No More Heroes is still a game where you, the otaku/wrestling fan/assassin Travis Touchdown, goes on a mission to become the top-ranking assassin in the United Assassins Association after winning a beam katana in an auction. The answers to those two questions are “mostly well” and “YES.”

How would the passage of time treat one of my darlings? Would the re-release even be good?

I had not played the original No More Heroes for over a decade. As excited as I was (and even though I bought both the morning they went up for sale), I was a little worried. Well, No More Heroes III is coming out next year, and alongside an excellent trailer that came out last week, ports for the first two No More Heroes games were both announced and released on the Nintendo Switch eShop. In the years since, the incredible sequel came out as well as the (in my opinion) disappointing spin-off Travis Strikes Again, and when I met Director Goichi Suda (AKA Suda51) at two PAX Easts over the years, I asked him (to no satisfying answer) when a third mainline No More Heroes would come out. The ultraviolence, the combat, the boss fights, and the over-the-top sense of humor and style, for me, could only be described by a chef’s kiss. I was in love from the second I started playing it to the moment I finished, and to this day, I’ve called No More Heroes (and especially its sequel) among the best action games of all time. When No More Heroes released on Wii in January 2008, I was 13 years old. For a review that tackles the content and mechanics in greater depth, check out Jonny’s review of the original Wii release. This review will tackle the port of the original No More Heroes in terms of how the new release plays on Switch and how the game has held up from the perspective of a longtime fan.

No longer home switch review