No More Heroes strategy guide: Kill the killers

Speed Buster

A very, very cool battle indeed, this one. It’s a whole different kind of challenge and a lot of fun. But having said that, you’ll really need to stay on your toes and get ready to improvise if things go wrong, as between the beam katana-wielding grunts and the Giant-Red-Laser-Of-Face-Scorching-Obliteration-And-Misery (Again, our term), there are a lot of ways to get yourself hurt.

  • Work your way from cover to cover on either side of the street as you progress towards Speed. It%26rsquo;s easier if you keep making diagonal moves from left to right and vice-versa, as you%26rsquo;ll see the next piece of cover more easily than if you%26rsquo;re running down the same side as it. Also, health pick-ups are scattered on both sides, and you don%26rsquo;t want to miss any.
  • Use each bit of cover to regroup and plan your next move. Don%26rsquo;t worry about running out again until you%26rsquo;ve got a clear plan for your next destination. The Memories Of Three technique will help a lot in this, as it will show the rough location of your next cover on the radar, so make a point of getting it from Lovikov before the fight starts.

  • Some cover is behind a closed door. The ones you can break through have got cracks in them. The dark ones take more hits to break through than the light ones, and that takes more time, so be aware of that when planning your run.
  • Be careful when engaging enemies in cover. Space is usually pretty tight, and those guys are aggressive with their beam katana and very good at blocking, so it can be hard to wear them down if there are a few of them around. Hold back if you can see more than one and try to take them on one at a time.
  • If you see a few enemies guarding the entrance to your next piece of cover, you have a couple of options. The diving slash move you get from Lovikov is very useful here for taking one of them down straight away on the way in, and will at least put its recipient on the deck for a ground kill. Perform it from the open as you run into the cover and you should have the upper hand going into the fight. If you%26rsquo;ve got the time, it%26rsquo;s also fun to draw them out into the open before dashing to safety, as that will usually get them fried by the GRLOFSOAM. It takes a bit of clever timing and luck, but it%26rsquo;s an incredibly effective (and very satisfying) way of doing things.
  • Once you reach the doorless section at the end of the road, get yourself into cover over on the left. If you try to attack down the middle of the street, Speed will start firing the cannon faster to keep you back. Instead, attack the telegraph pole on the left until it falls, then sit back and see what happens.
David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.