Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise

 PlayStation 4
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Oct 2, 2018
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 122 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 122
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 122
  3. Negative: 19 out of 122
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  1. SavagexKing30
    Oct 2, 2018
    9
    I loved the yakuza series, so i dont mind that its very alike in many ways and different in others, but its still overall a great game!
  2. tbouniverse
    Oct 14, 2018
    9
    Initial doubts vanished as soon as I started playing. Addictive minigames, excellent free-roam, awesome substories and cool racing mechanics. The story was great. As someone new to anything Fist of The North Star, it was a perfect introduction. This is a Yakuza title with a Fist of the North Star lore.

    My only critique of this game applies if you're interested in getting the trophies -    Initial doubts vanished as soon as I started playing. Addictive minigames, excellent free-roam, awesome substories and cool racing mechanics. The story was great. As someone new to anything Fist of The North Star, it was a perfect introduction. This is a Yakuza title with a Fist of the North Star lore.

    My only critique of this game applies if you're interested in getting the trophies - the grind is real, to a fault.

    I want to make a special note of the massive replay value of this game as there is an optional area with really powerful enemies and rare materials exceeding the difficulty of the main story - you are well-rewarded for your curiosity.

    As usual, Ryu Ga Gotoku studios impressed and to fellow Yakuza fans, you will feel right at home with the Yakuza mechanics and the voice cast - yet you will be playing a different kind of adventure. This is what a good spinoff is.    … Expand
  3. Theworld13
    Oct 7, 2019
    10
    Just fantastic, the story the music. I really enjoyed it and still play it time to time
  4. Risax
    Oct 17, 2018
    8
    Being a fan of both the Yakuza games and Fist of the North Star, this game was pretty much a must buy for me.

    First of all, I think this is the first game since the original Yakuza that has a dub...but I couldn't tell you the quality of it, since when I heard that voice actors of the Yakuza games would voice Fist of the North Star characters that had roles that were similar to those of    Being a fan of both the Yakuza games and Fist of the North Star, this game was pretty much a must buy for me.

    First of all, I think this is the first game since the original Yakuza that has a dub...but I couldn't tell you the quality of it, since when I heard that voice actors of the Yakuza games would voice Fist of the North Star characters that had roles that were similar to those of their Yakuza counterparts. (Takaya Kuroda as Kenshiro, Hidenari Ugaki as Jagi, ect.). So I can at least say that the Japanese version is up to snuff at least.

    Anyway, on to the review. For those worrying about not knowing the story of Fist of the North Star if you got into the game because the trailer looked cool or you enjoyed the other works of the Yakuza studio, don't. The game features a new storyline set in the city of Eden, a place where civilization still exists. You'll still meet the characters from the original manga and anime, but they are introduced at different times and their fates might be different from their manga and anime counterparts.

    Like in Yakuza, the combat feels great. Maybe even better because Yakuza at least tried to have *some* realism. Here you can juggle enemies in the air and, of course, make them explode with Hokuto Shinken. That being said, with Secret Techniques being the easiest way to dispose of enemies fast it *can* get a little annoying to watch them over and over again. Fortunately, you'll unlock Perfect Channeling too at some point, which means you don't always have to watch those if you press the circle button at the right time.

    Overall, I also enjoyed the story a lot. And both the original manga and anime characters and those created by the Yakuza story were handled excellently. That being said, I did wish the original manga and anime characters got some more screentime. Because usually, it felt like they just kinda showed up to remind people that they still existed in the Fist of the North Star realm, have a fight with them and then they'd disappear. Even Raoh shows up but isn't the main threat. Hopefully that gets rectified if we ever get a sequel, but I'm not so sure if that'll be an option.

    Aside from the main story, the side activities and substories were great. Mostly I got a lot of laughs from seeing the serious Kenshiro, who seems even more serious than Kiryu, acting silly. I didn't, however, finish all substories. For one I had to gather 100 million through working in the Nightclub. Which was just too grind-y for my taste. Otherwise, I had a lot of fun.

    My biggest gripes, aside from the ones I've mentioned, is that it feels like you get the runaround a lot in both the main story and substories in the form of: "Oh, go over there to speak with him. What, no he was there the whole time! Nevermind, he's back there anyway."

    There also the fact that the game is very...brown. Understandable, considering the setting. But it's still dull when you're driving around the Wasteland. Eden also seems to be the only settlement that any effort was put into. You spend the most time there, so I get that. But it's still a little unfortunate to get a, rather open world when compared to the Yakuza games, and have it be so brown and dull...

    Overall, I'd definitely recommend the game. Especially to those that enjoy the Yakuza games or Fist of the North Star with the characters, combat, side content and the story being the biggest selling point and even with the complaints I have about the game I'd still say it's worth a solid 8.    … Expand
  5. Canella
    Jul 30, 2020
    9
    This game was a great surprise for me. At its core, it is a re-skin and paint job on a Yakuza series game, but don't let that fool you. There is enough going on here to make its own product.
    For those familiar with the anime in which this game is based on, it is an opportunity to visit a lot of the characters and places presented in the original source. Though some may take a different    This game was a great surprise for me. At its core, it is a re-skin and paint job on a Yakuza series game, but don't let that fool you. There is enough going on here to make its own product.
    For those familiar with the anime in which this game is based on, it is an opportunity to visit a lot of the characters and places presented in the original source. Though some may take a different approach on how they are introduced to you, the essence is still there.

    Game-wise, it plays like a Yakuza game, with combat being the main focus of the game, but as you further progress into the game, a lot of custom minigames, side-quests, driving sections and special challenges start to appear. Now, a lot of games try to mix these things into their game experience nowadays but, at least to me, most of them became a chore after some initial exploration... Not here! In fact, completing or enabling them was a fun challenge through the whole game, as they add more bits of history or lore about the world you are in, most of them with some take on comedy, drama or even philosophy.

    It is not a perfect game though. Combat gets a little grindy the further you progress, driving the car just to go to a new area sometimes is a pain, there is some repetition regarding some tasks you have to perform and if you are a completionism, you may be locked in this game for a good time.

    Still on combat, there are some other nit-pics, like when you make the input for a move and you can see an enemy coming with an attack at you, but there is no way to cancel the attack animation (you enable some kind of cancels later, but until you get used to it, you will take a good beating), or how long it takes for you to gain more Ability scores, so you can keep unlocking you skills tree (sometimes unlocked through minigames or side-quests as well).

    Overall, I had a great time playing this game. It may not be for everybody, but in a generation where most of the games are open-sandboxes full of repeated missions and all relying on the same formula, this game in particular offers a more streamlined experience, focusing on its selling points very well (combat + anime adaptation).

    Were the team responsible for it to launch some kind of sequel or spin-off using these same formulas, it would be a no brainer for me to buy it.    … Expand
  6. Souls-Lurk
    Dec 18, 2019
    6
    Had heard good things about the Yakuza franchise (& indeed this) but as a longtime manga fan the Fist of the North Star stylings appealed to me more so I gave this ago.

    It’s not terrible but I have struggled t stick with it beyond the first few hours of novelty. Somehow I’ve managed to grind enough hours out t reach the final chapter so I may as well finish it now but I find myself just    Had heard good things about the Yakuza franchise (& indeed this) but as a longtime manga fan the Fist of the North Star stylings appealed to me more so I gave this ago.

    It’s not terrible but I have struggled t stick with it beyond the first few hours of novelty. Somehow I’ve managed to grind enough hours out t reach the final chapter so I may as well finish it now but I find myself just wanting to get it over with to start something else.

    Product-wise, it looks, sounds and plays very PS2ish... but it is at least quite funny. It’s also fairly diverse to be fair, with many different sub-games that are at least interesting diversions for a spell.

    I actually have Yakuza Kiwame, clicked on it while on PS+, thinking that I may well play through the whole series if, as I expected, to love FOTNS: PL... sadly I won’t be starting the poplar franchise as i just found this (which I’ve been led to understand is basically a realigned Yakuza game) to be fairly simplistic and a little boring.    … Expand
  7. esfumato
    Oct 3, 2018
    10
    The game represents the world of the Anime / Manga to perfection. It's gore is so exaggerated that instead of being disgusting it makes you laugh. Full of dark humor it is a 2018 sleeper.
  8. FinalAiden
    Oct 2, 2018
    10
    One of the most fulfilling Fist of The North Star games yet. It runs on the Yakuza 0 engine, but often times doesn't feel like it. Kenshiro flows between enemies more fluidly and overall the action is more exciting. The minigames are stupidly fun, but I won't go into great detail to avoid spoilers. If you are a yakuza fan, definitely grab this when you can. If you're a Fist of The NorthOne of the most fulfilling Fist of The North Star games yet. It runs on the Yakuza 0 engine, but often times doesn't feel like it. Kenshiro flows between enemies more fluidly and overall the action is more exciting. The minigames are stupidly fun, but I won't go into great detail to avoid spoilers. If you are a yakuza fan, definitely grab this when you can. If you're a Fist of The North Star fan, then this is a MUST. Here's hoping to more and improved games in the future. Ryu Ga Gotoku studios do not disappoint.… Expand
  9. DARRENOIDE
    Oct 6, 2018
    10
    This game is AWESOME!!! Even if you aren't a fan of the anime i'm positive you''ll enjoy the story and game-play. The story doesn't really have to do with the anime so anyone can play it and get what's going on. OH and the game-play is exactly like Yakuza so its safe to say its very nice :). I say its a very good game to pick up if your in the mood for something crazy and gory!
  10. RottenCritic
    Nov 13, 2019
    0
    It starts out fun but then you run into the mini games. Mini games are supposed to add fun to the game, not frustrate the player into abandoning the main story line because even though the game is on easy the mini games are not. This is simply poor game development by some sadist and I'm happy to reward him with a zero
  11. sCALLINATOR
    Oct 2, 2018
    0
    This game is really embarrassing. All the same. Artificial intelligence is pathetic and the music is not original
  12. Shoki
    Oct 9, 2019
    4
    What a stinker... If you came to this game wanting more of the Yakuza magic you can skip this one without a second thought.
  13. The_BlueRose
    Oct 14, 2018
    8
    FotNS: Lost Paradise is mix between Yakuza and a post-apocaliptic scenario with bizarre situations and funny moments.

    -Graphics: runs in the old Yakuza engine at 60 fps but using a cell-shading style that tries to imitate cartoon-like graphics rather than realistic. It could have more detail in some moments and the desert area need more work. -Story: its quite simple and a bit    FotNS: Lost Paradise is mix between Yakuza and a post-apocaliptic scenario with bizarre situations and funny moments.

    -Graphics: runs in the old Yakuza engine at 60 fps but using a cell-shading style that tries to imitate cartoon-like graphics rather than realistic. It could have more detail in some moments and the desert area need more work.

    -Story: its quite simple and a bit similar to Yakuza 2 in some aspects. A more martial art focused story and a better character development could have delivered a better story even including Yuria

    -Exploration: similar to Yakuza, with more minigames rather than metagames, some like Manager Ken should have more explanations and a similar system to Yakuza.

    The buggy has to mechanics: races (minigames) and looting materials to improve it. The last one kinda boring and bartering not always gives you what you want.

    Coloseum works better here than in Yakuza.

    -Combat: the best combat system since Yakuza 0, fast and with a lot of opportunities to perform.
    The burt mode (Extreme Heat Mode) works really good and its more useful than in Yakuza.

    -Conclusion: if you are a Yakuza fan or llke martial arts, this might be for you.    … Expand
  14. Alasko
    Dec 22, 2018
    4
    This is an incredibly unpolished Yakuza res-skin. All of the game-play changes to fit with the North Star Franchise are a detriment to the core combat system, especially the way special moves and grabs are treated. If an enemy blocks there is essentially nothing that can be done as the grab mechanic is completely gone, and unfortunately every boss in the game is programmed to just sit onThis is an incredibly unpolished Yakuza res-skin. All of the game-play changes to fit with the North Star Franchise are a detriment to the core combat system, especially the way special moves and grabs are treated. If an enemy blocks there is essentially nothing that can be done as the grab mechanic is completely gone, and unfortunately every boss in the game is programmed to just sit on block artificially lengthening fights to the point of tedium. This is just one example of the lack of overall polish compared to it's parent series. The graphics are barely above or at ps2 quality. There are about 10 character designs in the entire gang so you'll be seeing a lot of the same faces on "different" characters. The leveling system is unnecessarily restrictive forcing you to collect five different types of orbs each unlocking their own specific sets of skills. This essentially railroads you in to leveling the way the game wants you to.
    On the positive side, most of the mini-games are lifted from its' parent series, meaning there is fun to be had here. The game also does pretty well in fights with a massive amount of enemies because the AI goes brain-dead like most Yakuza games and you can blow all the enemies up in a very flashy style.
    The ultimate verdict is, unless you are a huge FotNS fan play an actual Yakuza game.    … Expand
  15. wrinklysword
    Oct 19, 2018
    10
    One of the best game of this year...Graphics is the only problem...except that it is blast...
  16. Gette
    Feb 6, 2019
    2
    I've read the manga back then, played yakuza games, and still cannot stand this.

    Combat is bad and extremely repetitive with the same animations. You only get one style of temporarily boosts that are quite boring and get extremely long cool down time. NPCs are duplicated with random modifiers so you see super tall women right at start that are bigger than Kenjiro, and lots of weird    I've read the manga back then, played yakuza games, and still cannot stand this.

    Combat is bad and extremely repetitive with the same animations. You only get one style of temporarily boosts that are quite boring and get extremely long cool down time.

    NPCs are duplicated with random modifiers so you see super tall women right at start that are bigger than Kenjiro, and lots of weird things.

    Subquests are totally typical fetch quests that have little to no stories. You don't get pocket circuit fighter or the kind. Mini games also have no variations. (bartender is qte, being doctor is qte)

    Only good thing about it is the anime girls looks which differ from other Yakuza games, so 2 point for the girls. Rest is garbage.    … Expand
  17. KratosKong
    Jan 28, 2020
    9
    Nota real: 8,5
    No soy fan de Hokuto no Ken, pero si del Ryu ga gotuku studio y por eso decidí adquirir este juego. El titulo en si es un juego estilo yakuza pero de hokuto no ken, con casi todo lo que ello implica, y digo casi por que a diferencia de la saga yakuza, este titulo no posee una historia tan elaborada pero si algo interesante y al igual que su franquicia hermana aquí tendremos    Nota real: 8,5
    No soy fan de Hokuto no Ken, pero si del Ryu ga gotuku studio y por eso decidí adquirir este juego. El titulo en si es un juego estilo yakuza pero de hokuto no ken, con casi todo lo que ello implica, y digo casi por que a diferencia de la saga yakuza, este titulo no posee una historia tan elaborada pero si algo interesante y al igual que su franquicia hermana aquí tendremos a nuestra disposición una serie de interesantes y divertidos minijuegos, coliseo y las ya famosas subhistorias. En lo que al combate se refiere para mi gusto es bastante mejor que lo visto en Kiwami 2 ya que tendremos mas variedad en los movimientos de kenshiro, también los enemigos por lo general son mas numerosos que en la saga yakuza. No hace falta decir que el juego hace gala de una violencia extrema. Mucha gente se ha quejado de que este juego no es del todo fiel para con la obra original, pero como e dicho antes no soy fan de hokuto no ken y he adquirido este juego por ser fan de su estudio desarollador por lo que en este caso no me voy a quejar en ese apartado y aparte es un juego que he disfrutado mucho por lo que me es imposible darle menos de un 8. Para terminar creo que este titulo con el tiempo se va a convertir en una de las joyas ocultas del catalogo de ps4, si es que no lo es ya.    … Expand
  18. Arcticsurface
    May 9, 2019
    10
    Damn it, now i want a sequel, i loved this game, something different yet the same as the Yakuza games kept me coming back to the game over and over again.
  19. LJCrazy
    May 26, 2019
    8
    I consider this game as simply a very fun experience, the combat system is addictive and with enough skills so you do not get tired of the fast one, therefore it always stays fresh until the last minute, the game also has some entertaining mini-games that fulfill the funsion of breaking with the monotony of the game, has a story ok, even that goes down in the last part of the game, whereI consider this game as simply a very fun experience, the combat system is addictive and with enough skills so you do not get tired of the fast one, therefore it always stays fresh until the last minute, the game also has some entertaining mini-games that fulfill the funsion of breaking with the monotony of the game, has a story ok, even that goes down in the last part of the game, where they reveal a plot twist that has no sense and has no logic, especially when you look at the retro-perspective story. However everything that has to do with the car I consider the lowest point of the game, driving the car in this game is not very satisfactory, it is handled hard and heavy, you skid with everything, and the tracks have a dubious design, mostly tracks uphill where you will never feel the sensation of speed or obstacles very annoying and sometimes impossible to avoid, the Wasteland is something specially made for the car I consider part of it, it is empty there is not much to do there and it is very flat in its immersion, besides that I consider that it is where the technical side of the game falters, with mountains and floors with opaque textures and very polygonal mountains.

    Fortunately only the car in general is what I consider the only bad points recorded in this game, the rest is very good, as I said before, good fighting system, many game modes with which to hang out and play dumb, excellent music, a very good art style and makes the game a delight to look at (except the wasteland), and although I said that the car is the worst in the game, I do not consider it "terrible" only very much below the rest, but it has many options so that the player does not waste his time farming parts of the car, the game constantly has many options to progress in a comfortable way without being tedious. In general a very entertaining game especially for the fans of Fist of the North Star since this is a great deal of fans and references that will be enjoyed by the biggest anime-manga fans.    … Expand
  20. satan7415
    Jul 24, 2019
    10
    Très bon jeu hokuto no ken pour une fois dommage pas de sous titres fr et pas les musiques du manga s’
  21. theworld1313
    Oct 15, 2019
    10
    Just fantastic! and the story and music is epic! i strongly recommend you to buy this game buddy!
  22. ImperadorVictor
    Dec 24, 2019
    10
    Good game is very similar to old version and can be better when you play correctly.
  23. JonnySlaughter
    Dec 30, 2019
    1
    I only become motivated to write a review if something is exceptionally good, or exceptionally bad. I really wanted to enjoy this game, but playing it for 2 hours is all you need to do to know how the rest of your time will be spent. Every fight scene is an exact replica of the fight before, with little to no variation or excitement. I also feel that this is the type of game thatI only become motivated to write a review if something is exceptionally good, or exceptionally bad. I really wanted to enjoy this game, but playing it for 2 hours is all you need to do to know how the rest of your time will be spent. Every fight scene is an exact replica of the fight before, with little to no variation or excitement. I also feel that this is the type of game that boasts "40 hours of gameplay" and reaches that goal by programming in 35 hours of unskippable, pointless, garbage text based cutscenes, forcing you to mash the X-button nonstop in hopes that the NPC's will just shut the **** up so you can go back to playing the game, only to find that once the cutscene ends, you walk 5 feet and get slapped in the face with another. Whereas the combat is enjoyable at first, like i said before, every fight is just a regurgitation of the one you just had. The most joy i had in this game was abusing the single player save/load mechanics to make a crapton of money in the casino. I have invested, maybe 10 -15 hours of gameplay (9 of which were unskippable pointless cutscenes), i have reached Chapter 6 and I just can't do it anymore. The relentless shoe-horning of a garbage story that PREVENTS ME FROM ACTUALLY PLAYING THE GAME is just too much. Even purchasing this game at a massive discount is not enough to redeem it. I really wish Game Developers would take their jobs seriously these days instead of pushing out garbage pile after garbage pile of cashgrab nonsense. I really wanted to enjoy this game, and its a ****ing tragedy that **** game developers couldn't even add a simple "skip cutscene" option, because that may have been all it needed to not be a steaming pile of **** But they didn't, and it is.… Expand
  24. PSXboxer
    Jun 19, 2020
    10
    Great underrated game
    for a low budget they really delivered I liked how they tried to reimagine the story
    however the load times and no auto saves are the only problems that pissed me off ! still had tons of fun ! my favorite anime
  25. C1REX
    Jul 18, 2020
    9
    This game is so weird. I didn't like it so much I almost quit it just few hours in. However, when you learn the mechanics the game becomes super fun and crazy addictive. One of the biggest surprises I had on ps4.
  26. yazan2017aa
    Aug 6, 2020
    9
    the game is great i loved it but i gave it a 9 because of some little complaints but great game don't miss it out
  27. Vlhendon
    Nov 26, 2020
    10
    Love the game. Hope they make part two with a longer story and make the combat more fluid.
  28. TheDahaka
    Jan 3, 2019
    10
    Brilliant stuff. Game start off slow, but builds up to something special. I love the cheesy one liners Ken delivers before dispatching opponents. If you’re a fan of the Anime, the Yakuza games or brawlers in general you’ll find something to love here. Good stuff Sega.
  29. ocinom
    Oct 9, 2018
    10
    A yakuza like game but Fist of the North Start?! This combination was meant for each other. By far this is the best Fist of the North Star game in history
  30. RenzyWenzy
    May 1, 2022
    6
    I bought this game hoping that it could be my introduction to the series but I was wrong. The game just didn't give you a lot of substantial context to the characters unless you were a fan who watched the anime prior. In a lot of scenes, they'd introduce a character whose apparently important to the anime but is just nonchalantly thrown aside in the game after a few minutes.

    Compare    I bought this game hoping that it could be my introduction to the series but I was wrong. The game just didn't give you a lot of substantial context to the characters unless you were a fan who watched the anime prior. In a lot of scenes, they'd introduce a character whose apparently important to the anime but is just nonchalantly thrown aside in the game after a few minutes.

    Compare that to the Yakuza games. The early games established characters and relationships before the plot really gets going and then those characters are developed as the game went on.

    In Lost Paradise, the way they handled relationships, character intros, and overall lore felt like an inside joke that you wouldn't get unless you were in the same room 30 years ago. The game just expected you to know who these people were and fill in the blanks yourself. I came into this game not really knowing the characters and I came out of it feeling the same way.

    Also, the game world and the substories were fairly dull. Apart from one substory including a group of pacifists, there really weren't a lot of standouts. Largely felt generic which is surprising seeing as how this game was made by the same people behind the Yakuza games which are filled with wacky and memorable substories.

    The minigames were a good bit of fun apart from one. The cabaret club minigame that they got from Yakuza is not as fun or rewarding this time around. However, the rhythm based minigame wherein Kenshiro is basically doctor was fun and lively and the mini game where Kenshiro hits raiders with a steel structure and measure the distance of their flight was awesome.

    The combat was solid overall. The presentation, the gore, and the famous "You're already dead" moments were all done so well. It definitely made you feel like a true badass not to be **** with. My one gripe is that it got repetitive fairly quickly even with all the upgrades I put in. It didn't take long until I was purposely avoiding fights.

    I honestly wanted to love this game and enjoy it more than I actually did. It was a game that I was incredibly hyped about but in the end, the game didn't immerse me into the world as much as I wanted. It is still a solid game that has a strong appeal towards longtime fans and with the sheer amount of content, it justifies the price. For me though, it's one of 2018's disappointing games.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

67
#67 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
72
#72 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 44
  3. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. PLAY! Zine
    Mar 6, 2019
    85
    Lost Paradise delivers Fist of the North Star universe spot on. Though story may not be its core quality, there are many emotional outbursts throughout the medium sized campaign, and lots of flashy gore and fun action, any fan of the franchise will appreciate. Heck, even if not a fan, you may just become one.
    Read full review
  2. Softpedia
    Jan 24, 2019
    70
    Overall, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is a good game, although the fact that it was made using the same resources as Yakuza is way too obvious. Fans of the series will no doubt enjoy the gameplay and the story, but if you have never seen the anime or read the manga, then you won't be impressed that much. All in all, if you are a fan of gratuitous anime violence coupled with some heartwarming moments that alleviate some of the guilt, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is the right game for you.
    Read full review
  3. GamePro Germany
    Nov 11, 2018
    70
    A mixture of the well-known Yakuza-gameplay and a familiar anime license, it suffers from the mediocre combat system and weak graphics.
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