His second game featured a highly controversial ending.
“After fighting his way to the top, there was nothing really left for the wrestler to achieve. So I had him commit suicide!”
He was sad the first No More Heroes wasn’t popular in Japan.
“No More Heroes 2 hasn’t even been released in Japan yet. I really hope it is soon.”
The Beam Katana used by hero Travis Touchdown isn’t inspired by Star Wars.
“It’s actually inspired by Spaceballs!”
He didn’t want to make another No More Heroes game.
“After No More Heroes, I felt I’d told the story I wanted to tell.”
Fans convinced him otherwise.
“Once I got lots of requests from the fans that wanted to play a sequel, I sort of wanted to find out what happened next to Travis myself. Which is how the sequel came about.”
He’s sorry the UK didn’t get the gory version of No More Heroes.
“I wanted to make sure you guys got the more extreme version this time!”
No More Heroes 2 was inspired by a Yakuza movie.
“Battles Without Honor & Humanity is referenced a few times – it was a huge influence on this game, and Killer7. It’s directed by Kinji Fukasaku, who’s probably most famous in the west for Battle Royale.”
He wouldn’t hang out with Travis Touchdown in real life.
“He’s too violent! Maybe if he promised not to kill anyone.”
He really wanted Travis to appear in a Smash Bros game.
“Can you imagine him taking on Mario?”
He thinks Sylvia Christel is his best female character.
“In the past, I’ve never felt that I’ve been very good at female characters, but Sylvia is the first character I’ve been really happy with.”
Sylvia’s based on a famous actress.
“Last time she was more Scarlett Johansson. This time I wanted her to look a bit like Kiera Knightley. Only with bigger breasts.”
Her name is taken from slightly a less famous actress.
“Yes, her name’s a tribute to Sylvia Kristel!” She appeared in various, er, special grown-ups’ films in the ’70s and ’80s.
He loves movie directors.
“I put Miike Takashi in No More Heroes 2. I’d love to see him make a game. He works so fast, it’d only take him a week!”
