➤ The return of the man from the seven stars 🎮

A true icon of the 80s, the Ken the Warrior saga does not seem to have the slightest intention of holding back its success. Between comics, television series, video games and dedicated films, you literally lose count of the iterations dedicated to the fourth child of the fist. Born from a collaboration between the most fortuitous ever seen, that between the designers Tetsuo Hara and Buronson, Kenshiro maintains his bipolar charm unaltered: charitable towards the oppressed as ruthless with the torturers, on whom he does not hesitate to unleash his skill in martial arts . A real executioner, devastating and relentless in contrast to a crazy world that knows only the language of violence.

A model that has actually been heavily criticized since the very beginning, but which still manages to exert an irresistible magnetism on young people of all ages for the values it manages to convey, those of the individual who fights adversity based exclusively on his own strength. Its success is also to be attributed to the particular graphic style, which gives an absolutely unique atmosphere of its kind, the incredible explosions of violence, the care taken both in the characterization of the characters and the various fighting techniques, and a marked theatricality. On the video games dedicated to the series we have seen a bit of everything (to learn more take a look at the dedicated box), obviously focusing on the fighting game features, but Koei was the only one to bring the saga on the consoles of this generation, taking advantage of the typical setting of musou titles to set up highly spectacular fights. For this sequel, the developers wanted to make a gift of encyclopedic value to fans, recovering the material of the first chapter in order to cover the entire arc of the events narrated in the original work. It is therefore a unique opportunity to retrace the whole anime from the meeting with Lynn to the island of the Demons. Let's take a look at what awaits us!

Two chapters in one

For some time now, Koei has found a reliable and affordable solution (at least in terms of concept development and design) to create videogame adaptations of manga / anime: take the typical structure of the long-running Dynasty Warriors series and apply it. to different contexts, in this case by inserting characters and settings from the series in question in this container. The Musou, in short, has become a sort of modular structure according to the needs and has already led to the videogame transposition of Gundam, One Piece and Ken, in fact. Direct heir of the near-deceased scrolling brawler, Musou seems to have remained the best form in which the glorious beat'em up managed to reproduce itself in 3D, an area evidently harmful for this genre, born and raised with the bitmap.

Mixing frenzied action with a simple but rigorous progression by levels, the genre in question is particularly well suited to the transposition into a video game of those stories that make constant confrontation with increasingly powerful enemies, the classic leitmotiv of many manga and anime productions, its base storytelling. Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 it is entirely based on this well-established structure, modulating it on the characteristics of the universe created by Buronson and Hara. The two game modes present do not differ much from each other in terms of gameplay, but offer different solutions from the narrative point of view. The main mode, Legend, follows the entire plot of Hokuto no Ken, set on the protagonist's journey first to Raoul and then to the Island of the Demons until the final meeting with Kaio, therefore adding to what was already present in the first chapter the "second series", thinking in terms of the anime. The choice to re-propose all the (enhanced) contents of the first chapter has ambivalent consequences, because if on the one hand it can also be irritating to have to repeat all the first part already experienced, we cannot complain about Koei's zeal, who could have simply propose the second part and that's it, offering instead in this way a very long crossing through the complete story. There is talk of more than 15 hours of fist fights and repetitions of historical moments from "lacrimuccia" or maximum exaltation, a paradise for the great fans of the series and a potential hell for those who are not attached enough to the character to get caught by the nostalgic spirit.

Curiosity

There are many titles dedicated to the Kenshiro saga, unfortunately almost all relegated to Japanese territory. Among those who managed to land among us it is impossible not to mention Sega with Hokuto no Ken for Master System, basically a clone of Kung Fu Master totally upset for the western market with the name Black Belt. It went a little better for Hokuto no Ken: Seikimatsu Kiuseishu Densetsu, released on Mega Drive and renamed in America and Europe as Last Battle. Featuring excellent graphics and gigantic sprites, the title was an adventure-grained scrolling brawler that did justice to the manga, covering the entire second part culminating in the Isle of Demons. The Western version was heavily censored and, probably for reasons of rights, featured different names and a different color palette. Curiously Kenshiro became "Aarzak", General Falco "Duke" and so on. Most sensational of all was the removal of the bloody effects caused by the pressure of the tsubo, replaced with the enemies that flew off the screen after being hit by Ken. To be mentioned in the following years are Konami's Punch Mania, arcade versions complete with cabinets to punch, and Hokuto no Ken by ARC System, a two-dimensional fighting game released first in Coin-op version and later on Playstation 2.

The essence of Musou according to Hokuto

In the Legend mode we find ourselves crossing numerous levels infested with armies of minions, freeing them area by area and thus advancing up to the meeting with the bosses, who represent the nodal points of the story, as per tradition. The dynamics of the action are repeated in an extremely regular way: exploration, elimination of enemies in the area (a useful counter shows how many are missing to be eliminated from time to time, and there are also hundreds of enemies) with the occasional presence of "commanders "more difficult to pull down or diversified types of minions. Then a new area to explore, another mob on the way and so on. In some cases some variations on the theme are proposed, with the need to protect hostages or companions, or cross areas trying not to be spotted or secondary objectives appear that can partially distract from the simple inexorable advance towards further clash, but the structure remains fundamentally unchanged throughout the game.

It is clear that this is a gameplay that soon slips into monotony, also given the scarce stimuli that derive from an artificial intelligence of the enemies (at least of the myriad standard soldiers) decidedly deficient, with armies that are difficult to put in difficulty, if not thanks to the huge amount and assortment of those who attack hand-to-hand and ranged shooters. It is true that if you play Kenshiro it is also right and normal to be able to scoff at entire armies by suffering little more than scratches, but from the gameplay point of view a slightly more stimulating challenge would have been appreciated. The levels are connected to each other by intermission sequences built with the game's graphics engine and staged as if they were comics, or with the fixed 3D image and camera movements to frame the various scenes, complete with original dialogues. reproduced with great fidelity. The other main game mode, Dream, shares much of its structure with Legend, but presents several interesting ideas regarding the narrative substrate, allowing you to use characters other than Ken, each characterized by its own fighting style and background. specific. In this option it is possible to participate in single missions detached from each other, which provide insights and unprecedented digressions on the main plot, highlighting the background, hidden connection points of the plot or events represented from a different point of view from that of the hero. A real treat for enthusiasts, who will also find unpublished material to devote themselves to.

The Dream mode also opens up to numerous game possibilities and hours of gameplay, with the possibility of facing the many missions available for each character proposed according to the Story, in Free mode or by dedicating oneself to multiplayer, present with the cooperative or competitive option in teams. In both cases, the multiplayer also allows you to collect rare scrolls otherwise impossible to obtain in the single game, in addition of course to the stimulus given by the competition or collaboration with a human partner or more (in the case of team play). In the Dream mode the gameplay remains broadly the same as the Legend, but the clash with the enemies focuses on the control of some bases scattered within a map, a variation on the theme that does not seem to have a logical sense particularly linked to the unfolding of events, but which still provides a slightly different approach.

Being Ken

The controls are comfortable and intuitive, making it particularly easy to unleash the devastating moves of Hokuto (or of the other schools, in the case of the other characters in the Dream mode): two buttons referring to quick or powerful attacks and related combos, a button to dodge the shots, one for the grip (scenographic, more than anything else) and the possibility of grabbing objects and throwing them. The elimination of the enemies determines the charge of the Aura bar, the energy that allows you to perform the special techniques of the various schools, selectable from a list that grows with the progress in the game. It is clear that these are the moments that most tend to excite the enthusiast: unleashing the 100 hits of Hokuto with the simple press of a button is probably an emotion that can be worth buying the game, in the most striking cases of " hokutism ".

It is therefore not a strictly technical fighting game, being rather a "button masher", as per Musou tradition, but some tactical in-depth analysis (or at least a slightly more reasoned use of the parade and special attacks) is introduced in the clashes with the bosses , which offer a much higher level of challenge than the slaughter meat that is thrown in buckets against the fists of Ken (and supporting actors). However, as you advance in the game, the average difficulty level increases and a certain caution in managing the character and his statistics becomes essential. Yes, because there is an evolution of the main character, which contributes to enriching the structure of the game a little, giving a further sense to the progression between the levels and adding a certain strategic depth. Kenshiro advances from level to level by collecting experience points that affect (also based on the player's behavior in battle and the moves used) on five main parameters: life, aura, attack, defense and technique, each characterized by its own level progressive based also on the use made, in combat, of standard and special attacks, parries and combos. These can be further modified with the application of scrolls containing special powers, which can in turn be chained together by placing them close together within the available slots, adding a sort of small mini-game that leads to an interesting customization of the protagonist. .

Xbox 360 achievements

The game contains 50 unlockable achievements for the usual total of 1000 points. The achievements are distributed fairly evenly between Legend and Dream modes and are unlockable for the most part by continuing normally throughout the course of the game. Some, and they are the most difficult to achieve, require the achievement of certain results, to be calculated on the overall duration of the game, but in general the conclusion of both modes (not just a commitment) allows you to collect most of the points.

Get yourself polished

The idea of re-proposing all the material present in the first chapter also derives from Koei's desire to partially remedy the release of a first chapter still rather immature from a technical point of view, linked to a graphics engine that did not seem decidedly in step with the times. For Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 the graphic designers have tried to take the graphics sector to a higher level, using an updated engine and finally showing off high definition graphics. The result, to tell the truth, is especially noticeable on the main characters, because standard scenarios and enemies still fail to fully convince, characterized by the former by an anonymity and simplicity at times disconcerting and the latter by an evident repetition of all the same models. . On the contrary, the protagonist and the historical characters are modeled in a remarkable way and even in the close-ups they are perfectly recognizable, reproducing the stroke - albeit in 3D - and the style of the original drawings very well. Even the desire to make everything more fluid has succeeded in half: in moments of relative calm, with few elements on the screen, the game reaches 60 fps but these are fleeting moments, because as soon as the waves of enemies begin to show themselves. the framerate drops significantly, even without falling below guard levels.

A particular consideration should be made for the cutscenes, structured in a rather particular way as "dynamic comics" in 3D, punctuated by changes of framing and camera movements but on mostly immobile characters. A solution that probably allows a more faithful reconstruction of the original scenes and that thanks to the good modeling of the characters is pleasant, but one cannot help but wonder if, with a more in-depth work, it would not have been possible to propose animated scenes, or maybe original materials from the series, although in this case issues related to the rights of the work probably come into play. In any case, the fidelity with which the series has been reproduced in terms of characters, relationships and the unfolding of events is remarkable, and this is what matters most to the fans. Finally, a special mention for the soundtrack, which instead takes full hands from the animated series offering the typical voices and sound effects, as well as songs from the original soundtrack that exude pure Japanese "spirit".

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Version tested: Xbox 360 Resources4Gaming.com

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Taking a cult like Hokuto no Ken and translating it into a video game determines two consequences, apparently opposite, but in truth sides of the same coin: the difficulty in satisfying expectations and the presence of an audience, however, willing to accept compromises in order to step into the shoes. of your favorite. A conception that summarizes success in the middle of the first chapter and can also apply to this second. Technically flawed and undoubtedly monotonous, Ken's Rage 2 leverages from start to finish on the feelings that bind the player to the original series, revived for the first time in a complete and extremely detailed way. It is an exhaustive compendium and a celebration of the adventures of the great post-atomic hero of the 80-90s, which should not be missing in the home of the great lover of the work of Buronson and Hara, but for all the others his structural defects could make difficult to overcome the thick blanket of monotony that thickens after a few hours of play.