When Grasshopper Manufacture debuted it’s cult Wii title No More Heroes a couple years back, it stood out amid the flood of minigame collections that were taking family friendly living rooms by storm. Featuring blood, exaggerated violence, semi nudity, and questionable morals, No More Heroes was a big middle finger to all those skeptic haters. While the game was a breath of fresh air, it still had some problems holding it back, that for the most part, the sequel fixes. When comparing No More Heroes 2 to it’s original counterpart, the first word that comes to mind is streamlined. No longer do you spend your time grinding for money, desperately trying to buy your way into the next fight. Instead, bosses are unlocked immediately after wasting the previous one. Occasionally there are still times when you have to grind for cash, but only to purchase a couple weapons, afterwards making it entirely optional.

Much attention has been put on making side jobs not only worthwhile, but actually entertaining in No More Heroes 2. In the original No More Heroes, side jobs consisted of wandering around doing odd errands, while making use of the motion controller. Desperate Struggle attempts to fix this by making the side missions highly-stylized, 8-bit style Nintendo Entertainment System games. While some of the jobs are still boring, even with all their retro inspiration, Grasshopper has still shown us mercy by allowing you to drop out at anytime. Sadly, the same 8-bit style made it’s way into the local gym’s statistic raising mini games. I found out that using the classic controller’s D-Pad helps soften the harshness of these retro mini games, but this still doesn’t help, or excuses how daunting the Gym mini game is. Thankfully, once again this is all entirely optional.

Like the original, at it’s core, Desperate Struggle is all about the bosses. Although you start out ranked 51st in a long line of assassins, in reality the game has only added a handful of extra bosses, as you kill off over half you opponents in one big fight. I’ll be honest though, it’s not the illusion of progress that bugs me, it’s the fact that nearly all the boss fights go by relatively quickly, with little time to reflect on what just happened. Because of this, fights seem less dramatic and exciting compared to the original, which used stages to build tension that led to a climatic boss battle.

Overall, I truly love No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Once again Grasshopper Manufacture has combined the right amount of grindhouse blood baths, hilarious dark humor, and hyperactive swordplay, that is just what my brain craves.