Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $28.59
Today's Bonus: 5% Off

A month before buying the game, I watched half of the first series just to gear up and understand the North Star universe. It left me very excited in wanting to try this title out. After playing it, I think this will be my last purchase of a Dynasty Warrior-esque game for a couple of reasons.

Pros:

-If you're a fan of the anime or manga series, it follows the storyline pretty closely. I was honestly surprised to see they included the young characters from the messed up world, like Bat and Lin. The translation from anime to game is perfect as well. After you perform a signature move, there's a brief pause describing the move after your character executes it, much like in the anime.

-Dynasty Warriors w/ a Twist: Plays like Dynasty Warriors but has a hardcore feel to it. I don't ever remember seeing a pirate explode in my edition of DW: Empires.

-You are already dead!

Cons:

-Boredom and Repetitiveness: After you've gotten past Chapter 6, most of the landscape begins to look like the same maze over and over. The enemies aren't any help either. If you've seen one guy with a club or axe, you bound to see 50 other clones about every 40 seconds. There are timed and sub-missions which might pop up sometimes and are quite fun. It helps you earn extras for that current mission, but even that gets old. Most of the Dynasty Warrior games I've played have always suffered from this.

Boss Battles: All of the boss battles are the same. Though there is one with a horse o.O

Overall: It's average at best. I love the concept. I love its likeness to the anime. I love the characters and English dub. I even love watching the heads of enemies blow up like a balloon until they go *pop*. But Stage 1 is no different than Stage 12. If you're a fan of the anime/manga, it's a great adaptation to check out. I wouldn't see why Dynasty Warrior fans wouldn't like this either. But honestly, it just gets boring. If you want to try a game similar to Dynasty Warriors with a hint of anime (and is way more entertaining), I recommend Sengoku Basara 3. At least that game isn't already dead....

Yes. I went there....

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

I love Fist of the North Star. I remember watching the bootlegs on VHS and not understanding whats going on because it was in Japanese. I also like dynasty warriors games. After a long day at work, i like to unwind and totally destroy armies of dudes and having their head explode. This game kept me pretty entertain for the last 2 weeks. Played a level or 2 everyother day. After i beat it with Kenshiro, i kinda lost interest. Sure i can play it as Rei or Toki.... maybe i will play it again if i get bored during the winter. I didn't mind the repitative nature of the game, because even when your grinding through levels you can upgrade your character. The only thing i didn't like is how hard Roah was at the end. It took me countless tries to figure out the pattern, they also don't give you the luxery of the extra health box, then when you finally get his life down to the bottom the quick time button presses it was impossible. You have to grind his life down 2 more times just so the quick time button presses is even managable. Recommended if you are a fan of either FOTNS or Dynasty/Samurai Warriors.

Buy Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage Now

This game is very enjoyable if you are a fan of the anime or manga. It has several modes and characters to choose from, and lots of cool moves you can do. People unfamiliar with the series may not like it as much but its still a fun beat-em-up.

Read Best Reviews of Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage Here

Koei hasn't exactly been an innovator with its games over the years, but if you think about it for a minute, why should it? The company's games fill a distinct niche in the gaming environment so well that too drastic a change would alienate its fanbase and as a result reduce the company's survivability. With that said, the company's trademark hack n' slash formula is present in full attire, but what FOTNS does differently is slow things down drastically which results in more heft and impact behind each punch and kick. Although some may feel that combat is too slow, even when surrounded by 20+ enemies, you'll appreciate what Koei has done here, as clearing the pack in a single crushing blow is a very satisfying feat.

This slowed down style is necessary as it seems to emphasize the character's crushing power as they reel back to charge an attack and suddenly connect with a satisfying falsetto "YAHHHHH!!!!!" It also makes combos more gratifying and brutal, and it lends a fluid and natural flow to the pace of battle. Whereas Dynasty Warriors is fast, frenzied, and aesthetically pretty, FOTNS is fluid, calculated, and downright vicious.

Despite this "slowed" combat, one minor but very awesome detail here is that Kenshiro can roll cancel (think CvS2) most of his attacks, which keeps the momentum alive and also greatly opens up your options when you whiff a punch, input the wrong command, or want to shorten recovery time. I found myself roll canceling almost everything in the beginning, before I learned any of the awesome combos, since it allowed me to avoid a knockdown. Other characters don't have this ability, as their fighting styles don't permit it, but once you gain their control you won't need to do it as you'll be familiar with combat and will have access to devastating combos.

One thing you'll definitely want to do in FOTNS is purchase intrinsic skills, which are always active once learned and serve to increase attack power, defense, or what have you. It's a basic leveling system, to be sure, but it further emphasizes the series' pressure point system and also your character's development into a stronger fighter, which is a mighty cool integration of gameplay features and source material.

Speaking of source material, if you're not familiar with the FOTNS universe, don't despair. The narrative moves the story along at a sensible and easy to understand pace, meanwhile the encyclopedia fills you in succinctly (unlike Mass Effect 2) with everything else you may want to know. Anybody complaining they can't follow the story is simply too lazy to read a few sentences, and by few I really mean a short paragraph.

Just as Koei's combat systems across different series tend to be variations of the same theme the music shares similarities as well, and Koei again has done an excellent job in this department. Being a metal fan for 20+ years I was thrilled to hear chunky, speedy, thrashy, and melodic riffs wail away in the background. It's the perfect fit for the 80s vibe and general machismo of the series, and in today's age it seems rare to see such an emphasis on that one style with the exception of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. Voice acting is excellent and present in full Japanese or English audio, and exaggerated blood splashes are always welcome when enemies explode. Little things like that go a long way in a Koei game and it's nice to see that the company knows this too and does everything it can to achieve a richer experience.

I was very satisfied with FOTNS and having recently finished Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll and Warriors: Legends of Troy, and having dabbled in DW7 a bit, I can wholeheartedly say that Koei is growing remarkably well. These four titles alone, having been published in less than a single year, is truly a presage of good things to come from Koei.

Want Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage Discount?

Good fighting game with a variety of characters and moves. Unfortunately, the DLC is no longer available from PSN or anywhere else.