Tips and Tricks – No More Heroes (Wii)

Travis Touchdown may seem like a typical otaku, but his day job makes him anything but average. This young man is also an assassin, and he lives in a motel room that’s decorated with anime and luchador collectibles. Travis is the star of No More Heroes, an action game for the Nintendo Wii.

The topic of this week’s tips and tricks revolve around Travis’ secondary mode called “Dark Side,” which is not to be mistaken for Star Wars’ evil aspect of the Force. This secondary mode is a trance that can be triggered by matching three symbols at the bottom of the screen. Travis becomes invincible during the Dark Side mode, but it doesn’t last forever. The mode ends when the tiger at the top of the screen reaches its goal.

There are five types of Dark Side modes, each with a different symbol. The following are:

• Strawberry on the Shortcake
  When this mode is activated, Travis’ hair turns bright yellow and his beam katana becomes highly charged with electricity. You can perform Death Blows by swinging the Wiimote in any direction. To trigger this mode, you need to get three grasshopper symbols.

• Blueberry Cheese Brownie
  The screen turns black and white in this mode, except for an orange reticule that can be moved using the control stick on the nunchuk. You can fire waves of energy using the A button for instant kills. To trigger this mode, you need to get three bell symbols.

• Cranberry Chocolate Sundae
  Like the Blueberry Cheese Brownie, this mode turns the screen black and white. Travis would be limited to a walk, but can perform instant kills as long as the correct button is pressed (think quick time events). Gory executions are performed, like chopping enemies’ arms off, impaling them on the beam katana, or stabbing them through the heart. To trigger this mode, you need to get three bar symbols.

• Anarchy in the Galaxy
  This is perhaps the most uncommon of the Dark Side modes. Travis would stop time and destroy all enemies onscreen. The mode would not be activated immediately. You can use it anytime you wish by pressing the – button. Having a number of 7s stored at the end of a rankings match would result in a cash bonus. To trigger this mode, you need to get three “7” symbols.

• Cherry
  Travis screams “This is the end!” as he initiates this mode. The screen turns black, everything moves in slow motion, and enemies are helpless to your attacks. This mode is a prolonged Dark Step that requires three cherry symbols to activate.

The Dark Side mode is an important aspect of No More Heroes’ gameplay that can be used to great effect. Here’s a final tip: to extend the mode’s time limit, you can learn the Technique of God from Randall Lovikov, a drunken Russian hanging out at “bar plastic model,” a pub in Gold Town.

So that’s it for this week’s tips and tricks. Stay tuned for more pointers next week!

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