#fighting Buggie was intense. she punched me in the face a lot.

[burnouts3s3]

Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, a review

(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, don’t take anything I say too seriously. Just the facts 'Cause you're in a Hurry! Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega CS1 Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): 59.99 USD How much I paid: 59.99 USD Rated: M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes How long I played: 12 Hours to complete the story mode (while watching the cutscenes) on Easy Mode. Microtransactions: An alternate Skin that is free if downloaded between October 2nd through October 16th. Pre-order bonus of 6 Destiny Talismans, equipable items that boost stats or other effects, all which are earnable in-game. Dual Audio: Yes. Both the Japanese and English Audio is available. English Cast: Robbie Daymond as Kenshiro, Sarah Williams as Yuria, Greg Chun as Shin, Allegra Clark as Xsana, Imari Williams as Jagre, Kirk Thornton as Toki, Kyle Hebert as Rihaku and Patrick Seitz as Raoh. What I played on: A Regular PS4, not a PS4 Pro Performance Issues: For the most part, Fist of the North Star runs very smoothly, with little to no hiccups that’s beautiful even to look at, even on a regular PS4. One instance of a game pausing for a brief moment before transitioning to a quicktime event. My Personal Biases: I only recently got into Fist of the North Star and have to say I quite enjoy following Kenshiro and his many adventures in the wasteland. My Verdict: Get ready to say “ATATATATATATA!” as you kick, punch, slap, and brutally kill any bandit you come across. While the open world element doesn’t offer anything new in terms of revolutionizing the genre, there’s such a plethora of content, mini-games, challenges and sidequests that even after the short campaign is finished, you’ll be busy mixing drinks, playing baseball with steel girders and managing your own nightclub. It maybe a Yakuza game reskinned as a FOTNS game, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a whole lot of fun. Buy it! Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, a review

Sega is at it again. After their successful Yakuza series getting prominence in the West, the same developers decide to do the same thing, but using the Fist of the North Star license. Will they succed the same way they did with Yakuza? Let’s find out in this review of “Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise”! The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic alternate timeline Earth. After a nuclear war, the oceans have dried up. Kenshiro, a successor of the martial art Hokuto Shinken, was defeated by Shin, who proceeded to kidnap his fiancée, Yuria. Kenshiro thus travels through the wastelands to find his beloved. He eventually hears rumours that a woman called Yuria could be found in the city of Eden - he makes his way to Eden to find Yuria. Newcomers don’t have to worry about being lost as the game takes place in an alternate continuity and explains all the events occurring so they can catch up. So while the series’ iconic villains, such as Shin and Raoh, and familiar faces, such as Bat and Lin, make an appearance, the game’s narrative changes the context of such settings to fit into the world of Fist of the North Star and the new land of Eden. The city of Eden itself might alienate fans of the original show. Eden is a fully working city with services, guards, food and currency. It’s such a departure of one usually expects from Fist of the North Star. But, if you’ll give it a chance, you’ll find yourself loving the city but also invested in its characters. Things actually get less interesting outside of Eden. While the Wasteland is vast and allows for lots of exploration in your buggy, it’s mostly empty save for the occasional group of enemies and item to be found and sold. Occasionally, defeating an enemy will unlock a treasure map, markers that show valuable loot on the map. But most are under a timer so Kenshiro will have to drive fast before it’s lost for good. Combat is the game’s strength. While it doesn’t evolve much between light and heavy attacks, the variety of foes and situations he can use his abilities always surprised me. Just when I thought it would get tedious, Kenshiro finally pulls off a move that has my jaw dropped to the floor. Should a foe be in a staggered position, players can press the circle button to active a quick time event, leading to a cinematic kill. Sometimes Ken punches an enemy 100 times. Sometimes, he uses both thumbs to make the enemy’s head explode. Should Kenshiro use the circle button to ‘channel’ at just the right time, it leads to an instant death of the enemy, causing them to explode into gooey bits! And what Sega open world would be complete without mini-games? Remember that manga chapter where Kenshiro played some arcade games? Or worked as a bartender? Or used his healing ability to treat the sick? Or managed a nightclub and had to deal with troublemakers? That’s right, in this game you get a plethora of sidequests (called ‘substories’) where Ken can earn experience and money by playing mini-games. Working at the hospital activates a rhythm mini-game using timed button presses. Managing the nightclub means having to manage your ‘girls’ put them in the right table and manage their money, the customer type and their energy levels. Of course, if you’re feeling up to something more manly, you can fight off waves of enemies at the colosseum. (My personal favorite is using a large steel girder to play baseball against incoming motorcycle gangs and hitting their bikes away).   Completing story missions, doing substories or playing minigames will earn Experience, causing Ken to level up and gain Destiny Orbs, blank orbs that can be used to progress the game’s skill tree. In the colosseum, he can earn Battle Points and use it to buy Technique, Body or Mind orbs to progress your tree. The skill progression is surprisingly varied, allowing for different branches to explore and can give significant boosts or techniques in combat. Ken soon learns that in the city of Eden, Yuria has locked herself into the sacred chamber, a mysterious room that somehow provides power to all of Eden. But invaders and combatants would soon loot Eden for its resources and Kenshiro finds himself teaming up with the city’s guard to stop the bandits before they destroy everything. The game’s plot is serviceable. Granted, much like the source material, it relies more on coincidence than character action and reaction. (It find it a bit odd that many of the main players just ‘happen’ to know each other) as well as the reliance of weird rules to generate stakes (when you find out why certain plot devices work, you’d have to question the logic of what the architects and engineers were thinking). It’s too bad the game’s main story is all too short and the game attempts to hinder speedrunners by scaling the enemies to ridiculous amounts of levels so that players will have to grind mini-games and coliseum fights or be overpowered. What’s surprising is that the English dub of the game is actually very well acted. Robbie Daymond  (who voiced the English Goro Akechi from Persona 5) manages to capture the cold yet gentle nature of Kenshiro (though I think my favorite will always be Lex Lang in the old dub). At first, I thought Daymond would be too young and high pitched for Kenshiro but he actually delivers at the moments that matter the most. And it’s great to hear voice acting veterans such as Kyle Hebert, Patrick Seitz and Kirk Thornton voicing the NPCs. But praise should be put on Allegra Clark. Bioware fans (what few are remaining) will recognize her as Josephine from Dragon Age: Inquisition and Nakmor Kesh from Mass Effect: Andromeda, but she’s also done some anime work (such as in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) and she does a really good job as Xsana, growing a scared girl who doesn’t know what to do to a leader willing to leader her people into prosperity.   THE JAPANESE VOICES ARE AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO PREFER IT. CAVEAT: Fist of the North Star is by no means a revolution or an innovation to the open world genre. Like Yakuza, it’s a polished, well-made entry that offers a lot to both fans and non-fans alike. A lot of critics are going to say that the open world element feels restrictive or that the level scaling is attempting to make up for the short campaign or that the combat, at times, feels repetitive. While all those criticisms are true, I still had a great time with the game. It’s a game that’s more about style than substance, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t have one helluva style! Verdict: Buy it!