"I will be back" is all beam katana-wielding Travis Touchdown can utter in this debut trailer for No More Heroes 2, before he presumably jumps into battle against a woman with six metallic arms beckoning him to fight. Other than its existence and a possible second title (the trailer calls it both NMH2 and NMH:Desperate Struggle), we've got nada on the game or its platform (should it decide to venture away from the Wii). Check out the (currently unembeddable) trailer here.

Goichi Suda has nothing but good things to say about EA Partners in the press release, praising the group for sharing Grasshopper's "commitment to quality and innovation," all the while respecting its "independence as a studio, which is very empowering." EA Games' Frank Gibeau is equally polite, saying, "It is an honor for EA to sign Grasshopper Manufacture and help bring their new franchise to gamers worldwide. Franchise, you say?

Of course, neither of them say anything about the actual game. Way to leave us hanging, guys!

An Edge interview with Grasshopper CEO Goichi Suda has recently been reprinted by NextGen, and features a few insights into Suda51's development of No More Heroes, as well as the punk-rock designer's future plans.

Regarding the Wii, Suda51 felt that No More Heroes was a unique opportunity to appeal to the wide user base for the console, and set out to make the title appeal to both hardcore gamers, and those that might be experiencing their first action game.

Beyond No More Heroes, Suda51 expresses interest in developing for the Xbox 360, citing the console's tremendous performance in the States. According to Suda, America is the "Major League" of game development, and it's a market he'd most definitely like to conquer. We'll just have to wait and see what his crazy brain cooks up next.

We know already that the European and Japanese versions of Suda51's No More Heroes are a tad less bloody than their American counterpart. But exactly how much blood are they missing out on?

As the above comparison video shows, there's certainly a lot of blood in the American version that's absent from the others, but whether you'll actually miss it depends on your preference for riotously excess gore. We already know that Suda51 believed the American version simply needed more blood than the others; whether the game is actually better with fountains of ruby will ultimately depend on personal taste (or, apparently, your country of residence).

[Via Wii Fanboy]

No More High-Definition Heroes was almost a reality, had Grasshopper Manufacture's Goichi Suda not been privy to some Wii whisperings during his project's planning stages. "Originally, I'd wanted to make this game for Xbox 360, actually," he told MCV. The No More Heroes designer, also known as "Suda51," explained that he was swayed by Marvelous Interactive president Yashiro Wada, who shared "information about the new Wii and how the new controller would work before it came out."

Suda51 admitted to being pleased with his choice, feeling that the distinctive wack 'n slash worked well with the Wii's control system. We're inclined to agree ... but then we wonder if anybody's ever expressed concern over the Xbox 360's "hardcore" audience.

We're not going to lie, the images from Grasshopper's upcoming Wii take on the Fatal Frame series look really good. In fact, the screens (captured at French site Wiiz) look so good, we're thinking these are probably lifted from cut scenes, as opposed to any real gameplay.

For our part, we're just happy to see that progress is being made on the thing. We're betting that FF's camera-based system is going to be a great marriage with the Wiimote, and we can't wait to see if we're right.

No More Heroes creator Suda 51 wants to clarify a few comments. In a post on Grasshopper Manufacturer's website (click on "What's New"), the developer points out what he considers is a "misquote" in an interview with CVG. In response to a question concerning the sales of No More Heroes in Japan, Suda 51 said, "Whilst the sales weren't as high as I hoped, other titles for Wii aren't selling so well either. Only Nintendo titles are doing well," adding that this is the case outside of Japan, too.

The clarification posted asserts that "unlike a lot of Nintendo Wii titles currently available, [NMH] is the kind of product which will attract a different kind of consumer to the hardware, i.e. gamers who are looking for a different genre to the products which have been successful on this platform thus far." That "different kind of consumer" we're guessing is a more hardcore gamer, given comments earlier in the CVG interview where he said, "I wasn't expecting that Wii would be a console targeted only at non-gamers. I expected more games for hardcore gamers." Obviously, he doesn't want to comment on the sales of other third-party titles, but do you think he might have a point?

For those looking for a reportedly more hardcore Wii experience, No More Heroes comes out today in North America.

No More Heroes isn't even out on shelves yet outside of Japan, most of the reviews haven't even been published, and already director Goichi Suda wants a sequel. The punk-rock Killer 7 creator is already itching to create the next in this bizarre Wii-sclusive action series, despite publisher Ubisoft not yet soliciting for the sequel-itis treatment.

Talking with GameSpot, Suda says he's "really willing" to make a second No More Heroes, and is already asking about moving forward with it as a future project. Suda describes No More Heroes as being unlike any other action game for the Wii, likening it to alternative rock band Arctic Monkeys in terms of its energy (uh, whatever you say, Suda).

Suda 51 is currently working on American localizations of two Grasshopper-developed DS games -- Flower, Sun and Rain and Silver Case -- and is also working on an undisclosed Xbox 360 title for Konami. No More Heroes drops on January 22 in the US, and February 29 in the UK. We'll see then if it's sequel-worthy.

Grasshopper Manufacture CEO Goichi "Suda 51" Suda has made himself a target for fans angered by a recent display of perceived censorship in the European version of upcoming sword swinger, No More Heroes. Much like its Japanese counterpart, No More Euros has been scrubbed clean of blood, rewarding each violent slash with a spectacular gush of coins. In that sense, it couldn't be a more accurate metaphorical representation of the hitman motif that carries over from Suda 51's Killer 7.

Regardless, a statement issued by Goichi Suda and Marvelous president Yashiro Wada hopes to divert the outrage away from publisher Rising Star games, noting that the decision was made "to release in Europe the same version as has shipped in Japan considering the broadly growing Wii market." Apparently, said broadly growing Wii market is entirely separate from that in America, where it's perfectly alright to add blood to the localized No More Heroes. A pretty weak justification then, likely conjured up to avoid a possible BBFC ban-trum.

The latest in Tecmo's atmospheric, at times disturbing survival horror series Fatal Frame could have you fighting off ghostly haunts with the Wii remote, with Killer 7 and No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture tapped to produce the next game in the series for the Wii.

According to a report out of last week's TGS, Suda 51's studio will begin work on the as yet untitled Fatal Frame game after development wraps on the ultra-violent No More Heroes, which Ubisoft will publish in the US in February. Like Fatal Frame, No More Heroes is also for the Wii, underscoring Grasshopper's apparent enthusiasm for Nintendo's unconventional console.

It will be interesting to see how Fatal Frame's landmark photography-based gameplay will map to the Wii's motion sensitive controls, though if past iterations are any indication, we may just drop the remote altogether and go hide in the closet.

Online swordfighting of the most violent proportions on the Wii? Perhaps. Game developer Suda 51 (Killer 7, Contact) has told CVG that he is "very interested in online play" but that its inclusion in the upcoming Wii title No More Heroes is still up in the air.

No More Heroes is about Travis Touchdown, a character inspired by Johnny Knoxville, who wins a beam katana via an internet auction site and joins an assassin's league by killing the 11th best (named after a Beatles song associated with Charles Manson). Other assassins you must face off in the free-roaming city of Santa Destroy include a Japanese school girl reminiscent of Go-Go from Kill Bill, a superhero assassin named Destroyman and a French-born assassin named after a French softcore porn actress.

Sound crazy enough? We think so. Suda 51 has also said he wants to make the game "as violent, or even more violent than Manhunt 2!" No More Heroes is being planned for a Summer 2007 release in Japan and late 2007 / early 2008 for North America and Europe. The latest trailer, from GDC 2007, embedded after the break.

During a GDC presentation last week Grasshopper Manufacture frontman Suda 51 revealed that his studio would be remaking its first two games, porting them onto DS. The two installments of a mystery-riddled adventure series, The Silver Case (PS1) and The Silver Case Word 25 (mobile) were released only in Japan. Because these are both text-heavy adventures, there's a good chance the remakes will never be localized for non-Japanese markets either (Objection?!). Sure, you could import, but if you can't read the text featured in the image here, don't bother.

But don't fret either, Killer 7 fans jonesing for a Suda fix have No More Heroes to look forward to. Peep the new footage and decide if this Wii game will live up to its ultra-violent billing.

[Via DS Fanboy]

Take Jackass Johnny Knoxville, make him an anime and Star Wars otaku, give him a lightsaber and martial arts skills, call him an assassin, and then toss the concoction into an open-world game infested with more assassins ... that's the premise for Suda 51's Wii game No More Heroes -- but it doesn't stop there. The Killer 7 developer has proposed a particularly un-Wii-like challenge for his Grasshopper team: "make No More Heroes as violent, or even more violent than Manhunt 2!"

And afterwards? Well, there's that secret "Project S" collabo with Kojima (a Snatcher sequel?) that's been floating under the radar; and, as Suda reveals, there's interest in developing for Xbox 360. "I want to develop games for Xbox 360 as soon as possible. In fact, I am planning the next project for Xbox 360," says Suda. "As for PS3, I don't have enough materials/topics to comment on this because there is only a small chance for us to develop for the console at this point in time." Small chance? Why's that?

[Via Evil Avatar]

Japanese magazine Famitsu has published new information on the upcoming Wii game from Suda 51's Grasshopper Studios (Killer 7, Contact). Once called Heroes, the new name for the title is No More Heroes. Unlike Killer 7, you can roam freely around the Santa Destroy, a city purported to look more Westernized with a name so god awful we cringe typing it.

In No More Heroes, you play assassin-wannabe Travis Touchdown (*cringe*), who fights with a beam katana. Sword fighting, however, sounds pretty hands-off: you position the Wiimote either up, down, or centered to indicate one of three fighting stances. Fighting is then accomplished via repeatedly tapping the A button. Repetition reprieve comes from shaking the control to build up an energy meter (Dragon Ball Z, anyone?) and swing the controlling following on-screen prompts.

We're a bit dismayed by how the control scheme is described, but we'll await a hands-on impression before we make any judgments. When will a game designer figure out how to implement a fun-but-accurate sword fighting simulator?

Suda 51 is hoping to sell one million copies worldwide, so expect a US release. No More Heroes is due out Summer 2007 in Japan.

[Via Evil Avatar]

See Also:
Suda 51 reveals Heroes (Wii) game trailer