This retelling of Fist of the North Star introduces Kenshiro just as he faces Shin, the man responsible for kidnapping his soulmate, Yuria. Ken emerges victorious, but learns that Yuria is long gone, and so he sets off across the wastes to find her. Before long, Ken learns that a group of disciples guiding a woman fitting her description have travelled to a place known as Eden, or the City of Miracles, an oasis town built on the remnants of a technological marvel and one of the last remaining bastions of humanity’s hope. Once there, Ken meets a cast of characters, some from alternate versions of the FotNS timeline and some brand new, and settles into a life of using his strength and skills to keep the city safe, all while uncovering the mysteries of Eden and the whereabouts of Yuria.

This is just the beginning of an epic new version of events in the franchise’s lore, and saying any more would spoil some great stuff, but in all the developers have done an excellent job at penning an original story that stays true enough to the source material to please diehard fans while also retaining a lot of what makes their Yakuza games so compelling. Fist of the North Star is over 30 years old now and quite cheesy by modern standards, but the developers (and in particular the writers) have cleverly twisted that to their advantage and lean on the ‘camp’ factor at every opportunity while still retaining the drama needed to sell the story. It’s no small wonder that this team was chosen to produce a FotNS game, as it’s the same technique that’s been used to great effect in the Yakuza series and it works brilliantly here. Of particular highlight is the bromance between Ken and Jagre, a city watch captain that reminds me a great deal of Final Fantasy X’s Wakka, only infinitely more likeable.