Much like previous entries in the series, the game pays homage to and parodies pop culture media, taking inspiration from works such as Rocky III, Kamen Rider, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the filmography of Takashi Miike.

No More Heroes III is a third-person action-adventure game where the player assumes the role of the professional assassin Travis Touchdown, who must climb to the top of the Galactic Superhero Rankings.

Similar to the previous mainline games, the combat is predominantly centered around Travis' signature "Beam Katana"; a sword with a blade composed of energy.

Upon successful execution of enemies, the player activates the "Slash Reel"; a slot machine which gives the random chance of a currency bonus or a power-up.

The player is able to perform a variety of professional-wrestling techniques on stunned or diverted enemies to deal greater damage and instantly recharge the Beam Katana's battery.

Scrap parts derived from battle missions can be sold off for additional currency or used at the motel to construct Death Glove chips that provide various unique stat modifiers, and the player can also order consumable items in the form of sushi that give players stat boosts in battle, such as increased damage or cooldown reduction on Death Glove abilities.

Alongside Santa Destroy, the neighboring islands of Utopiland consist of Perfect World, a peaceful Americana-influenced suburb; Thunderdome, a salt pan wasteland featuring a Japantown-styled red light district; Call of Battle, a war-torn battlefield; and Neo Brazil, a futuristic cityscape.

He takes residence in Santa Destroy as an occupant of the titular No More Heroes motel, living together with his pet cat Jeane who also serves as Travis' navigator.

From lowest to highest in ranking they consist of Mr. Blackhole, a wormhole bandit; Gold Joe, a space-ore dealer; Black Night Direction, an alien kidnapper; Vanishing Point, a memory thief; Velvet Chair Girl, a "gastro cannon"; Midori Midorikawa, a dark-world princess; Sniping Lee, a galactic sniper champion; Sonic Juice, a demon god; and Paradox Bandit, an explosions master.

Travis Touchdown, who had returned to Santa Destroy following years of self-imposed exile, awakes to the city being invaded and fends off waves of aliens together with fellow assassins Shinobu and Bad Girl.

The battle leaves Shinobu in a coma and Bad Girl devastated over her father's death, compelling Travis to enter the rankings to fight his way to number one and stop FU.

Joined by the recovered Shinobu and Bad Girl alongside Kamui, Notorious, Midori, and Native Dancer, Travis heads to Damon Tower to fight FU, forcing him back to his larval form with everyone's efforts.

Suda explained in an interview following the release of the game that the playable segment was a prototype they used in development, and that the intention behind its inclusion was to evoke a similar feeling that viewers get from the post-credits teasers in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

[7] During the lead-up to Travis Strikes Again's release, Suda detailed an outline for No More Heroes III and expressed his desire to feature assassin battles at a scale similar to that of The Avengers, comparing the game's adversaries to the supervillain Thanos.

[8] The reveal trailer for the game shows Travis battling an invading alien armada and using the Death Glove to don powered armor, utilizing the signature catchphrase of Kamen Rider.

At the time of reveal, Suda wouldn't confirm whether series mainstay Shinobu Jacobs would return, though he stressed that he wanted Kimberly Brooks to reprise the role in the event that she does.

[11] Suda would confirm that Kimmy Howell from No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle would be returning and had been redesigned by Ōkami and Bayonetta character designer Mari Shimazaki.

[12] It was also confirmed that series recurring boss character Destroyman would make a return in multiple variations, designed by Skan Srisuwan of Studio HIVE.

[13] Travis' twin brother and rival Henry Cooldown appears in the game redesigned by The Silver Case and Flower, Sun, and Rain illustrator Takashi Miyamoto; and is voiced by Mark Allan Stewart, having been recast after previously being portrayed by Quinton Flynn.

Suda stressed that Marvelous were encouraging and co-operative of the development of the two games, but also expressed the need to build Grasshopper Manufacture's future on the back of brand new IP that they have full control over.

Because of these factors, No More Heroes III was made with the intent to serve as the foreseeable conclusion to the series, and Suda would describe the game as Travis Touchdown's final battle.

[26] Additional guest composers include Tony Astro, Natsu Fuji, Baku Furukawa, SEKITOVA, and the hip hop group Okumura who collaborated with Abo on the game's sushi song.

[30] Leading up to the reveal Suda advised people to tune into E3, tweeting concept art of FU and new versions of the Santa Destroy insignia, one which served as a homage to the Joy Division album Unknown Pleasures.

[31][32][33] A new story trailer, which started out as a fake title called Goddamn Superhero, premiered at The Game Awards 2019, with CG co-production by animation studios Shirogumi and Kamikaze Douga.

[38] Marvelous, who are publishing the game in Japan, announced a No More Heroes III dedicated livestream event for April 8, 2021, hosted by Suda, Mafia Kajita, and Shishiro Botan from Hololive.

Several side missions, locales and cutscenes were previewed during the event, and a new series digest trailer premiered which recapped the story and showed updated game play.

The demo showed off multiple parts of the game including combat with regular enemies, playing with Travis' cat, Jeane, upgrades and a boss fight with Gold Joe.

Prior to launch, publisher Marvelous confirmed that the game would feature enhanced graphics, running at 4K resolution and 60 FPS on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

[47] In a positive review, Ian Walker of Kotaku wrote "more than establishing a core meaning or truth to cut through the absurdity of reality, No More Heroes 3 is all about imparting a feeling.

"[62] According to Famitsu, the game ranked #9 in Japan on launch week, selling 7,951 copies and becoming the second best-selling new release behind Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-.