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1[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kens_rage_5760.jpg]]
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4''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' is an old, but very popular, manga/anime which features wandering martial artist Kenshiro in a post-nuclear wasteland in order to find his kidnapped lover Yuria, all while making evildoers explode messily with his bare hands. It has been around even since the Platform/{{Famicom}} and Mark III era; therefore, there have been many videogame adaptations of it. The problem is, most of them are mediocre and forgettable, [[NoExportForYou and very few leave Japan]].
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6Suddenly, Creator/KoeiTecmo, the company behind the HackAndSlash[=/=]BeatEmUp juggernaut ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'', decided to give their own magic touch to ''Fist of the North Star'' after giving [[VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam a similar treatment]] to the ''{{Franchise/Gundam}}'' franchise. More importantly, they ''brought it to the US''. The result is known as ''Hokuto Musou'', or ''Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage''. It is a very faithful adaptation, finally giving official coverage of the mythos for western audiences. The pace is slower than most of Koei Tecmo's hack and slashes, but it captures the feel of the manga, especially in regards to many of the series's well-known moves. It also features SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing.
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8Aside from Legend Mode, which chronicles the story of the manga up to the TimeSkip, there's also a Dream Mode, where an original story revolves around gathering the members of the Hokuto and Nanto school, culminating in an [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny all-out-war]] spearheaded by Raoh and Thouzer.
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10The playable roster includes [[HopeBringer Kenshiro]], [[UnscrupulousHero Rei]], [[LadyOfWar Mamiya]], [[CrystalDragonJesus Toki]], [[FallenHero Raoh]], [[TragicVillain Shin]], [[TheSociopath Thouzer]], and [[RivalTurnedEvil Jagi]]. The last three characters do not have their own Legend Mode storylines, and can only be played in Dream Mode. There are also a roster of unique [=NPCs=] such as Shew, Juda, Fudo, Juza, Ryuga, Mr. Heart, Zeed, Boss Fang, Amiba, and Uighur. [[{{Acrofatic}} Mr. Heart]] is playable as a DLC character, along with a {{Mook}} simply called Outlaw.
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12The game has a sequel/remake called ''Shin Hokuto Musou'', or ''Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2''. It greatly expands upon the story from the duel with Zeed up to the climatic battle against Raoh. Furthermore, the game also covers both the "Celestial Emperor" and "Land Of Shura" arcs, as well as the conflict with Bolge that serves as an epilogue to the series, skipping over the story arcs that featured Raoh's son, Ryu. Many [=NPCs=] in the first game have been PromotedToPlayable, including [[TheFightingNarcissist Juda]], [[HandicappedBadass Shew]], [[AntiVillain Ryuga]], [[LoveMartyr Juza]], [[DotingParent Fudo]], [[FutureBadass Bat]], and [[BadassAdorable Rin]]. In addition, characters from the post-Raoh arcs will become playable, including [[BadassNormal Ein]], [[EmotionalBruiser Falco]], [[MysteriousWatcher Shachi]], [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Hyoh]], and [[CardCarryingVillain Kaioh]]. The game's DLC characters include Mr. Heart and Outlaw once again, but three new characters will be available for download: [[EvilGenius Amiba]], [[LightningBruiser Han]], and the [[FromNobodyToNightmare Nameless Shura]]. Scenes are even more faithfully adapted from the Manga, and are presented in a ComicBook style that is similar to the ''[[VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan2005 Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' video game. Due to budgetary constraints, the game does not have an English dub, but is instead subtitled.
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14The first game was released as a retail title on the Platform/Xbox360 and Platform/PlayStation3 [=PS3=] on March 25, 2010 in Japan and on November 2 and 5, 2010 in North America and Europe respectively. The second game was released as a retail title on the Xbox 360 and as a digital download on the [=PS3=] and, surprisingly, the Platform/WiiU. The 360 and [=PS3=] versions were released in Japan on December 20, 2012, in North America on February 5, 2013, and in Europe on February 8, 2013. The Wii U version was released in Japan on January 31, 2013 and in both North America and Europe on February 7, 2013.
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16Careful not to confuse this with the similarly named videogame ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheBerserkGutsRage''.
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18----
19!!''These Examples Are Already Dead:''
20* AbhorrentAdmirer: In Jagi's Dream Mode of the first game, Jagi ends up winning the affections of a cross-dressing "grandma" to his disgust.
21* AccidentalHero: Jagi and Amiba in the former's Dream Mode in the first game. They end up being recognized as heroes as they fight [[EvilVersusEvil other villains]], either for being in their way or simply to survive. By the end, they have stone busts built of them to commemorate them.
22* AdaptationalBadass: Mamiya, who can now hold her own against the martial artists. In the sequel, Rin also applies.
23* AdaptationDistillation: Kenshiro's story in the first game alone is told in 14 chapters, and it surprisingly covers nearly everything up to his final battle with Raoh (skipping only the Golan and Jackal arcs that took place between Shin's death and the introduction of Rei and Mamiya). The other characters' Legend Modes expand upon said story (with many levels being slightly-altered retreads, and a handful of original levels), but it's fairly impressive that the story is told in such a short frame of time.
24* AdaptationExpansion:
25** ''Ken's Rage 2'' not only extends the storyline to cover the Tentei and Shura arcs, but it even features the previously unadapted (in any media) Bolge arc that concluded the original manga. It also brings back the Golan and Jackal arcs that were skipped over for the first game.
26** The Dream Mode in ''Ken's Rage 2'' also serves as an expansion for the main storyline this time instead of the WhatIf of the first game, serving as backstory for most of the cast, such as how Ein met Asuka and the like.
27* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''Ken's Rage 2''; in the manga, Toki's hair turned white immediately after being exposed to nuclear fallout, which raised the question of how Kenshiro (who had seen Toki in this state) could mistake the dark-haired Amiba for him. In ''Ken's Rage 2'', Toki's hair remains brown for a while after his radiation poisoning, with his white hair being a more recent change.
28* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Falco's Translated title: Golden Guardian General
29* AllJustADream: All of the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Dream Mode]] levels in the first game are simply [[ImagineSpot Imagine Spots]] for the various characters. Kenshiro's Dream Mode literally was this. He was never visited by the Mysterious Woman, his occurred when he was standing by the grave he had just buried Shin in, coming to a while later after Bat was trying to get his attention and going on his way.
30* AlmostDeadGuy: [[spoiler:Toki]] serves as one after the boss battle against Ryuga.
31* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: A minor example. In the Japanese and European releases, Kenshiro is wearing his outfit on the cover, looking back indifferently; in the American version, he's shirtless and upholding his fist.
32* ArtShift: In ''Ken's Rage 2'', the flashback detailing the foundation of Hokuto Shinken is presented in a hand-drawn art style, as opposed to the 3D models usually used in cutscenes.
33* AscendedExtra: Both DLC characters: Outlaw in Ken's Rage 1 (representing all of the nameless mooks) and Nameless Shura in Ken's Rage 2.
34* AttackAttackAttack: In the Ken's Rage 2 DLC mission The Mighty Ken-Oh Army, the mooks do this. Raoh's orders render the bases uncapturable so no matter how many mooks you gib they keep on coming, you only need 300 kills to open the gates to fight Raoh, but constantly spawning {{Mooks}} + 1 hour time limit = easy LevelGrinding.
35* AutomaticCrossbow: The main weapons of Mamiya and Rin.
36* BadassBoast:
37** Passing 1000 kills in a single-stage makes the character you're playing as spout one of these.
38--->'''Jagi:''' ''You see that?! That's why I'm the true successor to Hokuto Shinken!''\
39'''Kenshiro:''' ''Hokuto Shinken is invincible! There are none who can defeat me!''
40** Sadly absent in the second game, the characters only say something at one and two hundred kills, and it's usually a stock phrase.
41* BoringButPractical: The many rapid fire striking specials most characters have, particularly the Hokuto fighters. They may not be all that impressive damage-wise, but they're great for filling up your smash meter and giving you access to your powerful OneHitKill specials.
42** Another example of Boring but Practical is Raoh's Equine Fury, which costs two spirit stocks but calls down Kokuoh for him to ride. Kokuoh generally crushes any mook under hoof in one hit moves much faster than the occasional motorbike you find, making it very easy to cover ground in large Dream mode or Challenge maps; after that you only really need to dismount to take out the occasional giant mook or major character. Sadly Equine Fury was removed in the second game, there is only one instance where Raoh can ride Kokuoh and that is the DLC mission Bikers of the Wasteland.
43** In Raoh's Dream Mode in the second game, [[spoiler: when Thouzer brags that Raoh can't defeat him by hitting his vital points, Raoh says something to the effect of "In that case, I'll just beat you the old-fashioned way."]]
44* BottomlessMagazines: Weapon-users in the second game never run out of ammo and simply have to reload once in a while.
45* BoxingBattler: Ein's fighting style is expanded from simple brawling with the addition of boxing moves.
46* BrokenAesop: One that [[ValuesDissonance few will mourn the breaking of]] - Mamiya's massive {{Xenafication}} rather undermines the manga's message that she's hopelessly unsuited to being a warrior (because she's a woman) and should really just StayInTheKitchen.
47* BrownNote: One of Jagi's Signature Moves, Scarface, has him exposing his mutilated face to his enemies and causing them to explode due to the horror of it. This causes a rather amusing moment of FridgeLogic in ''Ken's Rage 2'''s Dream Mode, as there's an alternate skin where his face isn't disfigured. One is left to wonder how this works when his face isn't the mutilated mess that it normally is.
48* BullfightBoss: Shin in both games. While not necessary to defeat him, tricking him into lodging his fist in a pillar does give you a chance for some free hits.
49* CastFromHitPoints: Shachi's R1. It gives him a full aura stock on the spot for a paltry bit of damage, Toki's new R1 in the second game as well, striking his own Sekkako to grant a massive boost to his attack and movement speed, attack strength, and defense. Amiba's R1 is like this too, Striking vital points on his arm, he increases the size of his muscles, and this grants him some extra damage and properties on his attacks, however once the effect wears off, you lose a good quarter of your health.
50* ClothingDamage: Happens when the player character's health drops below a certain point.
51* CrapsackWorld: The world has been reduced to a barren wasteland where the weak are preyed upon by the strong.
52* DemotedToExtra:
53** Though Bat and Lin were fairly prominent characters in the manga, they do not receive much limelight in the game beyond the early stages.
54** Jagi's manipulation of Shin is completely left out of the plot of the first game, which lessens his significance in the story.
55** Both Diamond and Club are demoted to nameless commanders.
56* DownloadableContent:
57** [[EnsembleDarkhorse Mr. Heart]] and [[JokeCharacter Outlaw]] (a random thug) in the first game, plus additional outfits for all the playable characters based on what they originally wore in the manga. Also extra Challenge Missions; one of the more notable ones pits you against pairs of the major characters, starting with Shin and Toki, then Jagi and Mamiya, followed by Ken and Rei, and lastly Thouzer and Raoh.
58** ''Ken's Rage 2'' adds Han, Amiba, and the Nameless Shura as playable characters , as well as even more manga-themed outfits for all the additional playable characters. There's also 10 DLC missions, split into 2 sets of 5.
59* EarnYourHappyEnding: The ending of the first game is the same as that of the series, but with one minor detail that makes it a HappilyEverAfter over a BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:there is no mention of Yuria's radiation poisoning, so it can be assumed that she lives a full life with Kenshiro.]]
60* FailedASpotCheck: If you use Kenshiro's alternate costume minus his shirt revealing his scars, Rei won't even notice the entire Fang Clan campaign. At all.
61* FakeLongevity: A flaw of the first game is that many of the stages in the different Legend Mode stories are repeats of other Legend Mode levels. However, there is still variation within each version of the level. This is most noticeable in the chapter where Raoh first appears, which ''every character'' has to complete in Legend Mode.
62** The sequel [[AvertedTrope averts]] this by having a single, streamlined campaign, meaning that you switch between characters mid-level rather than playing through the same levels repeatedly. Though you can re-play certain stages as other characters to advance the story, the game gives you the option to skip over levels that you've completed as other characters.
63* AFatherToHisMen:
64** Zeed is described as this in his profile, even though the only thing he does to show for it is get angry at Kenshiro for killing them.
65** Boss Fang is more of this in this game than he is in the manga/anime, where he outright tells his men that they're expendable as long as he lives.
66* FightingSpirit: Hyou has a few attacks that act somewhat like this, namely his Demonic Shadow Manipulation and his Charge Attack Combo, though it's more "My BattleAura is so strong it can kill you by being next to me."
67* FlashStep: Han's R1 and His Signature move Flaming Array of Brilliance has him doing this, while looking like he's standing still while moving no less.
68* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: In the manga, Toki can still fight despite his sickness, though too much fighting strains his body. In the game, using too much combos in his first costume (in his later appearances in the manga) causes him to suffer whiplash.
69* GiantMook: Two kinds: big muscular guys and big fat guys. Both are hard to attack, but can be thrown into Meridian Shock by hitting them with many rapid-fire moves at once.
70* GlassCannon:
71** Han in terms of stat growth in Ken's Rage 2. Incredible Attack and Technique growth, however his Health growth is quite slow, usually being only level 25 by the time his Attack and Technique Stats are maxed at level 50, making him something of a cross between GlassCannon and FragileSpeedster.
72** Toki is this as well having low Defense, Health, and a relatively low Attack stat in comparison to Ken and Raoh, but is still quite powerful thanks to his incredible Technique stat, as befitting the man with the most graceful style of Hokuto Shinken in its history, its bar is completely filled at level 50, which allows him to put any Mook into vital point shock in one hit.
73%%* {{Gorn}}: It wouldn't be ''Fist of the North Star'' without it.
74* GoryDiscretionShot: Despite the amount of Gorn and Ludicrous Gibs in the game, it is nowhere near the level that the manga had. Regular enemies just turn black and explode into blood clouds and each storyline boss finisher is slightly changed due to a combination of tech limitations and regional regulations on the depiction of blood and gore. One specific example of an altered boss finisher is that of the Colonel, who's death is just off-screen in the game, but ''very'' explicitly seen in the manga.
75* GuideDangIt: Getting all 7 stars on a mission in the first game. Some stars have some very odd conditions to be met before the GiantMook that gives you the star appears. Getting all 7 stars gives you a skill point bonus at the end of the mission on easy and normal; on hard however you get Harbinger of Death, which generally turns the mission boss in Legend Mode into ThatOneBoss.
76* TheGunslinger: Jagi's attacks primarily make use of his two {{Sawed Off Shotgun}}s as well as various explosives. In the second game, his R1 special has him firing off his shotguns rapidly while cackling.
77* HappyEndingOverride: [[spoiler:''Ken's Rage 2'' covers just about the entire series this time around, so Yuria living ever after with Kenshiro would push anything past Raoh's defeat into AlternateContinuity territory.]]
78* HideYourChildren[=/=]BeautyIsNeverTarnished: In the first game children and women were strangely absent in villages from this apocalyptic world, only Mamiya, Yuria, Rin and Airi seemed to exist in it, departing from the anime and manga where women and children villagers suffered just as much as the men; ''Ken's Rage 2'' averts this by following the source material more closely, thus having women and children going through hell as well.
79* HotterAndSexier: Mamiya was pretty modestly dressed in the original series. In the games, her outfit is pretty {{stripperiffic}} in certain areas. {{Subverted|Trope}} in the story cutscene that recreates the scene of Rei [[ClothingDamage destroying Mamiya's shirt]] and [[ShamefulStrip rendering her topless]] to make her [[DefeatByModesty unable to fight]]. Both anime and manga showed her topless, but this version the camera stays [[ShouldersUpNudity above her shoulders]] or with ToplessnessFromTheBack until she has a NakedFreakOut and [[HandOrObjectUnderwear cover herself with her hands]].
80* KillItWithFire: Jagi's Level 2 hyper signature from the first game and the last signature move he gets in the second, Wildfire.
81* LazyArtist:
82** When the second part of the story is reached in ''Ken's Rage 2'', several years have passed, and yet the game doesn't bother in making Kenshiro look years older, not even a different set of clothes, nothing changes; originally both the manga and anime made Kenshiro age a bit, especially in the anime where he underwent a complete wardrobe change. Although his appearance could be something of a happy medium, since his face resembles his post TimeSkip appearance more than his pre-time skip one.
83** In the second game's Dream Mode, certain things can be seen on the characters before they happen in the context of the story. Jagi has the Seven Scars before he inflicts them upon himself, and Mamiya's brand mark can be seen before Juda kidnaps her.
84** The sequel has LimitedAnimation to the max. Most cutscenes are still shots of the characters speaking, similar to ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}''. Noticeable in that the first game had fully rendered cutscenes for almost every mission.
85* LevelUpFillUp: Getting a level in Aura or health in ''Ken's Rage 2'' automatically refills the respective bar to full.
86* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: The sequel, which takes seconds to load ''the title screen''. Alleviated somewhat by a patch released, but still partially present.
87* LudicrousGibs: Almost always happens when someone is killed. Can always happen when equipping either the Nanto, Hokuto, or Ujouken Wisdom Skills, which cause ALL attacks to cause a specific death animation.
88%%* MakingASplash: Shachi's BattleAura gives off this vibe with his attacks.
89* MaleGaze: Done frequently and shamelessly in the first game, but downplayed somewhat in the sequel, where the only real example is the close-up of Mamiya's butt as she crawls.
90* ManlyTears:
91** Kenshiro gets misty-eyed, but he never really cries in the first game. However, Raoh and Toki let the waterworks run freely when [[spoiler:Raoh can't bring himself to kill his opponent due to their brotherhood]].
92** Played straight to hell and back in the second game, being more faithful to the source material brought gallons of tears along with it.
93* MercyKill: Darkly parodied with Thouzer's impale-you-with-a-great-big-spear signature move, Imperial Mercy. Fans of the manga will recognize it as [[spoiler:how he killed Shew]].
94* MoreDakka: Jagi's Shotguns are capable of putting out more buckshot than some fully auto shotguns.
95* MsFanservice: Mamiya gets assigned for this position. Not only does her early promotional CGI art have a daring see-through skirt with a thong underneath, but her classic alternate outfit has extreme clothing damage. Whereas for the guys it's just disintegrated shirts, Mamiya's is large portions of the whole outfit, and ends when she's basically half-naked.
96* ModestyTowel: has a Modesty Towel as a costume option for Mamiya. It's [[ImpossiblyLowNeckline cut impossibly low, but it stays glued to her no matter how much damage she takes.]]
97* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
98** Kaioh's title, Crazed Demonic Fiend.
99** One of Kenshiro's ultimate attacks is called Hokuto Tenkai Senretsu Sho, or "Hokuto Dubhe Shattering Palm." Given that "Dubhe" is a star in the Big Dipper, this could be seen as a BadassBoast attack name.
100%%* TheNarrator: Creator/NorioWakamoto.
101* NukeEm: Jagi's Level 3 Hyper Signature, Nuclear Inferno.
102* RapidFireFisticuffs:
103** Many attacks, but most notably the ''Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken''.
104** Averted with the ''Hokuto Ujou Mosho Ha'' (where it's a series of spinning high kicks followed by a giant uppercut that sends out an energy wave), except for the cutscene of Thouzer's defeat.
105* SelfImposedChallenge: Trying to get all of the stars to appear in the first game unlocks a lot of rewards as you go, and powers up Ken tremendously, but when you hit seven stars, the final boss will also become much harder, and the QTE to defeat him really does require a hundred button presses with no mistakes! Casual players probably want to avoid this.
106* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Mamiya is once again the sole playable female. The sequel adds Rin, seemingly in an attempt to avert this.
107* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: Yuria in the first game. Her radiation sickness is not mentioned, so once Raoh dies after healing her, she and Kenshiro get to live HappilyEverAfter. Since the second game covers just about the whole manga, well...]]
108* SpellMyNameWithAnS: A number of characters are given alternative spellings than what previous games used (e.g. Rin is Lin, Thouzer is Souther, etc.).
109* ShoutOut: In the first game, one of Jagi's taunts has him say "[[Film/ArmyOfDarkness Listen up, you primitive screwheads!]] You're gonna eat lead!".
110* TenMinuteRetirement: [[spoiler: In his Dream Mode in the first game, Kenshiro plans to retire after Toki is rejuvenated and capable of serving as successor to Hokuto Shin Ken. Marauding bandits ultimately force his hand.]]
111* TooLongDidntDub: The move names are said exactly like an English person speaking the Japanese phrase, rather than speaking the translated text.
112* WalkingArmory: Jagi not only carries two shotguns and a bazooka, but can also pull out {{Cartoon Bomb}}s as well as an [=M204=] that fires what are apparently ''mini nukes''.
113* WhatIf: The premise of the Dream Mode in the first game is that each character is given a vision where they avoid doing something, and the outcome of it, after the whole Hokuto vs. Nanto conflict.
114* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds:
115** Like in his own spinoff story, Jagi is portrayed as a very sympathetic character in the second game's Dream Mode. At first, anyway; he still is a {{Jerkass}} (but to a lesser degree than he was in the series), and his ending implies that [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil he raped Airi]].
116** Rei also becomes one in ''Shin Hokuto Musou'''s Dream Mode, showing how he progressively turned his back on his principles after Airi was kidnapped. It's different from most examples in that he turns into more of an AntiHero of the [[UnscrupulousHero unscrupulous]] variety than a villain.
117* AWorldHalfFull: Despite the world being a barren wasteland where the strong prey on the weak, there are dozens of people in the world who are willing to fight for a better future (including ''[[BigBad Raoh]]''). Also in ''Ken's Rage 2'', in some stages you can see grass and trees growing, showing that despite being scorched by nuclear fire the world is slowly but surely recovering.
118* WrestlerInAllOfUs:
119** Han's throw is a German Suplex.
120** Jagi has a powerbomb as a command grab as well as a German suplex as his GrappleMove.
121* {{Xenafication}}: Mamiya gets a hefty dose. In the original manga, she's little more than TheLoad, and only fails to qualify as a FauxActionGirl because the rest of the cast don't expect anything from her either. In this game, she's just as much of an OneWomanArmy as you'd expect from a playable character in a ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' spin-off.
122** Rin is no slouch in this department in the sequel either. However, unlike Mamiya, she can pick up a makeshift ''mallet''.
123* YouALLLookFamiliar: If you're not a playable main character, a main villain, or a supporting role that was named in the manga, chances your face is going to be plastered in every single villager, {{mook|s}} or a combination of the two.
124** A moment from Jagi's Dream Mode in the first game hangs a lampshade on the fact all the mooks look similar.
125--->'''Jagi:''' ''Wait a minute... Didn't I just kill you? What are you, invincible?''\
126'''Amiba:''' ''[[HandWave Take it easy, man. She's a look-alike. You let yourself panic and Zeed'll take advantage.]]''
127* YouCantFightFate: The "Dream Mode" of the first game plays with this with a series of "what if" scenarios. But at the end of all of them, they turn out to literally be dreams and the character goes on to meet their intended destiny regardless of whether their life may have been better or worse for it.
128** With the somewhat tragicomic exception of Jagi--he actually takes the dream to heart, and is packing his things to get the fuck out of Dodge so that he avoids Kenshiro when one of his mooks tells him that Kenshiro is in the building.
129** A few Dream modes avert this, such as Rei's. He had the choice to go get Shew to help him fight Raoh. [[spoiler:However, after watching his story unfold he decides that he can't put the lives of the others at risk just to prolong his own life. Over the course of his Dream Mode path, Shew gets killed, Airi gets taken hostage by Juda and Thouzer and Mamiya almost get executed for trying to stand up against the Nanto Army, only being saved by Rei in the last chapter.]] Because of all the bad things that came with Rei's alternate decision, he decides to go face Raoh alone.

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