People shop in a crowded bazaar, civilians crowd the local bars at night, thugs in Mad Max leather getups roam the streets, and the Roman-style gladiatorial arena is suitably epic. It’s not as big as the latter, but it’s a sizeable city that is packed with things to do. In another sign of its pedigree, the city is a merger between the desolate, empty ruins of Fist of the North Star and the neon-covered, bustling Kamurocho of Yakuza. Though the game is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the city of Eden is anything but desolate. A personal favorite is Toki, Kenshiro’s fellow student, who you can fight repeatedly in order to learn new moves in the desert. And just like Yakuza, those problems are somewhat mitigated by how these fights are presented – the boss design is strong in this game, which includes characters from the franchise and entirely original ones. Only a handful of bosses are interesting or present a unique challenge, as the majority simply have large health bars and are difficult to hit. Just like Yakuza, the boss battles in Lost Paradise lack creativity. Which there isn’t a lot of, except when it comes to the large number of special attacks. It’s a good system that fits well with the tone of Fist of the North Star, and it’s one that is fun to use – provided that there’s variety. There’s also Burst Mode, an overpowered state that powers up Kenshiro’s attacks, and Destiny Talisman’s, which are based off of important characters and convey a number of unique special abilities both in and out of battle, to add some flavor. If you’ve played a Yakuza game, it is identical to that system here, with combos, finishers, and dodges working much the same way. What is easy to understand is the combat, which takes the infamously over-the-top Hokuto Shinken style and merges it with the similarly over-the-top Yakuza beat-em-up. The sheer amount of fanservice and nods to the source material makes for a better experience overall to those familiar with it, as I can imagine newcomers wondering who certain characters are or why they’re important due to their limited time onscreen. The result is something that mostly works for both fans of Fist of the North Star and people who’ve never seen it before, though it skews to the former. The likes of Kenshiro’s rival Rei, self-appointed sidekick Bat, and many other classic characters appear in both the main story and side quests, and are joined by a handful of new characters such as the captain of Eden’s city guard Jagre, or its ruler, Xsana. Called the City of Miracles, it is here where Kenshiro searches for his beloved, encountering faces both new and familiar on his quest. Namely, the focal point of Lost Paradise revolves around a city called Eden, which is exclusive to the game’s continuity. That’s what the series and Lost Paradise have in common because it becomes clear within the first hour of the latter that this is an entirely original story.įist of the North Star: Lost Paradise – Review Images Provided by Sega He’s searching for his fiancee, Yuria, defeating countless enemies on his quest for her. The series and Lost Paradise follow Kenshiro, a martial artist who is the chosen successor of Hokuto Shinken, a deadly art that allows users to destroy the enemy from within. If you haven’t read or watched any material related to the popular 80’s franchise, Fist of the North Star is set in a post-apocalyptic future where nuclear weapons have obliterated the landscape and dried out the oceans. It doesn’t quite match the quality of the series it apes, but Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is a hell of a fun trip regardless. The result is a video game that is a treat for those familiar with Fist of the North Star, comforting for fans of Yakuza, and a poor entry point for those with little knowledge of either. Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is what happens when you take the established gameplay formula of the Yakuza series, and apply it to one of the most popular manga and anime franchises in the world.
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