It may not be as polished or focused as one of the recent Yakuza games, but Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is still a lot of gory fun for fans of the anime series and brawlers alike. If you aren’t a fan of the source material, it may be difficult for you to look through the game’s minor but frequent issues.
Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
Developer: Sega
Price: $49.99
Platforms: PS4 (reviewed)
MonsterVine was provided with a PS4 code for review
Alongside titans like Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto, Fist of the North Star is a long-running battle-shonen manga that ran in Weekly Shonen Jump way back in the 80’s. The Mad Max-inspired series is, without a doubt, one of the most masculine and adrenaline-fueled things on the planet. The series is about super buff guys decked out in leather that wander the scorched remains of our Earth and punch one another until someone explodes, all while delivering speeches about friendship and morality. Outside of some differences in setting and gore, it’s actually quite similar to the Yakuza franchise, making SEGA’s Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise seem like a match made in heaven.
The story of Lost Paradise is an odd mix of events from the first Fist of the North Star series and new concepts that are original to Lost Paradise. The plot starts with Kenshiro’s classic fight against Shin, where it’s established that Ken is looking for his lost love Yuria. After wandering the wasteland in search of her, Kenshiro ends up in the The City of Miracles, Eden. Though made specifically for Lost Paradise, Eden and the dark secrets that keep such a prosperous city afloat are a good fit for the post-apocalyptic world of Fist of the North Star.
The entire game weaves characters and battles from the original series into its Eden-focused reimagining, which works well for the most part. Though the idea of a huge, well-stocked and well-lit city seems a bit odd for the setting of Fist of the North Star, I can accept its usage as a HUB world as a gameplay necessity. Lots of classic moments from the anime are still present, even with the different setting, so I don’t mind the changes too much. Training with Toki, destroying Jagi, and battling Raoh are all present, so I’m pretty content with the overall story. The characters made purely for Lost Paradise aren’t bad either, though I wouldn’t say anyone outside of Xsana and Jagre are very memorable.
“It’s gloriously hammy and completely serious at the same time, which embodies everything that’s great about that era of battle-shonen manga.“
It’s the writing of Lost Paradise that really takes the cake, as it’s the full of the most goofy, over-the-top, and blood-pumping shonen tropes out there. Characters block bullets and blades with their own limbs, then make speeches about brotherhood and love, then punch each other until someone literally explodes. It’s gloriously hammy and completely serious at the same time, which embodies everything that’s great about that era of battle-shonen manga.
Gameplay is largely lifted from the Yakuza series, which makes sense since Lost Paradise runs on the same engine as Yakuza 0 and Kiwami. As Kenshiro, most of the game is spent battling groups of hoodlums throughout Eden and its surrounding wasteland. Befitting of its source material, Lost Paradise’s combat is far more gory than Yakuza’s. Through the use of his Hokuto Shinken fighting style, Kenshiro makes all of his foes contort and explode in the bloodiest way possible. It’s visceral, excessive, and immensely satisfying for the most part. The over-the-top quicktime Secret Art attacks and One-Hit pressure point kills help to completely separate Lost Paradise from the Yakuza franchise while fully embracing the roots of the original manga.
The biggest issue I came across with Lost Paradise’s combat was the overabundance of “heavy” enemies. Unlike regular foes, heavy enemies require charge attacks to break their constant guard. Hitting one with a regular attack disrupts the flow of combat and leaves you open to attack, so having heavy enemies make up a third of most enemy groups means your momentum will frequently be broken. I don’t mind having a couple of these opponents here and there for variety’s sake, but there are far too many all throughout Lost Paradise.
There are lots of weird and goofy minigames to cement Lost Paradise as true spiritual installment in the Yakuza series, from the out-of-place (but still incredibly fun and charming) hostess club simulator to arcade game ports and rhythmic medical dancing. Between lethal duels of immense gravitas, Kenshiro can mix drinks for Eden’s denizens, heal wounded townsfolk through the power of dance, play baseball using motorcycle punks as balls, and so much more.
“I will say though, driving around while Ken listens to Super Monkey Ball music on the car radio is an experience that I never imagined I would have.”
While some of the side-content is a bit jarring at first, most of the minigames provide Lost Paradise with a sense of variety, and are quite fun once you get used to them. Driving through the wasteland isn’t very fun, however, because of the wonky jeep controls and dull environment. I get that it’s literally a wasteland, but the map that you have to frequently traverse is just too big and empty to keep your attention for long. I will say though, driving around while Ken listens to Super Monkey Ball music on the car radio is an experience that I never imagined I would have.
Tetsuo Hara’s artstyle really shines in Lost Paradise. It looks so incredibly accurate to its source material that I would go so far as to say that this is the absolute best that Fist of the North Star could look in 3D. Character models look perfect, fighting is visually pleasing, and the explosions of carnage are nothing short of legendary.
The Final Word
It isn’t quite as top-notch as one of the recent Yakuza titles, but Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is still an overall enjoyable brawler. Keep in mind though, fans of Fist of the North Star will appreciate the game most.
MonsterVine Rating: 3.5 out of 5 – Fair
