#Fist of the North Star
2 article(s)
Black Belt: When Fist of the North Star Got Stuck in Japan
In 1986, the Master System welcomed a beat'em up officially licensed from Hokuto no Ken in Japan. Outside the archipelago, the same game shipped under the name Black Belt, stripped of all license references. Forty years later, this textbook case illustrates a systematic practice of the 8-bit era: draining a game of its cultural identity to make it exportable. A commercial decision that reveals much about how publishers treated the Western market.
Kenshiro Joins Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Roster
Kenshiro, protagonist of Fist of the North Star, has joined the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves roster. SNK just unveiled his reveal trailer, and while the character has been long-awaited by crossover fans, the announcement itself struggles to convince. What matters here is what this casting choice says about SNK's fighting game strategy—both in terms of fan-service and roster coherence.