REVIEW: ‘No More Heroes III,’ Has Reached Its Final Form (PS5)

No More Heroes III is the third game in the main line of No More Heroes games from the brilliant and bizarre minds at Grasshopper Manufacture. Series director Goichi Suda brought the series back to life with the original release of No More Heroes III on Nintendo Switch in 2021, but the game has received a bit of a facelift for the PS5, Xbox, and PC release.

No More Heroes III follows the exploits of Travis Touchdown, an assassin trying to reach the top of the Galactic Superhero Rankings. The wild third-person hack-and-slash action takes place in the fictional Santa Destroy, California, and is an open-world adventure across five islands. When the alien prince FU crash lands as a baby alien and is saved by a young Damon Ricotello, events are set in motion that only get wilder as they unfold.

Damon and FU reunite 20 years later when FU returns to conquer the earth with the help of his human friend. FU quickly eliminates the President of the United States and establishes the Galactic Superhero Rankings to find the strongest fighters on the planet and allow them the chance to save the earth and its inhabitants. Travis decides to enter, and the world’s fate is put on his shoulders against some really formidable enemies. The story feels even crazier when actually playing it, words don’t quite do Suda’s imagination justice. Travis is a relatively compelling main character, driven to get revenge for the death of Badman at FU’s hands. FU doesn’t quite get the same attention to character development, though, and really could have used more screen time to flesh out the character.

There is not a ton of depth to the characters of No More Heroes III, but I didn’t really find that to be too detrimental. The various bosses on the Galactic Superhero Ranking ladder aren’t too deeply fleshed out, but what they lack in backstory or character depth they more than make up for in fun action and challenging battles. No More Heroes III has some of the best boss battles in any game I have ever played, with each one presenting a unique challenge that were frustrating to fail and extremely satisfying when I finally succeeded.

While the boss battles are incredible, the normal action in between those moments did get stale after a while. Each boss is locked behind requirements that really just amount to “go grind out some small action and side quests to get more money”. Having to grind out some of the lesser content in order to progress the story was really a bummer. Sure, some of the mini-games and activities in the world of No More Heroes III are really weird and fun, but the forced slowdown of progression is something I could have done without.

Where No More Heroes III really impressed me is how amazing it looks and how well it runs on the PlayStation 5. The original version for the Nintendo Switch had some pretty severe performance issues, but on the PlayStation 5, it runs at a seamless 60 fps in beautiful 4K. The art for No More Heroes III is part of what has made the series a cult hit, with outrageous character designs and aesthetic appeal that really make the game stand out. The soundtrack from Nobuaki Kaneko is equally incredible, bringing both the locations and the action to life in an impressive way.

No More Heroes III is not going to be the type of game that appeals to everyone, but if you are a fan of the franchise and Suda’s wild world then it’s an absolute treat. Now that some of the older performance issues are fixed and the visuals are upgraded, it’s the perfect time to give No More Heroes III a try. While a little more variety would have been appreciated, it’s hard to fault Suda for achieving what he set out to do.

No More Heroes III is out now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and PC.