Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage (1)

[76561198030043640]

If and when will this - the unequivocally BEST of all musou titles - be released for PC?

Said game has, by far, the best, deepest, most skill intensive (for a game of this type) gameplay of all these button-masher titles. Its only failing was a lack of a PvP versus mode; which, if anything, is an indication of how solid the gameplay actually was (...and something that might just be rectifiable through PC modding!)

With all these types of games coming to PC, it would be an UTTER TRAVESTY if KR is left to be forever forgotten on the PS360.

So, does anyone know if this game will make its way to PC and if so, when? If no information is available on this, how are the ports for these games decided upon -- what qualifies a game, in Temo-Koei's eyes, to be worthy of a PC port? Are fans petitioning them or what...?!

For reference (one of the best trailers of the pertaining console generation):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDfvYj7iaYw

[Raz//RIP Kentaro Miura]

Unlikely,KR2 bombed like no one would believe(and imo rightfully so)and the first one is just so old that its questionable why they would bother getting all the needed licences to use the content in a port.

Not that I wouldnt enjoy getting KR1 on the PC...just...stay away from the second one.

[Lyraël]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_YMKrh7jYs

Never played the game, but I want a port just for this :O
Also, the gameplay looks quite nice, for a DW fan at least.

[ShaDoW]

Do you know what license means? The license for this game is most likely expired by now.

There's not way this old game is going to be released for PC, unless they make a new one for PS4, then PC might get it.

[Raz//RIP Kentaro Miura]

Originally posted by BlackDeath_315:

Never played the game, but I want a port just for this :O
Also, the gameplay looks quite nice, for a DW fan at least.

Really?Thats what would get you hyped?Not this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy_Z7KoIQo4

Sorely underused in the real game but man one of the reasons KR1 felt like a labor of love instead of just a churned out title(compared to KR2 anyway).

[Lyraël]

I've downloaded the full soundtrack (http://www.hokutodestiny.com/hokuto-no-ken-radio/hokuto-musou-fist-of-the-north-star-kens-rage-soundtrack-mp3-ken-il-guerriero-videogame-download.html if you wonder, but beware the download links, sometimes they just redownload other titles you already downloaded, so keep an eye on what it is downloading), so hell yeah I enjoy this version of Ai wo Torimodose too ;)
I've not looked at KR2 though, is the soundtrack worth downloading at the very least ? (as the game itself is... pure garbage considering what you say)

[Lyraël]

By the way I have "tried" Bladestorm (did not wanted to waste 60€ on a game that could have not run on my computer), and I don't understand all the negative reviews on the game, the port is pretty well done, and I'm running on an AMD card.

[Raz//RIP Kentaro Miura]

Well no though you could always hit youtube and look up the tracks yourself.
KR2 isnt necessarily bad,some people actually enjoy its faster pace but for me it lost everything that made it special in the transition and I consider KR1 to be one of the best of the Warrior franchise(though Im mostly alone with that opinion).

As for the port...well it runs fine for some but for others it crashes and burns(with myself having serious performance issues of random 5-10 second freezes every odd minute)so its certainly debatable how good the port actually is.

[76561198030043640]

Originally posted by Raz:

Unlikely,KR2 bombed like no one would believe(and imo rightfully so)and the first one is just so old that its questionable why they would bother getting all the needed licences to use the content in a port.

KR2 was a turd because, ironically, it was more like DW than KR(1) was!

The latter game was far more methodical in its gameplay and therefore deeper and more rewarding (than hacking the innumerable 'paper tigers' in games like DW). KR2 'Dynastized' the game - I guess, assuming it would sell like DW if it played more like it - and therefore had nothing going for it beyond the license and so lost its fans and never attracted any of the DW crowd to replace them. The two games are literally chalk and cheese, despite being directly related to one another.

But I thought TK owned the game's license...? That is, the game can be reproduced, as long as the requisite revenue cut from any sales if forwarded to the FotNS license-holders... no?

[Raz//RIP Kentaro Miura]

That really utterly depends on the contracts they made.
Could end up in both extremes,ether them being just able to port everything over or having to pay for all licenzes again(which wouldnt come cheap if we talk about the synchronization).

Dunno if I would say KR2 was DW´ified(nifty word)as it felt much more like a gone-bonkers testing ground for new design concepts that no soul asked for.
It had just so many bad design choices squashed into it that Im still in disbelieve any kind of testing group was consulted before shoving it out of the door.
I mean push back aura on officer battles?Really?What insane git came up with that?
But yeah thats just one of its flaws.

Its a fact that its budget was measly compared to KR1 and it showed basicly everywhere.

[Fraggoth]

First off, as far as I'm concerned, Ken's Rage 2/Shin Hokuto Musou never happened. I see red every time someone mentions the concept.

Second, assuming it did exist, it's biggest problem was that it was, indeed, using concepts and ideas that were already being implemented into other Musou titles - the cancelling mechanic was taken straight from either Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 or One Piece Pirate Warriors 1, take your pick - both were released beforehand.

This canceling mechanic in and of itself are not necessarily a bad thing - however, it came at the cost of being able to jump, which is A) completely stupid, B) even stupider because DWGundam 3 had both jumping and cancelling present, and C) made criminally more-foolish because KR1 ALREADY HAD CANCELING - in the form of either the character-universal Jump Cancel, which meant you not only could cancel your actions, you also could get out of harm's way, or in the form of more character-specific cancels, like Kenshiro's little dodge roll.

Also, whose brilliant fething idea was it to make the playable characters tiered? Why was it necessary to downgrade Jagi (and so many others) into a complete joke? This is not DWGundam, where you have Grunt MS as a justification (which is still no gat-damned excuse).

And who was the VISIONARY who decided to remove the Meridian Chart?! And to make the game suddenly feel like you were punching jelly-filled Cotton Candy? In KR1, when you hit somebody, it felt satisfying as all hell - like your fists were made of cinderblocks (covered in RAZOR BLADES and-or Railroad Ties). Yes, KR1 was slower-paced, but that meant you could plan your actions, and added to the feeling of weight.

...

You can see why it's a good thing Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2/Shin Hokuto Musou never existed. It would have been a blood-pressure raising disaster.

[Tenshu]

Originally posted by Fraggoth:

First off, as far as I'm concerned, Ken's Rage 2/Shin Hokuto Musou never happened. I see red every time someone mentions the concept.

Second, assuming it did exist, it's biggest problem was that it was, indeed, using concepts and ideas that were already being implemented into other Musou titles - the cancelling mechanic was taken straight from either Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 or One Piece Pirate Warriors 1, take your pick - both were released beforehand.

This canceling mechanic in and of itself are not necessarily a bad thing - however, it came at the cost of being able to jump, which is A) completely stupid, B) even stupider because DWGundam 3 had both jumping and cancelling present, and C) made criminally more-foolish because KR1 ALREADY HAD CANCELING - in the form of either the character-universal Jump Cancel, which meant you not only could cancel your actions, you also could get out of harm's way, or in the form of more character-specific cancels, like Kenshiro's little dodge roll.

Also, whose brilliant fething idea was it to make the playable characters tiered? Why was it necessary to downgrade Jagi (and so many others) into a complete joke? This is not DWGundam, where you have Grunt MS as a justification (which is still no gat-damned excuse).

And who was the VISIONARY who decided to remove the Meridian Chart?! And to make the game suddenly feel like you were punching jelly-filled Cotton Candy? In KR1, when you hit somebody, it felt satisfying as all hell - like your fists were made of cinderblocks (covered in RAZOR BLADES and-or Railroad Ties). Yes, KR1 was slower-paced, but that meant you could plan your actions, and added to the feeling of weight.

...

You can see why it's a good thing Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2/Shin Hokuto Musou never existed. It would have been a blood-pressure raising disaster.

Tbf, for a series centered around people who can obliterate gangs of enemies with their fists at a high rate, it was pretty stupid only being able to fight two or three enemies at a time... and slowly. Also Outlaw > all. <3

[Raz//RIP Kentaro Miura]

Pretty much every character had their little combos to obliterate groups.
Jagi had his absurd charged special,Souther had his maniacal laughter combo,Mamiya had her grenade+charged special,Rei had his jumping ground stomp and Raoh...well was just Raoh.
Admittedly some of the characters had a slow start(with Kenshiro probably being dead last)but once you worked out some of the canceling combos and maybe unlocked some of the meridian chart the speed really wasnt much of an issue anymore.
Also Nanto characters actually worked in KR1.
Still cant believe Koei never fixed the broken mess they were in 2.

[76561198030043640]

KR2 had myriad shortcomings -- from its dumbed down gameplay to its overall design overhaul.

But what baffles most is WHY THEY CHANGED THE UNIQUE FORMULA OF THE FIRST GAME?!

Sure, KR didn't sell CoD or GTA numbers... but what does? It sold reasonably and developed a cult following. So, what did TK do in their infinite idiocy...? Turn it into another generic musou game, of which scores already existed and which offered more than KR2 did, that's what!

That aside, KR would truly be great on PC. Perhaps with a graphical fidelity upgrade, online play and *prays* a 'friendly fire' option (or versus mode!), it could move decent numbers in its own right. It might even revitalise the franchise...

[Tenshu]

Originally posted by Sablicious:

KR2 had myriad shortcomings -- from its dumbed down gameplay to its overall design overhaul.

But what baffles most is WHY THEY CHANGED THE UNIQUE FORMULA OF THE FIRST GAME?!

Sure, KR didn't sell CoD or GTA numbers... but what does? It sold reasonably and developed a cult following. So, what did TK do in their infinite idiocy...? Turn it into another generic musou game, of which scores already existed and which offered more than KR2 did, that's what!

That aside, KR would truly be great on PC. Perhaps with a graphical fidelity upgrade, online play and *prays* a 'friendly fire' option (or versus mode!), it could move decent numbers in its own right. It might even revitalise the franchise...

Still ignoring the licensing issue?
They both are equally... weird, neither really being better, and both suck compared to the PSX one. Koei's already smalltime, they wouldn't risk negotiating a new license with Shueisha/JUMP to bring a game that was even more niche than their DW series overseas based on a series that's even niche in Japan. The first sold in Japan close to 400k units in the first week, then stopped. It was hyped up, but complaints about the slow gameplay hurt it. The second sold around 250k, about as much as a typical DW game, which is Japan's CoD... for women. (DW8 did almost 400k in its first week in Japan as well) because of poor marketing, likely due to low budget (which was also the reason for JP voices only), which would explain the other issues with anything not a PS3 and it looking uglier compared to KR1, otherwise it's at least more faithful, action-wise to the series... though the "stealth" missions were weird.

[Zemoco101]

As a major Hokuto no Ken fan, but no access to consoles, I second this!