*Slight Spoilers for Hotel Barcelona Below
Anybody who has played a game with Suda 51’s involvement knows that costumes are usually a big part of it. The obvious example of this is Lollipop Chainsaw, but No More Heroes has a good selection of good looks to pick from, too. Hotel Barcelona, for its part, similarly has a roster of outfits that the player can choose between, with them being equippable from the mission select screen, along with the melee and ranged weapon choices, before jumping in. These outfits are part of Justine’s possessed form rather than those of her standard form, which you take control of in the hotel itself.
Unfortunately, unlocking costumes can be very annoying compared to most games, as you do not buy them. Costumes can only be unlocked during runs, and while you can have chances to get them in any level you explore, the opportunities to get them are limited and have a low percentage chance of actually granting you one. This is because they are found as part of an in-game roulette system that starts by unlocking certain chests while you are out on runs. Having free keys on hand is also an important part of this process, so make sure you stock up on them.
The first and most consistent of these opportunities is by entering the Casino that can often appear on your run. The casino’s primary function is to offer another low percentage game to increase weapon level, but upon entering, you will see two chests. The smaller of the chests has money and basic items in it, but the bigger second chest requires a free key to unlock and has much better rewards in it. One of these is Costumes x1, but there are a lot of options you could roll, and the RNG often seems to be against you. As long as you earn a free key during a level, levels will only have one casino in them, so it is possible to never miss one of these chests with the right door moves.
The second and less consistent way to get costumes is through missions. Some areas will trigger a mission the game wants you to complete, and these already do not guarantee your reward will be a chest. Completing these missions, such as defeating enemies a certain way or avoiding hitting certain stuff, can offer a chest that is similar to the big chest in the Casino. Again, though, opening the chest starts a roulette with a lot of options you might land on, costume being only one of them. Obviously, it’s a process and you can go runs of multiple levels, hitting multiple chests and still come up dry, so patience is a virtue here.
For completionists, the trophy/achievement Fashion Leader requires unlocking every costume for Justine that you can collect in Hotel Barcelona, and while not ‘hard’ per se, it could prove to be time-consuming. If you are looking to unlock the hidden bosses in Hotel Barcelona, this too can prove time-consuming but we have a guide for that as well, here.
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