| “ | PUNK'S NOT DEAD | „ |
| “ | Right now, the sun is setting. The evening sun looks very beautiful from here. With the sun slowly sinking behind the mountains, the mountains themselves tower over the horizon like their silhouettes are aflame. We should call ourselves very lucky to have such beautiful scenery close to us. Do you not think so, too? | „ |
| ~ Sakura Himegami |
| “ | The dead and the living... What exactly is it that separates these two, I wonder? It can't be denied that each and every one of us will one day join their ranks... and yet, we are frightened, scared of them. | „ |
| ~ Chisato |
| “ | The present is no different from the past. Humanity doesn't change. The seeds are sown, and the destruction continues, for all eternity. Come with me, Mika. See the weight of humanity's sin. A world of insanity, draped in superficiality and hypocrisy. Let me show you... | „ |
| ~ Mithra |
| “ | "Disposal" means cutting these motherfuckers out of this world. Get rid of their very existence, so nobody has to ever even see them again. This crime virus they're spreading around, cut it off at the source. Annihilation of the self... That's what we do. | „ |
| ~ Tetsugoro Kusabi |
| “ | OK, I'll make this quick. I'm a searcher by trade. That means I look for things. Ask me to find something and I'll find it. That's what I do. This baby is a Toyota Celica. A car that only true connoisseurs can appreciate. I named it Giggs. Those of us who name our cars, well, we're a select bunch. You find me in a hurry because I'm heading for a job... Not desperate for the can, OK? The "Flower, Sun and Rain Hotel". Can you believe that name? And now they've hired me. I don't know exactly what for yet.. I'm meeting with the agent on the ground. That's when I'll get the details. I've no idea what lies ahead... But the word "lost" isn't in my personal dictionary. My work is always perfect. I can find anything. And so, another adventure begins. | „ |
| ~ Sumio Mondo, introducing himself in the game's intro |
| “ | The past doesn't die. Even if killed, it won't die. It won't disappear. Even when you think it's gone, it comes back, making a face like it's been there the whole time, staring at you, sizing you up. The past takes people over. And once it does, it won't let go. | „ |
| “ | Let's talk serious for a second. Heaven Smile, they're holy warriors. Shit. Ain't that pretty wicked? Warriors who fight with a holy will on their side, and use death as a weapon. Their target? The very dignity of this country itself. But why should you understand the meaning? Shit, you're a killer after all. | „ |
| “ | I know a lot of gamers out there don't have much patience. Least that's what Bishop, the dude at the video store said. So I'm at the register, then I realize: I got no money! I was seriously broke. Why? Cuz I met this smokin' hot chick last night at the Death-Match bar. Man, did she smell good! So being the gentleman I am, I bought her a drink. Anyhoo, I decide to get a job. The gig: assassinate the drifter. So I went where I was supposed to and waited for the guy to show up. And there he was. This cat. Well dressed, cool. Couldn't tell if he was "the shit"...or just plain ol' shit. Yeah, so he's stylin', fast, aggressive and packin' heat. Bada Bing! Or at least it was supposed to be... Til she showed up. |
„ |
| ~ No More Heroes' intro, as narrated by Travis himself |
| “ | Sylvia, I want to make a deal. I'll conquer the rankings--fight whoever it takes. And in return, You find me the assholes who killed Bishop. Everybody deals with grief differently, right? Some people fuck at funerals. I cut off heads. | „ |
| “ | People ask me, "What is the meaning of killing if you're risking your own life?" It doesn't 'mean' shit. It's about instinct, not meaning. That spark lights up in your brain. And that sweet, sweet dopamine starts to flow. There's no 'meaning' to men fighting. Men are born to fight. My name is Travis Touchdown. The legendary assassin? Nuh-huh. The dude of "legend" has retired. My real story begins here. Get ready for the most hardcore bad-ass assassin in history! | „ |
| “ | As you can see, things got all funky real quick. There's probably some planet-eating-type dude waiting for me up ahead, all yoked and powerful and trying to take over the world or something. But don't you worry. A hero descends. What? There are no heroes in this world? Oh but there totally are. My name is Travis Touchdown. I'm the last hero around, here to save the world. I'm also just a passing assassin. Here we go... Takin' a kill trip on Death Road! | „ |
| ~ Travis |
| “ | Oh, I'm sure it will come back to you in no time. Relax amigo. This is going to be an adventure. Our very own road movie. And the best part is... you never know what's waiting around the bend. | „ |
| “ | Oh my God! What the heck happened?! Gross! Yuck! Back off! Seriously, dude, what the hell? Ugh. And on my birthday, too! Like I'm not already late enough! Gross- Stupid- Undead douchebags! | „ |
| ~ Juliet's reaction to discovering a zombie apocalypse |
| “ | Good luck, kid. One day, you may have to walk this path too. And on this job... you always come face to face with darkness. That's why you gotta find a beacon of light that'll never succumb to it. | „ |
| “ | I love this road. When I drive up that hill, it’s like heaven’s waiting for me on the other side. Beyond this deep green road, there’s a brilliant blue sky, white clouds, and a shining… Jet black box. | „ |
| “ | Senpai! I was waiting for you! This is your first time riding Line 15, huh? I know, it's not a very well known line, I admit. Anyway, this is the last stop. Oh yeah... Here, take this! It's called an Underworld Rolodex, and it's super important. I forgot to mention... My name is Uncle Death. I have a feeling we're going to get along just fine. | „ |
| “ | Kill the Past. | „ |
| ~ Many characters across various games |
Summary
Kill The Past is a term used to indicate a series of games written by Japanese game designer, writer and director Goichi Suda, better known by his alias of Suda51 and most known for games like No More Heroes or Killer7. These games all share themes of finding meaning in life, the contrast of personal and universal morality, focus on telephones, televisions and the moon and perhaps most importantly overcoming one's traumatic or dangerous past. Alongside these thematic connections, all of these games alongside several other ones worked on by Suda51 or the game developer company he founded, Grasshopper Manufacture exist in the same universe, as shown by several author statements, plus many characters from certain series appearing in others, most notably Kamui Uehara from The Silver Case or Dan Smith from Killer7 being important characters in Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. This universe has sometimes also been referred to as "Sudaverse" or "Grasshopperverse".
A trio of visual novels developed by Human Entertainment in 1996 to 1997.
The first two Syndrome games, Twilight Syndrome: Search and Twilight Syndrome: Investigation, were initially planned to release as one game, but was split in two volumes due to development timelines. They depict three high school girls, Yukari Hasegawa, Mika Kishii and Chisato Itsushima, investigating a series of paranormal events. The games are episodic in nature, though the characters develop as the story proceeds.
Suda51 became the developer of Twilight Syndrome partway through its production, and as such had relatively little input on it. Due to his dislike for ghost stories, when developing the sequel, Moonlight Syndrome was focused more on psychological horror and humanity's capacity for evil. Set one year after Twilight Syndrome, it sees Mika Kiishi as the primary protagonist, stalked by two supernatural entities that eventually lead to the deaths of her friends, and ultimately her own.
While Moonlight Syndrome was not very well received by the fanbase of the previous two games and Suda abandoned Human Entertainment after its release, its characters would go on to re-appear in future games of his, such as The Silver Case, Flower, Sun and Rain or Killer7.
Two more Twilight Syndrome were produced by Spike after Human failed, without the contribution of Suda51, and are not canonical by Kill The Past as a whole, themselves not treating Moonlight Syndrome as canonical.
Initially released for Playstation 1 in 1999 as Grasshopper Manufacture's debut title, The Silver Case is a visual novel/adventure game set in contemporary Japan which sees the Heinous Crimes Unit, an elite police department, investigate various difficult and possibly related cases in "Transmitter£, as well as journalist Tokio Morishima try to report on them while dealing with his personal life in "Placebo". While it starts as a fairly traditional noir story, The Silver Case evolves into a much more complex and high-concept story that deals with topics such as the then-contemporaneous advent of the internet, the way the government can distort reality, and dealing with one's trauma: In the third chapter of The Silver Case, the words "Kill The Past" are uttered for the first time in a Suda51 game.
The Silver Case was remade and released with the addition of two extra chapters for PS4 and PC in 2016/2017, then released together with its direct sequel the 25th Ward on Nintendo Switch under the name "The Silver Case 2425". A short novel was released one month after the original release of the game in 1999. Titled Case #4.5: Face, it stars The Silver Case character Sakura Natsume right before her entrance in the 5th chapter of the original name, privately investigating a case the HCU was also dealing with before she joined them.
In 2001, a semi-direct sequel to The Silver Case was released for the Playstation 2. Titled Flower, Sun and Rain it sees a man named Sumio Mondo tasked with going to the beautiful natural paradise known as Lospass Island and finding a bomb hidden in an airport. The one giving him this task is a mysterious man named Edo Macalister, owner of a nearby hotel called the Flower, Sun and Rain Hotel. While Sumio initially fails, he finds that time on Lospass Island is warped, and that every day, the airplane will fly into the sky and explode again until he manages to stop it. Once again, this story is much more than it originally seems, and it is considered to be one if not the most symbolic and abstract Suda51 game by many of his fans. The only translated version of FSR is the Nintendo DS port, Flower, Sun and Rain: Murder and Mystery in Paradise, although Suda has promised a port/remake to modern platforms.
The next and as of now final game in the series is The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, set in the same city as the first game: It now follows three different storylines- "Correctness" sees the Heinous Crimes Unit investigating even more bizarre and abstract cases than ever, chasing the shadow of Kamui. "Matchmaker" follows Shinkai Tsuki and his junior Yotaro Osato, members of the Regional Adjustment Bureau, tasked with assassinating individuals troublesome to the japanese government. Finally, "Placebo" returns as does its protagonist, Tokio Morishima, who wakes up with amnesia and tasked with finding a woman known as "The Goddess". Initially released on mobile platforms in an episodic format in the span of 2005-2007, The 25th Ward was remade and released on PC and PS4 in 2018. and, coupled with The Silver Case, on Nintendo Switch in 2021. This remake contains several new chapters, including a completely new ending.
Released as a first print bonus for The Silver Case 2425, Red, Blue and Green is a manga adaptation (Drawn by the same artist who had previously worked with Suda51 on Kurayami Dance) of a short story originally published in the "Suda51 Official Complete Book". It's divided in three stories all themed after one color: The first two parts, "redout" and "blueout" star minor characters from The 25th Ward discussing the assassination of their ex-colleague Jabroni, finally deciding to contact a "cleaner" named Midori Midorikawa, whose backstory is told in the third chapter, "greenout". Midori would then go on to play a role in No More Heroes III.
A 2005 action-adventure videogame published by Capcom, Killer7 is one of Suda51's most unique titles: The visual novel style of The Silver Case was abandoned in favor of a game where the characters are forced to move across predetermined pathways, only able to pick directions on specific spots. To fight enemies, the endless Heaven Smile suicide bomber zombies, the player must stop moving and carefully scan the area for them, then aim at their weak spots.
If Killer7's gameplay is unique and difficult to comprehend, the story is even more so: A complex, neo-noir narrative that sees the titular Killer7, also known as the Smith Syndicate, tasked to combat the Heaven Smiles and carry out hits on various political targets. The plot concerns the true nature of the US-Japan relations in the world of Killer7, the friendly rivalry between the god-like Harman Smith and Kun Lan, and the personal matters of various members of the Killer7, such as Garcian and Dan Smith. Released on Gamecube and contemporaneously (poorly) ported to Playstation 2, Killer7 was later remastered for PC.
Since over 70% of Killer7's story was cut from the actual game, a book titled Hand in killer7 was written to explain more of its plot, although it is known to contradict both itself and the game, perhaps purposefully. A novel called Killer is Dead (no relation to the 2013 game, also made by Grasshopper Manufacture) was also written, originally published in DENGEKI PlayStation2 magazine, before many years later being released online in Suda Fables, a series of articles consisting of side material taking place in the worlds of games written and directed by SUDA51, as well as original stories unconnected to previous games. Killer is Dead stars Shigeki Birkin, an assassin known as "Batman" (later changed into "Badman" for obvious reasons) because of his weapon of choice, a baseball bat, who would later go on to star as the co-protagonist of Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes.
No More Heroes is an action-adventure hack and slash video game for the Wii, and it features a 27-year old otaku called Travis Touchdown, who wins a "beam katana" in an online auction and becomes involved with the United Assassins Association, a ranking of assassins all across America. Lured in by a beautiful woman and the promise to be number one, Travis sets out to kill every single ranked assassin, and get to the top. A sequel, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, was first released in North America on January 26, 2010, where Travis must climb to the top once again to avenge his friend Bishop Shidux.
A port of the game called No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 with additional content in 2010. However, Heroes' Paradise was overall received negatively and Suda51 has stated in interviews that he deems the Wii version and its ports to platforms such as the Nintendo Switch and PC to be the ultimate version of the game. A free-to-play, Japan-only game called No More Heroes: World Ranker was released in 2012 on Google Play and Apple Store, but it has since been delisted and very little is known about it today.
After several years of no No More Heroes news, a side game called Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, was released in 2019 for Nintendo Switch and later for Windows and Playstation 4. It sees an older, wiser and even introspective at times Travis Touchdown retired from society to play videogames in a camper in a forest in Texas, where he is ambushed by Badman, the father of one of the assassins he had killed in the first game. Badman tries to get his revenge, but because of an item called a "Death Ball" he was carrying, both him and Travis are sucked into Travis' videogame console, and find out that if they can gather all seven Death Balls and beat the games within them, they will be granted one wish.
Travis Strikes Again's post-credits scene, alongside its DLC chapter, foreshadowed the 2021 release of No More Heroes III, currently only available on Nintendo Switch, where Travis Touchdown has to fight an alien invasion heralded by the charismatic FU and his Galactic Superhero Rankings, which see Travis once again trying to get to Rank #1, but this time with the fate of the planet at stake.
Published by EA on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011, Shadows of the Damned is a third-person shooter by Suda51 and Shinji Mikami, composed by Akira Yamaoka. After Suda was told by EA to come up with a new draft for Shadows of the Damned's scenario five different times, the final game stars Garcia Hotspur, a hardcore demon hunter who adventures through hell to save his love from the lord of hell, Fleming.
Shadows of the Damned would then go on to get a fictional sequel, DAMNED Dark Knight, played through as one of the levels in Travis Strikes Again, where the protagonists meet and fight Eight Hearts, a humanoid form of Johnson, Garcia's sidekick from SotD.Lollipop Chainsaw is a 2012 hack-and-slash adventure which sees cheerleader Juliet Starling fight through an army of the undead to save her school from a zombie apocalypse. It was co-written by Suda51 and famous filmmaker James Gunnn.
An action-adventure game released for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in 2013, Killer Is Dead is set in a futuristic world you play an executioner name Mondo Zappa who works for a company hired to kill various criminals and assassins as he fights the ever-growing darkness inside him and tries to remember his forgotten past.
A short manga written by Suda51 and drawn by Syuji Takeya, Kurayami Dance is based off Suda's original idea for Kurayami, which he was eventually forced to rewrite into Shadows of the Damned by EA. It sees a young undertaker named Kaido Wataru as he awakens from a three-year coma and is tasked to adventure through a completely different country to deliver the coffin for its recently-deseased founder.
Released in 2016, LET IT DIE is a free-to-play action role-playing game roguelike soulslike which sees the player taking the role as an unnamed fighter, who must climb up a tall and treacherous "Tower of Barbs" with the guidance of a mysterious grim reaper who has taken a liking to them.
While the Fire Pro Wrestling videogame series is not contained in this world as a whole, the Champion Road Beyond DLC campaign for the 2017 game Fire Pro Wrestling World and the SNES videogame it is a sequel to, Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special, were written by Suda51, and are part of the greater canon of his games as can be seen from Notorious, a character from Champion Road Beyond, making an appearance in No More Heroes III.
Other games currently not profiled in this site but still part of Kill The Past/The Grasshopperverse include Diabolical Pitch and Michigan: Report From Hell.Power of the Verse
Due to the various kinds of stories contained in Grasshopper Manufacture's games, the power levels shown in its characters are all over the place, ranging from stories that never make it past Wall level to various Brown Dwarf level characters. The variety of powers is also great, ranging from characters with nothing noteworthy about them beyond their fighting skills to truly god-like beings who exist not as beings of flesh but abstract ideas, able to infect and take over anyone who comes into contact with those near them.
Explanations
Examples of instinct-based ESP/Precognition in Kill The Past: Gathers over 140 examples of people in KTP sensing things through instinct. This is considered a universal ability in the verse.
Explanation of Kill The Past Canon
The Silver Case - Explanation Blog: Covers most abilities for Kamui, Kosuke Kurumizawa and Mokutaro Shiroyabu
Calculations
Wall level (The Silver Case, No More Heroes)
- Schpeltiger KE - 403265.646 Joules (Scales to strong human fodder enemies and any character who should reasonably be above them)
- Sumio Mondo kicks a bag - 9-B
- A Goon Flies Against a Wall - 9-B
Small Building level (Moonlight Syndrome) - Chisato destroys a room - 353541655.87 Joules/0.0845 Tons of TNT
At least Small Building level+, likely Town level (Killer7. Note that the characters' 8-C and High 7-C ratings come from multiplying the ratings by 4)
- Heaven Smile Explosion - 825332237.576 Joules/0.1973 Tons of TNT
- Killer7 Assorted Feats - 9-A
- Heaven Smile Destruction - 9-B
- The main rating for Killer7' 7-C comes from No More Heroes 2
- Heaven Smile Stadium Explosion - Low 7-C
At least Building level, possibly City Block level+ (No More Heroes 1)
- Letz Shake Crater - At least 2673661278.42 Joules/0.639 Tons of TNT possibly 3.391885 x 10^11 Joules/ 81.068 Tons of TNT
- Speed Buster's Beam - 9-A
Town level (No More Heroes 2, Travis Strikes Again, Killer7, The Silver Case)
- Vladimir destroys Volk - 1.34025595 x 10^14 Joules/32032.886 Tons of TNT
- Jasper Batty Jr. slaps a building roof - High 8-C+
Large Mountain level (Glastonbury, Charlie MacDonald)
- Glastonbury, let's punk! High 7-A
- Their High 5-A rating comes from No More Heroes III
At least Small Building level+, likely City Block level in the Death Drive Mk. II (Travis Strikes Again)
- Travis Strikes Again Feats - 602035760 Joules/0.14389 Tons of TNT
- TSA characters' 8-B rating comes from Shadows of the Damned
Brown Dwarf level (No More Heroes III, Glastonbury, Charlie MacDonald)
- Space Peacock KE - 1.156 x 10^39 Joules/2.76290631 x 10^29 Tons of TNT
- Space Peacock Size - 5-A
Small Building level (No More Heroes III) - Aliens destroy a metal object - 199855460.2 Joules/0.04776 Tons of TNT (Scales to weaker No More Heroes 3 enemies)
City Block level - Stinky Bird Rock Destruction - 1.004 x 10^11 Joules/24.00 Tons of TNT (Scales to Shadows of the Damned characters and Travis Strikes Again in-game characters)
Large Town level (Lollipop Chainsaw)
- Killabilly's destruction - 1.59414184679 x 10^15 Joules/381009.0456 Tons of TNT
- Killabilly GPE - High 8-C
At least Building level+, City Block level when transformed (Killer Is Dead)
- Giant Head GPE - 6858665452.23 Joules/1.6392 Tons of TNT
- David Zappa blows up his own house - 5.9546 x 10^10 Joules/14.2318 Tons of TNT
Tertiary Ratings
- Sumio Kodai blows up a city - Low 7-B+ (Scales to Sumio Kodai with preparation)
- Step's explosion - 8-B (Scales to Step Sding and Sumio Mondo's briefcase)
- Electro Triple Star smashes a wall - 9-B (Scales to suitless Electro Triple Star and Bugs)
- An assassin deflects a shotgun blast - 9-B (Scales to Akane Tsukiyono)
- The Fighter destroys a COEN/Uncle Death hits a golf ball to the Moon - 9-B/Low 7-B (Scales to all Let It Die characters/Uncle Death)
- Uncle Death - 5-A (Scales to Uncle Death's TK)
- Tetsugoro Kusabi dodges a bullet - Reaction speed, Subsonic (Scales to HCU agents)
- Killer7 Assorted Feats - Relativistic (Scales to Killer7 characters)
- Dr. Peace Parry, Helter Skelter Dodge - Hypersonic+ (Scales to No More Heroes 1/2)
- Parrying Vladimir's beam - Massively Hypersonic+ (Scales to NMH2, TSA characters as well as certain TSC ones)
- Henry Jumps Really High - Movement Speed, Subsonic (Scales to almost everyone in the first No More Heroes and beyond)
- Travis Jumps Really High - Movement Speed, Superhuman (Backup feat, scales to the first half of No More Heroes 2)
- Travis Strikes Again Feats - Superhuman (Scales to Travis Strikes Again in-game characters)
- No More Heroes 3 Attack Speed - FTL/FTL+ (Scales to No More Heroes 3 characters)
- Space Peacock Size - Sub-Relativistic+/Relativistic Movement Speed (Scales to Travis in his Full Armor Mode and the Space Peacock respectively)
- User blog:Armorchompy/Shadows of the Damned - Fleming knocks away a bullet - Subsonic (Scales to Shadows of the Damned characters and Travis Strikes Again in-game characters)
- David deflects automatic fire - Supersonic (Scales to Killer Is Dead characters)
- An assassin deflects a shotgun blast - Hypersonic (Scales to Akane Tsukiyono)
- Uncle Death hits a golf ball to the moon - Attack Speed, Relativistic+ (Scales to Uncle Death)
- Killer7 Assorted Feats - Class 1/Class 5 (Scales to the Killer7 and the Black Smiles respectively)
- Henry Jumps Really High - Class 50 (Scales to almost everyone in No More Heroes 1)
- Henry throws Travis - Class 5 (Backup feat, scales to almost everyone in NMH)
- Travis Jumps Really High - Class 10 (Backup feat, scales to the first half of No More Heroes 2)
- Speed Buster Howitzer - Class 5 (Scales to Speed Buster)
- Glastonbury, let's punk! - Class G (Scales to the Glastonbury and the Santa Death Parade)
- Jasper Batt Weight - Class K (Scales to everyone from the second half of NMH2 to Class K)
- Travis Strikes Again Feats - Class 10 (Scale to Travis Strikes Again in-game characters)
- BONE Lifting Strength - Peak Human (Scales to weaker No More Heroes 3 enemies)
- Travis pushes against Damon's mech - Class M (Scales to the absolute strongest No More Heroes 3 characters)
- Stinky Bird Rocks - Class M (Scales to Shadows of the Damned characters and Travis Strikes Again in-game characters)
- Juliet shoves some zombies upwards - Class 5 (Scales to Lollipop Chainsaw characters)
- Giant Head Arm Weight - Class K (Scales to Killer Is Dead characters)
- Mushroom Magistrate throws a large gate - Class M (Scales to all Killer Is Dead characters)
- Glastonbury, let's punk! - Size Calculation
- Jasper Batt Height - Size Calculation
- Various Sizes - Size Calculations
- Space Peacock Size - Size and Range Calculation
- Killabilly Size - Size Calculation
Knowledgeable Members
Supporters/Opponents/Neutral
Supporters
Opponents
Neutral
Characters
The Silver Case
Flower, Sun and Rain
The 25th Ward: The Silver Case/Red, Blue and Green
No More Heroes 1
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
No More Heroes III
Discussions
| Discussion threads involving Kill the Past |