No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle/Characters

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Here's the list of characters introduced in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. For the characters introduced in the original game, see No More Heroes/Characters.


The Assassins

Skelter Helter

Voiced by Matthew Mercer

"You insensitive prick! You killed him and you don't even remember!"

First boss of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, and the 51st ranked assassin. Helter Skelter's younger brother.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Nathan Copeland

Voiced by Khary Payton

"This is it! This is what I've been prayin' for! I'm weary of this gilded world! All glitter! NO SOUL!"

The 50th ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle. An Irish hip-hop rapper.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Charlie MacDonald

Voiced by Yuri Lowenthal

"After this, I'm going to touch you down."

The 25th ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle. A football jock followed by a group of assassin cheerleaders who are all collectively ranked 26th through 49th. Despite the obvious motif, his weapon is the Santa Death Parade, a Humongous Mecha.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Kimmy Howell

Voiced by Jennifer Hale

"I'm legit, and way tougher than I look! So, uh...don't go easy on me, 'k? 'cause one wrong move, and you're over."

A schoolgirl assassin in Desperate Struggle. Her rank is unknown, but it's presumed to be one below Travis at the time you fight her—unlike the other UAA assassins, she challenges Travis for his rank. Uses her recorder as a weapon, which doubles as a double beam katana.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Beware the Nice Ones: She doesn't really show anger, but she does come off as a bit deranged.
  • Bonus Boss: in Heroes' Paradise.
  • Bubble Gun: Kimmy will sometimes pause mid-battle to blow bubbles at you from her recorder. Unblockable, exploding bubbles.
  • Double Weapon:
  • Ear Worm: Her theme. Sounds like a sitcom opening or something...
  • Fan Girl: Of Travis. She calls him Travis the Great.
  • Girlish Pigtails
  • Glacier Waif: Kimmy fights like a chainsaw on legs and her combos do immense damage, but she's extremely lacking when it comes to mobility. In fact, barely moves at all over the course of her match, preferring to taunt and bait Travis until he gets within range, which makes it extremely easy to hit her with a fully-powered Peony. Averted on Bitter, where she is more than happy to chase you all over the arena.
  • The Glasses Gotta Go: Subverted, kinda. The E3 trailer showed her with glasses on. The finished game shows her without them.
  • Groin Attack: What happens if she beats you in a weapon clash. Travis' response is "Oh Yeah!"... And then he keels over.
  • If I Can't Have You: She's going to put Travis' head on a trophy to ensure that only she can have him.
  • I'm Your Biggest Fan: Says this to Travis. Notably, the whole reason she's a boss fight is so she can prove it.
  • Instrument of Murder: Her recorder
  • Killer Rabbit: Seems innocent enough until she pulls out the double beam katana. While not quite as hard as Nathan Copeland, she's very fast, and trying to attack her head on will get you killed.
  • Laser Blade
  • Took a Level in Badass: Considering Kimmy was probably a normal student before being trained as an assassin.
  • Totally Radical: "You have to read it out loud, just for lulz!"
  • Yandere: She writes a love letter to Travis and has him read it aloud. Said love letter details her desire to behead Travis, and in turn, surpassing him. She sounds unbelievably creepy when she says "I love you" during the battle.
  • Waif Fu: Kimmy's knees even knock together when she's not attacking you. Her desperation move is to hit Travis with the old "thigh vice" trick.

Matt Helms

Voiced by Debi Derryberry

"I'm going to kill you... I'm going to kill you..."

An obese behemoth wearing a clown mask, and the 24th ranked assassin Desperate Struggle. He was abandoned as a child, and when he died, {{spoiler|he made a deal with the devil to be revived through dark arts.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Cloe Walsh

Voiced by Tara Strong

"Don't say that, handsome. Actually, you're just my type. You'd be even more dashing if you were writhing in agony."

The 23rd ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle. She's found locked in a prison complex.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Dr. Letz Shake

Voiced by Fred Tatasciore

"All I desire is a duel with you. Desire level: One hundred percent. Revenge on primary target was a success. Behold. Said dramatically."

An assassin in Desperate Struggle, ranked somewhere between 22 and 10. Once a Bait and Switch Boss, now you actually get to fight him. The fight was supposed to be a Battle Royale, but he wipes out the rest of the competition before you even fight.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Bait and Switch Boss: Only this time he's on the giving end.
  • Damage Sponge Boss: It's not uncommon to win this fight without taking a hit. The boss, however, takes PLENTY of hits to take down.
  • Emergency Transformation: How he survived the first game.
  • Large Ham: From the way he talks, as well as the general nature of the game, it almost seems like his Robo Speak is an affected dialect. At points he almost forgets to add punctuation to his sentences!
  • Puzzle Boss: It's less about dodging him, more about getting on the stable ground.
  • Revenge by Proxy: Subverted... sort of. Travis rightfully points out that it was Henry who killed him; problem is, Shake already took Henry down, and just feels like finishing the job he started in the last game.
  • Robo Speak: Very much, exclamation mark.
  • That Makes Me Feel Angry: Among other characteristics of his aforementioned Robo Speak.
  • Wetware CPU
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Hulk Smash, exclamation mark. Said angrily.

Million Gunman

Voiced by Paul Eiding

"Do you love money like I do?"

The ninth ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle, and the first boss you fight as Shinobu.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

"Fuck you! I shoot MONEY!"

(character name is a spoiler)

New Destroyman

Voiced by Josh Keaton

"Seriously, she's so rude! Reminds me of my complaining customers. Now Travis, he knew how to fight like a gentleman. Sliced me in half, sure, but he did it with grace."

The eighth ranked assassin(s) in Desperate Struggle, and the second and final boss you fight as Shinobu.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Ryuji

Voiced by Robert Wu

"COME OUT, DRAGON!"

The seventh ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Animal Motifs: Dragons, to contrast him with Travis. His bike looks like one, and the "ryu" in his name means "dragon."
  • Anticlimax Boss: The motorcycle duel can be annoying as hell if he won't stop spamming his invincible peel out. Course, if you sit next to a cliff and move out of the way...
  • Badass: Oh fuck yes he is...
  • Evil Counterpart: To Travis. Well, not really evil, just very, very intense.
  • Face Death with Dignity: Subverted so hard... Thanks again, Miss Silvia.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars
  • Laser Blade...: One of many reasons why he is an equal to Travis.
    • ...On A Stick: Happens to be using a Beam Naginata (although the length of the blade suggests it's a nagimaki instead)
  • Narm: The above quote.
  • The Quiet One: Aside from two or three lines of dialogue (including the above quote), he merely grunts while in the midst of battle.
  • Samurai
  • Shout-Out:
    • A samurai with nigh-unbeatable skills and armed with an abnormally large sword challenges his mirror and rival, who has an Alliterative Name, in combat to a duel, right after said opponent just so happens to have acquired the ability to Dual Wield? During a sunset? There should be bells going off in the heads of anyone who's heard of Miyamoto Musashi at this point.
    • The fact that his weapon fires a Laser Blade Dragon may be a Shout-Out to Dark Star from the first game, since we never actually got to face him then.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: Ryuji is the only boss in the game whose music is not unique to him. The song in question was last heard when you fought an overweight demonically possessed fire-loving baby-faced psychopath.
    • There are some who believe it fits him better than Matt Helms.
  • See You in Hell: He shouts this if you lose to him in a weapon clash. He also says "See you..." as he charges up his dashing thrust.
  • Spam Attack
  • That One Boss
  • Tiger Versus Dragon: Remember Travis' Animal Motif?
  • "Wake-Up Call" Boss: Most bosses up until now have been moderately challenging, even if they've been a tad unfair here and there. Ryuji has no real gimmicks. His strength and endurance are fairly average. He doesn't even have too many attacks - but be damned if he doesn't toss you around, or at least give you one hell of a rush. On Bitter Mode, he will annihilate you the first time around.
  • Worthy Opponent: So much that Travis decides not to kill him, or at least give him an honorable death on his feet. Instead, Sylvia guns him down like a dog.

Mimmy

Voiced by Debi Derryberry

"You should stay here forever. We'll live together. I'll never leave. If you want to go to the other side, then I have no choice. I've got to kill you."

A young girl Henry fights in a dream.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Margaret Moonlight

Voiced by Tara Strong

"Did you... did you memorize the song?"

The fourth ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle. A gothic lolita who fights with two scythes that double as Anti-Material Rifles.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Affably Evil
  • Alliterative Name
  • Badass Boast: Her theme song is a mix of this and a "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: "Philistine". Listen for yourself. The European version got a remixed version of the song in place of the original version. You can judge for yourself if it is good or not.
  • Dual Wield
  • Ear Worm: "Reaper, Reaper; that's what people call me".
    • Travis acknowledges that it's "Catchy as Hell" and that he memorized the song 100%. When he walks away from the match, he is whistling the first few notes of her song.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita
  • Expy: Arguably of Bad Girl. Both being into lolita fashion and having a total Ear Worm for a theme.
  • Foil: Once more, arguably of Bad Girl. Both like the Lolita look, but Bad Girl is Sweet while Margaret is Gothic. Which is ironic because despite her making fun of you, Margaret actually seems cute and just genuinely nice (for an assassin). Bad Girl is... not.
    • In fact, Margaret seems to have been designed as a total opposite of Bad Girl. Their dresses are different types of the same style, Bad Girl is rude, violent, and psychotic while Margaret is relatively sweet, honorable, and kind. Their death scenes even start similarly, with Travis running them through with his sword, but they react in totally opposite ways, with Bad Girl viciously beating Travis until he actually gives up, just before she dies, while Margaret just asks if you remembered her song.
  • Fetish Fuel Station Attendant
  • Four Is Death: She's the 4th ranked assassin. She has scythes. People call her "The Reaper". There's no way this is a coincidence.
  • Get Back Here Boss: She spends the majority of the fight running away, turning around and shooting at you.
  • Go Out with a Smile: "That...is so....Sublime."
  • Graceful Loser
  • Grim Reaper: If the scythes didn't sell it for you, the theme song should have.
  • Hypocrite: Oh, yeah. Her theme song seems to be a direct bash to Travis for his ways as an assassin. She's ranked 4 in the UAA, right?
    • Though the bashing is a bit more focused on the "why" of it than the fact that he is an assassin in itself, she berates him more for killing for revenge than for the actual act of assassinating.
  • Last Request: Before she collapses, she only asks if Travis memorized her song. When Travis replies that she did, she dies happily.
  • Meaningful Name: The song states: 'Margaret is Greek, you geek/It means 'a pearl'
    • Her song Philistine is about people who are uninterested in art, beauty or values.
  • Moe: Her dying words ask if you memorized her song. After Travis says yes, she simply smiles, says "That is so... Sublime", and falls.
  • Short-Range Long-Range Weapon: The case with her rifle, as half the fight is closing the gap between you and her so that she'll be constantly running off to try to shoot you from less than twenty feet away. Bizarrely, she begins the fight on top of a sniper perch, but jumps down so that you can actually hit her once you get close enough.
  • Shout-Out:
    • Could arguably be seen as a shout out to the Reaper Boss Battle from the Persona series what with the theme song and using Rifle/Scythes.
    • Pre-release pictures of her also very strongly made her resemble Suigintou from Rozen Maiden. Her outfit and general appearance indeed looks like Suigintou a bit, but not as much of a carbon copy as the pre-release images made you believe.
    • The whole Reaper motif coupled with the reference to an "Oyster" in her song is remindful of Blue Oyster Cult's classic "Don't Fear The Reaper".
  • Sinister Scythe: Dual-wielded as her Weapon of Choice.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The lyrics to her battle theme is insults geared towards Travis.
  • Villain Song: Definitely.
  • Zettai Ryouiki: She even mentions it in her song--/Thigh-high socks and my absolute territory/Go on and drool the Otaku can not resist/.


Captain Vladimir

Voiced by Paul Eiding

"This is Earth? So I'm finally back, after all this time. Fresh oxygen. Blue sky. Beautiful: as I remembered."

The third ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle. A Soviet cosmonaut who became stranded in outer space, armed with strange, incredibly powerful technology and doesn't even realise he's back on Earth.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Alien Abduction: His intro sure inspires the imagery... and just what happened to him?
  • Anti-Villain: More so then any other boss in the game.
    • Designated Villain: He has no clue what's going on when he fights Travis, and all we know about him is that he's a uber-patriotic Soviet whose been trapped in space for years. He's only presented as an antagonist due to a very tragic and very literal example of Poor Communication Kills and the fact that Travis is the hero.
  • Badass Grandpa
  • Beehive Barrier
  • Breather Boss: He has very few unblockable attacks, and they're all pretty well-telegraphed.
  • Breather Level: The path to him is one long, drawn-out motorcycle ride. No enemies, no way to fall off the road, and hitting obstacles refills your Nitro.
    • It's possible he and Ryuji had their ranks switched pre-release. It almost makes more sense that way, since Vladimir is easier to beat, and his opening level would serve as a better introduction to the bike mechanics than starting off getting knocked off a cliff.
  • Captain Ersatz: His design as a Russian cosmonaut, his unexpectedly ruined face, and his death speech about returning to Earth closely mirrors The Fury from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.
  • Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: "Glory to the Soviet Union".
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Colonel Campbell again, only he's now on the other side.
  • Mother Russia Makes You Strong: It's less physical strength than having the most impressive weapon to ever be used on Travis, barring Speed Buster's laser cannon. Although surviving alone in space for over 20 years is pretty hardcore.
  • Kill Sat: His main weapon.
  • Shout-Out: His face reveal and touching death after Travis breaks his helmet adds yet another Star Wars one.
  • Tear Jerker: His death and last words, and Travis refusing to let his body be destroyed. Who else saluted?
  • The Woobie: It's hard not to get this impression over the course of his battle. Even as he attacks Travis, he constantly cries out for a response from his long-defunct ship.

Alice Twilight

Voiced by Jennifer Hale

"We're all trapped, don't you see? Addicted to the violence, to a life in the shadows. Once we join the ranks we can never get out."

The second ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle. She vies to leave the assassination scene, wanting to learn how Travis did. She uses a pack with eight waldoes armed with numerous beam katanas. Notable for having appeared in the earliest trailers for the game, likely because of her memorable appearance.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Jasper "Pizza" Batt, Jr.

Voiced by Yuri Lowenthal

"Did you honestly think you could take so many lives and never suffer retribution? Have you never even seen a kung-fu movie, spy flick or western? Shakespeare, for God's sake! Not only did you murder my father, but my two brothers as well! That is why I took your best friend's life. Make sense, Travis? It's called poetic justice. "

The first ranked assassin in Desperate Struggle, and the man behind Bishop's assassination. His reason is because Travis killed his father and brothers, and he wanted revenge.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Animal Motifs: Bats.
  • Anticlimax Boss: The first stage of his battle, with him in the flying car is ridiculously easy. Or it would be if not for the Guide Dang It on how to end the first half of it, which can result in you spending several minutes trying to take away that last 1/3 of his health, which will not go down.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: His final form.
  • Bald of Evil: Justified in that his father and two brothers were generic goons you took out in side-missions in the first No More Heroes, made bald so that they'd be easier to spot.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: Setting aside the fact that he used his pizza empire to climb to the top of the UAA and was the one who ordered the hit on Bishop, most players will think, "He's just a scrawny, bucked-tooth nerd with a hilariously bad sense of fashion. How bad can he be?" Then they actually fight the guy and he turns out to be one of the most irritating bosses in video game history.
  • Big Bad
  • Breath Weapon
  • Brick Joke: Early on in the game, a guy randomly falls out of the sky and lands nearby. Once you get to fight Batt the same thing can happen to you.
  • Captain Obvious: "This is a fight to the DEATH!"
  • The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In his second form, take your pick of any single one of his moves. If it's not a hard-to-dodge insta-kill, it will probably be an almost impossible to escape combo that he'll spam to high hell.
  • Continuity Nod: Travis killing his father and brothers was a series of K-Entertainment assassination jobs from the first game. They weren't even a part of the plot at all.
  • Crowning Moment of Awesome: Finishing the bastard off while an awesome guitar track plays in the background.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: His stage, his boss themes, everything.
  • Cycle of Revenge: Travis murdering at least three members of Batt's family results in him sending hitmen after Bishop, and apparently killing all of Travis' other allies as well, or so it seems (see below). Said family members are the Pizza Butt executives you killed in your assassination missions in No More Heroes.
  • Destination Defenestration: One of his attacks can and WILL do this to you.
  • Difficulty Spike: He's harder than anything in this game or the prequel, and the only boss in both games to have multiple phases and multiple attacks that could kill you in one hit.
  • Facial Markings: A tattoo of a pizza on the left side of his face.
  • Flying Car: His primary mode of battle in his first form.
  • Fridge Brilliance: Instead of a cool, suave, Magnificent Bastard we get a little shit with no fighting ability outside his little toys for a Big Bad. This is to avert Do Not Do This Cool Thing, because the theme of the game was how petty and stupid revenge is and the morale would be lost if they had made him charismatic in comparison to Travis or indeed, fullfilling to kill at all.
    • And then the second and third forms come around.
  • Genre Savvy: "Have you never even seen a kung fu movie, spy flick or western?! Shakespeare, for God's sake!"
  • Giggling Villain
  • Go Out with a Smile: Well, okay, he didn't have much of a choice in the matter but still...
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Sasuke Uchiha, which, depending on how you view it, makes this boss fight either more annoying than it is or, when you consider the revenge tropes associated with both characters, downright hilarious.
  • Looks Like Orlok
  • Moral Event Horizon: You can go back and forth on this one, but he certainly wanted Travis to believe he crossed it by killing Henry, Sylvia, and Shinobu. While he didn't actually kill them, the attempted Mind Screw may still qualify for some.
    • Another possible MEH: ordering Bishop's assassination, in order to ensure Travis comes to fight him.
  • The Napoleon
  • Not So Different
  • One Goofy Purple Caped Angel: far more ridiculous than the cooler parts of the game, which has "standards, for fuck's sake".
  • Perfect Play AI: During the second phase of Batt's fight, he just walks very, very slowly towards Travis. Except for when he suddenly doesn't.
  • Psycho Serum: Used in the second part of the battle, and still apparently running through him in the third.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Has the build and voice of a 11-year-old and spends the majority of the fight giggling like a lunatic.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Money: He's the CEO of Pizza Batt, which controls all of Santa Destroy.
  • Sequential Boss
  • Shout-Out:
  • That One Attack: His triple teleporting punch combo. And it gets worse when he starts shooting wind gusts while doing it.
  • That One Boss: The aforementioned second form quickly becomes this with a mix of one hit kills, and a very hard to dodge combo spam. Only very barely fits the definition of "That One Boss" because his first and last forms aren't even that big of a deal. Hell, if it weren't for That One Attack, even his second form would be manageable.
    • However, that second form makes this an endurance test, as you have to survive all three, including saving your strength for the following section.
  • Teleport Spam: At the risk of sounding like an Overly Long Gag by now, Goddammit!!
  • Visual Pun: The second form; he's got a champion belt that looks similar to Shinobu's and using wrestling moves. Which explains his appearance: He's a Baby Face!!
  • You Killed My Father: Inverted; the villain wants you dead because you killed his father, as well as his brothers. (Possibly for money to buy new Fun T Shirts.)

Civilians

Ryan Yamazaki

"Oh poopie. I have the sad face."

The owner of the gym Travis visits in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Once again, Travis can go there to train to improve his strength and his endurance between getting hit on by the owner.

Tropes exhibited by Ryan Yamazaki include:

Takashi Miike

A Japanese filmmaker who was a friend of Bishop; he is seen visiting Bishop's grave and delivering a new Beam Katana to Shinobu that Bishop had wanted Travis to have.

Tropes exhibited by Takashi Miike include:
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