The Yakuza series of brawlers is extremely popular in Japan (where it's known as Ryu ga Gotoku), but until recently it hasn't really clicked for American gamers. That changed with Yakuza 0, and since then, Sega has been working overtime translating the most recent Yakuza games for North America. One of those games, Hokuto ga Gotoku, isn't truly part of the Yakuza series, but rather an adaptation of Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken; hence the combination title), one of the most influential manga series ever. It takes the Fist of the North 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 4 game at E3 2018.
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 arena in the center of the map. It doesn't look like Kamurocho (the primary setting for the Yakuza series) and has a completely different layout, but the variety of places you can visit and things you can do between quests feels like it comes straight out of Yakuza.
In fact, there's no question that Lost Paradise was made by the Yakuza team, which becomes apparent as soon as you open the menu screen. Lost Paradise's interface is nearly identical to that of Yakuza. The map shows clearly defined streets, with buildings that sell items and offer activities identified in different colors. The inventory screen displays small icons of Kenshiro's equipment and consumables, arranged exactly as they are in Yakuza 0, Yakuza 6, and Yakuza Kiwami. Even the skill and level screens, while focused around the Hokuto Shinken school, are laid out just like Kiryu's upgrades in the Yakuza games.
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Fortunately, the graphics are distinct enough from Yakuza's that Lost Paradise looks like more 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 you aren't just looking at Kiryu in Kenshiro's clothes. And, while the map is structured similarly, Eden looks very different from Kamurocho. It resembles a proper post-apocalyptic outpost from Fist of the North Star, rather than a run-down Tokyo district.
You can work as a bartender or a massage therapist, using the Hokuto Shinken school of martial arts to make your job spectacular. Other side activities are also planned, including collecting arcade games in the wasteland to let you play classic 8-bit Fist of the North Star video games (another Yakuza staple, with the main series regularly featuring Sega Clubs with classic Sega arcade games). There are also plenty of side quests to find, which, if they're anything like Yakuza's, are more varied and far crazier than anything in the main storyline.
Like a Fist
As Kenshiro, I walked through the city streets, passing stores and clubs that offered minigame experiences and side quests. Occasionally, a group of particularly rough citizens noticed me and decided to attack (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 entire crowds of goons as they attack him. You can chain weak and strong attacks with the square and triangle buttons, dodge with the X button, and guard with the R1 button. You can also use special attacks with the circle button, activating certain moves when Kenshiro has enough energy. The type of attack he uses depends on the situation, beating down a single enemy with powerful strikes or using one opponent as a club to hit his colleague. In other words, he uses Heat moves just like Kiryu does in Yakuza, triggering spectacular, brutal finishing moves with the push 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, so you can choose up to four at a time. One special move is "Flamethrower Man," a character from the manga. He's known for using a flamethrower, and his ability gives Kenshiro a flamethrower for a short amount of time. While that special is active, Kenshiro's attacks become bursts of flames, which lets him wreck large 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's best known for a barrage 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 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; then their heads burst in bloody explosions. It's both gorey and comical, and perfectly in line with the Fist of the North Star manga and anime.
The combat mode is simply a slightly larger-scale version of the brawls in Eden. More opponents attacked in a larger arena-shaped space, but otherwise, it felt the same. At least, until the boss of the arena 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 as easy to kill as his underlings. Kenshiro has to beat him down while avoiding his attacks, occasionally using special moves that only damage Uighur rather than kill 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 set in a postapocalyptic wasteland and filled with head explosions. In other words, it feels like a worthy Fist of the North Star game. The mechanics are lifted straight out of the Yakuza series, but they're strong mechanics to use 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 being a re-skinned spin-off. The Fist hits North America this October.
Lost Paradise takes the Fist of the Northstar world and blends it with the Yakuza game formula to create a bloody post-apocalyptic brawler.
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