Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
developer	Grasshopper Manufacture
publisher	Marvelous Entertainment
designer	Staff of Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
series	No More Heroes
engine	Unreal Engine 4
released	2018

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is a video game for the Nintendo Switch console. It is being developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and will be published by Marvelous Entertainment in 2018.

Plot

Seven years have passed since the beginning of Travis Touchdown's dealings with the United Assassins Association. He has since isolated himself and lives in a trailer with his cat Jeane. One night, Touchdown is tracked down by The Bat, father of the deceased assassin Bad Girl, who Touchdown killed on his first climb up the UAA rankings. The Bat attacks Touchdown, but their fight is cut short when Touchdown's "phantom" Death Drive Mark II game console absorbs them.

Development

Suda spoke of a third No More Heroes title many times throughout the years. In anticipation of Desperate Struggle, one critic questioned Suda on the possibility of a sequel developed for Nintendo DS. Suda assured no such game was in development but expressed interest in a WiiWare installment. While promoting Desperate Struggle, Suda also confessed that, "Wii is a great platform, but we've done everything we can with it now." This statement triggered confusion among fans, unsure whether Suda intended to keep the series exclusive to Nintendo but preferred to wait until its next platform released, or if he was expressing openness to developing for Xbox or PlayStation consoles next. Speaking to 1UP during the website's five-day Desperate Struggle cover story, Suda confirmed his statement was likely misinterpreted, clarifying that, "What I wanted to say was, looking at the Wii, I think No More Heroes 2 will probably be the last iteration for this current platform. But there's probably going to be a "Wii 2" or other next-gen system from Nintendo at some point, so I was saying that I would want to do another game in the series on the next Nintendo platform."

At a charity event for the March 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, Suda reconfirmed his interest in producing a second No More Heroes sequel, though he added, "it won't happen soon." Speaking to Destructoid's Jonathan Holmes at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Suda mentioned he had played Wii U and was now evaluating how to proceed with a third No More Heroes game on that console.

In 2013, the unannounced Lily Bergamo briefly caused a stir when No More Heroes character Shinobu was mistakenly identified in a piece of concept art. The rumor was swiftly debunked, and at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Suda sounded less confident about a third game, while assuring, "Travis is one of the characters I'm really fond of, that means a lot to me. So if there was the opportunity to create another sequel then yeah, I'm always up to the idea." The game's intended console was also no longer certain. While Suda reiterated that Nintendo consoles were "very important" to Grasshopper, the studio by then worked heavily with Unreal Engine 4, which was not supported by Wii U.

The premise of a third game has varied over time, with Suda suggesting in 2010 that the game would star a new hero, while in more recent years expressed the return of Travis Touchdown to recover something he has forgotten. Suda referred to the game explicitly as No More Heroes 3 in lieu of a real title during this time. Suda initially gave a release window between 2030 and 2040, attributing the distant date to his desire to work on new properties before returning to an established one. He also spoke positively about crowdfunding the title.

The third No More Heroes game took one step closer to reality on January 12, 2017, when Suda appeared at a Nintendo Switch event to announce the return of Travis Touchdown on the platform. Concept art of Touchdown wearing a "Travis strikes again." shirt was presented, however no game footage accompanied Suda's announcement. Suda later appeared briefly at Devolver Digital's 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo conference, where he ended his video appearance when he jokingly realized he didn't know what Devolver was.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes was shown for the first time on August 30, 2017 during a live Switch Nindies Showcase. It was also confirmed that Grasshopper is working with six indie developers to adapt their games into the plot of Travis Strikes Again, which finds Touchdown pulled into a game console where he must fight across six different real life indie games, one being Devolver Digital's Hotline Miami. The short trailer confirmed several returning elements such as Touchdown's cat Jeane, his continued use of the Bloody Berry beam katana and a plot kickstarted by a vengeful relative of one of Touchdown's slain enemies. Touchdown's left eye was also shown heavily scarred for the first time since his last appearance.