Play Hokuto no Ken (Japan) Online

Hokuto no Ken came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, developed by Toei Animation. It was one of many licensed games from that era, based on the popular Fist of the North Star manga and anime. The NES was full of these kinds of adaptations, and this one tried to capture the over-the-top violence and drama of the source material.

You control Kenshiro, the series protagonist, moving through side-scrolling stages filled with enemies. Your main goal is to rescue your kidnapped fiancée, Yuria, from a gang of wasteland thugs. The gameplay involves punching and kicking your way through opponents, but the signature mechanic is using special button combinations to perform secret techniques that make enemies explode. The pacing is slow, and the controls feel stiff, which makes the difficulty pretty unforgiving. It feels like a rough but earnest attempt to translate a very physical, violent story into a game.