Played two hours and beat the first few levels in
Hokuto Musou, defeating Shin (and unlocking the side story mode which lets you play as other characters; got Shin and Mamiya playable so far). I'm enjoying the game quite a bit, which is to be expected as both a HnK and Musou fan. The combos come out pretty stiffly, but you get used to it. Rei is AWESOME and quite a bit faster than Ken; Mamiya uses a crossbow and other weapons, and while she lacks the power and speed of Kenshiro and Rei, she makes up for it with range. Her throw is hilarious, too-- walk up to someone, bitch slap a bunch of times, then jump up on their face and slam them down.
I'll post more in-depth later, but just want to say that while this is indeed a Musou game, the feel is pretty different. The stages are linear, but you can backtrack and need to if you want to get all of the mission points. There's seven of these in every level (and an eighth if you get all seven, apparently) that you have to meet certain conditions to get. Apparently backtracking on the first level will lead to previously inaccessable areas; I didn't try this. Getting all the mission points also makes the boss fights harder. You don't
have to get any of these mission points to keep going though, so the game lets you play it at your pace.
I think a good way to describe the game is as a Musou with a more traditional beat-em-up style of progression. No open battlefields; you move forward and clear out a wave or two of enemies, and then go forward again. I thought the game was actually going to be an open-world style environment from some previews I saw, but this is not the case.
Should you get the game if you like HnK and Musou? HELL YES, BUY IT IMMEDIATELY. If you like Musou? HELL YES to that too. If you like HnK but not Musou? Wait for a domestic release and rent it first. The game will likely not win you over if you don't like these kinds of games, plus the combos come out even stiffer compared to the Omega Force games.
