Travis Touchdown - Reception

Reception

MSNBC editor Scott Taves praised Travis Touchdown's design as richly detailed and flamboyantly designed. Jason Hill of the Sydney Morning Herald described Touchdown as an "absurd, shallow, and pitiful creature", commenting that he is an analogue to gamers. Sean Ewing of The Star-Ledger called Touchdown the poster-child for what anti-video game extremists like Jack Thompson think gamers are like. Nintendo Power listed Travis as their 15th favourite hero, stating that he is kind of like them, except that they aren't "lewd, beam katana-wielding assassins". Game Zone editor Stephen Woodward compared Travis to everyday people living in an uber male fantasy, citing him being an otaku and being a luchador fan. PALGN editor David Low described Touchdown as what gamers want to be, though commenting that Suda 51 "accidentally" incorporated the nerdy aspects of his personality into his character. Tampa Bay Online editor Doug Bell found the character rude and detached, but not funny or cool, calling the other assassins better characters. Game Informer editor Matt Miller suggested that there is a connection between sex and extreme violence with Travis, citing a scene where he waits to confess his love to a woman only after she has blown her head off with a grenade. GamesRadar listed him as the seventh greatest assassin, commenting that in spite of his social awkwardness, he is actually a pretty competent assassin. In discussing the "brooding pretty boy" cliché, they used him as an example of the opposite of this cliché, stating that while he has some qualities of this character type, his personality sets him apart.

Travis has been compared to other characters in fiction, primarily action characters. Game Revolution editor Jesse Constantino comments that while Grasshopper Manufacture tries to portray him as punk, he's no more punk than his grandmother's doll collection, comparing him to Sam Spade of The Maltese Falcon. He was also described as what the love child between Fight Club's Tyler Durden and Kill Bill's The Bride would be. Game designer Steve Gaynor compared Travis' clothing to Durden's as well. He has been compared to another character from Goichi Suda in the video game Flower, Sun, and Rain called Sumio Mondo. Gaming Nexus editor Matt Mirkovich praised the voice work of his voice actor Robin Atkin Downes, calling it one of the best works in gaming. Game Style editor Garry Webber described him as an unashamedly geeky otaku as well as an amoral contemptuous assassin, but added that this was why he was so likable. G4 TV editor Matt Kiel stated that Travis is an especially noteworthy aspect of the quality plot, adding that while he's amoral and a jerk, he is one of the most likable video game characters in a long time. Fox News editor Lou Kesten described Travis as the Wii's most ridiculously violent hero. He was awarded best new character of 2008 by GamePro magazine, and was nominated by GameSpot for the same award.

Goichi Suda stated that he would not mind seeing Travis appear in the Super Smash Bros. series. Joystiq editor Randy Nelson agreed, stating that he would love to see Travis with his beam katana in the next title. Destructoid editor Jim Sterling stated that he would love to see Travis included just by the virtue that it is a creation of Suda's, who he is a fan of. He commented that the close relationship between Suda and Hideo Kojima, whose character Solid Snake is already in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, makes it possible that he could appear. Inc Gamers editor Tim McDonald described Travis as a good fit for the Super Smash Bros. franchise. Kombo editor David Oxford stated that while he did not want to see the cast of the Super Smash Bros. series diluted by third party characters, he could easily see Travis not only fitting into the series, but being fun to play with. Escapist Magazine editor Keane Ng expressed the opinion that while the two third party characters included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog, were highly popular characters, Travis is an unlikely character due to being far less recognizable. He added that while Snake was from a Mature-rated video game, he fit in well; Travis' personality would make him too difficult to include, despite his fighting style being similar to other Smash Bros. characters.