既に死んでいる! This translates to the main character’s famous line to anyone he fights – to the death! For anyone who is a fan of the most graphically violent manga and anime series of all time, 北斗の拳, or Fist of the North Star, or the literal translation – Fist of the Great Bear, this is a familiar phrase. This translation of the classic graphic comic and cartoon series to a video game is probably the best ever! This was my wife’s gift to me this past Christmas 2010. It surprised me, to be honest. I had seen brief video clips of this game and pictures on the internet and in magazines, and having played previous versions of this title had me quite skeptical. After talking with some employees at some of my favorite video game stores, they told me they actually enjoyed it and that I ought to download the demo, which only featured Kenshiro and Rei, on my PS3. At their advice, I did, and was completely blown away! The graphics were awesome, the controls were really great, the upgrade programming was superbly challenging, and about ½ the soundtrack actually fit the game!
北斗の拳
Needless to say, I was quite impressed by this version of Fist of the North Star! Another impressive feature to the combat system is the button-pushing combo you have to hit when delivering your Finishing Moves to the boss enemies. Do it right, and you can watch the awesomely impressive Signature Moves of each character you play! If you miss it, or run out of time, you get blown back by the Boss’s recovery and you sacrifice some of your life meter. I’ve played four of them so far: Kenshiro, Rei, Mamiya, and Toki. Kenshiro’s fighting style is the most impressive and challenging. Of course, he’s my favorite character. When you beat Kenshiro’s legendary mode, it unlocks certain features, like playing him in Dream Mode. The game, on the whole, is worth the price and very deep in a few areas. It is easy to tell that the companies involved with putting this game together took their time to get it right, this time. PLUS, there are three different fight styles, depending on what characters you choose. Kenshiro and Toki are the Hokuto types, while Rei and Shin are the Nanto types. For the fans of this Japanese Animation series, you know what each type means. Characters like Mamiya and Jagi, however, are labeled as the Special Styles.
For those not quite familiar with the series, Hokuto style is also known as the Assassins’s Art. Being able to hit certain pressure points on your opponent’s body, you can cause it to do just about anything. The most obvious thing, with this series, is causing your opponent’s body to explode or rip itself in half, among other things; basically destroying your opponent from the inside out. Nanto style has it where you destroy everything from the outside in. Your fingers become like knives or razors! This obviously leads to some real graphic violence within the game.
北斗百裂弾
The other added incentive to the game is utilizing your environment. You have the ability to use whatever you can get your hands on to defeat the enemy. Fuel barrels, steel girders, and busted lamp posts, etc. Use these to get to enemies who’re probably too far from your reach. Along with an extensively detailed instructions manual at your disposal, playing this game should be very enjoyable for fans of the series or for fans of graphic fighting games.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this game a 9, seeing as the only annoying thing about this game was some repetitive rock music in a couple of levels. That aside, it is the best translation of Fist of the North Star I have ever played!
RATING: “M” for Mature – not recommended for anyone under 17 years of age!
Fist of the North Star, Kenshiro, Raoh, and all related subjects, likenesses, materials, names, contents, etc. is Copyright © 1983 Buronson & Tetsuo Hara/North Star Pictures, Inc. All rights reserved.
Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, pictures, likenesses, etc. is Copyright © 2010 TECMO KOEI GAMES CO., LTD All rights reserved.
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