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Suda 51 wants to remake Grasshopper Manufacture's 'Michigan'

by JC Fletcher { Oct 23rd 2009 at 11:00PM }

Not the state -- we don't know how he feels about that, nor do we think he'd have the power to remake it. Michigan (the game) was a 2004 PS2 adventure developed by Suda's Grasshopper Manufacture and directed by Contact's Akira Ueda, in which the player controls a cameraman who follows, and indirectly influences, a reporter investigating mysterious phenomena.

"There's a Spanish horror film called REC," Suda told Gamasutra, "and when I watched it, I realized it was pretty much Michigan, right there. I still have a lot of ideas along those lines, and I'd love to work with Spike sometime to make a new Michigan or a remake." Interviewer Brandon Sheffield discussed talks he'd had with US publishers about the game, who told him Sony declined it due to a lack of gameplay. So a remake would probably include more direct gameplay or ... would be for another platform.

Suda also said that he never expected to become a superstar game designer as a kid. "I wanted to become a sushi chef or an astronaut."

No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle trailer introduces one more hero

by JC Fletcher { Oct 22nd 2009 at 4:15PM }

This No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle trailer introduces Henry, who appears in the first game in a series of very exciting, eminently spoilable sequences. It appears to do for the former villain what Metal Gear Solid 4 did for Raiden -- make the fans love a once-despised character. Coincidentally (according to the tenuous comparison I've set up for the two), both characters are voiced by Quinton Flynn. He's just got a talent for characters that you'll probably like better the second time!

The end of the trailer features Henry fighting a young girl with some kind of giant robot arms. Thanks for existing, game.

TGS 2009: Interview: Suda 51

by JC Fletcher { Sep 29th 2009 at 1:56PM }

When we came into Marvelous Entertainment's hotel room, we witnessed another outlet recording a video interview with Suda 51, producer of No More Heroes and its sequel. Marvelous brought this, well, marvelous beam katana prop, which lights up and makes appropriately lightsabery noises, and someone pretended to attack him in the conclusion of the video interview. Suda gamely displayed mock fright at the beam katana attack for multiple takes while someone waved the device around in front of him.

All we did was ask him some questions about No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle and Grasshopper's other work.

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TGS2009: Shinobu decapitates, Travis works in No More Heroes 2 videos

by David Hinkle { Sep 24th 2009 at 4:58PM }

Above, you'll find a look at one of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle's playable characters, Shinobu, straight out of TGS 2009. You may recognize her from the first game -- if you don't, we're no longer BFFs and we totally want our mixtapes back. Shinobu's going to be fully playable in Desperate Struggle and looks like quite the killing machine, though we must say her weapon's lack of beam and laser technology is somewhat off-putting.

If you're wondering about series protagonist Travis Touchdown, know that he's also here in this Joystiq post. Past the break, we've got two videos showing off some of the jobs Travis will undertake for spare cash in the sequel: coconut gatherer and rare steak preparer. What? You've never gathered coconuts for some extra spending money?

Gallery: No More Heroes 2 (TGS 2009)

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No More Heroes 2 supports Classic Controller, thanks to Monster Hunter

by JC Fletcher { Sep 18th 2009 at 12:00PM }

We happened to think that the motion control finishers in No More Heroes made the fighting a lot more interesting, but if you disagree, Grasshopper Manufacture has a solution. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle will allow players to use the Classic Controller, according to 1UP.

Suda 51 told 1UP that the Classic Controller functionality is intended to attract Monster Hunter fans, many of whom play the game with the Classic Controller or Classic Controller Pro (which is bundled with Monster Hunter 3). It's a purely optional move that may help get the game in the hands of more people.

Warning: Some of the information in the 1UP article may be considered spoilers by more sensitive readers, including news about playable characters.

No More Heroes 2 trailer serves up mouthful of details

by JC Fletcher { Sep 4th 2009 at 10:22AM }

Suda Goichi takes the throne once again to narrate (in curiously deep voiceover) a new trailer for No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. While the last trailer was mostly narrative-focused, this trailer (posted after the break) goes into detail about new features in the game, including new controls for the Beam Katana(s), the ability to kick and punch with the B button, and the new 8-bit-style job missions! Be warned (explicitly, if not by knowledge of previous No More Heroes promotion): there is some toilet humor.

Additionally, we've posted two gameplay clips below the new trailer, as featured on IGN. While the footage in the trailer is from the Japanese version and therefore blood-free, the gameplay footage is very bloody and includes some tasteless (even for NMH) violence. The clips also include proof that if you thought the sword's battery charging couldn't get any more phallic, you were mistaken.
[Thanks, Ihar]

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Dress Travis Touchdown for this No More Heroes 2 contest

by JC Fletcher { Aug 25th 2009 at 7:00PM }

A few months ago, Marvelous and Famitsu held a No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle contest in Japan, allowing fans to submit t-shirt designs for possible inclusion in Travis Touchdown's wardrobe. Today, Ubisoft announced that it is giving American fans the chance to outfit Travis as well.

From now through September 5, you can submit a t-shirt design to Ubisoft through this site. Suda 51 will personally select the winning design. Amusingly, this is the only contest we can remember whose official rules state that the prize has an approximate retail value of $0.00. That's the most exciting nothing we've ever considered competing for!

Suda51 'loves' Travis Touchdown, hopes he becomes a 'huge star'

by Randy Nelson { Jul 8th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Speaking with Nintendo Power (and caught by Destructoid), No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda told the magazine about his mad love for series star Travis Touchdown. OK, so he didn't exactly say "mad love," but the magazine's editors tell Joystiq that Suda51 considers the character his absolute favorite creation.

In an interview published in the official Nintendo mag's latest issue, Suda expresses his hope that Touchdown will become a much more recognized character with the release of No More Heroes 2, saying, "I love him, and I want him to be a huge star." The developer joked that he'd be tickled to see Touchdown included on the roster for a future Super Smash Bros. title. "Maybe in the future, we can see him fighting alongside Link," he laughed. "That would be great."

We have to agree that Travis and his beam katana would certainly make our cut for a fantasy Smash Bros. lineup. Which Nintendo platform characters would be on yours?

[Thanks, Mark M.!]

Suda 51: next No More Heroes won't be on Wii

by JC Fletcher { Jul 2nd 2009 at 2:15PM }

Awesome news for No More Heroes fans: creator Suda 51 told Edge that he wants to continue the series. "I really want to make NMH a big franchise," he said, "and with this second episode have bigger success."

Slightly less awesome news for certain No More Heroes fans: if the series does continue past Desperate Struggle, it probably won't be on the Wii. "I think this is the last NMH that is going to be developed on Wii," Suda said. "To expand NMH to new possibilities, we need a new platform. Wii is a great platform, but we've done everything we can with it now."

Recent comments from Suda suggest that he's looking toward the Natal-enhanced Xbox 360 for at least one future project -- and No More Heroes was originally planned as a 360 game. Perhaps he's realized that charging Travis Touchdown's beam saber could be made even more embarrassing without a Wiimote prop.

In any case, it may be a bummer for Wii-only gamers, but at least if No More Heroes comes out on one of the other consoles, the "hardcore" types will be able to admit it's wonderful without having to say something nice about the Wii.

Suda 51 plays Burnout Paradise (a lot) more than you

by Randy Nelson { Jul 1st 2009 at 9:00PM }

Grasshopper Manfacture boss Goichi "Suda 51" Suda likes to do everything to the extreme, whether it's the ultra-violence of No More Heroes or -- as we now know -- playing other developers' games, specifically Criterion's Burnout Paradise. The British dev's head honcho, Alex Ward, issued a tweet revealing that Suda had recently popped by his studio (likely after the recent Nordic Game Conference) and is a "hardcore Burnout fan."

"Hardcore" may be an understatement, as Ward disclosed that server logs show Suda has played more than 700 hours of Burnout Paradise. So, there it is: Even more proof that Suda 51 knows great games and takes everything to the extreme. It may also explain why we haven't heard anything more about the horror title he's working on for EA alongside Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami.

[Via VG247]

Mizuguchi, Suda 51 weigh in on E3's new motion controllers

by Ben Gilbert { Jul 1st 2009 at 4:30PM }

In this week's Famitsu, three major Japanese developers discussed this year's E3 and how they feel about the various motion technology displayed. Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51, Q Entertainment's Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Level-5's Akihiro Hino all somewhat agree on what they see as the future of gaming. "Hardware-wise, it was all about Project Natal," Mr. Suda said, as translated by 1UP, noting his excitement on the possibility of creating a game specifically based around its technology.

"It's not a shift from 2D to 3D or in the number of polygons, but it's games trying to open up an entirely new door," Mizuguchi agreed, continuing, "I thought it would take longer, but it's happening faster than I expected." Ironically, when the trio chose the most exciting games at E3, the list quickly filled with Western-developed games, from Splinter Cell: Conviction and Assassin's Creed 2 to The Beatles: Rock Band. Could they resist the ubiquitous Final Fantasy name drop? No, no they could not. "The visual quality was so impressive that I doubted it was even a game," Hino said of AC2, adding, "Final Fantasy XIII is the same way." Impressed/interested by the motion technology but still loving AAA-franchise sequels? Sounds like the whole game industry right now.

Gallery: Project Natal

Grasshopper's PS3 game may make Marvelous 'bankrupt'

by Andrew Yoon { Jun 16th 2009 at 1:10PM }

Grasshopper Manufacture has been quietly working on a PS3 game whilst working on their No More Heroes games on Wii. The mysterious PS3 game will be published by Marvelous Entertainment, but the ambitious nature of the project may compromise the small company's financial stability. "If we do that [game] we might go bankrupt," Yasuhiro Wada, president of Marvelous Entertainment, joked to Siliconera. "We are making it, but if we make everything then it's a little too risky."

Suda51's studio is known for creating hyper-violent and stylized games that tackle controversial and difficult subjects. In addition to No More Heroes, the studio has made killer7 (pictured) and Flower, Sun and Rain.

Suda51: No More Heroes 2 got bumped from Ubisoft keynote

by David Hinkle { Jun 3rd 2009 at 10:55AM }

Yours truly and JC ran into the one, the only Suda51 last night, and proceeded to approach him. Despite his inability to understand much of the English language, he was accommodating and posed for a picture. We asked his translator why No More Heroes 2 was nothing more than a small mention during the Ubisoft keynote, and she told us that it was simply bumped due to time. Sadly, she couldn't elaborate any further than that, but we have a feeling James Cameron had something to do with it.

Stand at attention for this No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle trailer

by JC Fletcher { May 29th 2009 at 3:15PM }

Coming one day in advance of the announced May 30 reveal date, a new trailer for No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle has just captured the hell out of our attention. Yes, that is a random shot of a luchador as a backdrop for Suda 51's credit -- why not.

If you wanted to see more of the dual-sword moves shown in the Famitsu scans, well, here you go -- this video is loaded with shots of an older-looking Travis Touchdown swinging two Beam Katanas around. It also introduces the new assassin Nathan Copeland, who starts his fight with Travis by throwing ladies at him. Even with that weirdness, the tone of this trailer is much more serious than before -- though it ends in a very No More Heroes way.

If that's not enough for you, check Famitsu for new screens!

[Thanks, Mr Khan!]

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Desperately Struggle not to freak out at new No More Heroes 2 details

by JC Fletcher { May 27th 2009 at 4:00PM }

The latest Famitsu issue, in addition to some stuff about Metal Gear or whatever, also features a blowout article about the latest game from Kojima's friend and colleague Suda 51, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. The article shows that the UAA assassin's organization and its liaison, Sylvia Christel, have returned, along with (necessarily) new assassins like the #50-ranked Nathan Copeland. Desperate Struggle occurs three years after the events of the first game, and Travis Touchdown has been called back into action after Bishop from Beef Head Video is captured by gang members, according to IGN's translation.

To take on these new assassins, Travis Touchdown has developed new techniques -- like dual wielding beam sabers, as seen in the scans. It may just be because the scans are tiny, or because we're insane for No More Heroes, but it seems the graphics have been refined for this adventure. We'll find out on the 30th when a new trailer debuts!