No More Heroes is the product of Suda 51's desire to make a video game "as violent, or, even more violent than, Manhunt 2," said the developer in an interview with IGN.com. The fact that Suda succeeded in this aspiration may be the reason that No More Heroes has already become a cult hit in North America while failing miserably in Japan.Suda's Wii-exclusive title is based on an interesting premise: players must rise through the ranks of the United Assassins' Association as Travis Touchdown-a foul-mouthed, motel-dwelling punk whose weapon of choice is a Beam Katana he won in an Internet auction-by dispatching, one-by-one, the top 10 assassins of the UAA until Travis himself can claim the title of top dog. In between the "ranked" battles with the UAA's best killers, Travis Touchdown must perform oddball jobs-e.g., collecting coconuts and mowing lawns-to pay the fee for his next battle with a UAA elite assassin.

Travis' primary motivations for becoming numero uno are UAA advisor Sylvia Christel-he wants to impress her so she will "do it with [him]"-and his own insatiable bloodlust. However, contrary to what you may think, No More Heroes isn't based entirely in mindless violence. The title isn't so much a video game as it is a movie in which the interactive portion was included as an afterthought. For, quite frequently, the actual game play portion of the program falls flat. The movement that is required in between missions is time-consuming and tedious, and the part-time jobs, while original, aren't nearly as numerous as they should be. For instance, I had to assassinate the CEO of "Pizza Butt" multiple times before I had enough money to pay for my next ranked match. However, the plot and the dialogue are so thoroughly amusing and the graphics so stylish that I can't help but love this game.

There are characters in No More Heroes that you would never find in some of the more generic titles that have flooded the videogame market as of late. The UAA's 10th-ranked assassin, Death Metal, delivers a monologue on paradise and greed before battling Travis Touchdown and is just one of many personalities that make No More Heroes (I don't want to disclose any others for fear of ruining the game). Also, though the title is incredibly violent, it's in a cartoonish, Kill Bill-esque sort of way; it isn't unusual to find yourself decapitating five enemies at once and then watching as a mixture of blood and coins erupts forth from their necks. And, despite its aforementioned flaws, there are portions of the game where the general design does shine-the simplistic controls fit the game's helter-skelter pace perfectly, and small details, like receiving phone calls via your Wii-mote, demonstrate the project team's enthusiasm for making No More Heroes a truly unique experience.

Unfortunately, Japan isn't interested in assassins or Beam Katanas. At the moment, cute, friendly and fun is hot; hacking the bejeezus out of a sword-wielding schoolgirl is not. The country has plunged head first into an era dominated by party, family-friendly games that are produced primarily by first-party developers-i.e., Nintendo. And, when Japanese trends dictate video game production, this is bad news for those of us who prefer the edgier, more creative material put out by third-party developers such as Suda 51.

When I see pictures of Suda trying to sell copies of his latest title at a Japanese game boutique and no one buying, I cringe for the future of video games. While Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Sports-both Nintendo titles-are great games, a market dominated entirely by titles such as these would be like a world where only Disney films were ever screened. And, while North Americans may have taken No More Heroes and games like it to its heart, cult hits in the United States rather than blockbusters in Japan may not be enough to motivate gaming developers to continue designing outside the norm.