It was believed we’d have to wait until TGS 2017 before more information arrived about Sega’s new Fist of the North Star game (titled Hokuto ga Gotoku), but thanks to an article in the latest Weekly Famitsu via Hachima Kikou, we now confirmation that Shin and Yuria will be making an appearance in the game, as well as the presence of some original characters and several other miscellaneous tidbits of info.
Here is the info about the confirmed characters:
Characters from the original Fist of the North Star series:
- Shin (voiced by Kazuhiro Nakaya – Akira Nishikiyama in the Yakuza series) — Denshosha of the Nanto Koshu Ken martial arts style. He took Yuria from Kenshiro and gave him the seven scars on his chest.
- Yuria (voiced by Aya Hisakawa – Tayuu Yoshino in the Yakuza series) — Kenshiro’s fiancee.
Hokuto ga Gotoku original characters:
- Jagre (voiced by Kenta Miyake – Yuya in the Yakuza series) — A man with overwhelming power who judges Kenshiro to be a monster, prompting him to imprison Kenshiro in the dungeon of Eden.
- Kisana (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro – who plays as the blind woman in Yakuza 0) — The daughter of the founder of Eden. She listens to the voice of the people, and drafts and implements various policies. Some call her a “Saint.”
- The Evil King (unknown) — A mysterious kenpo user. He rounds up an “Evil King Army” of bandits and repeatedly attacks Eden.
In addition, the article revealed more information about Eden. In short, Eden is a city with an inexhaustible supply of water and electricity which it siphons from a relic overlooking the city. Furthermore, it has an active form of currency in circulation and an entertainment district with shining neon lights. For those unfamiliar with the series, these characteristics make Eden unique in the Fist of the North Star universe as the rest of the world is in shambles following a nuclear war.
Lastly, there were some musings about Hokuto ga Gotoku from key members of the staff:
General Producer Daisuke Sato: “I wanted to make a Fist of the North Star unique to Yakuza Studio. When considering what would make the best use of that collaborative feeling, I thought it would be good for the Yakuza voice actors to play the Fist of the North Star characters. Takuya Kuroda’s voice is very suited to Kenshiro.”
Original Author Tetsuo Hara: “On that premise, I think Kenshiro’s voice is suited to someone with a good body. Listeners can also tell when the voice is of someone with the same build as Kenshiro. Kuroda’s voice is genuinely strong, and it is also nice that it bears resemblance to Yusaku Matsuda. I thought it was fate, or that I had met the ideal Kenshiro.”
Kenshiro Voice Actor Takaya Kuroda: “Fist of the North Star is a very well known work, so I by no means want to destroy the image everyone has of Kenshiro, but at the very least I plan to do Kenshiro faithfully in regard to the author’s vision.”
Tetsuo Hara: “Concerning the game, I wanted it to be done in the worldview of Yakuza. Fist of the North Star will be 35 years old next year. If we don’t adopt new energies from scratch, it won’t be a game that people will love.”
Daisuke Sato: “You can think of it as a mix of the Fist of the North Star and Yakuza worldviews.”
Tetsuo Hara: “If it comes across on screen, in the art and such that we had fun making it, that we must love Fist of the North Star, then that’s already fine for me.”
Fist of the North Star/Hokuto ga Gotoku is slated to appear at TGS 2017 and will release in Japan in 2018.
Thanks for the translation, Gematsu.
