Fist of the North Star (NES video game)
Fist of the North Star is a side-scrolling action video game produced by Toei Animation and developed by Shouei System for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was first released in Japan under the title on April 17, 1987, being the second "Hokuto no Ken" video game released for the Family Computer (Famicom) by the anime production company (which briefly entered the video game publishing business after their success with the original "Hokuto no Ken" game for the Famicom in 1986), while also serving as a tie-in to the "Hokuto no Ken 2" anime series which began airing on Fuji TV a few weeks earlier. Taxan published the localized NES version on April 1989, making it one of the earliest "Fist of the North Star" products released in the U.S. alongside Viz Communications' English adaptation of the manga.
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.