Fighting Mania
Encyclopedia
Fighting Mania: Fist of the North Star, released in Japan as , is a boxing
game based on the manga series Fist of the North Star
released by Konami
in as a coin-operated arcade game
.
lights embedded near their hinges. The pads are at rest along the inside walls of the recession of the cabinet, lining the monitor. There are also two black plastic "special gloves" that rest in pockets on the front of the machine, which are normally tied with rope or chain to the arcade cabinet to prevent theft. The player is to wear these gloves while playing (although it is also common practice to play without the gloves, though this can scrape the knuckles).
Punching a pad when it is fully extended and the LEDs lit results in the attack being blocked, and the opponent receiving damage in the form of a counter-attack. Punching too early or too late results in either blocking the move with no counter-attack, or receiving lessened damage from the attack, also with no counter-attack damage to the opponent. Missing a pad completely (the pad retracting without ever being hit) results in full damage taken by the player. As opponents get more difficult - and particularly when they use their special moves - punches will be thrown and pads will pop out in faster succession and in more chaotic patterns, or special precautions may need to be taken, such as only striking one pad that is lit while other dummy pads pop up, or striking pads in the exact order they deploy.
Like conventional fighting games, the player has a life gauge at the top, and the enemy has a life gauge that must be brought to zero as well. Also both characters have a tech meter, in the form of seven stars remotely resembling the Big Dipper
'. As attacks are landed or damage is taken, the stars light up along the super gauge and when full, the game will automatically execute the special move for the player. The game will also instruct the player how to use the particular special move it chose, based on the enemy the player is fighting. The game follows the Fist of the North Star series, as each enemy is not only a character from the series, but the finishing moves the player must use to defeat them are taken from the series as well. The game grades the player's performance based on their remaining life, agility, wisdom (wiz), skills and the use of finishing moves (arts).
At the start of the game, the player must choose their course. Each course consist of a set of opponents within a certain story arc. This serves as a difficulty setting. The first course is a tutorial where Kenshiro's master, Ryuken, will teach the player how to play the game and explain the finer points of timing punches. The subsequent courses involve progressively harder opponents moving toward the right, and are based on specific story arcs in the manga.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
game based on the manga series Fist of the North Star
Fist of the North Star
is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and drawn by Tetsuo Hara that was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1983 to 1988, spanning 245 chapters, which were initially collected in a 27-volume tankōbon edition by Shueisha...
released by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
in as a coin-operated arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
.
Cabinet
The arcade cabinet stands about 6'2" tall, 34" wide (when facing the machine), and about 4' deep. The monitor is recessed into the cabinet a fair distance, and in the front of the cabinet are six orange, sturdy punching pads with red LEDLEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
lights embedded near their hinges. The pads are at rest along the inside walls of the recession of the cabinet, lining the monitor. There are also two black plastic "special gloves" that rest in pockets on the front of the machine, which are normally tied with rope or chain to the arcade cabinet to prevent theft. The player is to wear these gloves while playing (although it is also common practice to play without the gloves, though this can scrape the knuckles).
Gameplay
When an on-screen enemy makes an attack on the player, a punch pad will swing out on its hinge at a smooth pace, and upon reaching full extension at 90 degrees, the LEDs light up red. The pad stays lit for a short time, and then the pad returns inside the cabinet to rest. The player must punch this pad while the LEDs are lit. The strength of the player's punch is irrelevant to the game, and the game warns the player not to punch hard, to prevent the risk of breaking the machine. Only the timing of the punch is important, punches should be delivered at half strength, with exact timing.Punching a pad when it is fully extended and the LEDs lit results in the attack being blocked, and the opponent receiving damage in the form of a counter-attack. Punching too early or too late results in either blocking the move with no counter-attack, or receiving lessened damage from the attack, also with no counter-attack damage to the opponent. Missing a pad completely (the pad retracting without ever being hit) results in full damage taken by the player. As opponents get more difficult - and particularly when they use their special moves - punches will be thrown and pads will pop out in faster succession and in more chaotic patterns, or special precautions may need to be taken, such as only striking one pad that is lit while other dummy pads pop up, or striking pads in the exact order they deploy.
Like conventional fighting games, the player has a life gauge at the top, and the enemy has a life gauge that must be brought to zero as well. Also both characters have a tech meter, in the form of seven stars remotely resembling the Big Dipper
Big Dipper
The Plough, also known as the Big Dipper or the Saptarishi , is an asterism of seven stars that has been recognized as a distinct grouping in many cultures from time immemorial...
'. As attacks are landed or damage is taken, the stars light up along the super gauge and when full, the game will automatically execute the special move for the player. The game will also instruct the player how to use the particular special move it chose, based on the enemy the player is fighting. The game follows the Fist of the North Star series, as each enemy is not only a character from the series, but the finishing moves the player must use to defeat them are taken from the series as well. The game grades the player's performance based on their remaining life, agility, wisdom (wiz), skills and the use of finishing moves (arts).
At the start of the game, the player must choose their course. Each course consist of a set of opponents within a certain story arc. This serves as a difficulty setting. The first course is a tutorial where Kenshiro's master, Ryuken, will teach the player how to play the game and explain the finer points of timing punches. The subsequent courses involve progressively harder opponents moving toward the right, and are based on specific story arcs in the manga.
Playable characters
- KenshiroKenshirois the main protagonist of the manga franchise Fist of the North Star by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. According to Buronson, Kenshiro's character design was inspired by the character of Max Rockatansky from the Mad Max film series and martial artist Bruce Lee.In the story, Kenshiro is the rightful...
- The main character from Fist of the North Star. He is the player's character for all paths, except Course 5 and 7.
- Rei - Kenshiro's ally in the series, and the hero for the fifth course. In Rei's quest, the first opponent is Raoh, who ends the battle with a fatal blow. At this point, "the Death Omen Star has fallen over Rei." Whatever life is left in the gauge after this battle will be what he will start with against the next opponent, and so on through the path without regaining life after each battle.
- RaohRaohis a fictional character in the Fist of the North Star manga franchise by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. He is the eldest of four honorary brothers who trained alongside the protagonist Kenshiro in the ancient assassination art of Hokuto Shinken...
- In the seventh and final course, the player plays as Raoh, Kenshiro's main adversary in the game. The path follows Raoh's rise to power to become the "King of Fists."
Courses and opponents
| Course | Difficulty | Player | Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Basics of Hokuto Shinken" | Practice | Kenshiro | Ryuken, Zeed |
| "Southern Cross" | Easy | Kenshiro | Zeed, Heart, Shin |
| "Nanto Roku Seiken" | Medium | Kenshiro | King of Kiba, Rei, Shuh, Souther |
| "Ken-oh, Conqueror of the Century" | Medium | Kenshiro | Colonel, Devil, Uighur the Warden, Ken-oh |
| "Nanto Roku Seiken, Star of Justice" | Medium | Rei | Ken-oh, King of Kiba, Amiba, Yuda |
| "Messiah of the Century Legend" | Hard | Kenshiro | Jagi, Amiba, Toki, Ryuga, Raoh |
| "Conqueror of the Century Legend" | Hard | Raoh | Toki, Jyuza, Fudoh, Kenshiro |
Regional differences
A few differences exist between Fighting Mania and its original Japanese release, Punch Mania.- All the voice acting were dubbed into English. In the original Japanese version, some of the voice actors from the original anime series (namely Akira KamiyaAkira Kamiyais a Japanese voice actor. He has been represented by Theater Echo, Aoni Production, and others. He is currently represented by Saeba Shoji.-Career:Kamiya made his debut on Mahou no Mako-chan in 1970 while working for Theater Echo...
, Kaneto ShiozawaKaneto ShiozawaKaneto Shiozawa , real name was a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo affiliated with Aoni Production. He had a distinctive cold, calm voice which usually typecast him in roles as villains or anti-heroes....
, Toshio FurukawaToshio Furukawais a Japanese voice actor affiliated with Aoni Production and is married to fellow voice actress Shino Kakinuma. His height is 164cm. Hobbies are Fishing, diorama, reading and movies.In July 2011, Furukawa appeared at Anime Expo as a guest.-Career/Personal:...
and Kenji UtsumiKenji Utsumiis a Japanese voice actor and actor from Kitakyūshū, affiliated with the self-founded Ken Production. He is married to fellow voice actress Michiko Nomura....
) returned to reprise their characters, while other characters were voiced by new actors. - When a character performs a special technique, it will display the name of the technique in Japanese characters. In the overseas version, it will display the name of the technique in romanized Japanaese, accompanied by an English translation.
- During certain battles, the theme music from the anime series, Ai o TorimodoseAi o torimodoseis first opening theme song of the anime Fist of the North Star. The song's title literally translates as "Take back the love!!" in English and is performed by the rock band . The verses are sung by Monsieur Yoshisaki and the chorus by Masayuki Tanaka. The original B-side for the single was the...
will be played as background music in the Japanese version. In the overseas version, it was replaced with new game music.
Sequel
is a sequel to the original Fighting Mania that was released on December 2000. In addition to containing all seven courses from the original game, the sequel adds five additional paths based on the later portion of the manga (the Hokuto no Ken 2 anime series), including one where the player controls the bounty hunter Ein, as well as a few new game modes. In addition, the sequel was distributed in a deluxe two monitor cabinet that allowed two-players to play simultaneously in competitive matches against each other or cooperative against the computer.New courses and oppponents
| Course | Difficulty | Player | Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The New Hokuto Shinken Legacy" | Easy | Kenshiro | Balona and Bask, Geila, Ein |
| "The Kenka Kenpō Legacy" | Easy | Ein | Buzori, Bat, Jakoh |
| "Assault at the Imperial Capital" | Medium | Kenshiro | Solia, Harn Bros., Jakoh, Falco |
| "The Kingdom of Shura" | Medium | Kenshiro | Aka-shachi, Shura, Alf, Han |
| "The Legend of the True Messiah" | Hard | Kenshiro | Shie, Shachi, Hyoh, Kaioh |
New game modes
- Clash! Death Star - A single-player mode where the player gets the chance to play any of the 24 possible battles from the previous game and play them in any order.
- Versus Mode - A competitive two-player mode where both players face each other as one of eight possible (Kenshiro, Rei, Raoh, Mr. Heart, Jagi, Ein, Falco and Kaioh)
- Tag Team Mode - A cooperative two-player mode where both players cooperate with each other against computer-controlled adversaries. The selectable teams consists of Kenshiro and Rei, Bat and Ein, or Kenshiro and Raoh.