigger. Better. More. Not exactly the watchwords of the original, shockingly audacious No More Heroes, with its minimal content stretched out across the sweeping, empty landscape of Santa Destroy, memorable for its sheer desolation and entirely in keeping with its satirical take on the “open-world game”. But, as Grasshopper’s...
Review No More Heroes - A Crude And Madcap Anime Nightmare That Deserves Your Attention
I, I will be king
No More Heroes is gross. It’s a sleazy, grimy, ugly game with an indefensible moral vacuum of a protagonist in leering otaku Travis Touchdown. And it’s absolutely brilliant. Essentially a hack n’ slash title with some open-world elements, No More Heroes rises above its often-pedestrian gameplay with an overflowing reservoir...
January2019
Review Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes - A Stylish Return For The Otaku Hitman
Everything IS awesome
We haven’t heard a peep from otaku assassin Travis Touchdown since he last graced our screens in 2010’s No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Brainchild of enigmatic industry figure Goichi ‘Suda51’ Suda, Travis cut a stylish swathe through Wii’s catalogue of casual fodder. That same infectious energy is alive and well...
January2010
Review No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii)
Travis Touchdown is back with a vengeance and better than ever
The mirrors don’t work. It’s a minor detail and completely inconsequential to gameplay, but when Travis Touchdown meanders into a public restroom to do his deeds and save the game in No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, he might as well be a vampire. Despite his bloodlust, Travis is...
April2009
Review Flower, Sun and Rain (DS)
Flower? Nope. Sun? Very little. Rain? In buckets.
Flower, Sun and Rain is the first DS game from game director Goichi Suda, aka Suda51. It started life as a Japanese PS2 game, but it's been ported over to DS presumably to take advantage of the feature-rich console. Or so you'd think... Known by many as the mastermind behind classic style-driven...
March2008
Otaku assassin Travis Touchdown finally lands on European shores - has the wait been worthwhile?
When you fire up a game and see that the loading screen proudly proclaims that ‘Punk’s not dead’, you know you’re in for something of an unorthodox experience. The enigmatic Suda 51 and his team at Grasshopper Manufacture are arguably one of the...
