B...but Travis' story was supposed to be over! Suda, whatchoo doin' !?
It's no secret that Goichi Suda is by far my favorite video-game director, nobody gets the
perfect mix of bizarre and surreal just like him. That said, I was a bit scared when Travis Strikes Again was announced since Suda 51 had
claimed that Travis' story was over so it felt like they were milking the license for all it was worth, and once reviews came in they pretty much confirmed my fears, not that that would stop me from getting the game.
Thankfully, critics get it wrong, once again, as Travis Strikes again is pretty dope... if you're the right audience.
And I am the right audience.
The plot sees Travis attacked by Badman, Badgirl's father, who wants revenge for her murder, but things are never that simple in the assassin world, so both Travis and Badman get sucked into Travis' game console: The Death Drive Mk II. Now both assassins team up to gather the six Death Balls and get their wish granted.
Yeah. The story is every bit as good as you'd expect any Suda 51 script to be, although it's lacking on the subtext it's oozing in bizarre. Every Death Ball is a different 'game', and in order to get them you have to go through DOS visual-novel styled story sequences that feature cameos from a ton of characters from Suda's games: Diabolical Pitch, Killer7(In the intro!), Silver Case: the 25th Ward and even Mondo Zappa! As a matter of fact, Shadows of the Damned gets an entire level dedicated to them and it is
GLORIOUS. Each of the six games have their own unique boss, and everyone is
PURE Suda 51's brand of punk rock. Travis' dialogue is as sharp as ever, even if both Badman and Travis
share most of the dialogue(You can play as either character... or both in Co-op). It's a bit too good to be true, and it is. This is a low-budget game, so 95% of the brilliant dialogue is text only, even though the
legendary Robin Atkin Downes reprises his role as Travis he only gets to spew a very few lines. It's very disappointing, specially since the voice acting was a BIG part of why I liked Travis so much, but the dialogue is so up to par that I was reading it in Robin's voice.
Basic gameplay is very simple and both characters play pretty much
exactly the same, with Travis being stronger but slower and Badman weaker but faster(And has a better HP growth). There's a weak rush attack in which you simply hold down the button and your character will
endlessly slash and dice in front of him. There's a strong attack, a jump button and an evasive roll. This game plays nothing like previous No More Heroes, there's no hidden depth to the combat nor anything, what you see is what you get, but it's meant to be this way. Combat is shallow and slippery, sometimes it feels like it's impossible not to take damage, but it doesn't matter since you are supposed to be able to tank the damage. Heck, the camera is a bit weird, a bit angled from the top most of the time, so it's possible to get hit from enemies off screen. This is
not a game you want to master, but one you play just for kicks. You have to mind your energy gauge, however, since your weapon can run out of gas, so you need to find openings to charge your weapon. There's also a Super Gauge that's charged by landing attacks that lets you use power full area-clearing super moves.
...but it's not like it's completely devoid of any gimmick, hidden throughout every level are various skill chips, named after Gundams, that can be equipped on your character in order to use powerful skills. There're a
few exclusive skills for Travis and Badman, but most chips can be equipped by either character
, up to four of them. Don't expect too much out of them, these are not for producing massive combos, but to add variety to the mayhem. There's a skill that lets you telekinetically push an enemy, lay down a skull turret, dash, shoot lightning(One of my favorites), lay down a healing circle or have a massive satellite beam shoot down on the arena. Skills run on an individual cooldown system, so it's just a matter of waiting. I wish there was a little more to chips, but I just stuck with a few of the first chips I found since they were so much better than anything that came later because besides dealing damage they also stunned the enemy, but that didn't stop me from trying out a few newer chips.
Each 'game' has its
own Theme. There's a top-down level in which you must hit switches to rotate tiles and make your way to a mansion. A murder-mystery one in which you must enter sub-stages to collect donuts and coffee to interact with a dead man, one in which you must race against other racers by going through simple motions to shift gears quickly and win, etc. I enjoyed the different themes, but I wish stages were
shorter, since are way too long for their own good, trimming about 20 minutes on each would've helped the game be more
palatable. On another note, the game takes about 30 seconds to boot up, so don't get
scared about your switch crashing.
There are a few unlockables on each stage, besides the skill chips. You can get Azteca Coins as well as money which you can then spend to buy shirts. Sadly, the selection is very unappealing and pandering, most shirts turn into
walking adverts for other indie titles such as Hotline Miami or Brawlhalla. I understand that Suda was inspired by Hotline Miami, so he probably wanted to pay tribute to the indie scene, but it feels a bit lame. I would've like more colors for shirts, heck, there's a single orange shirt! It's also kinda disappointing since you could customize Travis' jacket and pants too in previous games, being cut short to just the shirt is a rather large step backwards.
When you play a game by Suda 51 or Grasshopper Manufacture you're never expecting the finest gameplay, and this is
no exception. What you get, however, is a surreal, endearing experience that other studios just can't capture, and,
once again, Travis Strikes Again is no exception. The game is very lacking in mass appeal, graphics are nothing to write home about, gameplay is unimpressive and the stages start off interesting but dull throughout their excessive length. But,
but, every other part about the game
oozes Suda 51. Bosses are a pleasure to meet, dialogue is as bizarre as you'd expect and every stage feels like something out of an LSD trip.
It's amazing. There is an audience for this game, a very limited one, but it's there and if you're looking for something out the ordinary, this is
anything but.
Plus, No More Heroes 3 confirmed.
Punk is not Dead.
7.5 out of 10
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