![]() ![]() For Crunchyroll subscribers, you can watch the series here.įist of the North Star has many different spin-offs by a different mangaka. The second series ran immediately after the ending of the first until early 1988. The first one ran from late 1984 until early 1987. Two anime TV series were made during the manga’s running time. The original manga ended in 1988, consisting of 27 volumes. In 1983, the duo started working together on this epic and brutal martial arts series. Fist of the North Star’s History Hokuto no Ken Volume 4įist of the North Star ( 北斗の拳 Hokuto no Ken, more literally, Fist of the Big Dipper) is a series of manga and anime created by Buronson (the writer) and Tetsuo Hara (the illustrator). Despite the post-apocalyptic disorders and a setting in the future, relative to early 1980s anyway, FotNS has some old-world ideologies. What are those? Well, read on to find out more! ![]() I think I am allowed to say that Fist of the North Star is the pioneer of extremely manly manga/anime. Buried within the action and drama lie many interesting ideas. Still, whether you're a fan of Yakuza, Fist of the North Star or just plain old smacking folk in the chops, Lost Paradise is action malarkey of the highest order and a punch drunk love letter to die-hard fistophiles.Fist of the North Star’s Romanticism and Codesįist of the North Star is the manliest Japanese shounen series. It's also more po-faced than Yakuza, which cuts through the kickings with a wry sense of humour and general Japanese silliness. Many areas of Eden are inaccessible until much later in the game, and while there are 80 substories to complete, poor signposting spells much aimless wandering. Ultimately, though, comparisons to Yakuza merely show up Fist's shortcomings. You can also switch between the original Japanese audio or (sacrilege!) an English dub. While running on an older version of Yakuza's Dragon Engine, it's still a looker, with cel-shaded visuals lending the ultraviolence a certain cartoon charm. You'll also find a bunch of old Sega arcade cabinets, whiling away the hours with pixel-perfect versions of OutRun, Space Harrier and Super Hang-On. Packed with activities, Ken can turn his fist to buggy races, running a clinic, managing a hostess bar or – best of all – bartending, mixing drinks with the same intensity as the game's deadly combat. Along the way you'll beef up our stone-faced hero's move-set, fortifying your fists for some epic boss battles.īut true to its Yakuza roots, Eden offers more than dustbowl dust-ups. Achieve a perfect channeling and your foe literally explodes into a shower of spring-loaded guts.Īll realism goes out of the butcher's shop window as your opponents erupt in geysers of gore – you can even grab their death cry and clobber their poor pals with it. Where Fist differs, though, is through Ken's mastery of Hokuto Shinken, allowing him to wallop hidden points in his enemies. Using the dependable Yakuza combat system, taking out the trash is a simple ballet of light and heavy attacks. It's utter nonsense in the best possible way as Ken struts about a Mad Max environment like a bowl of biceps, taking on monumentally proportioned Neanderthals in an orgy of blood and violence. Before long, players are loafing around its post-apocalyptic wasteland, fisting their way to kung fu glory in a dependably demented take on the classic manga. It's a far cry from the fluffy whimsy of Studio Ghibli's output, aimed squarely at red-meat-eating violence connoisseurs.Īnd while Lost Paradise isn't the first time Fist's evil-thwarting capers have received the videogame treatment, it's easily the best.ĭeveloped by Yakuza-peddlers Ryu Ga Gotoku, the studio has elegantly draped the Fist universe on their enduring template as Ken (short for Kenshiro and not, well, Kenneth) travels to the idyllic city of Eden in search of his lost love. SINCE its 1984 debut, Fist of the North Star has proved one of manga's most enduring series as stoic Bruce Lee-a-like Ken tears it up in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, righting wrongs by punching goons in the face. Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (PS4) ![]()
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