Overview
Originally announced at the 2017 Nintendo Switch Presentation in Tokyo, Travis Strikes Again is not the next sequel in the No More Heroes saga; rather, it is a collaborative spin-off between Goichi Suda and many indie game developers. Confirmed collaborators include Dennaton Games of Hotline Miami, and Yacht Club Games of Shovel Knight. Suda has declared that if the game proves successful, he would be ready to make a No More Heroes 3.
One should note that this isn't the first time Grasshopper Manufacture has worked on the same project with western creators. The company already collaborated with defunct Hungarian developer Digital Reality on two games: Sine Mora and Black Knight Sword.
Story
It's been 7 years since the events of the original No More Heroes. An individual known as "Badman", the father of the second-ranked assassin Bad Girl, is looking for Travis Touchdown to avenge the death of his daughter. He finds him living in a motorhome in a wooded area somewhere in Texas, but as they start fighting, both are sucked into a supernatural game console (the Death Drive Mk. II), and forced to complete through multiple video games encased in "Death Balls" in hopes of being granted a wish at the end.
Gameplay
Travis and Badman fight their way through the various Death Balls of the Death Drive Mk. II to complete the game. Most of the action is hack-and-slash from a top-down perspective, as they fight their way through multiple "Bugs" to reach the final boss of the Death Ball. Along with standard attacks and dodge rolls, both characters can pick up and equip "Skill Chips" that give them special powers, but have a long cooldown between each use.
Stages
Each Death Ball takes Travis and Badman to a different video game from the past that was never actually completed until now.
The Trailer
Travis current "home" and the hub world for Travis Strikes Again. Despite being located in the middle of the woods somewhere in Texas, Travis has access to a flushable toilet, the internet through a PC with multiple screens, a fax machine, and enough power to run the Death Drive Mk. II with its Death Balls.
Electric Thunder Tiger II
The sequel to an 8-bit arcade shooter title featuring the genius superhero Electro Triple Star.
Life Is Destroy
A mysterious puzzle/action game based off an American serial killer known as Doppleganger who claimed over 3,200 victims, many of them using bladed corkscrews. Solve the puzzles to advance through this game, but beware the giant blue skull which will kill you in one hit if it catches you!
Coffee & Doughnuts
The prince of a Scandanavian country called Ulmarc, Brian Buster Jr., wakes up one day to find himself in the midst of a coup. The king is killed and Brian Jr's eyes are gouged out, forcing him to wander the desert until he stumbles upon a wooden mech suit name Ulvarian, containing his father's brain. Junior and Senior combine their strengths to take the kingdom back, but Travis and Bedman find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery when they arrive. What's with the various bodies of Brian Jr lying throughout the castle?
Golden Dragon GP
An oldschool 3D racing game! Go on "cleaning" jobs to earn the gearboxes that will let you upgrade your machine, and then use the internal VR goggles to win enough races to challenge the legendary Smoking King!
Killer Marathon
Something went wrong during development and Dr. Juvenile didn't quite finish this game, leaving only a bunch of basic Unreal Engine assets. But wait, there's another game behind this?
Serious Moonlight/Damned Dark Knight
Wait a minute, this game looks awfully similar to Shadows of the Damned! It even has some of the same characters and assets! What's going on?
Central Intelligence Agency
This game might be a bit "buggy" and was never fully finished, but it's the last one that Dr. Juvenile ever made. What is Juvenile plotting deep in the bowels of CIA headquarters?
Cross-References
Most of the Skill Chips contain a reference to a Gundam suit name.
In a prologue cutscene, Dan Smith gives Badman a Death Ball and tells him where to find Travis Touchdown.
In episode 2 of Travis Strikes Back, Travis receives a Death Ball from Nigel McAllister, the pitcher for the Santa Destroy Red Tigers from Diabolical Pitch who currently owns the Astros, where he also played on the same team as Badman (who was his catcher).
In episode 3 of Travis Strikes Back, while searching for Count Dracula to get a Death Ball from him, Travis rides a horse named Epona and encounters Mondo Zappa who cuts off his head and hands him the Death Ball, saying that the real Count Dracula disappeared and left behind this Doppleganger, while he seeks to kill the "real" Doppleganger for his agency.
In episode 4 of Travis Strikes Back, Travis meets multiple characters from The 25th Ward: The Silver Case as he tries to get another Death Ball from Dr. Juvenile's ex-boyfriend.
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