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: Ken's Rage
The game gained a positive review from "Famitsu" and was given a score of 32 (9/8/7/8) out of 40. "The game recreates the manga's world pretty well, from the heavy-handed Hokuto moves to the speedier Nanto attacks," one writer said. "It's not all that exciting at first, but things change once you start stringing strong attacks together." Another editor had more serious issues with the game's controls. "The throwing animation is too slow, and you stop for a moment after each strong attack," the reviewer wrote. "Maybe it adds to the effect, but it cuts down on the momentum a bit. The rest of your moves are pretty quick and speedy, too, which makes it seem all the worse."