Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 is an interesting addition to the Wii U eshop catalog. It takes a beloved Manga and tells the whole story just exactly as the Manga did which is sure to please fans, and it also adds some of the traits and features from the “Warriors” series from Tecmo Koei.
It has a great retelling of the source material's story, but the gameplay is not up to standards. With this being a download-only title, priced at a staggering £49.99, it's very unlikely that Wii U owners will take the plunge.
This is a portion of a Ken's Rage 2 review from Polygon...
That repetition is Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2's ultimate failure. It's fun in small doses, but as a whole, the game offers so much indistinguishable content that even the occasional twists failed to make me care about what was next. Despite graphical improvements, streamlined fighting and a broader narrative, it's the same album on repeat, played on a different stereo.
The bloody legacy of Fist of the North Star could have yielded a satisfying, violent melee action game, but intrusive and uninteresting cut scenes, neutered enemies, and repetitious combat make Ken's Rage 2 an exercise in tedium instead. You cannot win against Kenshiro, so just do what his enemies should have, and avoid him.
Hardcore fans of the series may find that their love of the source material helps paper over the gaping cracks — the same goes for dedicated followers of the Dynasty Warriors lineage — but if you don’t fall into either of those two camps then you should leave this well alone, and simply track down a copy of the 1986 anime movie instead. It will provide more enjoyment during its 110 minute running time than Ken’s Rage 2 can muster during several days of gameplay.
...you won't miss much in Ken's Rage 2, and for those who played but didn't finish the first game, you may as well go back and wrap up what you started before spending more money on the sequel. And those who have "seen it, played it" can safely pass it up entirely.
Good news (for everyone but Kenshiro): the Fist of the North Star protagonist failed to exhaust his supply of rage after his first Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage game, finding enough surplus rage for a second game. Ken will unleash some of that extra rage upon North America on February 5, on Xbox 360 and as a PSN download for PS3. There will be a Wii U version later, as well, dividing Kenshiro's endless fount of fury across two screens.
Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires, another recent announcement by Tecmo Koei, will also be PSN exclusive in North America. Tecmo Koei updated the North American release date today: it'll actually be out Feb. 26.
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