Ah, fall (in the Northern Hemisphere)... the weather starts to cool, the leaves begin to change, and the holiday video game releases loom on the horizon. While the start of summer typically marks developers and publishers hyping up the gaming community with big announcements for what's to come in a year (or two or three) via digital presentations and "Keigh3," the fall is when we usually get teasers of more immediate releases. For example, the September Nintendo Direct dropped yesterday and not only did it finally give a full name and release date for the next Zelda game (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, May 12, 2023), but there are four new co-op games, two remastered co-op games, and one existing co-op title that are coming to the Switch within the next 6 months.

The first Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage was an alright-ish brawler that was good enough for many fans of the franchise. It featured super powered martial artists from the popular manga series, following their bloody adventures as they literally punched and kicked their enemies (and each other) into bloody chunks. Out of all the licensed games I have ever played, it's definitely one of them. The game supported a two player split screen mode that left our reviewer, the esteemed Marc Allie, wanting more. The sequel, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2, has upped the co-op ante with online support, but is has lost local play in the process. 

Koei keeps on pumping out videos and screenshots for Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2. The latest trio of trailers feature everyone's favorite post apocalyptic warrior, Kenshiro, as well as Rin and Bat. That's right. You can play as Rin and Bat!

There are many, many characters in the Fist of the North Star universe. Several of the kill-crazed martial artists will be making an appearance in Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2. Many will be playable. If you like your rage-karate infused with supernatural, life-ending special effects, this may be the brawler for you. 

Holy media blitz! Do you want to see more screens and videos from Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2? You're counting the minutes before you start your holiday weekend. What else are you going to do? Nothing, that's what. 

Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 is still happening. I actually picked up the first game and played through a few levels. It's not bad, but it fizzles after a few hours. The fact that Ken and Company handle like bulldozers doesn't help. The upcoming sequel is supposed to address the problematic controls and several other issues. Fans of the magna and anime should keep tabs on this one.

These new Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 screens feature four new playable characters. Yuda, Fudu, Shachi, and Shuu will each be making an appearance in the sequel to the Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage. The super-violent, ultra-cheesy, so-bad-it's-almost-good beat'em up did well enough to earn a second installment. As flawed as the first game was fans still flocked to it. You can't keep a good fanatic down.