Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise Review (PS4)

Manga series and the anime which follow have always been well-known for the over-the-top display of gore, power and fighting skills that are otherwise absurdly impossible to achieve in real life. However, some series have taken this trope and nuanced it to such an extent that you may believe they are the ones that started this particular trend. Such is the case of Fist of the North Star, and Kenshiro's signature words "you are already dead."

A franchise 30 years in the making, Fist of the North Star still manages to captivate audiences with the iconic Hokuto Shinken fighting style and the unique way it allows the users to dispatch their opponents. You can never get tired of hitting certain energy pressure points on the enemy's bodies, resulting in a visceral display of blood and gore as the foe falls turned into minced meat.

The king of instant kills is back

It's a good thing that the game itself doesn't deal with gray areas at all since all the characters you meet are either lovable to the point where you'd give your life for them, or they are such despicable bastards that you can't wait to kill...uhm, discipline them.

The story

The story is set in an alternate timeline Earth which was ravaged by nuclear war, and the oceans have dried off. Resources are scarce, and the few survivors left have to fight for their lives day by day. This scenario will come as extremely familiar to Fist of the North Star fans since it is the exact premise of the manga and anime. This dramatic set of events, as well as the effects it has on society, morality and how we treat each other,  are the focus of the story, with the occasional heartwarming moments.

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The premise of the game is quite simple; Kenshiro’s fiancee Yuria has been kidnapped by Shin, whom you encounter at the very beginning of the game. Once he’s defeated, he tells you that he never managed to get Yuria’s love and that she died off, hinting towards suicide. Kenshiro dismisses this as the ravings of a dying man and thinks she is still alive, somewhere in the desolate wasteland.

Not much focus is put into the storytelling elements other than the main narrative though, as sometimes you may get the feeling that the entire storyline is just one big excuse so you can make bandits explode like pinatas. More so, a wide variety of characters make an appearance in the game, but unfortunately are never expanded upon, leaving the game’s ending with plenty loose ends.

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Create your own Kenshiro

This doesn't mean that the game lacks any substance, just that the story itself isn't on par with that of an actual RPG, despite it trying to implement plenty of character customization features you'd expect from that genre. Speaking of which, the game has quite an extensive character development system, allowing you access to several skill trees in which you can invest points. You gain these points by fighting off opponents, finishing objectives and destroying certain bosses.

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The developers tried to emphasize the storytelling aspect of the game by making it a title that is mostly made up of cutscenes. This aspect is taken to such an extent that, if you're a fan of games from TellTale games, then you' won't mind the fact that you'll be staring at your screen without actually doing anything 3/4s of the time. To top it off, there are plenty of "go and retrieve item X" type quests, which are quite ridiculous, especially when the NPCs in question are so close to each other that you wonder why don' they go get their stuff themselves. If that doesn't get on your nerves, then the idea of Kenshiro being turned into a bonafide delivery boy will.

They may have realized this was too much though, which would explain the sometimes forceful inclusion of combat in times where they wouldn't be called for. These come in the form of Kenshiro having frequent  "flashbacks of past encounters", which themselves have to be played (and won, for the sake of the story's continuity).

Punch your enemies into oblivion

Combat itself feels rather repetitive at times, especially when you have to face multiple enemies at once, since only later on in the game will you gain access to moves that hit multiple opponents at once. This makes fights against a mob feel like a chore since, although easy, you can only take them out one by one. Not even the QTE-based finishing moves can fix this, since you cannot control which finishing moves Kenshiro uses, as choosing them seems purely based on the game's RNG system. Thankfully, this is somewhat compensated when you get to see your enemies explode like balloons filled with spaghetti sauce.

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If you’re a fan of challenges that are borderline masochistic, is the occasional boss fight you encounter are just the thing you need. The bosses of Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise fall into one or two categories: the ones that can be handled suspiciously easy, needing only 2 Hokuto Shinken moves to finish them off, and the ones that have so much HP that you’ll be throwing the controller once you realize that a full combo barely moved the gauge showing their HP bar. When you do encounter the latter (Devil Rebirth *hint hint*), try to make use of your environment more than attacking head-on, as you may be in for a surprise.

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Not impressive in the graphics department

The pixel-shaded graphics are a nice addition, and quite common among anime games, however, the low-quality textures sometimes ruin the whole ensemble (look at the scars on Kenshiro's chest). More so, it is obvious that combat was standardized to suit a limited amount of enemy models. For example, if you use a kill move on an enemy that has hair on their head, the hair itself will be displayed in a buggy way when the head goes boom.

The rigid character models are also worth mentioning, especially the stiff facial expressions, which should have been better developed, especially since 3/4 of the game is pretty much made up of cut-scenes, where character body language and facial expressions make up 50% of the story.

Another thing that makes the game seem rather cheap is the blatant reuse of character models, although I have to admit that this can be funny at times, especially when you can tell just by a character's model that you'll either fight them at some point, or they will be your friend. 

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion