Comments on: No More Heroes is not punk

By: De Coste

De Coste — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:46:40 +0000

Great analysis, but you did forget one important scene that would have cemented your claims further. I noticed during the conversation with Rank 2 that it was alluded that the player was nothing more then a killing machine, killing and grinding for the sake of “progressing”, though, as we all well know now, no progress is ever made so the player just keeps mindlessly killing.

I found this scene to be particularly funny if only due to the fact that Rank 2, upon seeing the disgusted look on Travis’s face because of his/her actions responded that they were both very much the same and that he had no right to judge him/her.

By: Dziwne słowo postmodernizm « Altergranie

Dziwne słowo postmodernizm « Altergranie — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 22:59:01 +0000

[...] gry jest tylko jedną z wielu możliwych – jak odczytują ją inni, można sprawdzić choćby tu, tu czy tu – i wcale nie trzeba się z nią zgadzać. Podatność na różne, niekiedy [...]

By: no more heroes | malvasia bianca

no more heroes | malvasia bianca — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:55:35 +0000

[...] Schlaghund’s Playground. [...]

By: Swizzie

Swizzie — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:23:46 +0000

Fantastic article, only 1 thing made me laugh my ass off

“At the end of the battle, we learn the peculiar fact that he is Travis’ brother and Sylvia’s wife.”

By: MzRie

MzRie — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:55:23 +0000

I really enjoyed your analysis of No More Heores, however I feel that you glossed over the view that Travis not only represents the power fantasy of gamers, but of Otaku. From that standpoint, it would not be an issue of maturity that stopped him from killing Shinobu or Summers, but part of the otaku’s anime fantasy; the beautiful girls (Holly and Shinobu) don’t die in (most) anime so Travis can’t kill them, but the ugly girls (Speed Buster) and psychotic, villanous girls (Bad Girl) are free to be killed. Even his reaction to Holly’s death is in line with the accepted response by an anime character towards an honorable female characters death.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:40:38 +0000

The writeup here is solid and it’s good to see anyone take an academic approach to analyzing games. I think, though, the point being made in the title and parts of the text is based on a strawman.

When Suda claims “No More Heroes is a punk game” (paraphrased, obviously), he’s not necessarily claiming that it subverts the institutional standards of gaming. Punk is not just subversion of the norms of 70s Britain; it was also an embrace of DIY individualism. Mashing together fragments of text, audio, art, textiles, to form a new product–not necessarily in opposition to the old product, but entirely separate from it. Punk as a culture is not only noise-music, it’s also the form and the medium of the mixtape and the pinned-on-patch and the torn jeans and the long hair or the short hair and the boots or the chapbooks or the flyers or the posters.

Punk includes the sort of selfish nihilism embued by G.G. Allin (born Jesus Christ Allin). Pardon my french, but Allins style both aurally and visually was angry nihilism–just not giving a fuck. Suda plays with these conventions. He doesn’t give a damn what you expect or what games should do. The game sets its own conventions early, and continues by breaking them systematically. Several of the game’s dozen boss fights hold completely unexpected twists of mechanics or logic.

Put more simply and sociologically, your article dives in to Suda’s Punk as Merton’s retreatism when I feel there’s more richness of analysis to be found in thinking of Suda’s Punk as Merton’s rebellion.

(The email address provided with this comment was fake; I do not wish to be contacted.)

By: While !Finished » Every Time GTAIV Gets a Perfect Rating, Suda51 Sheds a Single Tear

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:49:40 +0000

[...] Schlagund’s Playground: No More Heroes is Not Punk: At least, it’s not THAT kind of punk. This article is fascinating and incredibly in-depth. It’s also fairly long, and the again, spoiler warnings apply. I want to talk about it but I’m not really sure what to say except that it’s fantastic. [...]

By: No More Heroes revisited | Milkshake a la Mode

No More Heroes revisited | Milkshake a la Mode — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 05:16:17 +0000

[...] If you’re interested here are two in-depth analysis of No More Heroes (warning: spoilers inside): Destroid’s article Schlaghund’s article [...]

By: DUNOTS

DUNOTS — Sun, 18 May 2008 08:46:30 +0000

I’m surprised you didn’t note the fact that the music in the game is mostly the same repetitive yet catchy tune over and over again but with different arrangements. Except, of course, when his world meets that of one of the other assassins.

And I’m sure all the boss songs are very derivative and biting as well, but I don’t think I have enough cultural references to say much about that.

In any event, I’d been looking for some critical analysis of this game since I played it, and I’m glad to see that it exists!

By: Cruise Elroy » No More Heroes postmortem

Cruise Elroy » No More Heroes postmortem — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:53:30 +0000

[...] “No More Heroes is not punk” by Schlaghund (if you only read one of these links, make it this one) [...]