VS

Released 10/18/2005                          Released 1/22/2008

Metacritic Rating: 91/100                  Metacritic Rating: 83/100

NA sales: 740,000                                NA sales: 260,000

Avg. length: 11 hours                         Avg. length: 11 hours

No More Heroes and Shadow of the Colossus, which usually shouldn't be said in the same sentence, are too games which couldn’t be anymore different. These polar opposites cover different genres of gaming and have premises very unlike each other. However, the wide disparity between them actually makes them similar. Explaining this concept will require looking at the protagonists first.

Characters

Wander: Not really explained in terms of personality, but has a goal of reviving an unknown girl, and has to kill sixteen Colossi to do it. He silently traverses an abandoned land, with only his horse by his side and two weapons to slay the beasts. The only reason he wishes to kill them is because he wishes to save the girl, not because he has a vendetta against the Colossi. If he were asked to “eat grass” to save the girl, it is presumed he just as well would’ve done the same thing. However, the girl may have been injured as a result of the Colossi, but that isn’t made known.

Travis Touchdown: A loud-mouthed, swearing, cat-owning killer with an otaku swagger. His goal is to become the best assassin in Santa Destroy and he has to kill 10 other assassins to do it. He roars across a near-abandoned city on his Schpeltiger motorbike, armed with a beam katana meant to brutally cut the lives of his enemies short. However, he is misguided in his mission, and has done it only to serve a “cold” woman’s agenda. Travis also spares the life of one assassin, so that she can get stronger.

Evidently, the two characters have different goals, but how they go about accomplishing them and why are pretty similar. Wander kills to save a girl, while Travis kills for himself, but only because of a girl. How they get by is like envision travel in the past (horse) and then in the future (motorbike).

Story

Shadow of the Colossus- has a more serious tone and set mood to the game. Music is superb, with orchestra composed tracks that have a mystical connection to the action on screen. Unknown spirits tell Wander where to go to find the next Colossus. Killing 16 Colossus monsters invokes feelings upon the player unlike any videogame in history and isolation plays a big part in the experience.

No More Heroes- has a few cliché story elements and has a goofy over-the-top mood set to the game. The music is repetitive at times and is much more generic. Sylvia calls Travis and explains to him where to find the next assassin. You kill loads of enemies before reaching a boss fight, but those 10 battles alone make the game worth its weight in gold.

For both titles, the boss fights are the main attraction, and the main reason why they are must-buys. No one boss fight is ever the same. SOTC requires a player travels wide distances to find a boss fight, and there are no other enemies to interfere on one’s progress. NMH requires you drive around a short amount of time to find a mission, and kill loads of enemies before a boss fight.

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Shadow of the Colossus and No More Heroes have more in common than originally thought, despite their glaring differences graphically, storywise, and in gameplay. Both games are great experiences regardless and provide entertainment that every gamer should try at least once. Whether or not they are up for comparison remains to be seen, but it is all about perspective, of which each game provides an excellent viewpoint. 

Thanks for reading,

L.H.R (SaviorX)

It is my very personal opinion that you should be spanked for even considering such a comparison.

Throw No More Heroes into the "meh" bin and put Shadow of the Colossus back on its pedestal please.

Did you read the first sentence of the paragraph?

Both games are very cool. I don't believe SotC is that AWESOME game that everyone talks about (so far, I just killed the horse-like colossi) but still, I think SotC is better than no more heroes.

SotC failed to pull me in.

No More Heroes... now that's a gem.

....Get to the next colossus and then let me know what you think

Well... it's because the game is practically the same. Go find a colossi, kill it, watch a little video, find the next colossus, kill it.... and so on. There are no enemies to fight while looking.

The colossus are pretty bad ass, and the way you fight them is great too. But is just too... plain. Eventhough i know the colossus are badass, and the fights are great.... i feel like the game needs more. Plus, the characters moves really awkward.

Is a great game so far... but not like everyone pictured it, at least, imo.

Hmm.... I personally was blown away by the title. Playing it on Hard mode actually made me feel sorry for the Colossus, due to the repetitive stabbing required.

Oh well!

This was a rather interesting comparison. Never had an opportunity to try Colossus (no PS2), but of course i've played NMH a few times, and really loved it, but it is interesting that despite their vastly different coatings, they can be so very similar.