Boxing Fitness: Fist of the North Star, review

“You are already dead: The iconic line spoken by Kane the warrior before the violent deaths of his enemies has become the material for an endless series of parodies and memes. What if we could experience first-hand the thrill of annihilating countless hordes of club-wielding savages in the desert expanses of the dystopian future imagined by Boronson and designed by Tetsuo Hara? the imaginer He has the answer, and with this new chapter in the Fitness Boxing series he puts us in the shoes of a trainee of Kenshiro himself, and the latter in the role of trainer for us budding boxers.

The premises are excellent – Ken the Warrior is undoubtedly an excellent choice for a boxing-based fitness game – but in practice, Boxing Fitness Review: Fist of the North Star He tells us that the game fails to free itself from many of the series’ historical flaws, the first of which is the lack of effective control over the player’s movements. It remains an experience capable of making you sweat, of course, but the title suffers from competition from other, more effective fitness video games.

The man with the seven scars

Boxing Fitness: Fist of the North Star is naturally designed for fans of Ken the warrior, and in this sense having Kenshiro as a trainer is definitely fun: the tutorial teaches us the basics of the noble art, starting from the guard position, from the movement of the feet (very difficult to maintain with timing and consistency, we expect it ) and from the basic snapshots, jab and direct. Depending on the foot held forward in the guard position, with the right and left arm we will do the jab, that is, the jab delivered with the front arm, and the direct jab, rather with the hind one.

She continues to play with uppercuts, hooks and dribbles, in the best fitness boxing tradition. What changes here are the trainers, the backgrounds and the presence of battles, a way that allows us to challenge the hooligan gangs and then the bosses taken from the story of Kenshiro: Let’s Go From Shin until they saw him, all of which offer the most challenging and physical combat in the game. By accumulating power during boss battles, you can use Kenshiro’s most famous moves, and we assure you, you perform Move hundreds of Hokuto strikes It is not a simple matter. In short, in Fitness Boxing: The North Star’s fists sweat and sweat a lot; Compared to the previous chapters of the series, the presence of Ken the Warrior characters is definitely a plus for fans: it’s a pity that the plot is presented with clips from the original manga, screened against somewhat monotonous backgrounds, but certainly technically behind, like the whole production as a whole. .

Timing and accuracy… sort of

In the tradition of Fitness Boxing, you must follow the instructions on the screen and make the required shots at the right time. A covert metal soundtrack that undoubtedly inspires the intense violence against the poor thugs we’ll encounter in fights helps keep the enthusiasm high, helping to cover the flat dubbing of the various trainers and characters (Toki included) who will cheer for us on our journey to becoming boxing masters. On a positive note: the entire game has been translated – both in text and speech – in the Italian language, with generally good overall quality. Too bad for the interface, which was left over in the days of the Wii: it would really need a good revamp, along with the entire graphics sector as a whole.

As mentioned at the beginning, perhaps the most fundamental issue in the Fitness Boxing series remains unresolved: The lack of good tracking of the player’s movements. To throw punches, you need to hold down two Joy-Cons, one in the right hand and one in the left hand, and a fair acceleration of movement is needed to ensure it is considered valid by the system. Furthermore, jabs, uppercuts, uppercuts, and uppercuts are often confused with a “free-all” effect that is not conducive to achieving a correct training approach. In this sense, there is a lack of more specific peripherals, as happens for example in the Ring Fit Adventure, where the ring and thigh strap manage to make the experience more refined and less chaotic. On the other hand, the presence of “support work”, an option that allows you to exclude actions that you are having difficulty with. The advice given by the masters in the main menu to improve technique is also valid, even if they tend to repeat themselves in the long run.

Coaches and game styles

Speaking of trainers, it starts with the popular Kenshiro, but it evolves fitness points By performing training or fighting, new players (including Mamiya and the same bosses who face each other in Battles mode) can be unlocked through the shop. Trainers can be customized with different outfits, but these are cosmetic aspects that have no actual effect on gameplay. New songs can also be unlocked in the store.

In addition to the already mentioned battle mode, one can be set up Daily routine, of light, normal or high intensity, depending on how involved we want to be. It is also possible to set up a daily alarm at a specific time, with which the Nintendo Switch (even if it is in rest mode) will notify us that it is time to train with Kenshiro and his partners. Entering the data of height, weight, training goals and age allows you to make an estimate of the calories burned, which is displayed on the screen after each session, as well as get a setup for the routine, which based on our desires can focus only on some muscle groups or on the whole body.

As the coaches also advised, it is desirable to do so stretch Before and after the actual training, also because – as we said earlier – the lack of precise control over the movements increases the risk of injury, it is a good idea to have “warmed up” muscles before embarking on the difficult path of a noble art.