Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise (for PlayStation 4)

The Yakuza series of brawlers is extremely popular in Nihon (where it's known as Ryu ga Gotoku), simply until recently information technology hasn't really clicked for American gamers. That changed with Yakuza 0, and since and so, Sega has been working overtime translating the well-nigh recent Yakuza games for North America. One of those games, Hokuto ga Gotoku, isn't truly office of the Yakuza series, but rather an adaptation of Fist of the Northward Star (Hokuto no Ken; hence the combination title), ane of the nearly influential manga series ever. It takes the Fist of the N Star license, adds Yakuza's gameplay mechanics, and arrives in North America this October as Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise. I demoed this upcoming PlayStation four game at E3 2022.

Eden: Kamurocho of the Wasteland

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise takes place in Eden, a walled city that serves as a relatively peaceful hub for exploration and activities. There are casinos, bars, and even an arcade, arranged around an loonshit in the center of the map. It doesn't expect similar Kamurocho (the primary setting for the Yakuza series) and has a completely different layout, just the variety of places y'all can visit and things you can practise betwixt quests feels like it comes straight out of Yakuza.

In fact, there's no question that Lost Paradise was fabricated by the Yakuza team, which becomes credible as soon as you open up the menu screen. Lost Paradise's interface is nearly identical to that of Yakuza. The map shows clearly divers streets, with buildings that sell items and offer activities identified in dissimilar colors. The inventory screen displays small icons of Kenshiro's equipment and consumables, bundled exactly as they are in Yakuza 0, Yakuza 6, and Yakuza Kiwami. Even the skill and level screens, while focused around the Hokuto Shinken schoolhouse, are laid out just like Kiryu's upgrades in the Yakuza games.

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise

Fortunately, the graphics are singled-out enough from Yakuza's that Lost Paradise looks like more than than a mere re-skin. The art has a cel-shaded effect and the character models are based on the manga's art style, so y'all aren't just looking at Kiryu in Kenshiro'south clothes. And, while the map is structured similarly, Eden looks very different from Kamurocho. Information technology resembles a proper post-apocalyptic outpost from Fist of the North Star, rather than a run-downwards Tokyo commune.

You can work equally a bartender or a massage therapist, using the Hokuto Shinken school of martial arts to make your job spectacular. Other side activities are too planned, including collecting arcade games in the wasteland to let you lot play classic viii-bit Fist of the Northward Star video games (another Yakuza staple, with the master series regularly featuring Sega Clubs with classic Sega arcade games). In that location are also plenty of side quests to find, which, if they're anything similar Yakuza's, are more varied and far crazier than anything in the master storyline.

Similar a Fist

As Kenshiro, I walked through the urban center streets, passing stores and clubs that offered minigame experiences and side quests. Occasionally, a grouping of particularly rough citizens noticed me and decided to assault (an absurdly common occurrence for Kiryu in the Yakuza games, too). When they approached me, the nearby street suddenly got walled off by a crowd of cheering spectators. Then, combat began.

As a master of Hokuto Shinken, Kenshiro is just as capable a fighter as Kiryu, able to beat unabridged crowds of goons as they attack him. You can chain weak and stiff attacks with the square and triangle buttons, dodge with the 10 button, and guard with the R1 button. You tin can besides apply special attacks with the circle button, activating certain moves when Kenshiro has plenty energy. The type of assault he uses depends on the situation, beating down a single enemy with powerful strikes or using one opponent equally a club to hit his colleague. In other words, he uses Oestrus moves just like Kiryu does in Yakuza, triggering spectacular, brutal finishing moves with the button of a button.

Besides Hokuto Shinken techniques, Kenshiro has special moves based on other Fist of the North Star characters, provided he has enough energy. These moves are assigned to the direction pad, and so you tin cull up to four at a time. One special move is "Flamethrower Man," a character from the manga. He'southward known for using a flamethrower, and his ability gives Kenshiro a flamethrower for a short amount of fourth dimension. While that special is active, Kenshiro's attacks get bursts of flames, which lets him wreck big crowds of enemies at once.

Kenshiro is a much more lethal fighter than the supposedly never-kills Kiryu, though, and that tendency is evident in how he finishes enemies. He'southward best known for a avalanche of punches that causes his opponents' heads to literally explode, and that's exactly how he fights in Lost Paradise. When enemies are weakened, a circle icon appears near them. Pressing the circle push button starts a simple rhythm game, requiring you to hit the buttons as they appear on the screen. If you succeed, Kenshiro pummels his targets until their bodies glow and deform; and then their heads burst in bloody explosions. It's both gorey and comical, and perfectly in line with the Fist of the Due north Star manga and anime.

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise

The gainsay mode is simply a slightly larger-scale version of the brawls in Eden. More opponents attacked in a larger arena-shaped space, just otherwise, it felt the same. At to the lowest degree, until the boss of the loonshit appeared. During my demo, I fought in Cassandra, a prison fortress from the manga. The boss of Cassandra is its warden, Uighur. He is a massive fighter, towering at least 12 feet tall in the game. Like any proper boss fight, Uighur isn't every bit like shooting fish in a barrel to kill as his underlings. Kenshiro has to beat him down while avoiding his attacks, occasionally using special moves that only impairment Uighur rather than impale him outright. Only when Uighur's health is depleted can Kenshiro use his Fist of the North Star (that's what Hokuto no Ken means) to finish the boss off.

Kenshiro Is Coming

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise feels like a Yakuza game, only gear up in a postapocalyptic wasteland and filled with head explosions. In other words, information technology feels like a worthy Fist of the Due north Star game. The mechanics are lifted directly out of the Yakuza series, but they're potent mechanics to utilise for a series like this. It will feel very familiar to any fans of Yakuza, which isn't exactly a bad thing, even if there aren't any elements that lift the game above beingness a re-skinned spin-off. The Fist hits North America this October.