Spotlight
Suda51 and the rise of Grasshopper Manufacture
No More Heroes' maniac creator lays out his masterplan.
On Shadows of the Damned and more.
Travis' favourite show. Sure it used to be 'Jelly'.
Key events
3rd May 2013
11th February 2010
9th December 2009
9th October 2008
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes revealed for Switch
Suda 51's first time in the director's chair since the original No More Heroes.
Grasshopper Manufacture's cult classic lightsaber dueling punk fever dream No More Heroes is getting a spin-off on Switch. It's called Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes.
Shadows of the Damned, Killer7 and No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacturer has suffered lower-than-hoped sales for its games due to the way publishers treat its games, boss Goichi "Suda51" Suda has claimed.
Grasshopper has worked with some of the biggest publishers in the industry - EA, Capcom, Warner Bros and Microsoft - but the size difference between them and Grasshopper was sometimes a problem, Suda told GamesIndustry International.
"Grasshopper does have a very strong base; it's just that because we were so indie, publishers were always [treating us] differently," Suda said.
Ragnarok Online publisher Gungho Online Entertainment has acquired No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw developer Grasshopper Manufacturer.
Suda51 and the rise of Grasshopper Manufacture
No More Heroes' maniac creator lays out his masterplan.
Things are changing at Grasshopper Manufacture. Two years ago it was a modest one-project-at-a-time Japanese studio, with only a sequel to boisterous Wii actioner No More Heroes sitting in its out-tray. Fast forward to 2011 and Eurogamer is sat in an exclusive bar in central Tokyo as famously flamboyant CEO Suda51 shows off not one, not two but nine new projects - all untested IP - currently at various stages of completion.
No More Heroes mobile spin-off incoming
Suda to make bloodiest social game ever.
Eccentric auteur Suda51 is bringing his demented No More Heroes series to mobile platforms as a social game.
Suda51 teases Wii U No More Heroes 3
Suggests new hero.
Goichi "Suda51" Suda has given a strong indication that No More Heroes 3 will be a Wii U game.
On Shadows of the Damned and more.
Goichi Suda has produced an amazingly eclectic body of work in his time. It includes a survival horror / erotic photography mashup, three games about lightsaber-wielding serial killers and an adventure title about a guy with a suitcase named Catherine. And yet he's still perhaps most famous for conducting interviews while on the bog.
Suda51 wants to make No More Heroes 3
But it won't happen any time soon.
Japanese game maker Goichi "Suda51" Suda wants to create another No More Heroes, but admitted it's unlikely to happen soon.
EA: We're not "toning down" Suda51
Horror game set for Tokyo reveal.
EA has promised gamers No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda has been granted the freedom to make his upcoming untitled horror game as mental as he wants.
Suda51's new game is Sine Mora
No More Heroes dev opts for PSN, XBLA.
The irrepressible Suda51 and his Grasshopper studio will co-develop a new PSN and XBLA game called Sine Mora. Their partner is veteran Hungarian developer Digital Reality.
Travis' favourite show. Sure it used to be 'Jelly'.
Travis' favourite show. Sure it used to be 'Jelly'.
Travis to Touchdown in May.
Rising Star's trumpeted a 28th May release date for No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle.
"Maybe Europeans just like blood."
On the way to my interview with Suda 51, I go over what I know about him in my head. Firstly, he's the head of Grasshopper Studios, and the creator of Killer 7 and the No More Heroes series. He's in town to promote No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, which scored 8/10 in Eurogamer's review of the US import.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Beaming.
Nathan Copeland, a 7-foot African-Irish breakdancer voiced by the bastard child of Liam Neeson and Samuel L. Jackson, slouches heavy on a leather couch. He is framed centre of a widescreen window in an office apartment at the top of a skyscraper in which people who earn more money than you go about earning more money than you. On either arm purrs a lithe, olive-skinned twin. They have matching afros, skimpy swimwear and the sort of high heels that make you proud to be a biped.
The lift doors carrying Travis Touchdown to the unlikely scene tsshck apart, and he steps out, aviator sunglasses masking quick eyes. Nathan Copeland holds the silence for a second before rising to his feet and using the momentum to lift the twins into the air. In a single arcing motion he hurls them at Travis Touchdown, who steadies himself against the incoming fleshy projectiles by placing his weight onto his back foot and firing his beam sword to humming, luminous readiness. Catching the twins mid-trajectory, Travis flurries his weapon back and forth across their twitching bodies, each suspended in midair by anime cliché.
Nathan Copeland leaps in slow motion towards the scuffle, his arms turning into two oversized ghetto-blasters as he does. The scene freeze-frames for a moment and the orchestra ducks sheepishly under the silence. Nathan and Travis catch eyes and the camera drops like a yo-yo to the floor, just in time to catch the coconut donks of two identical lipstick-wearing heads drop torso-less in front of it. Beat.
No More Heroes 2 dated for April
Rising Star hoping for a Touchdown.
Rising Star Games has announced an end of April release date for Wii game No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle.
No More Heroes heading to PS3 and 360
Touches down this February in Japan.
Japanese magazine Famitsu has revealed that Wii game No More Heroes is heading PS3 and Xbox 360 in Japan in February.
No More Heroes 2 due out in January
Design-a-t-shirt competition launched.
Ubisoft has announced Wii exclusive No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle will hit the shops in January.
No More Heroes series finished with Wii
Future games "need a new platform".
Goichi Suda reckons No More Heroes has the potential to become a "big franchise", but he believes he's taken the series as far as he can on Nintendo Wii.
E3: No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle
Slightly swordid.
Slightly swordid.
Marvelous considers going hardcore
No More Heroes pub looks to 360/PS3.
Marvelous, the Japanese publisher of No More Heroes, might be eyeing a move onto what it refers to as the 'hardcore platforms'.
"One day, I want to be able to throw pants."
We're told that Suda 51 - real name Goichi Suda, the eccentric head of the eccentric Grasshopper Manufacture studio - really likes interviews. We're told that spending a day sitting in a cubicle in the Business Meeting Area of the Tokyo Game Show, answering the same questions over and again, will be the highlight of his week. Uncharitably, we thought this made him an egomaniac. As it turns out, it's just because he's really nice.
No More Heroes 2 to get two versions
Gory and mild, both available in Europe.
Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51 has told Eurogamer that No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, the sequel to his cult Wii action game that was announced yesterday, will release in two versions in Europe, one censored for heavy violence.
No More Heroes sequel unveiled
Desperate Struggle teased in trailer.
Grasshopper Manufacture has announced No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle via a teaser trailer and, subsequently, a press conference.
Desperate Struggle will likely be published by Rising Star in Europe, and the previous game was on Wii, but there's no word on platforms yet. Eurogamer's Oli Welsh just attended a press conference for the game in Japan, and reports that it looks very much the same graphically, and there was no suggestion that it had switched platforms.
What we've seen so far, then, is a typically confident Travis Touchdown striding through lovely stylised locations before whipping out his beam katana. The first game saw Travis taking down rival assassins in his quest to be number one. We're now told he's on a quest for revenge, and is going to "take fighting seriously".
