Update: February 28, 2008
«©NCSX» Originally released for the Atomiswave arcade hardware in 2005, Sega by way of Arc System Works finally unleashes Hokuto no Ken for the home console market. The coin-op version of the game was originally priced at JPY188,000 but this week's conversion clocks in at a humble and very manageable US$29.
Set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia, the fighters in Hokuto no Ken live and die by the fist. Kenshiro Kasumi is one such fighter who struts around in leather duds with chest bared and pectorals rippling. Sharing the doomed world with him are gangs of roaming biker gangs and bandits who prey upon an unprotected populace. To get a little law and order back into the mix, Kenshiro battles thugs with his mighty Hokuto Shinken martial arts skills. Ken's encounters in the wastelands of the future invariably end in tears and gore. Lots of chunky red gore as in exploding bodies, projectile blood ejection, and organs literally leaping out of their crannies and cavities.
Despite the fighting nature of the Hokuto no Ken manga and animation, there's been more video games based on the purely Japanese phenomenon of pachi-slot than fighting. To balance the scales a little bit, Arc System Works of Guilty Gear fame creates a fast-paced 2D fighting game which features 10 brusque and bulging bruisers from Hokuto no Ken. There's the mighty Kenshiro, the conqueror Raoh, his brother Toki, Juda, Thouther, and five more muscle-bound combatants.
Jan Code: 4974365832032
View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
NCS Game Notes
» Hokuto no Ken uses five buttons for the control scheme as follows:
Medium Punch
Strong Punch
Medium Kick
Strong Kick
Special Attack
» The fighters in the game are governed by four meters/gauges as follows:
Life Meter: Your hero's overall health and hit points. Located at the top of the screen.
Seven Star Gauge: Every fighter starts the match with seven blue "stars" set inside a meter below the Life Meter but an opponent's special attack will knock a star out. Dwindle down to zero stars and your hero's life is compromised.
Aura Meter: Gains when attacking and receiving blows - used for igniting mega-mighty special attacks and supers. Located on the bottom of the screen.
Boost Meter: Gains when attacking and receiving blows - used for canceling attacks and funneling into special attacks or to support combo attacks. Located above the Aura Meter.
» The full roster of fighters in the game is as follows:
Kenshiro
Raoh
Toki
Jagi
Shin
Rei
Juda
Thouther
Mr. Heart
Mamiya
Mamiya is the lone woman in the band of combatants.
» The intro of the game begins with a voice over which explains the devastation that led to the world of Hokuto no Ken. An intro plays where the characters are shown in stoic poses while a a song called "YOU WA SHOCK!" plays. The names of the characters are shown alongside the names of the voice actors who provided their respective battle cries in the game.
» Press START and the following selections appear
ARCADE
VS CPU
VS 2P
TRAINING
SURVIVAL
HISTORY
OPTION
QUIT
The HISTORY section contains a gallery of preset matches in which you battle. For example, there a match for Mamiya vs Rei where you control Mamiya and another match for Kenshiro vs RAOH, among others. Much of this portion of the game is locked however.
» In the OPTION submenu, the selections are:
GAME OPTION - Set Game Level, Time Limit, Win Point, Violence (Mild or Strong)
KEY CONFIG - Set controller button configurations (REC Memory L1 and PLAY Memory L2 are available)
RANKING - Check out the leaderboard
DISPLAY SETTINGS - Toggle anti-alias and set vertical and horizontal positioning
SOUND SETTINGS - Adjust BGM, SE, and VOICE volumes or listen to BGM and voices from the game.
SAVE/LOAD - store and restore data to and from memory card
EXIT - Return to the main menu
» The default time limit for a standard match is 77 seconds but you can change it to 7, 33, 55, 99, or infinite.
» Only the d-pad is usable and L-analog is not recognized when using a Dual Shock controller.
» After RAOH wins, his horse trots in and he mounts it while displaying a victory pose. When Kenshiro wins, two kids run up to him cheering.
» Hokuto no Ken boots quickly and there's no noticeable loading time from match to match. The conversion quality from the arcade original is excellent but that's to be expected nowadays. There was a time when we were wary of coin-op to PS2 conversions but those fears have long since been allayed with the advent of top notch conversions for the Guilty Gear X games, Namco's fighting games, Capcom's brawlers (when they still made them), etc.
This document is ©NCSX 2007. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.