No More Heroes

Game Music

GHM Store Relaunch: Limited Pressing of No More Heroes 2 Soundtrack Available

November 16, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

This is exciting news. We loved No More Heroes 2 when it was released earlier this year, and even had the opportunity to speak with lead composer and sound designer Jun Fukuda and sound coordinator Nobuhiko Sagara about the soundtrack. We’ve known for some time that a mini-soundtrack would be included with the limited edition release in Japan, but GHM has now made the game’s entire soundtrack available via the revamped Gasshopper Manufacture Store. Yes, it’s available in North America and other regions around the globe, and you should know that only 1,000 copies have been printed, so get them while they’re hot!

Be ready for some excellent chip music from Fukuda along with tracks from numerous bands and Akira Yamaoka. Who knows, maybe they’ll officially credit him for his tracks, although it did seem somewhat obvious what his alias was on the soundtrack. The soundtrack features 3 discs of music and nearly every track from the game.

Will you be picking it up? Check out the official press release from Grasshopper Manufactuer after the jump! (more…)
Game Music

A Blast From The Past: The Original No More Heroes With Masafumi Takada

July 15, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on A Blast From The Past: The Original No More Heroes With Masafumi Takada Share this

[Left to right: Masafumi Takada, Jayson Napolitano, Jun Fukuda (wearing Suda51’s badge!)]

Yes, it’s that time of month! “A Blast From The Past” is a series that rediscovers interviews I conducted while at Music4Games. The interviews are no longer available online, so I thought it would be appropriate to give them new life each month here on OSV.

This time we take a step back in time to GDC 2008 right after composer Masafumi Takada delivered his talk about his work up to that point. He spoke mostly about Killer 7 and No More Heroes, but we were able to sit down with him and discuss some of his other projects at Grasshopper Manufacture as well. I thought it was a good time to bring this one back after our awesome interview with Jun Fukuda and Nobuhiko Sagara back in May. I also have to thank Tommy Ciulla for contributing the majority of the questions to this interview, as I wasn’t really familiar with Takada’s past works at that point.

Hit the jump for a blast from the past! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

No More Heroes 2 Interview with Jun Fukuda and Nobuhiko Sagara

May 13, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

We had a blast with No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, and are still awaiting word from Grasshopper Manufacture regarding a soundtrack release. While the game was released months ago in North America, it still hasn’t been released in Japan, and we’ve been fortunate enough to get some of lead sound designer and composer Jun Fukuda and sound coordinator Nobuhiko Sagara’s time to talk about their work on the title.

We dig deep into the many artists that were recorded for the soundtrack, the influence of the game’s theme of revenge, the use of tracks from the No More Heroes Dark Side Remixes album, a No More Heroes 2 soundtrack release, and Fukuda’s and Sagara’s respective backgrounds that led them to their current roles at Grasshopper Manufacture. It’s a good time, so we hope you enjoy reading about what went into all the sound elements in No More Heroes 2!

Hit the jump for our lengthy interview with Jun Fukuda and Nobuhiko Sagara from Grasshopper Manufacture. (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

Kill or be Killed: No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle (Game Review)

March 20, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Kill or be Killed: No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle (Game Review) Share this

While nobody I know outside of the gaming industry has played the original No More Heroes, it apparently did well enough to warrant a sequel. It’s one of my favorite games on the Wii, so I was understandably shocked but ecstatic at the news of a sequel. I loved the quirky otaku humor of the first game, and it looked as though there was more of the same with some improvements in the sequel.

The ending of the first game was so ridiculous that I had no idea how they were going to continue, but they’ve done it. Lots of things have changed in Santa Destroy, and for us here at OSV where we focus on music, Masafumi Takada’s departure left a huge question mark as to how the sequel would feel.

Well, let’s get on with our review after the jump! (more…)
Featured, Game Music

GDC 2010: Akira Yamaoka Talks Grasshopper Manufacture

March 12, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | 10 Comments Share this

Okay, so it took us longer than we expected to get our interview with Akira Yamaoka, but it’s finally here. We had to track him down in person to get it done, but at least we’ve discovered a number of interesting things about his decision to leave Konami and what his role will be at Grasshopper Manufacture moving forward.

Will he contribute to the Silent Hill series in the future? Was he involved with the No More Heroes 2 soundtrack? Will he be working on a follow-up to his solo album, iFUTURELIST? And what will his first major project be at Grasshopper Manufacture?

Find out in our interview after the jump! (more…)
Game Music, Reviews

The Outer Rim: Music and Hairdos from Space Starring Travis Touchdown (Review)

June 14, 2008 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

The ending from No More Heroes was disappointing as hell. To avoid spoilers for those of you haven’t finished the game (shame on you), I’ll just say it left a lot of loose ends. It comes as a surprise then that The Outer Rim’s self-titled debut album provides the perfect solution.

The Outer Rim is a Japanese band sporting a smooth “spiritual jazz” sound and epic hairstyles. The group is headed by bassist Jeff Curry (not Japanese!) and features game composer Norihiko Hibino on sax and computer, Hakuei Kim on keys, and Nobuaki Fujii on drums. While the album is dominated by catchy jazz pieces with a distinctive atmosphere, a few tracks include bits of English vocal drama featuring No More Heroes front man Travis Touchdown and co-star Silvia Christal as they describe a bleak, musicless future in outer space. And yes, they used the same voice actors from the game!

Check out our full impressions after the jump. (more…)