For those of you unfamiliar with the source material - Hokuto Musou is based on the popular Japanese comic series Hokuto no Ken - better known as Fist of the North Star here in the U.S. and outside of Asia.
In short, the story follows the protagonist Ken Shiro, who is a master of the fighting style of Hokuto Shin Ken, or the Northern Legendary Fist. The game focuses on mostly the first portion of the comic series - which tracks Ken's progress in saving the woman he loves, and fighting a series of antagonists from both the Northern and Southern schools of fighting. The story takes place in an apocalyptic future, in a lawless land where Ken is seen as almost a messiah like figure out to save his girl, and eventually the world.
That sets the stage for the the game - which is based on the popular Dynasty Warriors series. The game plays like a hybrid of the popular DW games, sharing the same control scheme. The game also plays like Samurai Warriors in that you can evade enemies, and also features a comprehensive story mode much like what you see in DW: Gundam.
If you're a fan of DW games, you can expect the same kind of action, which is pretty much a 3rd person action game featuring swarms of enemies that you plow through, though in Hokuto Mousou, your primary weapon of choice will definitely be your fists and legs.
Between stages you can upgrade your characters (more become available as you play through the game) using skill points that you acquire over the course of the game (commonly found by breaking all sorts of boxes or vending machines scattered throughout the land). Again, if you played DW before, this will all be nothing new to you. However, if you haven't tried DW before, be warned, this is a pure action game featuring lots of fighting, kicking, pretty cgi story elements in between (assuming you can read japanese - if not, there are plenty of websites that can offer you a nice primer on the story in English).
In terms of gameplay, it is relatively one dimensional. You fight (a lot) and you eventually learn special moves that you can dish out once your energy or musou meter is full. The moves are faithful to the comic series, and features a lot of pretty bone crushing finishing moves that will make anybody cringe (or laugh, depending on your sense of humor). After fighting waves of battles, you encounter bosses (each from the comic series). Most of them are easy to dispatch, though usually you have to break through a cheap extra defense meter before really doing any damage to them. But overall, aside from a few opportunities to counter attacks (especially if you're using the Southern cross playable characters), this game is mostly button mashing your way to the end.
Compared to other DW games, Hokuto Musou does handle a bit sluggishly. It is understood that the creators wanted to be more faithful to the comic series, which focused more on heavy attacks and bone crunching martial arts moves, rather than the speedy weapon based style of play seen in Dynasty Warriors or Samurai Warriors games. Therefore, don't expect to use a huge sword to slice through 20 guys at once like you see in other DW or SW games. Rather, plan on a lot of punching and kicking your way through individual enemies over and over again. For some, this slower pace may be a turnoff for DW vets. For me I didn't mind since I am a fan of the comic and it does somewhat feel faithful to the series. However, it is important to keep this major distinction in mind before you commit to buying the game.
Nonetheless the game is still very fun to play and the graphics are quite impressive. The character models are faithfully recreated and the moves of each avatar are very unique to their individual fighting style. Only gripe I have about the visuals is the extremely repetitive nature of the backgrounds. Barring a few story specific areas (such as Shin's ruined city stage early on, or Souther's pyramid stage later in the game), most of the game features the same bland, Fallout-esque feel. Though it does reflect the setting of the story, it would have been nice to vary it up somewhat, or at least change some of the color palate so that it's not always the same beige washed out world that I'm fighting through.
Other than that minor gripe, the game plays very well and is quite fun. It's a great pick-up-and-play game, and for those of you who can read Japanese, it also features other nice features such as a great story primer and character bios. Aside from the story (or Legendary) mode, you can also open up other modes such as the Illusory Match Mode (which is like a mini-story mode for each playable character that you eventually open up that sort of elaborates more on their side stories), and a nice Challenge mode as well. Overall there's quite a bit of replay value here.
Last but not least, the music is decent, but not remarkable. Kind of the generic J-rock that you hear in the background of previous DW and SW games. However, the sound of punches, kicks and screaming (and LOTS of blood splattering - this is a very violent game, though you can adjust the blood settings in the options menu - between HARD and MILD) will surely tune out the generic music over time.
I TOTALLY recommend this game for people who love the Hokuto no Ken comic series. For those who like DW and SW, it's definitely worth picking up as well. Just keep in mind the somewhat different pace of this game versus the other ones in the musou series.
(2 customers reviews)Customers Rating=4.5 / 5.0
More Detail For
PS3 HOKUTO MUSOU ASIAN VERSION - Asian Japanese Version
- Compatible with US PS3 system
- Text and Language during game play are in Japanese.
- A title that mixes Dynasty Warriors-type action with the Fist of North Star universe. It's a must for all Fist of North Star fans.
- The new 3D graphics make your shower of punches and flurry of kicks even more spectacular. The game includes new storylines and adventures and seiyuus of the anime series are back to voice their respective roles in the game, this is a fist fight you don't want to miss.
