175 · Fist of the North Star

• Danger lurks at every turn and hits when least expected
• Introductions
  • 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988. But the Famicom version of this came out in 87 so it didn’t tell the full story
  • Set on a post-apocalyptic Earth after a nuclear war, the story centers on a warrior named Kenshiro, he uses a deadly martial art which gives him the ability to kill his opponents by striking their secret vital points, which often results in them dying in an exceptionally violent and gory manner. Kenshiro dedicates his life to fighting against the various gangs, bandits, and warlords who threaten the lives of the defenseless and innocent.
• Overview
  • A side-scrolling Beat em Up video game produced by Toei Animation and developed by Shouei System
• Plot
  • Kenshiro assists Bat and Rin as they lead the Hokuto Army resistance against the Tentei's corrupt imperial forces. As Kenshiro ventures into the Capital, he confronts the Four Generals of Gento and their leader Falco the Gold.
  • the Four General of Gento, consists of Solia, a character from the manga, Taiga and Boltz from the anime, and a new character named Bronza, who was created for the game.
  • The NES version has some slight differences from its Famicom counterpart, which cuts the appearances of side characters at the end of certain stages
• Gameplay
  • A game where you’re actually powerful
  • Power Meter
    • Hold for fighting action
    • the ability to reflect enemy knives and arrows
    • faster walking speed
    • a projectile shooting attack performed by pressing AB simultaneously while standing still (the d-pad must be on neutral).
    • When Kenshiro reaches his maximum power level, he will rip his shirt and vest open, increasing his defenses.
  • To enter a door, the player must press the d-pad UP while holding A and B simultaneously, which is a requirement to proceed through certain stages.
  • Navigation sucks
  • Bosses and Sub-Bosses
    • Each boss in the game has a weak point that will result in massive damage if the player strikes it with the proper attack before hitting any other part of the body, along with a greater bonus after the stage is cleared.
  • Ending right to the credits
• Sequels and Spinoffs
  • Not the first Fist of the North Star NES game. Famicom had one before this in 86
    • The first Hokuto no Ken video game released by Toei for the Famicom. A side-scrolling action platform game where the player fight their way through five stages. Bosses includes Mr. Heart, Shin, Jagi, Souther, and Raoh.
  • Fist of the North Star: 10 Big Brawls for the King of Universe
    • Gameboy fighting game in 1990
  • Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage
    • Dynasty Warriors style game for PS3/360 in 2010
  • Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
    • PS4 2018
    • A 3D action RPG by Sega that features similar combat, exploration, and mini-games to their Yakuza series.
• EGL
• Next week - The Guardian Legend

Auto-generated transcript. Each paragraph starts with its timestamp. Speakers are not identified.

00:00 Fist of the North Star, danger lurks at every turn and hits when least expected.

00:20 And welcome to NEStalgia, a chronological exploration of every NES game released in North America. I'm Mike. I'm Sean. And I'm Sam. What do you guys know about Fist of the North Star? Like, does that mean anything to you? Sam? Nope. Sean? Nope. Yeah, it's weird, right? Like, I feel like even now, in terms of like, you know, great animes and or even mangas like, you know, that's like, that's a big thing in our culture now. But like, I don't think Fist of the North Star gets brought up that much. However, there were 245 issues of this bad boy back in 1983, all the way through 1988.

01:03 And, you know, it has like, there's a TV series, there's, there's movies, there's a manga, there's still video games being made. Yeah, I saw that. And I just think it's like, it's wild that, you know, we were getting versions like kind of like that Dragon Ball game. Remember that? Yeah. Where it was like, oh, that's weird, because nobody would have really known what Dragon Ball was. But they just, they made it in Japan, because it was popular there.

01:27 And then you get these games. So this is the kind of thing that like, Fist of the North Star probably, you know, like airs, you know, like on Toonami in like, the 2000s. And then people are like, oh, I wonder if they ever made video games for that. And then they find out like, wait, there was an NES game, and I played it? Like, it's kind of strange.

01:44 Yeah, I don't know what makes, like, I guess, when it's something like the Dragon Ball game, which I don't think was called Dragon Ball. It was called Dragon Power. Dragon Power. Like, that's sort of a situation where it seems like they thought the game was good enough, but they knew that it wasn't going to be recognizable in the States. So they sort of like rebranded it. It's just weird to see that this was a property that was, what I'm imagining is virtually unknown in the West, and they keep all the branding, and they keep all of like the context around the show that nobody's seen.

02:24 So I found that odd. Yeah, and yet there's not like, there's not a lot of story to digest, definitely not in the game itself. But, you know, I feel like even the manual, you don't need to have any prior knowledge. And in fact, the Famicom version of this game, which, you know, I keep saying Famicom because it did come to Japan first. Like, that one wasn't even trying to tell like the full story. It was just telling like a few selected issues of Fist of the North Star. So I don't think you really needed to know anything. You guys didn't feel like you were missing out, right, on any deep lore?

02:57 I found it odd though, like, that everything was so specific. Like, the names of the levels. I guess it's really just the names of the levels, where there are references to armies and generals and a concentration camp or something like that.

03:19 And I just, I think that if it just removed all of those like specific names, then this wouldn't have felt more like a non sequitur. I don't know if you kind of get what I'm saying. Yeah, it's, it's kind of like if, you know, Kung Fu, one of those early 1985 games we played. It'd be like if you found out that like, you know, Sylvia and all that stuff like was actually a story in the manga, but you never read that book. So you can still play the game. Right. And there's things that's like, oh, I guess that's a reference. But if it, I don't know, it's like it's, it's specific enough to that someone would tell me it's a reference and I believe them. But also, I feel like we're in a time where these games kind of have weird shit in them anyway.

04:08 Yeah. So if there's like a something oddly specific, I just kind of roll with it and don't really think anything else of it. And it also depends on what you know about Fist of the North Star, because the game also took a lot of liberties in terms of plot for people who are familiar with the content. So forget about us who have no idea. It's funny to think that like you could have read all the manga and you would be like, wait, who's this?

04:33 Because the four generals that you fight in the game, one of them's from the manga, two are exclusive to the anime, and one is brand new just for the game. So you don't really need to know that much. Yeah, I guess this is just a whole cluster then. But if you are wondering what Fist of the North Star is, it is set on a post-apocalyptic Earth after a nuclear war. And a warrior named Kenshiro has this like, he knows your vital points. It's this martial arts thing where he can, he touches a specific spot and it, all of his enemies die in like incredibly gruesome manners.

05:10 That's like, it's very funny. You know, it's like ridiculous over the top, you know, oh, that his weak point is in his shoulder. And then, you know, the result is just ridiculous. But he's fighting against like, just, you know, normal post-apocalyptic stuff like, you know, gangs and bandits that have like taken over society. And now he's trying to like protect the innocent. And I was like, I don't know if that's enough. Like, you know, it's a pretty like broad stroke plot. So I'm sure they get into more detail. But I don't know if that's enough for 245 issues. How much of this did you read slash watch?

05:46 I watched a good amount because that was, the visuals are good. You know, if you like, I'm not saying it's, it's like Toriyama's Dragon Ball. But like, if you're familiar with that era, it's fine. It's cozy to watch those kinds of shows. But I also did have to like go to Wikipedia just to find out like who's who and stuff like that. Not that we're going to break down the course here or anything like that. Because the plot in the game is, is kind of similar. It's just, you know, you're Kenshiro and you're just trying to take down like a couple different imperial forces.

06:17 Like, I think there's like four generals that I mentioned. And you're just trying to, you know, go one to the next and using your special martial arts powers. And I don't think you need to really know anything beyond that.

06:29 Yeah, it's also funny. This, this may be a little off topic, but you know, we, we really haven't talked about the game much yet. And I think that if somebody started playing, uh, when they started the podcast, they might already be like a quarter of the way through the game. Okay. Yeah. So let's, let's talk about that for a second, not even just the length, but like, this is a game where I feel like for once we are actually powerful from the get go. Like I felt strong as the character and I've, I enjoyed playing as Kenshiro, if only because it was kind of playing on an easy game. Yeah. This was a very easy game. Um, which really, which really struck me as odd because of just the, uh, the density of Nintendo hard games that we've been playing.

07:16 Um, yeah. How did, was this a single session for you guys? Yeah. Yeah. And just to set it up too, for everybody, it's a side scrolling beat them up. So as you can imagine with your karate stuff, like you just have your sets of punches and kicks. However, you know, there's a, when you kill certain enemies, they leave behind stars that you can get powers for, and then you power up. And that allows you to do like even more incredible feats, uh, not with any extra button inputs or anything like that, but that's the general, like, gist of the game. So otherwise you're just kind of coming up upon enemies who are, forgive me, you know, forgive me if I'm wrong guys, but like, is it not one hit KO for almost everything other than sub bosses?

07:58 No, I mean, some of them take a couple of hits. I think unless I, unless it takes so long to die that I can't tell that it's only one hit. Or if you just miss. Yeah. I wasn't sure if I was missing or if I was, or if it was one hit. Yeah. So yeah. Cause there's something like, yeah, the, the punches and the kicks, like when you hit those guys, they go flying. Yeah. Yeah. There are some that go flying and some just sort of stand there and then evaporate into stars. But, uh, that, that, that's sort of a, uh, a mechanic that I never fully understood, but. That's how I want to go.

08:52 So it's good that you're powerful in the game and everything like that. And I think it's great that all three of us were able to play this in a single session, a rare thing, uh, for us. We're not good at NES games. Let's just be honest. But did that translate. Does easy mean fun? No, you know what? The only reason that like, it was like, yeah, I'm glad that we all got this in a single session because we're doing this for work pretty much. But I'd be pissed if I bought this game for full price and got one game out of it, like one sit down. And I didn't even get yelled at by my mom to come to dinner. Yeah. I, I don't know. I mean, I guess jumping is a little fun, right?

09:36 We'll talk about that jump, Sam, because he like, it's not really a jump, right? That's like a leap. Yeah. It's like an anti-gravity kind of jump. Like you can do a normal jump if you just tap the jump button. But if you hold it down a little bit more, you just kind of levitate upwards diagonally.

09:54 And it's, I think it's the fastest way of moving also. Yeah, it is. Yeah, I would constantly jump. So Sam, you mentioned the tap jump button, right? And I, I noticed that by like mistake, but there's no reason to ever do that, right?

10:08 I mean. I don't think so. I guess not. I mean, there are some like tight corners that if you want to take advantage of the, the faster movement speed of the jump where like you can't really get too big of a jump off, maybe you would do that. But other than that, it's just a quirk of the fact that, that a jump just lasts as long as you hold the button down. Or if you just want to time your next big jump, you know, you see an obstacle coming up and you know that if you do two big jumps, you will, you'll hit the front of it. But if you do a little jump and a big jump, then you'll just clear it.

10:43 But that's the only jump algebra. Yeah. And, you know, usually we complain about enemies spawning all over the place. This one has that problem where enemies that you just defeated will just spawn back in again if you kind of like hang out or, or turn in the wrong direction. However, they give you only ever like one or two at a time and it's never really like unmanageable. There are some later on that get projectiles. But I feel, I feel like they were kind of fair with how fast the projectiles come at you. And since your jump is so large, like timing's not really an issue.

11:17 It's just, it's weird to get things that you want and then see why you shouldn't want them. No, this is just the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Like, yeah, they're not really like, they're not hand placed. Some of them may be hand placed, but I'm sure that like some of them just spam randomly. But all of the enemies aside from mini bosses and the bosses themselves are so impotent that it really doesn't matter that it's just sort of scattershot. I don't, like, wish that there were more enemies just because they're so easy to take down that I feel like to really feel like a super powerful person, they should just give us waves and waves of them in some places.

11:57 Just smack them all down in one hit, you know? Yeah, that's a different kind of beat-em-up that I think we're used to in arcade games where, like, you know, you can't progress forward until you clear off, like, a section of, you know, of enemies. And that never happens here because they've designed, you know, this, I'm not going to call it a labyrinth. It's not very, you know, it's not like you have to actually, like, navigate yourself around these things. However, there is places to go and, you know, you have to kind of think about, like, you know, have I been here before?

12:32 Like, maybe I, you know, the directions and stuff like that and you have to go through doors. So I feel like that's why they didn't do the, like, bring on the enemies in waves because you're just kind of, like, or at least the game's focus is more about you figuring out where you need to go while making it not that complicated.

12:55 Yeah. This really is a weird game. It feels like, like, midway through the game, maybe, I don't know, maybe level two or three, they're like, oh, this would be a great, like, Metroidvania sort of thing. And they did, like, one or two branching paths and then they kind of dropped that whole thing and everything else. Maybe that was, like, the theme for that particular, like, issue in the manga, right? Like, maybe that was a thing. Like, he was, you know. Oh, he goes upstairs, yes. Right, yeah, yeah. And downstairs.

13:30 Or he has to, like, infiltrate an enemy base or something like that and they're trying to, like, go for that. However, I think that that, like, hindered the game more because they started focusing on, like, your navigation and exploring without making it, like, you know, it's kind of empty. There's really nothing to explore anyway, so why even bother with stuff like that? I guess that adding the time limit to it kind of adds an element of gameplay that is, like, now you gotta figure it out fast. Like, not only do you have to survive, but you have to figure out where you're going before the time runs out. So, I don't know.

14:04 Because I got to the, that boss of the staircase level with one second left. And I, it felt, that felt kind of cool. Oh, does the clock reset once you hit the boss? Or? Yeah, it gives you, it gives you more time when you hit the, like, the mini boss and the main boss. Oh, I see. Yeah, I think it also was sort of a, to temper, like, farming for stars. Maybe, maybe it's not possible, but it definitely seemed possible to just sort of, like, hang out and try and get stars from killing random enemies. Um, so maybe that was there so you couldn't just be level 10 stars on the first screen. But, I don't know.

15:04 The power meter, uh, which is the thing that you use to collect stars, it raises your power meter. That is kind of cool, though, uh, that, you know, without, without, um, requiring different power-ups or, you know, making it into a Metroidvania. Just making you stronger as you continue to collect powers. I, I liked the one where all of a sudden you can just, like, hold down the attack buttons and then you just do rapid punching and rapid kicking. Is that not how it is? I thought that was just, it started out that way. I don't think it starts out that way.

15:35 Huh. Because, uh, on the list of power-ups I have here, that's listed as one of them. I mean, maybe, but, um, it's listed as one of them. So maybe it's faster. Maybe it does, like, double damage or something. Yeah, I guess for a while I was just sort of tapping because I didn't, I didn't know that that existed yet. Yeah, there's some other cool stuff, though. Uh, there's a, a projectile, like, uh, what do you want to call that? Is that, like, a key blast? They call them bombs. Bombs, okay. I was thinking, like, again, Dragon Ball.

16:03 Ha ha ha. Oh, key. That kind of thing. Yeah, yeah. And then there's, like, other power-ups that are like, okay, now you can walk faster. And it's like, eh, I think we could have thought of something. For a martial arts guy, I think we could have thought of something a little better. I like the one where you're two people. Oh, yeah. And, but, but it's, like, you're just the guy who's in front, really. Because when you change directions, like, it flips, it flips you. So the, whoever won't, like, they're, sorry, I'm not explaining this well.

16:33 If there's two people facing the right, if you turn left, then the guy who was furthest right stays in the same spot and just turns left. And the guy that was furthest left is now all the way on your right and is, like, flipped over to the other side. Yeah, it looks like it's supposed to be a kind of, like, oh, you do, like, double damage. You could fight, like, two guys at once if they're at this very specific distance apart.

16:59 But it ends up just being, like, an invincibility. And it almost feels like the fact that there are two of you, it looks like a bug. But maybe that's just, like, oh, he's moving so fast that you see double and you can't touch it. I thought it was a bug at first. Yeah. It's, like, one of those things that you see in anime sometimes where it looks cooler than it really is, like Super Saiyan 3.

17:24 Oh, the hair? Yeah. The hair is so cool. Yeah, the hair is cool. Now it's, like, really long. But, like, the power, yeah, now the power, though, of Super Saiyan 3, you can only, like, be Super Saiyan 3 for, like, ten minutes. It's like, oh, it's kind of lame.

17:38 All the power is going straight to the hair, so. Yeah, I don't know what that's about. But no hair growing in this one. And just to keep talking about the power meter, though, you know, that's kind of a big deal of the game. It's the only thing that makes it not just a game where you punch and kick to win. But I can't help but feel like a lot of us just continued to punch and kick to win. Am I wrong? Like, you can still attack everybody with punches and kicks and get through it. Yeah. I couldn't really get the feel down for the, like, that, like, projectile weapon.

18:12 Um, I know that it exists, and I know that I was firing it, but it never really, like, felt right. So, I just, yeah, I just punched and kicked. Yeah. I used myself as a projectile.

18:22 There you go. And even think about, like, the bosses, right? So there's, in each level, I think there's a sub-boss and then a main boss. You know, you can brute force your way through a lot of these guys. And I don't think that I'm just, like, getting lucky here. I think that it's just the way that the game is. You can just go right up to those guys, punch, kick, punch, kick, punch, kick, and deal a significant amount of damage.

18:46 And then maybe, yeah, they'll, like, whip out, like, a couple projectiles that you gotta jump over or something. But then you just go over to the other side of the screen, just punch and kick them again in the face. Like, just do what it takes. Yeah, that was the one strategy that worked on every boss, was basically just, like, get a couple hits in, jump over them on the other side, get a couple hits in, jump over them on the other side, and rinse and repeat.

19:09 Some of them, you know, are more powerful and, like, well, they'll knock you back if you don't time it right. But it's really just a matter of, like, how, it's just an order of magnitude. It's really, there's no, like, new feature of, like, strategy for each boss. Yeah, we're talking bosses here, but, I mean, like, some of these fights, and some, all of them, are no longer than 15 seconds, right? Oh, yeah. So, so uninteresting to Sean that he had to yawn.

19:42 I can, I can re-record that. No, no, no, it's, that's, that's how, that's how the game is doing, Tim. It's like, oh, yeah, those, those boss fights. Oh, yeah. I just hit the button on him, I was taking care of my cat. But seriously, this game, it's, it's, it's almost unreal, like, how short and easy it is. It certainly feels like they missed a beat, right?

20:04 Like, they missed, um, they either, like, forgot to add in the rest of the levels, and it was supposed to be a very long, boring game, or, or they, like, forgot that, like, you know, games right now on the NES, all the rage is making them, like, two modes. So, there's the beat-em-up stage, and then there's, like, you know, now Kenshiro gets in the car and drives, like, Mad Max style through a post-apocalyptic world.

20:28 Mokra. Yeah, I, I watched a, uh, a speedrun of this, and it just kind of looked like what I did. You know? Like, it's just like, like, yeah, he knows where the enemies spawn, so the, the person running can, like, knows when to jump and exactly what routes to take in the places that, where you have to go through doors and stuff. But, besides that, the way that they fought bosses was just to stand in front of them and crouch, and then punch and kick like crazy, and then jump out of the way, and just do that some more. And it's like, this is just what I did.

20:59 The speedruns, though, Sam, they do reveal something. Uh, and that is that, you know, it's to your benefit to just jump over everything and just keep running to the right, because it does, they won't be able to follow you, and you won't be locked behind any content. So, in stages where you don't have to navigate through, um, you know, through doors or anything like that, it's just to your benefit to just keep running. And I know that sounds like I'm describing Super Mario Brothers, but in that one, there's, like, some skill to your running and jumping and when you do it. In this one, it's just, oh, enemy my size, time to jump over it. Oh, wait, I don't jump like an old person. I leap over the air, like.

21:37 I think this game could have been balanced a bit by just giving the character less health. Like, there might have been more on the line, because really, there's just so much of a health pool for your character that, like, you can ignore, you just shrug off everything until the boss. It's funny that you suggest that, though, Sean, because I'm thinking that it's the jump that is the problem, because it just lets you easily, and I know that, like, this is not a solve for the game, but it just lets you easily get away from everything and anything, and it's too versatile for all the different enemies.

22:14 So I think if you just made the jump one that you can't just easily get over people, or that it takes a little bit of skill to time how you get over people, then you would actually have to deal with a lot of what's going on in the game, as opposed to just being like, nah, I fought that guy already, I'm not doing that again. Yeah. No, that's also a good idea, I'd say.

22:51 And the bosses don't change or anything, and I know this is, like, a weird example, but, like, you know, just thinking about bosses at the end of stages, I'm thinking about Mega Man, and I honestly can't think of another game that we've played since Mega Man that has thought about, like, making the bosses at the end, like, super unique and interesting to the stage that they were on, and this game just insults that idea on every level of it, because they just continue to do the same thing. The first boss and the last boss, I can't tell you the difference other than the pixels. Yeah, some of them are bigger, like, some of them are, like, absurdly... large compared to you.

23:34 Some of them like to jump around a bit. Some of them don't. That's really the... It's the most basic thing. You sound like you're describing NPCs. You realize that? Like, you sound like you're describing, like, people in the town, and instead you're talking about, like, the big bosses of the game. I did, like, the one guy in the staircase level that's kind of like a short, fat guy with his shirt off. Okay, yeah, because there's a size difference. I gotcha. Yeah, he looked kind of different. You know, he looked interesting. Oh, yeah. I thought he was a... I thought he was a cooked chicken.

24:09 Oh. Yeah. I thought it was, like, the one, like, cartoon thing that was... I didn't, like, question it because the game makes no sense already, so... That makes more sense, though.

24:22 To open... Or, sorry, not to open, but to enter doors in this game, you have to press up on the D-pad and hold A and B at the same time. I don't know why you needed that many different things. It was the hardest part of the game.

24:38 It's just bizarre, though, right? Like, also, like, you know, again, because the doors are just kind of, like, you know, it's not really a maze, so why make it so hard to enter them? Just make it that, like, when you get to a door, it knows that you should just go through it. There were, like, two instances of, like, using a door, too, right? Right. So that's what I'm saying. Like, just make it automatic. Like, why program something very specific for this? Holding up on the D-pad and pressing A and B at the same time, to me, makes it seem like I'm going to pull off one of those super awesome martial arts moves that you would expect from Kenshiro. Is that the name of the main character? Yes. Okay. It's my Kenshiro.

25:21 Yeah, yeah. Also, you know, we were talking about the bosses for a second. I can't confirm this or not, but apparently, according to the manual, I think, each boss has a weak point.

25:32 Oh. Like, that is- Yeah, I saw that in the manual, but I, I mean, I don't know where it was. I think that's made up, right? I mean, I did notice that sometimes I would beat them randomly. Like, their health would still be there, but then they would just, like, evaporate into nothingness. So maybe I just hit their weak point. I thought- I thought that, like, it was just a problem with the game. That makes more sense.

25:56 Yeah. Huh. It's, I guess, like, you know, it's just, there should have been something bigger for that, you know? Like, it's, because there's no, you know, like, for a thing that's based on a manga, the visuals in the game are, are, they're lacking. And I feel like, if you hit the weak point, that should be, like, a cool cutscene or, like, a, you know, at least a couple flashes on the screen or something is said, right? Like, come on, give me a little something.

26:26 No, he just falls to the ground. I did like that, like, you know, as opposed to, like, while, you know, Dragon Ball Z has going super saiyan, this guy just takes his shirt off. Oh, yeah, when you reach the maximum power level. Yeah. I really appreciate that. Yeah. And that increases his defenses, according to the manual, which I think is hilarious. Yeah. Removing armor is what makes him stronger.

26:49 All this fabric just gets in the way. And the game knew that it was a, you know, it was a fast game because it even, it doesn't even waste your time with an ending. As soon as you beat the game, it just goes right to the credits. Executive producer. Yeah. Uh, yeah, there, yeah, there's no, there's no little cutscene or, or even in, like, an animation of, like, your character celebrating or something. It's just right to, um, uh, yeah, right, right to that credit page with, um, with some little art in the corners, I think.

27:27 It's cute. It was like watching a TV show. That's pretty much how long it took. Sure. It's one episode. Yeah. Now, Nintendo is not a, like, you know, they're not known for making M-rated games and there was no ESRB back then. But I gotta wonder, if you, if you watch even just a little bit of Fist of the North Star,

27:47 you know, like, these guys, when they get hit in their weak points, like, you know, their heads explode or their body, like, blows up as if they had been, like, stung by bees and then, like, you know, like, blows up like that, like, bubbles all over them and then they explode. Like, there's all, it's very, like, it's always interesting to see how they're going to die in, when they, when they're doing the fighting. And I think, like, the game should have done a little bit of that. Okay? It's a 2D game. I don't see the problem with, like, if you punch a guy in the head, his head goes flying instead of his whole body.

28:23 I don't know. It doesn't sound very Nintendo to me. But Nintendo didn't make the game, but they wouldn't have allowed it on their system, probably. Yeah. I think that the best we're going to get is what we got, which is sometimes the bosses go into, like, a million tiny pieces and there's nothing, like, visceral about it. It's just, like, the animation for defeat. Sam, anything Nintendo approved that you could think of that they would have done to make this more like any kind of manga or anime? Like, any kind of art they could have put onto this? Hmm. Um, and just, like, art in general? No, or just, like, you know, like, any touches that they could have put on it. Like, it just doesn't feel.

29:06 Maybe some poses, you know, when you finish. Like, when you beat the boss, your guy flexes, or just something like that. Something simple. I'd like the flexes. Yeah. I would like a, if he's willing to rip his shirt off, might as well flex. Might as well flex. Come on. Show it off. Yeah. As for sequels and spinoffs, this is not the first Fist of the North Star NES game. The Famicom had one before this that was released in 1986, which is, it's called Hakuto no Ken, which apparently is, I forget what that loosely translates to, but it's something about, like, the Big Dipper or something like that. Like, it's not Fist of the North Star.

29:55 That's not the Japanese name. That's the name that they brought over here. But anyway, forget that random fact of trivia. The original game is kind of, like, the same exact thing as this one, taking you through a different part of the Fist of the North Star story, if you cared. But it's actually bizarre how, like, you know, if we were talking about the graphics in this one being, like, so-so or whatever, I don't think they're terrible or anything. But in the original one that was also released on the Famicom, it looks like an Atari 2600 game. Like, it's just solid lines of color that kind of make out to be a humanoid.

30:32 Yeah, kind of like Kung Fu, but I'd say even a little bit worse, you know? Oh, wow. Like, I don't know what that's about. Yeah. It's very bizarre. We'll obviously link to it in our show notes, like all these other games that we're going to talk about, such as Fist of the North Star, 10 Big Brawls for the King of the Universe. That's the subtitle.

30:50 No. No, Sean, what is Fist of the North Star, 10 Big Brawls for the King of the Universe? What do you think that that game is about? Okay, yeah. Fist of the North Star, colon, 10 Big Brawls for the Fate of the Universe. For the King of the Universe.

31:11 I don't know. It almost sounds like a... It sounds like a rom-com? No. That 10 Big Brawls thing sounds like it's maybe like a supercut. Like it's a...

31:30 What do you call those episodes that are just like a clip show? It sounds like it's a clip show. Oh, okay. Yeah, you're just playing the 10 best moments of Fist of the North Star. Yeah. Yeah, okay. It's a fighting game for the Game Boy.

31:43 Oh, okay. Yeah, it's a... You can play as different characters from the universe and fight and stuff like that. I'm sure it made use of the link cables. This way you can fight your friends and stuff. Just kind of weird that that also came out in 1990. We're only talking about North American release game from this point forward. So it's kind of crazy that even in 1990, you would have been able to get your hands on a Fist of the North Star game without having ever read the material for the Game Boy. Yeah. That's so weird. Then we have Fist of the North Star, Ken's Rage. Sam, any guesses?

32:17 Ken's Rage. I'm going to guess that Ken was slighted in some way by some bad guy. And so now he has to go through a series of levels to beat the bosses that caused him this grievance and then work his way up to the top boss who caused the initial grievance. That really is a...

32:41 That's a new one. That's a new format for video games in general, really. Mm-hmm. Yes. That's what it sounds like to me. Sam, you're very close. So I will give you credit for everything you said and I won't even correct it. It's basically that in Dynasty Warriors style. It's one of those kind of games. No, that's cool. Yeah. And it's for the PS3 360 and was released in 2010. So after a 20-year drought of Fist of the North Star games... Now keep in mind, they made one every year in Japan. But we didn't get one for 20 years and then we finally got another one in 2010.

33:16 However, it wouldn't do anything compared to the 2018 PS4 game Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise, which, Sean, I can only imagine is the one you heard about at the top of this episode you were talking about. Am I correct? Yeah. Yeah, I kind of went on to the Google image search of Fist of the North Star and saw what looked like an open world game because of a mini-map with buildings highlighted and stuff and a guy that I guess looks like the main character of the game we played sort of standing, like you could see the back of his head.

33:52 So is that sort of what that is? Yeah, it is the Fist of the North Star Yakuza version. It's made by Sega, the same people that make Yakuza. Oh, wow. I think it might even be made by those same teams too, but like it's very much that. It has the same kind of combat, exploration, and even all those mini-games, those Yakuza mini-games, they all happen as well. So this one seems like if I'm going to play any other Fist of the North Star games after this one that we just played, I'm going to go right to this one. Yeah, that one actually looked kind of interesting. I don't know if it's on my short list, but it's piqued my interest.

34:32 It's game 748 on my backlog. Yeah, it's like such a bizarre IP from what you're describing. I like the idea though of like, you know, a Yakuza set in the like apocalypse. Like, I guess that's just Fallout then. There you go, sure.

34:51 However, you know, Yakuza did do some stuff where like they went to, they had a game on PS2 where they went to like feudal Japan, and it's the same kind of game. And then I think they did another one in like either the Wild West or the 1800s or something like that. So like they have done some interesting stuff. So I'm not surprised that like eventually an anime made its way into that universe. But it's, I guess it's just strange that it was Fist of the North Star. Yeah. Let's get together and watch it together.

35:20 Great. We can watch the movie, which is also just available for free on YouTube. Like, it's like one of those, you know, like it's so strange. But like, imagine if you just typed in. Is it an official or is it a bootleg? No, it's not official by any means, but nobody's taking it down. It's been uploaded since 2019. It's got 352,000 views. Wow. It is the dub. And it's the entire thing. And I got to imagine just looking at it because it looks pretty good. It's at least 480p. So it's not like that bad.

35:52 Huh. So I guess what I'm saying is, yeah, like nobody really cares about this property, including the people who own the trademark. Wow. Anyway, I think we're done talking about Fist of the North Star. And unfortunately, it'll be the last time we ever talk about it on this particular podcast until we start, you know, referencing other anime. I mean, who knows? Maybe we'll get like a Sailor Moon NES game. I'm down for that. Let's do it. But in the meantime, we have to decide if Fist of the North Star is a game that we'll ever play again in a little thing we like to call the Essential Games List.

36:27 Sean, you have a fist. Yes. Raise it up to the North Star and give me your vote for the Essential Games List. All right. It's up there. I'm letting it channel through me. It sounds painful. Yeah. My opinion from the North Star is that this is a demo for a couple half-baked ideas with an unknown property attached to it. So I think that everyone should experience it, but not in the context of the Essential Games List. I can't imagine what it would feel like to get this game for Christmas or just like a stop to Toys R Us or whatever and find out that I could just beat it with no prior playtime in one sitting or two sittings and maybe die twice if you're unlucky.

37:33 It's just bizarre to me. So yeah, no, it's not getting on the list. Okay. And what about you, Sam? Raise that fist to the North Star. All right. This is towards Polaris.

37:46 And I'm going to bring it back down. Because this is just like the most lukewarm game I think we've played. And it's just like white bread. You know, there's it's like, yep, this is a video game. This is it's like it's somehow like meets my expectations and like doesn't at the same time. Like it. It's like I if I see this game and if I saw like a quick trailer for it and I played it, it would play exactly like I thought it would. But it's still disappointing.

38:23 And there's just really not that much there. So the presentation, I guess, is something. It's good. But it's just I don't know. It's just really boring. So, yeah, not essential. Okay. That's fair. It's fair. And I'll just say, you know, to echo what you guys have said, I think we've identified all of the weak points with this game. And so now I will punch the cartridge and have all of the bits just, you know, explode into a thousand tiny fragments. This game is not going on the essential games list.

38:56 But you know what? There's no harm in playing this game either for what it's worth. Like you will definitely waste time playing it. Not too much. 12 minutes. Yeah, but yeah, exactly. But not that much. And you won't be angry while you're doing it. So go for it, I suppose. Like no one's got I can't hold you back. You can play any NES game. You can play Gyrus all day long and that would be a good decision. Or you can play Gyro Might all day long and that would be a bad decision.

39:25 So we can't control you, but we can control whether Fist of the North Star goes in the essential games list and it is not going on the list. And I don't think I don't think too many people at home are going to fight us. What do you guys think? You think most people would agree? I think someone's going to say something. I can't imagine a big Fist of the North Star NES fan out there having a lot of stake in this conversation. Well, Sam, that's a good point because there's always that saying of like, you know, well, you know, it's always someone's favorite game, right? But that can't be true.

40:00 There's just no way. I'm not even talking about this game in specific, but there are definitely like a long list of games that are not someone's favorite game. No one is pining for NHL 97. You know, like no one's like, oh man, that's the one I could understand NHL 94. I could understand like maybe the most recent entry. No one's just clamoring for like random, you know, every year game that, you know, like that, like, oh, that's the one this one. I want like Fist of the North Star. Nobody is saying that's their favorite game of all time. I guarantee that. If you or someone you love says that this is the North Star is their favorite game. Please reach out to us on social media and get help. Yeah, they may very well have Marble Madness.

40:46 It's hard to recover from Marble Madness. Anyway, you know, next week we have The Guardian Legend as our game. And a couple of, yeah, a couple of listeners have said very good things about this game. They've been like, hey, is this on your radar? I will tell you it is not on our radar because we don't play the games beforehand. That's no fun. We play them when we review them. So you guys will get our very first take on The Guardian Legend. But I have no idea. You know, that title is too vague. The Guardian Legend to me sounds like a Steven Spielberg film. Am I wrong? The Guardian Legend. No, no, no, no. It would have to be The Legend Guardian. The Legend of Guardian. Yeah. The Guardian of the Legends. I don't know. It sounds like some 2003 PG movie.

41:34 Starring Rainn Wilson. Oh, man. But in 2003? I don't know. Okay. No, just, you know, he had a different audience back then, I suppose. I guess so. It was the shot that he blew.

41:51 All right. I am Michael Esposito. Remember, you can always find Nostalgia at NostalgiaCast on Twitter. Trust me, people are joining Twitter just to talk to us. You should too. I mean, you probably already have a Twitter, so just follow us. But if you don't have one, what's the harm? Make an account with a fake email address and just remember the login. Never check the email. And then just like, you know, you can see what we're posting. In fact, I have a hot tip. Twitter doesn't require people to make a Twitter account to see other people's Twitters. So when we tweet, you can just toot right back to us.

42:29 Yeah. Maybe like set up like a CSS notification or whatever those are. RSS? Yeah, like a... Yeah. RSS. Do that. Yeah. I thought you wanted them to like hack into Twitter's API or something.

42:47 Just to change the format of it. Yeah. Change the format of the look of the websites. I don't know. Make it so... Yeah. NostalgiaCast is always at the top of the page. I don't know how Twitter works. No one really does, Sean. No one knows the immense power of Twitter. Or of our Lord Jack. I guess his name's just Jack, right? He doesn't have a last name. I thought it was Jackie Beans. Jackie Beans. That's right. He got that nickname because he filled his computer up with beans. And I don't know where I was going to say. Here we are.

43:20 All right. Remember, another episode next week. Thanks so much for listening to the last five minutes of nonsense. We won't do it again next week. Sam, one last word of encouragement to send our viewers home. Have a pizza bagel. When's the last time you had a pizza bagel? Probably not for a long time. Live a little. Yeah, right?

43:59 Thank you.