If “repetition is the mother of learning,” then Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is her golden child.
For starters, Ken’s Rage 2 is essentially the same game as its predecessor. The Legend Mode of Ken’s Rage 2 IS the story mode from the original game, only expanded. Granted, with a franchise like Fist of the North Star, straying too far off the beaten path would upset the longtime fans, but I would have preferred something a BIT different.
If “repetition is the mother of learning,” then Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is her golden child.
Every chapter of that Legend Mode consists of the following: cutscene framed in a manga style, full-motion cutscene, battle against hordes of bad guys, another cutscene, another battle, sometimes a boss battle, and that’s it. It’s another re-telling of the same tale that the original Ken’s Rage retold, only with some more battles against hordes of bad guys.
If “repetition is the mother of learning,” then Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is her golden child.
The same buttons will be mashed throughout the experience. X, Y and B (Square, Triangle, and Circle for PS3) are the only buttons I ever needed. X is the normal attack, Y throws some different moves in the combo for variety, and B activates the big super move. There will be joystick movement between sections of the map, but the rest is an X/Y/B fest.
If “repetition is the mother of learning,” then Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is her golden child.
Anyone who’s played the Dynasty Warriors series will feel right at home with Ken’s Rage 2, because it’s the same game. Stage starts, hordes of enemies show up, you beat them up, stage ends. It’s the same tired formula from Dynasty Warriors 2 all the way back on PS2. Why is that old recycled formula now being applied to a separate franchise? Fist of the North Star would benefit from a different type of experience, not the same thing Koei’s been doing since I was in high school.
If “repetition is the mother of learning,” then Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is her golden child.
There is one curveball: Dream Mode. Dream Mode is different from the original game: it provides backstories to basically every character in the Fist universe, instead of a new, original storyline. Basically, we’re playing the same story, just with the perspectives of the other characters involved. Even when something is new, it’s repetitious.
If “repetition is the mother of learning,” then Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is her golden child.
The game is repetitive, but it is enjoyable. There’s a certain kind of power that controlling Kenshiro provides. His Hokuto No Ke techniques are visually pleasing and damn strong, and even though the moves are recycled, their effects never get old. Watching hundreds of fists fly through the air at the bad guys, then watching the bad guys literally explode, gives the same satisfaction as the old TV series.
If “repetition is the mother of learning,” then Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is her golden child.
There is not a lot of variety in Ken’s Rage 2. The story is the same, the moves are the same, and the worlds are all the same. Even when Koei tries to shake things up, there’s something repeated from before. The fun, by default, is the same as the first Ken’s Rage: anyone who enjoyed it the first time should enjoy it the second time. If not, then it might be a good idea to avoid this fit of rage.
If “repetition is the mother of learning,” then Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is her golden child.
…I hope you’ve learned something.
