Apparently I'm Already Dead
Because I totally forgot to talk about Hokuto Musou/Fist of the North Star Musou, announced three weeks back in Japan's Famitsu magazine.
Hokuto Musou is exactly what its name suggests: a melee beat 'em up based on the Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star manga -- not the anime, which they professed rather emphatically. It was later shown two days later in a special press event held by Tecmo Koei, which assuaged fears as to how it could turn out. Will it be as over-the-top violent as the manga//anime? Will the apparent focus be Kenshiro punching people to see them explode messily? Well yeah.
Quite a few fans of the show around the internet are expressing ambivalence at the fact that it's a Musou title -- a la Dynasty Warriors, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, etc. I'm not sure I see why, though, because I think the genre is perfect for representing the franchise. Both the manga and anime are about Kenshiro punching the crap out of brainless numskulls who have no chance of defeating him. And that's precisely what the Musou games involve to nearly a tee. It's definitely a better fit than Gundam was.
So now, the main question is: will it be released outside of Japan? There's no confirmation yet, but Koei's American division is already doing promotion for the game, including sending out a press release detailing the aforementioned press event, and providing info and screen shots on their official Facebook (which isn't there anymore. Uh...). Hopefully they can work out any anime/manga licensing issues that could be a potential hindrance.
Speaking of the anime, I also had no idea Discotek Media announced plans to release the original 80s anime on DVD in America sometime next year (Warning: Some of the banners on the site are NSFW). Yes, that's all 152 episodes they're releasing on four DVD collections, and not just the 36 episodes Manga Entertainment released a few years ago. I also didn't know that the entire series is available via streaming on various sites. So here's hoping Discotek, and whoever the other sub-licensees are, allow for a game to release next to it. I think it has a pretty good chance.
Hokuto Musou is exactly what its name suggests: a melee beat 'em up based on the Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North Star manga -- not the anime, which they professed rather emphatically. It was later shown two days later in a special press event held by Tecmo Koei, which assuaged fears as to how it could turn out. Will it be as over-the-top violent as the manga//anime? Will the apparent focus be Kenshiro punching people to see them explode messily? Well yeah.Quite a few fans of the show around the internet are expressing ambivalence at the fact that it's a Musou title -- a la Dynasty Warriors, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, etc. I'm not sure I see why, though, because I think the genre is perfect for representing the franchise. Both the manga and anime are about Kenshiro punching the crap out of brainless numskulls who have no chance of defeating him. And that's precisely what the Musou games involve to nearly a tee. It's definitely a better fit than Gundam was.
So now, the main question is: will it be released outside of Japan? There's no confirmation yet, but Koei's American division is already doing promotion for the game, including sending out a press release detailing the aforementioned press event, and providing info and screen shots on their official Facebook (which isn't there anymore. Uh...). Hopefully they can work out any anime/manga licensing issues that could be a potential hindrance.
Speaking of the anime, I also had no idea Discotek Media announced plans to release the original 80s anime on DVD in America sometime next year (Warning: Some of the banners on the site are NSFW). Yes, that's all 152 episodes they're releasing on four DVD collections, and not just the 36 episodes Manga Entertainment released a few years ago. I also didn't know that the entire series is available via streaming on various sites. So here's hoping Discotek, and whoever the other sub-licensees are, allow for a game to release next to it. I think it has a pretty good chance.
Subscribe to the LiveJournal RSS Feed
Leave a comment