Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise , Known in Japan as Hokuto ga Gotoku (Japanese: 北斗が如く, "Like the Big Dipper") is an action-adventure video game for the PlayStation 4, developed and published by Sega. It is based on the manga franchise Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. It was released in Japan on March 8, 2018, and was released worldwide on October 2, 2018.
Gameplay
Lost Paradise is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. It features similar gameplay mechanics and systems to Sega's Yakuza series. Players explore the city of Eden, fighting through enemy encounters in a beat 'em up gameplay style, punctuated by quick time events. There are various minigames, such as bartending, baseball, racing, and a playable version of Hokuto no Ken for the Master System.
Plot
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic alternate timeline Earth. After a nuclear war, the oceans have dried up. Kenshiro, a successor of the martial art Hokuto Shinken, was defeated by Shin, who proceeded to kidnap his fiancee, Yuria. Kenshiro thus travels through the wastelands to find his beloved. He eventually hears rumors that a woman called Yuria could be found in the city of Eden - he makes his way to Eden to find Yuria.
Synopsis
The flames of the Final War looked as if it had swallowed all life on the planet... Yet, humanity managed to survive. All civilization has been destroyed, and an age where nothing new could be created had arrived. Those with power rose and began to take what food and resources they could find for themselves. A world where might makes right was born. However, in the corner of this desolate world stood one city known as “the city of miracles”.
Similar to the Yakuza series, The story of the game are divided into "Chapters". There are a total of 11 chapters in this game:
- Prologue: The Survivor
- Chapter 1: City of Miracles
- Chapter 2: The Gladiator Games
- Chapter 3: Ill Omen
- Chapter 4: Prison of Death
- Chapter 5: Light and Shadow
- Chapter 6: Reunion
- Chapter 7: Nanto's Strongest
- Chapter 8: Bloodlust
- Chapter 9: Ambition
- Chapter 10: Throne of Ruin
- Final Chapter: Man of Hokuto
Development and Marketing
Lost Paradise was announced on August 26, 2017 for PlayStation 4. Studio head Toshihiro Nagoshi elaborated that the title would not make use of their new Dragon Engine, developed for Yakuza 6, as the development team was composed of largely new staff, who were not used to the more demanding tools of the Dragon Engine.
The Japanese voice cast features many of the actors from the Yakuza series portraying characters analogous to those they played in previous Yakuza titles, such as Kazuma Kiryu voice actor Takaya Kuroda playing Kenshiro. The worldwide release of the game includes an English dub, making it the studio's third game since the original Yakuza and Binary Domain to feature one. It is also the first Fist of the North Star game since the first Ken's Rage to have an English dub, as Ken's Rage 2 did not have one due to budget constraints. The worldwide release also includes an option to increase the amount of in-game gore that is exhibited on screen.
Sega launched a marketing campaign in Japan, starring actor Takayuki Yamada. In the ad campaign, the actor goes to the gym, performing famous moves and gestures from the manga series. During E3 2018, Sega announced the western release of Lost Paradise with a trailer and a large presence at Sega's booth. An additional piece of downloadable content allows players to control Yakuza protagonist Kazuma Kiryu in place of Kenshiro, and was briefly available for free for the first two weeks after launch.
Reception
Fist of the North Star Lost Paradise was a massive success in Japan where it sold 123,116 copies in its first week of release. It became the first game of 2018 to topple Capcom's Monster Hunter: World which remained at the top of the charts for seven consecutive weeks.
The game won the award for "Writing in a Comedy" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, whereas its other nomination was for "Game, Franchise Action".
