Black Belt
System: SMS
Release Date: November 1986
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Beat ‘em Up
Black Belt is the localized version of Hokuto No Ken, or Fist of the North Star. It’s definitely an enjoyable beat ‘em up. You are Riki, and your beautiful girlfriend, Kyoko, has been kidnapped by the evil Wang, and it’s up to you to save her. You must travel through five levels of an unending supply of goons, then defeat their boss at the end of the level. Remember my unmitigated hate for My Hero? This game is so much better, it’s ridiculous. First, Riki has a life bar, meaning he doesn’t die from one hit. Two, there are life restoring (and limited invincibility) items that you can consume. And C, mid-bosses and level-bosses actually have some AI. Also, you can kill everything, there aren’t invincible pigs and cheap one hit deaths. If you get hit, it’s because you made a mistake.
Riki punches with the 1 button and kicks with the 2 button. He can also jump and do a jump kick, crouch down to sweep, and do a super jump by pressing down before up to jump. Learning the appropriate times for each technique is essential to winning the game. The levels are short and sweet, allowing you to get through them in a minute or two. Getting to the end of the stage gets you to the boss battle. This is the real meat of the game.
You have to learn the boss’s tactics and figure out when they are vulnerable. This can be difficult at first, if you think you can just rush in and just spam attacks. However, once you get defeated a couple times, you learn to slow down and pick your spots. The only boss that you can just bum rush is the boss of level two, who tends to get stunlocked in the corner, allowing you to punch him to oblivion. Each boss must be hit with a specific attack in order to defeat them.
The first boss, Ryu, is susceptible to jump kicks and needs to be punched in the face when his health is low. The second boss, Hawk, is the easiest to defeat, I typically stuck with punches until he died. The third boss, Gonta, charges if you’re too far away and jumps at you if you’re too close. You have to find the right range in order to jump kick his health away and then finish him with palm strikes. The fourth boss, Oni, was the toughest for me to find a pattern to kill him, as he would dodge and counter every attack. I settled with waiting for him to throw a punch and then counter with one of my own. The fifth boss, Rita, must be hit with certain attacks in a specific order, then finished off with a jump kick as she is trying to hit you with one of her own. The final boss, Wang, was very difficult, until I realized punching him in the legs as he jumped was the best way to stop him from countering. Getting the last punch in on him could be difficult if your health was low.
After you defeat Wang, you rescue Kyoko and have saved the day. However, if you hold the 1 and 2 buttons and repeatedly tap up, you are taken to Chapter 7, which is a boss rush. You have to take out all six bosses with one bar of life that doesn’t replenish. This is certainly doable, but easier if you avoid damage in the early fights (obviously). Defeating the boss rush wins you the game for good.
Graphics: 2.5
The main level has very small sprites, but the boss battles have bigger, better sprites on tap.
Sound: 2.0
The music was fine and the sound effects were satisfying.
Gameplay: 2.5
Punch, kick, and jump kick your way to victory. Simple to learn.
Difficulty: 3.0
There is a progression to difficulty and a pattern to the bosses. Learning what attack defeats the bosses is trial and error.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I had fun with this one and was determined to beat it all the way, even if I had to use the rewind function in Chapter 7.
Overall Grade: 2.6
Black Belt earns a B-. Definitely one of the better games on the Master System so far.