No More Heroes III has been a long time coming. For the most part, fans and the press are satisfied with this sequel that took over a decade to make, as seen by reviews. It’s not perfect but it fits the mold of what the first games created back on the Wii in the late 2000s.
The main character, Travis Touchdown, is just as charming as ever even if the scale of the game is bigger. Instead of international assassins, he’s now facing off against intergalactic aliens. It’s a good premise for a sequel to hook old fans and new ones in. The game has a wild plot with equally wild lines from the man himself, Travis Touchdown, in No More Heroes III.
10 “Was Today The 4th Of July?”
At the beginning of No More Heroes III when the aliens invade, Travis lazily walks outside his apartment and utters that line. He has another great one after that as he says, “If not…is the empire striking back or what?”
Both are great references to space movies that fit the situation he is about to face. The Independence Day joke does feel like a better fit though.
9 “Jeane…Have You Always Sounded Like That?”
Travis asked that question upon reaching the first alien ship. Up to this point in the series Jeane, his cat has never said a peep. Based on the name and the toys given to them in the previous games, it really did seem like Jeane was a female cat.
So for Jeane to not only talk but to have a deep male voice was a great joke besides Travis’ confused lines. There’s also a good conversation after this about navigators in video games.
8 “Always Stop By The Toilet If You Find One.”
There are a lot of unique save points in video games but this series has always had the funniest. Players need to go to the bathroom in order to save and it’s a pretty graphic situation every time.
Being a number one assassin must be rough on Travis’ stomach. That’s why this line is perfect upon seeing the first bathroom in No More Heroes III.
7 “It’s The Ones Who Don’t Look Like Bad Guys Who Are The Real Bad Guys.”
This line is uttered by Travis after he defeats the second boss, Gold Joe. The line is not so much funny as it is poignant. Gold Joe is essentially an arms dealer. He finds ore, turns them into weapons, and then sells them for profit.
He doesn’t look that scary but the line references the idea of real-world merchants of war profiting from the suffering of millions.
6 “That Power Bomb Was Christening…”
The boss fight with Kimmy Love is one of the bests in No More Heroes III. One, she kills Vanishing Point who was supposed to be Travis’ target which was a fun twist. Two, the fight begins with a rap battle which is where Travis nails this line. Three, it’s a fun callback to the second game which is where Kimmy came from. Her weapon before was a comical dual-beam sword that came out of a flute.
5 “Whooooooooooa!”
After Travis defeats all of Destroyman’s clones, Travis and his new buddy, Notorious, do some training on the beach. The music accompanying it is a clear mockup of the Rocky theme.
It’s a fun scene that gets even better when they both shout this line before jumping into the water together and having a good splash. It might be the funniest moment in the game as it is very unexpected while sweet as well. There’s nothing like brotherly love.
4 “So This Is RPG-style, Huh?”
Sonic Juice’s boss fight turns the tables on the player as it becomes a turn-based RPG. Based on the font in the image, it should be clear that they are paying homage to the Final Fantasy series.
To be specific, it feels like they are mocking Final Fantasy VII. Travis and Sonic Juice go back and forth on it looking subpar, although the words used are more colorful than that. This is referencing the original’s graphics which are understandably not that groundbreaking anymore.
3 “You Must Really Love The Tokusatsu Stuff.”
Travis says this during his fight with Midori Midorikawa. The intro to this fight is great because it starts out as a typical first-person horror game in a school. It’s not that scary since players can still fight normally but the setting provides a good atmosphere.
In the fight, Midori changes forms by putting puppets on her hands which are also her children. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but that's fine. It's this strangeness that prompts Travis to say the line before transforming into his mech suit.
2 “Could You Film A Live-Action Version Of No More Heroes?”
One of the running gags in No More Heroes III has Bishop and Travis gushing over Takashi Miike’s films. After Travis dies and comes back to life, the real Takashi Miike saves him which is a great scene.
The meeting ends with Travis asking this question and Miike looking shocked before things cut to black. Miike directing a No More Heroes film wouldn’t be that outlandish as he has already directed several game adaptations such as Ace Attorney and Yakuza.
1 “I’ve Still Got Somewhere To Go Home To.”
“But you…you don’t.” That’s the full quote Travis says to Damon as he throws him off a cliff. The line isn’t funny but it is sweet and true. Travis doesn’t kill just because he likes to.
He fights to protect his town and everyone he loves in it. Travis will never directly say something that nice, but he does reveal his feelings in his own crude way at times which is part of his charm.