Black Belt (Sega Master System)

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The Master System Hokuto no Ken is one of the earliest video game adaptations of Fist of the North Star. Due to said manga being relatively unknown outside of Japan at this point, the international release changed the main character to a generic martial artist who happens to be able to explode people.

The game is also unlockable in Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, in its original, unaltered Hokuto no Ken form.

Level Select#

At the title screen, press Up, Down, Left, Right, Up+Left, Up+Right, Down+Right, Down+Left, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Down, Up, Up+Right, Up+Right on Controller 2. The level select will appear to the right of the title. Note that the code is quite difficult to enter: the diagonals must be pressed very precisely, and there's only a small window of time to enter the code.

Alternately, use Pro Action Replay (PAR) code 00DB6B12.

List of values and their corresponding levels:

Regional Differences#

To do: Add more, specifically about gameplay. Also translate the text boxes after clearing stages plus the ending in the Japanese version.

Though the gameplay remains similar, all of the background locations are different, and all of the characters have been redrawn with different clothing.

Title Screen#

Both title screens are animated, but the Hokuto no Ken one has lightning flashing in the background whereas the Black Belt one just color-cycles the logo.

Hokuto no Ken	Black Belt

Areas#

Scene	Hokuto no Ken	Black Belt
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Boss
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 Boss
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Boss
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 Boss
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 Boss
Chapter 6

Note that during most boss fights, the player character has an enlarged sprite that matches the large size of the boss. In Hokuto no Ken, for the Chapter 3 boss fight against Devil Rebirth in the ruined stadium, the player retains their smaller sprite to reflect the canonical size difference between Kenshiro and Devil Rebirth (in the original source, to put simply, Devil Rebirth is practically a kaiju). In Black Belt, the player is the same size as the boss, now replaced with a sumo wrestler with different behavior.

The scene that takes place after defeating Shin in Hokuto no Ken was also removed in Black Belt.

Finishing Moves#

After beating each boss, the name of the technique used to beat them is displayed on screen. In the original game this reflects the techniques Kenshiro uses to defeat each enemy in the manga. The exceptions are Toki, the stage 4 boss, whom he has a friendly match with and learns the Ju no Ken ways from, and Raoh, the final boss, where no such finishing technique is shown (instead reflecting Raoh's death in the source material, where he concedes defeat and sends his soul to heaven). In Black Belt, the moves are all renamed to (still untranslated) other Japanese terms instead, the Stage 3 Boss finish is changed entirely and Oni (the Toki replacement) has a special move finish made up just for him.

The extensive game makeover leads to a bizarre oddity at the end of the game where Wang mimics Raoh's raised fist pose perfectly. While in Hokuto no Ken this re-creates Raoh's iconic death scene just fine, there's no explanation in Black Belt as to why Wang seemingly raises his fist in triumph and turns to stone after being beaten by Riki.

Music#

Both games have different music for some scenes.