The overwhelming consensus of the small sample size that have played this game is that it's shite, so I decided to give it a try just for laughs and it's...fine. Aggressively, relentlessly, violently Fine with a capital 'F', but fine.
The negatives are obvious - Kenshiro moon-jumps higher than early 3D fighting game characters, hitboxes are kind of weird, and the whole thing is really barebones to the point that it's possible to finish the whole game in less than the runtime of an episode of the anime.
Then again, it's a licensed game that unlike its contemporaries captures the heart of the source material: being a buff martial artist that causes people to explode by punching them. There are recognizable characters from the anime, Kenshiro hulks out and breaks his shirt after collecting enough powerups, and enemies' death animation (squirming and exploding) is about as detailed as can be expected. I also like that the game did enough to distinguish punches and kicks: kicks have longer range but send your enemies careening away sky-high so you're better off punching them to death and collecting the powerups they sometimes drop. (Or you can just literally jump over everything but that's neither here nor there) The finicky hitboxes actually (partly inadvertently I'm sure) lead to a semblance of technique and strategy in boss fights - there's a sweet spot where your short range punch can hit them but they punch through you and do no damage because their hitbox ends up behind you. So you end up moonjumping into that super-short-range sweet spot and unload some punches into him before retreating, like a postapocalyptic Mike Tyson pressing into a taller opponent's chest.
Look, it's a barebones low-effort mess, but it's kinda fun in its own way and sustains interest through its short runtime. I promise this is me being as objective as possible and has nothing to do with my screaming ATATATATA at the top of my lungs while I played.
The negatives are obvious - Kenshiro moon-jumps higher than early 3D fighting game characters, hitboxes are kind of weird, and the whole thing is really barebones to the point that it's possible to finish the whole game in less than the runtime of an episode of the anime.
Then again, it's a licensed game that unlike its contemporaries captures the heart of the source material: being a buff martial artist that causes people to explode by punching them. There are recognizable characters from the anime, Kenshiro hulks out and breaks his shirt after collecting enough powerups, and enemies' death animation (squirming and exploding) is about as detailed as can be expected. I also like that the game did enough to distinguish punches and kicks: kicks have longer range but send your enemies careening away sky-high so you're better off punching them to death and collecting the powerups they sometimes drop. (Or you can just literally jump over everything but that's neither here nor there) The finicky hitboxes actually (partly inadvertently I'm sure) lead to a semblance of technique and strategy in boss fights - there's a sweet spot where your short range punch can hit them but they punch through you and do no damage because their hitbox ends up behind you. So you end up moonjumping into that super-short-range sweet spot and unload some punches into him before retreating, like a postapocalyptic Mike Tyson pressing into a taller opponent's chest.
Look, it's a barebones low-effort mess, but it's kinda fun in its own way and sustains interest through its short runtime. I promise this is me being as objective as possible and has nothing to do with my screaming ATATATATA at the top of my lungs while I played.