[Hokuto no Ken] The Legend Reborn on DS

This is a highly anticipated action game based on the legendary Japanese comic called "Hokuto no Ken". It is also widely known as "Fist of the North Star". The comic is serialized in the famous Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in the 80s. It is co-created by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. The story centers around a guy named Ken Shio, who mastered a style of martial arts called "Hokuto Shinken". It is a special style for assassins and Ken Shio is the best of the best in this style.

The web site for the game is here. The game will be divided into episodes. Each episode will consist of a bit of story-telling, followed by game play. Some of the most famous scenes of the comic will once again be presented to the player. There will be 22 episodes altogether and it will tell the story of Ken Shio up to the death of Raoh, who is his nemesis of the first part of the comic story.

And of course the game play is the real fun part here. And the publisher of the game called it "Secret Hole Piercing" action. During the game play, the player will be shown the some legendary "Koma" of the comic, with special instructions for the player to follow or tap using the stylus. There will be a special marker around the "Koma" and the player is required to perform those instructions before the marker reaches its end. When the player correctly performs the requirements, the characters (either Ken Shio or others) will be able to perform their famous moves in the story and it allows the storyline to move on. Just take a look here.

Now this kind of game play is truly utilizing the strength the NDS platform. And the player can now really engage in the amazing martial arts world with the touch screen and stylus.

There will also be a bunch of collectibles like character introductions and famous dialogues. There will also be a quiz mode but of course it will be all in Japanese. The publisher also said there will be some mini-games included as well.

This game will be released at the end of February, 2008. And it can be pre-ordered by clicking the game box arts above.