Created by Suda51, No More Heroes is one of the most singularly weird video games to come out of the Nintendo Wii. Focusing on otaku Travis Touchdown, the game saw players using a beam katana to take down some of the deadliest assassins in the world. While the franchise has had its ups and downs over the years, No More Heroes III — which is actually the fifth game in the franchise — is set to continue Travis’ story when it releases later this month.
In advance of that game’s release, here are all of the games in the No More Heroes franchise ranked by critics. For the purposes of this list, scores are determined by averaging the various versions of the game based on their Metacritic and IGDB scores.
No More Heroes: World Ranker (N/A)
The oddest installment in an already weird franchise, No More Heroes: World Ranker was a free-to-play mobile game released in 2012, though it was never made it outside of Japan. World Ranker saw players making their own assassins with whom they’d complete missions to rank up.
Neither Metacritic nor IGDB have any reviews of World Ranker available, and as the game is no longer available to download, it’s unlikely that will change anytime soon. As such, World Ranker ends up at the bottom of the list.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes (70.5)
Released in 2019 on the Nintendo Switch, Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes represented a massive change for the series. This time taking place from a top-down perspective, Badman — the father of No More Heroes‘ Bad Girl — attacks Travis Touchdown in an attempt to get revenge for his dead daughter. However, they’re soon sucked into the Death Drive MK-II video game console. Learning that whoever finds all six of the consoles Death Balls will be granted a wish, Badman and Travis work together to escape the console and bring Bad Girl back to life.
The Switch version of Travis Strikes Again holds a 67 on Metacritic, while the No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again Complete Edition on PlayStation 4 has a 63. IGDB is somewhat higher, giving the game a 74. In general, Travis Strikes Again was praised for its fresh take and look, but the combat was notably grindy.
No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise (72.5)
Released in 2010, No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise was a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 port of the original game. In addition to changes to the control scheme to accommodate the lack of Wii Remote and Nunchuk on those consoles, Heroes’ Paradise featured, among other additions, graphical upgrades, new missions and quality-of-life improvements.
Heroes’ Paradise holds a 73 on IGDB and a 72 on Metacritic. In general, critics noted Heroes’ Paradise wasn’t significantly better than the original version of the game. And while a few upgrades were praised, critics noted, in general, Heroes’ Paradise had performance issues and boring mini-games.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (81.5)
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, the second installment in the franchise, released on the Wii in 2010 and, minus a few tweaks, is pretty much identical in terms of gameplay to its predecessor. Chronologically, the game takes place three years after Travis Touchdown successfully became the top-ranked assassin. Having taken a break from the United Assassins Association, Travis finds he’s fallen down quite far in the organization’s rankings and decides to once again work his way to the top. Additionally, Travis finds himself in grave danger, as a number of assassins want revenge for those the player killed in the first game.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle holds a 79 on IGDB and an 83 on Metacritic, with the latter factoring in both the Wii and Switch versions. In general, critics said No More Heroes 2 improved upon a number of the problems that its predecessor had while boasting the same strong gameplay and writing. That being said, reviewers noted those who didn’t like the original No More Heroes were unlikely to be won over by its sequel.
No More Heroes (81.75)
The game that started it all, No More Heroes released in 2007 on the Wii. Utilizing that system’s Wii Remote and Nunchuk attachment, No More Heroes sees Travis Touchdown taking work as an assassin after obtaining his iconic beam katana. Soon, he decides to become the deadliest killer in the UAA by taking down the group’s best murderers for hire.
The original No More Heroes holds an 81 on IGDB and an 82.5 on Metacritic, with the latter factoring in both its Wii and Switch versions. While No More Heroes‘ gameplay, story and charm were generally praised, some critiqued the limits of its open-world. A few critics also noted No More Heroes was repetitive at times.
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