Last Battle

aka: Hokuto no Ken: Shinseikimatsu Kyūseishu Densetsu
Moby ID: 16657
Arcade Specs
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Description official description

Last Battle is a side-scrolling beat-em-up game in which the player takes control of a martial artist named Aarzak who must single-handedly (and -footedly) defeat the lackeys of an evil fighter called Duke, and eventually stand against three generals who have kidnapped his girlfriend. The hero fights using punches and kicks, combining these moves with jumping and crouching. He also has a special power meter that refills over the time. When the power meter is full, Aarzak gains a boost that allows him to perform rapid attacks for the rest of the stage.

Most of the levels are simple scrolling areas that the player needs to complete within a time limit. Some levels, however, are more maze-like, requiring the player to explore them in order to find the exit. Bosses await Aarzak at the end of most stages. He will also encounter allies who will increase his offensive or defensive strength, or replenish his health.

The original Japanese version is based on the Fist of the North Star manga and anime; the protagonist is Kenshiro, the main hero of the series. All character names have been changed in the translated version, which also has reduced gore. However, the rest of the visuals, gameplay, and locations remain identical.

Spellings

  • 北斗の拳 新世紀末救世主伝説 - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Credits (Genesis version)

8 People

Director
Main Programmer
Programmer
Art Director
Special Designer
Designer
Music

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 50% (based on 19 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.3 out of 5 (based on 33 ratings with 1 reviews)

Broken.

The Good
Last Battle has been criticized throughout the gaming world since its release way back in 1989, but due to impressive graphics for its time (it was one of the Genesis' earliest titles) and because it looked more than playable, I picked it up a while ago for a few dollars and thought that I could get some enjoyment out of it. Looking back on that decision, it was probably a mistake.

However, there are a few things to like about this infamous title. It really does look impressive, being one of the first games available on the Genesis. Character sprites are unbelievably large for the time, and the environments probably couldn't be much more detailed for such an early title. The one drawback is the stiff and unrealistic movement of Aarzak (the game's main character) and his enemies, but this doesn't hold the game back too much.The game is decent aurally as well. Sound effects are acceptable for an early Genesis game, and there is also some catchy music to be heard.

The Bad
But, as we all know, playability is what matters most in a game, and Last Battle is broken in that context. Everything seems okay at first. In the main stages of the game, Aarzak (the game's main character) moves across the screen doing little more than horizontally moving across the screen while punching and kicking the daylights out of his enemies. Repetitive, but it works. There is also the occasional labyrinth stage, which also contains some platforming elements, and boss stage, with one boss to fight using your superior martial arts skills. There are also multiple paths towards finishing the game, which adds depth.

However, you only have one life to work with in this game. Sure, you can regain health and increase your power level (which controls the strength of your attacks) but if you lose all of your health at any time, you'll need to restart the game from the first level. This poses a problem, since LB is fairly long and difficult. It contains four chapters that each hold many levels, the core gameplay can get very repetitive before long, especially when some levels are exceedingly challenging and you'll have to beat the game in one sitting. I don't know about anyone else, but if I died fighting the final boss while needing only one more punch to finish him off, I would seriously get a hammer and demolish the game cartridge into a million pieces rather than try beating it again.

Speaking of bosses, LB's boss fights are a chore to play through. The game's bosses are basically just regular enemies that take more than one hit to defeat and have stronger attacks. Many of the bosses' attacks can drain a lot of health and are hard to avoid, since Aarzak cannot jump very high (making it difficult to jump over bosses) and crouching does not usually help.

Also, the game's story is ridiculous. I really don't care about storylines in a game such as this, but a master of the bogus martial art known as "Jet-Kwon-Do", Aarzak (the main character of the game, as mentioned earlier) decides to, according to the back of the game's case, "free his people from a life of oppression". This is explained in unnecessary detail during the game's intro. But it doesn't end there. An acquaintance of Aarzak's lies at the end of every stage, setting the stage for Aarzak and the acquaintance to engage in plain dumb conversation. Case in point: After completing the game's first stage, Aarzak meets his good friend Max. Max explains that he "wants Aarzak to meet (another friend) Alyssa". Aarzak's nonsensical reply: "Now you have the look of a hero!"

The Bottom Line
Last Battle deserves the heaps of criticism it has obtained over the years. Excellent graphics, passable sound and a potentially good gameplay concept were ruined by the gameplay's many weak spots, and the game was doomed even further due to its terrible storyline. In one word, the game is broken.

Genesis · by Titan10 (692) · 2011

Trivia

Version differences

The Western release is a "tamed" version of the original Japanese game, based on the Fist of the North Star manga/anime series. In the original game enemies died gruesomely as their head exploded, but in the Western version they fly away - think of the Romans in the Astérix comics and you get the picture.

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  • MobyGames ID: 16657
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Dwango.

Arcade, Wii added by Michael Cassidy. Amiga added by Kabushi. Commodore 64 added by Mobygamesisreanimated.

Additional contributors: Kohler 86, Luis Silva, j.raido 【雷堂嬢太朗】, Patrick Bregger.

Game added March 3, 2005. Last modified January 25, 2024.