Last Battle was a unique entry for the Sega Genesis at launch. Sega wanted more titles available to compete with the looming Turbo Grafx-16 launch. Competing with the Nintendo Entertainment System was a concern as well. Sega would not license Hokuto no Ken. Instead they edited some of the in game graphics to make a more generic action game they called Last Battle. This formula should work, right? This was not the first Hokuto no Ken title they edited before release. Black Belt for the Master System was the other. Sadly, Last Battle was just TOO generic in every sense of the word. Maybe had they used the Fist of the North Star license it would have fared better.

A brawler at heart

Last Battle is another brawler type game, similar to Altered Beast. You know, the first pack in title for the Sega Genesis. Gameplay is limited to one plain of gameplay here. You can move around some buildings by dropping through holes in the floor. This allows you to reach new areas or avoid enemies/obstacles. The story makes no sense whatsoever since Sega changed quite a bit to avoid problems with the license.

Sega was not so different from Nintendo

Self censoring also hit Last Battle in the on screen stuff. Some enemies were recolored to appear more like mutants and “death” animations were nearly completely removed. This is ironic considering Sega was marketing the Genesis as the console that is “not Nintendo”. Yet they employed very Nintendo-esque censoring. Sega did leave in text that Nintendo would have probably dropped. Such as characters using the word “die” quite a bit in conversation. Not in a “fun” way either but rather referencing their own mortality.

Last Battle did things BIG

Areas that Sega did run wild with Last Battle include on screen obstacles and enemies. There are a few areas in the game that have tons of flying objects. Knives, battle axes, arrows, swords, etc. coming at you from both sides of the screen regularly. Spikes and/or flames appear from the ceiling and floor respectively as well. Also, the size of the characters is quite a bit bigger than what the Nintendo NES could ever handle. There are plenty of them on screen in many places too.

Levels are quite linear in Last Battle. You have some control over which ones to conquer though. There is an overworld map that gives the illusion of choice. Similar to Super Mario 3 and and Super Mario World. You still have to get to the boss and you need to fight to power up. The order you complete the levels is somewhat up to you.

Last Battle was so close

Last Battle quite a bit going against it to make it a worthy addition. Even in the early days of the system. It did not help that Sega censored the hell out of it either. Dropping the anime license may or may not have been smart. North America in the late 1980’s was still discovering anime. Who knows, had they kept it, it may have opened up the Sega Genesis to more potential gamers.

From what we know, Last Battle never got a re-release or return of the license. Maybe some hackers could remedy that? If you want a copy of Last Battle to add to your collection hit the links below:

Amazon
eBay

Carl Williams

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