Fist of the North Star (arcade)

This FAQ covers Hokuto No Ken. HOKUTO NO KEN is a 2D Fighting game adapted from the eponym anime/manga from the 1980s. The game was developed by Arc System Works and published by SEGA, and released on Sammy's Atomiswave arcade board in December 2005. The Playstation 2 version of the game was published on March 29, 2007.
All the following content concerns the Arcade version of the game but also works on the PlayStation 2 version of the game, the stuff that is only working on Arcade will be announced with an [ARCADE] tag next to it. This guide is translated & adapted from my original FAQ in French posted on the Console-League forum.

Generic FAQ

Notations

http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/bouton_A.png - Weak Punch
http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/bouton_B.png - Weak Kick
http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/bouton_C.png - Fierce Punch
http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/bouton_D.png - Fierce Kick
http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/bouton_E.png - Boost

Screen HUD

http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/Ecran_Jeu.jpg

There's lot of stuff displayed on screen, so let's go deeper to understand what does what.

Aura bar

http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/Bouton_Aura.jpg Your regular super meter found in every 2D fighting game nowadays.
There are two levels : first one is blue, second one is yellow. Once you reach a level, the words "God Fist Blow" appear next to the bar. As you may have guessed, the main use of aura is to perform supers, but it has other uses you will find later in the FAQ and is also used by few character-specific moves.

Boost bar

http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/Bouton_Boost.jpg The (long) Boost bar. This bar is linked to the http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/bouton_E.png button and has 3 levels : purple, yellow and green. Using Boost results in making the character perform a fast dash towards him ; that dash is cancelable with any move.
The main use of the Boost is to link or cancel moves you cannot normally cancel, resulting in a wide variety of pokes and combos. Bar fills as you hit opponent or get hit, just like Aura. Notice that when you deplete a boost stock, you will have to wait few seconds before you can stock boost again in the bar (same goes for Aura).

Hokutosei (Great Dipper) Bar

http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/Bouton_Hokuto.jpg

Guard Bar

http://orochikof97.free.fr/images/Bouton_Garde.jpg

Advanced system features

Jump Install (star removal)

The Jump Install "feature" originally comes from the Guilty Gear series developed by ARC System Works. By cancelling the jump start animation, it basically allows you to perform an extra jump where you couldn't do so. This is extremely used in GG but is rather different in Hokuto No Ken. The Jump Install feature of HNK only allows you to remove an extra star on moves that originally don't remove a star. The best example of it would be Thouther's Spear Toss move (623A or C). If you perform it in a regular combo starting from a Grave Shoot, you won't remove a star, but if you Jump Install the move by performing 62369A/C (i.e by performing a Tiger Knee motion), the game will register it as an air move done on ground and a star will disappear.

Sample video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp3cSEhhVuQ

Hit Stop Cancel

The Hit Stop Cancel feature of HNK relies on both Boost & Aura gauge. You can instantly cancel the hit pausetime of a basic move into a super move by pressing both the button required by the super move and the boost button, provided that you have boost & aura in the respective gauges. Most seen examples of HSC are Toki's 2D cancel into 236236C and Raoh's 2C cancel into 214214A, giving the feeling of accelerated super moves.

Samples without HSC : Samples with HSC :