Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage

Platform(s): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: KOEI
Developer: Omega Force
Release Date: Nov. 2, 2010 (US), Nov. 5, 2010 (EU)

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'Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage' (ALL) Character Details - Screens

by Rainier on Oct. 13, 2010 @ 7:05 p.m. PDT

Based on one of the most widely recognized manga and anime series, Fist of the North Star takes place in a postapocalyptic world where the remaining survivors of a nuclear holocaust roam the wasteland in an ongoing struggle against marauding tribes for food and water.

"Fist of the North Star" influenced entire generations of manga and anime creators for over 25 years, and established the tone for today's action comics. The game takes place in the manga's post-apocalyptic world where the remaining survivors of a nuclear holocaust roam the wasteland in an ongoing struggle against marauding tribes for food and water.

The game's protagonist is Kenshiro, true successor to the Hokuto Shinken, a centuries old art of assassination. Kenshiro was bestowed the sole rights to the art, but when his elder brother Raoh, refused to give up the style, Raoh killed their master and left to raise his own army. Kenshiro is now searching for his beloved Yuria, but like a hammer of justice Kenshiro is forced to fend off rioting mobs, barbaric desert gangs and savage fighters. Ultimately Kenishiro's journey will lead him back to Raoh who has set forth a path of vengeance.

Taking the role of Kenshiro, gamers will unleash a myriad of devastating fighting techniques and finishing moves powerful enough to bring down whole buildings. Channeling their energy into a single deadly blow, players can strike their victims and cause them to violently explode on screen. Gamers can also let loose with Kenshiro's signature move- a ruthless flurry of ferocious punches, triggering the instantaneous breakdown of internal organs, and death.


Characters:

  • Ken

    Ken (full name Kenshiro) is the main protagonist of Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage, and a master of the assassination art called Hokuto Shinken. Hokuto Shinken allows Ken to defeat his enemies from within by striking their hidden meridian points (the body’s natural pressure spots), often with gory results. Ken’s famous line, “You are already dead…” is a reference to this fighting style – when he strikes his enemy’s meridian points death is certain, and they can only wait for the violent explosion of pain that soon follows.


    He is the youngest of four adopted sons, all trained by the Hokuto Shinken successor Ryuken. Eventually Ryuken passes on the title of successor to Ken, when the nuclear holocaust wipes out most of the planet. After surviving the nuclear war, Ken wants nothing more than to live peacefully with his fiancée Yuria. However, one of his adopted “brothers” instigates a fighter named Shin from a rival school to fight and beat Ken. In the ensuing battle Shin beats Ken mercilessly, marking him with seven scars in the shape of the Big Dipper on his chest – a mark which becomes as much a part of his identity as the Hokuto Shinken style. Shin then leaves Ken for dead, taking Yuria with him against her will.

  • Raoh

    Raoh is the eldest of the four Hokuto brothers. Although he had aspirations to become the greatest martial artist in the world, he loses the title of Hokuto Shinken successor to Ken. Refusing to accept defeat, Raoh kills his master Ryuken in battle and embarks on a twisted quest to take the world by force.


    With the help of his childhood friends, Raoh gradually builds his army. He conquers many lands as his own, and takes on the title of Ken-oh (King of Fist). He also takes a giant black stallion named Kokuoh-Go (Black King) as his prized steed. Many warriors attempt to stop Raoh’s rise to power, but even mighty fighters like Rei, Toki and the Nanto Five Chariot Guardians are unable to defeat him. Eventually Raoh meets his match when he fights against Ken, but the battle ends in a stalemate. However, in this fight Raoh experiences a fear unlike any he’s felt before. He then vows to overcome this fear in order to challenge Ken for one final fight.

  • Rei

    Rei is the successor of Nanto Suichoken, the most elegant of the Nanto Seiken styles, and represents the Star of Justice. While training, his home village is attacked by the “Man with Seven Scars” who is actually Jagi impersonating his brother Ken. Jagi -- posing as Ken -- kills Rei’s parents and kidnaps his sister Airi. As Rei searches the land for his sister, he meets the real Ken, along with Mamiya, who rescues Airi. To show his gratitude, Rei accompanies Ken on his journey. Ultimately Rei challenges Raoh to a battle on Ken’s behalf but is defeated.


    However, Raoh does not kill Rei right away. He instead strikes a pressure point that will drain the blood from Rei’s body entirely within three days. Rei then spends the final days of his life by challenging and defeating his rival Juda, who at one point in the past had made Mamiya’s life miserable. 

  • Yuria

    Yuria is a descendant of the Rightful Nanto Bloodline and represents the Star of the Compassionate Mother. She is Ken’s fiancée, but is desired by many other men in the story. After Ken’s defeat by Shin, Yuria is taken by Shin in return for Ken’s life. However, she cannot tolerate the horrible acts that Shin commits in her name and attempts suicide by jumping from the roof of his palace at Southern Cross. She is caught from her fall by the Nanto Five Chariot Guardians who are sworn to protect her as the Last Nanto General.

    As the Last Nanto General, Yuria orders the Nanto Five Chariot Guardians to attack Raoh. Raoh uses Yuria as bait in the legendary final battle with Ken.

Game Features:

  • Destructible and interactive environments – In the hugely interactive environments players can smash or pummel their enemies into different objects and buildings as well as pick up objects to maim and obliterate groups of malicious gangs.
  • Face down dozens of enemies at once - String combos and attacks together to perform unstoppable killing moves. Power up, then unleash furious Hokuto Shinken special attacks.
  • Dozens of unlockable moves - Blistering finishing attacks that can wipe out entire gangs in one blow, or cause single enemies to explode in a shower of gore.
  • Hidden characters - Taken straight from the Fist of the North Star universe, players will be able to unlock unforgettable characters such as Mamiya and Rei, amongst others.
  • Faithfully reproduced FNS visuals - Every scene and level has been faithfully followed the iconic visual style of the original comic series.
  • Original scenarios for every playable character – As well as having their own stories faithfully reproduced from the source material, every character will have a new original story and ending specially made for this game, giving the fans something they could only dream of.

Game producer Hisashi Koinuma promises to be faithful to the spirit of the original manga. The game's story mode will follow the original series, while a second mode will introduce a completely new storyline.

The development team is also blending classic and original designs as they adapt "Fist of the North Star" to a three-dimensional, high-definition game world. The characters of Kenshiro and Raoh will be voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi and Fumihiko Tachiki, respectively, and that a host of Japan's most prolific voice actors would also  lend their talents to the project. Rising pop star Nana Tanimura, who appeared on stage at the event, is recording the theme song for the game.


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