Fist of the North Star (NES video game)
"Fist of the North Star" is a single-plane beat-'em-up in which the player (as Kenshiro) proceeds through the game by walking from left to right, using his martial arts of Hokuto Shinken to defeat enemies. Similarly to "Kung-Fu Master", jumping is performed by pressing the d-pad upwards instead of having a dedicated button, leaving the A and B buttons solely for attacks. To enter a door, the player must press the d-pad right while holding A and B simultaneously, which is a requirement to proceed through certain stages. In addition to the regular enemies, the player must also defeat sub-bosses and bosses to proceed in the game. Each boss in the game has a weak point that will result in massive damage if the player strikes it with the proper attack before hitting any other part of the body, along with a greater bonus after the stage is cleared.
Fist of the North Star (2005 video game)
Below each character's lifebar is a gauge with seven "stars" in the shape of the Big Dipper. Special moves, supers, and some command normals can remove varying numbers of stars. Once empty, a final "Death Star" or "shichousei" will light up and the other player can perform a special "Fatal KO" attack that can instantly defeat them, regardless of their lifebar (similar to the Instant Kill attacks in Guilty Gear.). The biggest difference is these moves may be easily comboed into, making them far more practical than their Guilty Gear counterparts. Players regain two stars at the start of each round, and one star any time an opponent unsuccessfully attempts to Fatal KO. After being Fatal KO'd, if the match is not over, that player starts the following round with all seven stars replenished.