Developed by Arc System Works (who created the Guilty Gear series) and produced by SEGA, the arcade version of this one on one fighter was released in 2005 in Japan. A PlayStation 2 port was released in 2007, but only in Japan, and given the new title of Hokuto no Ken Shinpan no Sōsōsei: Kengō Retsuden (Fist of the North Star The Twin Blue Stars of Judgment: History of the Fist Masters).

The game had a mixed reception, some love it (especially fans of the series) for being so fast paced, the inclusion of so many special moves from the anime/manga, the fatal K.O. system, a great sound track and good art. Others hate it, with a lack of characters to choose from, many infinite combos, poorly balanced cast, lack of extras in the console port and more. Even so, the game was extremely popular in Japan and was used in many tournaments, including Super Battle Opera 2006 & 2008.

There are 10 characters to select from -Kenshiro, Heart, Shin, Rei, Mamiya, Jagi, Toki, Raoh, Yuda and Souther (mistranslated into "Thouther" in this game). Each character has different punches, kicks, special and super moves. There are four main attack buttons -two for punches, two for kicks, whilst another button is used for "boosting", allowing you to briefly move your character forwards at great speeds.

Under each character's life bar is another gauge, which represents the big dipper constellation. Each character starts a fight with this gauge full (7 stars) but as as a fight goes on, it is possible to remove stars from this gauge by using certain attacks. When the star gauge is completely empty, the star of death appears. If this happens to a character, then their opponent can perform a special technique which will, if it hits, instantly K.O. the opponent. These are known as "Fatal K.O." attacks, and whilst what happens with them is dependent on the character chosen, they are all performed in the same way: quarter circle forward and then the heavy punch and kick buttons together. If the fatal K.O. attack misses, your opponent will get a star back on their star gauge.

The single player mode is standard fighting game stuff, with you fighting through several opponents before reaching the boss, Raoh. The version of Raoh fought at the end of the game is different from the one who can be selected, and is known as Ken-Oh. During the battle against Ken-Oh, if you manage to defeat him, he will get back up and regain all of his life, as well as becoming more aggressive and doing more damage. (It is possible to fatal K.O. him before he gets back up). Ken-Oh cannot be played as in the arcade version, but can be unlocked in the PlayStation 2 port.

The PlayStation 2 version added a few more modes, including a survival mode. This mode has you fighting everyone else in the game, but no continues can be used, and, unlike most other fighting game survival modes, there is no health regeneration between rounds. History mode has you trying to complete various tasks in a battle, such as performing a certain move against another character.

The game was released outside Japan in American (and possibly European) arcades, retitled just Fist of the North Star. For the most part, it is the same as the Japanese version, but with translated win quotes. However, one major difference is that one of Jagi's super moves has been removed. In the Japanese version, he has a technique where he grabs the opponent and demands that they say his name, with him reacting depending on how the opponent answers his questions. This move was taken out of the American version.

Secrets

Play as Ken-Oh (PlayStation 2 only)
Complete every mission in history mode, then at the character select screen, highlight Raoh and press start. Raoh's name will change to Ken-Oh and his picture will be different.

Special win animations
The following characters have special victory animations if you beat the opponent with a fatal K.O.:

Rei against Yuda

Rei against Mamiya

Souther against anyone (Souther's stage only)