Unlike some other games based on enduring animes from the 90s, Fist of the North Star might not be immediately familiar. Initially conceived as a collaboration between writer Sho "Buronson" Fumimura and illustrator Tetsuo Hara, Fist of the North Star was definitely the kind of thing that made my parents associate anime with violence and over-sexualisation long before Ghibli's "My Neighbour Totoro" could smooth things over.
Its eventual release overseas always seemed like an experiment, based on the immense success the title had in Japan and the lack of a clearly defined audience for anime and manga in Japan. Since Fist of the North Star lacks the humour of a series like Dragon Ball however, audiences didn't quite know where to go with it.
In a way, Sega's decision to release Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise in the west suggests a similar experimental approach, born from the bafflement of having struck gold with Yakuza. Fist of the North Star was developed by the same studio and uses the same blueprint, so it stands to reason that Yakuza fans might enjoy it just as much.
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