Play Hokuto no Ken 7 - Seiken Retsuden Denshousha e no Michi (Japan) Online

Hokuto no Ken 7: Seiken Retsuden Denshousha e no Michi came out for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993, developed by Toei Animation and published by Toei. It was part of a wave of licensed games based on the Fist of the North Star series, trying to capture the manga's brutal action on the 16 bit hardware. The game arrived when fighting games and side scrolling beat em ups were common, but it stood out with its adherence to the source material's violent tone.

You control Kenshiro, moving through side scrolling stages and fighting waves of thugs with punches and kicks. Your main goal is to defeat bosses and progress through the story, though the Japanese text can make following the plot difficult if you do not understand the language. Signature mechanics include using special moves by inputting command sequences, and executing dramatic finishers that cause enemies to explode after a brief glowing effect. The pacing is fast, with constant combat, and the difficulty can spike during boss encounters. It feels satisfying to land a series of hits and finish with a screen shaking special move.