Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2

A pure and decent beat´em up that offers hundreds of combatants and a good variety of playable characters.

The audience for this game is clear: fans of the manga/anime, the first game, or maybe Dynasty Warriors should definitely check this out. I think those folks will be able to more easily overlook the game's flaws. For everyone else, you could do worse with your money and time, and if you do try it, give it a few hours to grow on you before you cast it aside.

In conclusion, Fist of the North Star Ken's Rage 2 is a game that would have been better if it was released several years ago. It suffers from dated graphics and gameplay that is not only repetitive but hampered by the fiddle some camera.

Aside from an exhaustion that I’m still trying to shake, I walk away from Ken’s Rage 2 with the realization that us fans probably won’t be graced with a well deserved adaptation anytime soon and that realization already has my eyes shedding streaks of sorrowful man seed.

Challenging and difficult, Ken's Rage 2 will put us on the ropes on many occasions, forcing us to give the best of ourselves. The epic battles against bosses are definitely the best thing in a game where the engine is lacking and some concepts are oversimplified.

A better attempt at adapting the infamous manga than the original, but still not the killer brawler we could have hoped for.

No real progression means this one is for the hardcore fans only but the staggering amount of content plus online co-op does help make up for disappointing changes elsewhere. [Issue#229, p.78]

If you’re a fan of the manga, maybe that’s enough to lure you towards Ken’s Rage 2. With a whole bunch of episodes (both based on the classic tale and new stories) to work through, you’ll certainly get a bang for your buck. The question is whether you’ll want to spend it in the first place. [April 2013, p75]

Nauseatingly basic. [March 2013, p.114]

This is a generic brawler that feels like it was rushed to market, and is a huge disappointment considering it's a sequel to an already lacklustre game.

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 convinced me that a Dynasty Warriors–style trip through one of manga’s more infamous worlds wasn’t as good an idea as I once thought. While I still see a lot of potential in the concept—and in this game itself—this effort’s underdeveloped and disappointingly average.

Ken’s Rage 2 feels like it was developed by Koei’s B-team thanks to performance issues, subpar graphics, a shallow character development system and fighting mechanics that are only as fun as the game’s limited combat engine allows. For the price, there are so many better alternatives out there that it would feel irresponsible of us to recommend this to anyone who’s not a diehard fan.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 is a kick to Hokuto no Ken fans' dream. Despite an accurate Story Mode, mediocre graphics, poor sound and a clumsy gameplay, transform this Tecmo Koei game into a sad nightmare.

Fist of the North Star fans will probably like this game just because there hasn’t been a whole lot of love for the franchise in the gaming world recently, and Dynasty Warriors fans may like the game just as a short beat em’ up fix. However, the general gaming populace likely won’t fall in love with Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2.

There is really nothing astonishing about this game. The anime (and the manga) does it all so much better – go spend a couple of hours watching that instead.

Ken's Rage 2 doesn't just exhibit poor execution, but poor understanding of what it's attempting to accomplish. Simple does not have to mean shallow, but that's precisely what it boils down to here.

As usual, all objectives revolve around causing mass genocide and protecting painfully annoying innocents. If you were looking to buy this game for the online multiplayer experience, don't bother. At the time of writing, it seems nobody across the world wants to punch with friends.