Let Me Tell You About Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise

During E3 2018, SEGA invited us to play Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise at their booth. Sit back, relax, and let us tell you about this anime-inspired title.

Fist Of the North Star: Lost Paradise Preview

In Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, you play as Kenshiro, one of the strongest fighters in the world. The world is overrun by gangs and thugs, and has sort of a Mad Max-like vibe to it. I had a limited amount of time with the demo, so I am not sure what the story is of the game or if Kenshiro is a hero or not, but I do know he is brutal.

The demo I played on the floor had a few fights to choose from: Easy, Normal, and Hard. After watching the guy in front of my play the Easy battle, I went for the Normal one. The combat plays a lot like a Yakuza game, and if you have played one of those, the fighting mechanics in this game will fit like a glove. For those who haven’t played one of them, it is an action-packed beat em up. Hard punches, heavy kicks, and gruesome finishers make up most of the combat. Seriously though, if you don’t know what Fist of the North Star is, this game is brutal when it comes to finishing blows.

Unlike Yakuza though, there is no grapple button, so throwing enemies has come from a finishing move. Something different from the Yakuza series is the summons. You can call in allies to briefly help you out during combat. They do things like stun enemies so you can use your finisher, build up your rage meter, or (my favorite) bring you a flamethrower. Those were the three in the demo, but I assume there will be more. When you use your rage meter, you go glow blue and do more damage and have extra attacks. Your finishing moves will come up quicker while in rage mode as well. The only downside I had with the demo is the number of finishers; I only saw a few.

The fighting in the game feels good; the combat has weight to it, which is essential in an action game. Punches feel good to land, and putting your thumb into a thugs neck is very satisfying. There is at least one city you can explore, but I was told that part of the demo is very text heavy and only has a couple of fights. You can bartend here and talk to the customers as a mini-game when you have some downtime. I didn’t stick around for the city demo because the combat had me sold on the game, so I would rather wait for the full release and enjoy it then.

What I played of the game has me excited for more. Look forward to our full review when Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise hits stores on October 2, 2018.