Hokuto ga Gotoku Tenpa no Sho (Gz Brain, 2018) 北斗が如く 天破ノ書

Overview “Hokuto ga Gotoku, the book that shatters the heavens” (北斗が如く 天破ノ書) is the guide to Hokuto ga Gotoku, the Sega action game based on Hokuto no Ken, released on PlayStation 4 in 2018. It was prepared by the Weekly Famitsu editorial staff (週刊ファミ通編集部) and published by Gz Brain. Its band proclaims “Here I pass on to you the essence of the Hokuto Shinken!” (北斗神拳の極意をここに授ける!) and presents the book, with a thug’s “Hyahhā!!!” (ヒャッハー!!!), as “Famitsu’s complete strategy guide” (ファミ通の完全攻略本だぜぇ!).

The book introduces the characters, with the names of their voice actors, and the basics of the game (基礎知識). It then takes the game system apart, from triggering every secret technique to the items that can be collected in the wastelands, and walks the player through to the end of the main story and its boss battles. It gives the conditions, rewards and solutions of the side missions, and gathers everything needed to enjoy the leisure activities of Eden and the wastelands, such as “Kenshiro in a black suit” (黒服ケンシロウ), the Colosseum (コロセウム) or the “Hyahhā rally” (ヒャッハーラリー).

The end of the volume brings together character drawings by Tetsuo Hara, concept art and previously unreleased design documents from the development team. It also contains an interview with general producer Satō Daisuke (佐藤大輔) and chief producer and scriptwriter Yokoyama Masayoshi (横山昌義), a roundtable of team members passionate about Hokuto no Ken and an explanation of the game’s Hokuto Shinken techniques, compared with those of the manga.