Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage

First of the North Star, as a modification of Dynasty Warriors, is a good idea quite well executed. It has its own touch and personality, without differentiating itself too much from the series tradition.

Fans of the anime will absolutely love Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage. Other gamers may not love the game quite as much but will find a solid and enjoyable adventure from start to finish.

It's much deeper than I would have expected from a current age Musou style game, and I highly urge people who aren't usually enamored with the Dynasty Warriors series to check this out, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

If you like beat 'em ups, you will appreciate this one, but ultimately Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage is a love letter to fans of the original series.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage reminds us what a great beat-'em-up at its core is all about, as long as you're playing by yourself and hopefully in spurts.

With hours of violent action capable of being employed, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage is certainly an easily rentable option if you're looking to kill time as mercilessly as the in-game enemy, but anything beyond the re-skinned Dynasty half only proves to be a chore.

If you know what you're getting into, you'll enjoy what Ken's Rage has to offer. It's as deep as you want it to be; but, you have to meet the game halfway. That's just not enough for everyone.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage suffers from being too much and not enough like Dynasty Warriors.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage is a classic and dated beat'em up with a poor graphics and a not perfect gameplay. But it will satisfy any fan of the manga. If you are not among them, you should definitely look somewhere else.

The hardcore fan will simply rejoice, and won't even notice the many flaws. For everyone else, Ken's Rage is the average DInasty Warriors.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

Although Fist of the North Star is far from beeing perfect, its intense atmosphere and engaging battles will surely manage to please any fan of the anime or manga... but if you're not among them, you should definitely look somewhere else.

Not to mince words, either: This is a Dynasty Warriors clone. [Jan 2011, p.86]

Intense battles for any fan of the anime or manga. Don't expect any more.

This game has one with very repetitive gameplay aspect, it's fighting, fighting and a lot more fighting. The fighting can be cool but because of the crappy AI you will search for another game to play. It isn't a really bad game but it could have been a lot more.

Fist of the North Star is a fun game if you're a fan of the anime series. If not, there isn't a whole lot here for you unless you like Dynasty Warriors. The dependence on the anime really hurts it.

Unfortunately, non-fans of the North Star will find very little in this waste-land of below average gameplay mechanics.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage is a very pleasant surprise for the old fans. When stripped of its IP, it is certainly difficult not to blame him for some weaknesses (a basic level design, poor graphics - still unprecedented for other Hokuto no Ken games), but what many would look as a weakness has also some sort of "curious old-school charm".

The game can only be recommended to hardcore fighting game fans. There isn't enough variety to keep the average player in front of the PS3.

Ken's Rage ruins a solid game-structure with a gameplay that lacks depth. And furthermore the graphics is really poor. A game only for addicted fans.

Slow, clunky, unresponsive, ugly, stupid and dated. [Issue#198, p.97]

Primitive graphics and terrible story telling make us more full of rage then Ken.

It all adds up to an uneven brawler, a game with the resources and technology to break through the walls of the developer's lineage but one unprepared to fully let go and take a chance. [Dec 2010, p.90]

There are different stories to play through and plenty to unlock, but it's nothing special.

Ken's Rage is an atrociously repetitive game that bafflingly remains entertaining in spite of its best efforts at self-sabotage. But don't let the low score fool you - you should pick this up when it hits the bargain bin. Just be prepared for the video game equivalent of Stockholm Syndrome.

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage is so terrible that it can't even satisfy an established template.

Playing games should be fun, but you'll find absolutely no joy in Ken's Rage. The mindless battles and atrocious combat are a sad mockery of the source material. If you're foolhardy enough to bite on this, you'll find yourself quite literally able to relate to its furious protagonist.