Black Belt is a beat 'em up, originally created as a Fist of the North Star game, Hokuto no Ken and released for the Master System. The international version was released without the license to Fist of the North Star, forcing alterations to both character names, sprites and locations. Protagonist Kenshiro is replaced with the stand in Riki for the western release.
Plot[]
Western[]
Riki's girlfriend, Kyoko, has been kidnapped. In order to rescue her, Riki must fight his way through a tireless army of enemies, lead by Riki's rival, Wang.
Japanese[]
Kenshiro's girlfriend, Yuria, has been kidnapped. In order to rescue her, Kenshiro must fight his way through a tireless army of enemies, lead by Raoh.
Gameplay[]
The game is a side scrolling beat em up with paralax scrolling visual effects. Enemies can come from both the left and right side of the screen. During boss fights however, the screen becomes fixed, with enlargened sprites as the player and their opponent exchange blows.
To defend themselves, Riki/Kenshiro are able to punch, kick and perform a jump kick, with both punches and kicks being able to be performed whilst crouching. Defeating an enemy will add to the score bonus located at the top screen, with different enemies giving different score bonuses.
Whilst starting with three lives, obtaining 100,000 and 300,000 points will reward the player with additional lives.
At the top of the screen is a health bar. As Riki/Kenshiro take damage from their enemies, the health bar will decrease. This can be replenished by picking up Sushi (Riki) or 'E' (Kenshiro) items that fly across the top of the screen. Picking up a strength symbol '力' (Riki) or 'P' (Kenshiro) will grant the player temporary invincibility from all attacks.
Trivia[]
- This is one of Yuji Naka's earliest credits, and is credited for both the programming and creating the enemy graphics for the title.
- This title is credited for increasing Master System hardware sales in Japan upon it's release, due to the popularity of Fist of the North Star.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Hokuto no Ken (Sega Mark III) at Hokuto Renkitōza
- Black Belt at MobyGames
- Black Belt at GameFAQs
- Black Belt at Sega Retro
- Black Belt at Hardcore Gaming 101
- Black Belt (Sega Master System) at The Cutting Room Floor