No More Heroes Version Differences - Heroes' Paradise NMH2 Dream Bosses (Bitter, Blood Berry)
16NMH Version Differences Guide: https://www.speedrun.com/nmh/guide/61qu8
NMH Version Differences Playlist: • No More Heroes Version Differences
Skelter Helter: 0:00
Nathan Copeland: 5:00
Kimmy Howell: 15:47
Matt Helms: 22:55
Alice Twilight: 28:57
Of the content added to NMH: Heroes' Paradise, the No More Heroes 2 bosses are likely the most well-known additions. While you can already find plenty of videos online, I wanted to document them for my own channel, but at the same time put my own spin on them. In my usual tradition, I fought them on Bitter with the Blood Berry at base stats, but these are not no damage fights.
I've had this project sitting for years, but I kept delaying it for one big reason: they're terrible. Due to the major differences between the games, converting NMH2 bosses to the NMH1 mechanics doesn't really work. Combined with the myriad of issues inherent to HP, these bosses feel more broken than anything else. When I started practicing for the final video, I was genuinely so baffled by how poor they felt that I had to briefly jump back into the main game just to reassure myself that I still knew how to play HP at all. While I am playing on Bitter (the highest difficulty), they don't play well on any difficulty. I originally intended on making this a "no damage" challenge in addition to the "Bitter, Blood-Berry, base stats" conditions, but I realized years ago that it wasn't worth the frustration (assuming that it's even possible to begin with).
General notes:
-These bosses are in the International version of Heroes' Paradise (North American PS3, PAL PS3, JP PS3 Red Zone). They are not in the original JP PS3/360 release.
-The bosses are optional "dreams" that appear after reaching certain ranks. After saving in the motel after achieving the right rank, the game will ask you if you would like to "catch some Z's."
-If you skip a dream, you can access the prompt again by saving at the motel toilet. If you die, you'll go back to the toilet, and the "catch some Z's" prompt will appear again.
-You cannot re-fight the dream bosses until your next NG+ playthrough, and you can't access them from the rematches on the TV. You can fight them in the Score Attack.
-While not shown here, a nice detail is that trophies for these bosses mention their respective NMH2 UAA ranks.
-The bosses are always fought in the same order. If you skip a dream and reach the conditions for the next boss in line, you still need to beat any earlier bosses first. As part of the save file set-up for this video, I skipped all of the dreams and made a save right before Henry. Here is the set-up playthrough (over four years old!): • NMH: Heroes' Paradise (PS3) - Bitter,...
The bosses:
Here are a few notes for each fight. Check out the version differences guide for more information as I don't have enough characters here.
Skelter Helter (0:00) - Appears after Dr. Peace. While the beginning of the match was weak, it quickly picked up afterward. Unlike the other bosses, I relied on parrying, a risky endeavor for Bitter HP, but it worked out. This is the cleanest fight of the bunch.
Nathan Copeland (5:00) - Appears after Shinobu. A funny fight, and a prime example of how broken these bosses are. By mashing punch at the right times, I was able to stun Nathan frequently to get the wrestling moves. This trait isn't exclusive to Nathan, but it's not likely to happen on Bitter in general. This fight was pretty long and not particularly clean, but I found it delightfully wacky.
Kimmy Howell (15:47) - Appears after Letz Shake. Another fight that's hysterical, but for a different reason: so many failed clashes. Clashes are awful on HP, but if nothing else, failing Kimmy's clashes is pretty amusing.
Matt Helms (22:55) - Appears after Speed Buster. A rather dull fight. A huge part of what made Matt work in NMH2 was the claustrophobic space, so a wide arena ruins the fight. It's trivial to keep baiting him to the walls. Fun fact: he phases through the fence at 25:28.
Alice Twilight (28:57) - Appears after Bad Girl. Unfortunately, this fight may be the worst of the lot. Unlike the other bosses, I couldn't find a reliably fast or silly strategy. She has a ton of health, and her i-frames are ridiculous, not to mention her ability to dodge/cancel attacks. The arena is an issue because she blends in too easily with the purple/pink background. Finally, the game itself seems to perform even worse than usual during this fight, exacerbating every problem and then some.
As much as I've hammered in the point already, I cannot exaggerate how muddy these bosses feel. All in all, though, I'm glad that I finally finished this video after years of delay, giving my own spin to otherwise well-known material. Let's chalk this up as an example of "I did this so don't have to!"
*****
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