Kung-Fu Master (Arcade) (feat. Jordan) - Let's Play 1001 Games - Episode 845
0💥 Fan of the channel? Help support the series ► https://www.patreon.com/GamingJay1001\n💥 Follow me on Twitter ► https://twitter.com/GamingJay1001\n💥 Check out the website ► http://letsplay1001.com/\n💥 Check out the book ► http://www.amazon.com/1001-Video-Games-Must-Before/dp/0789320908\n\nI'm Gaming Jay: Youtube gamer, let's player, fan of retro games, and determined optimist... Join me in this series while I try out EACH of the video games in the book 1001 VIDEO GAMES YOU MUST PLAY BEFORE YOU DIE, before I die. The game review for each game will focus on the question of whether you MUST play this game before you die. But to be honest, the game review parts are just for fun, and are not meant to be definitive, in depth reviews; this series is more about the YouTube gamer journey itself. From Mario games to the Halo series, from arcade games to Commodore 64, PC games to the NES and Sega Genesis, Playstation to the Xbox, let's play those classic retro games that we grew up with, have fond memories of, or heard of but never got a chance to try! And with that said, the game review for today is...
Kung-Fu Master
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung-Fu_Master_(video_game)
Kung-Fu Master, known as Spartan X[a] in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game developed by Irem as an arcade game in 1984, and distributed by Data East in North America. Designed by Takashi Nishiyama, the game was based on Hong Kong martial arts films. It is a sequel to the Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung film Wheels on Meals (1984), called Spartan X in Japan, with the protagonist Thomas named after Jackie Chan's character in the film. The game is also heavily inspired by the Bruce Lee film Game of Death (1972), which was the basis for the game's concept. Nishiyama, who had previously designed the side-scrolling shooter Moon Patrol (1982), combined fighting elements with a shoot 'em up gameplay rhythm. Irem and Data East exported the game to the West without the Spartan X license.
The player controls Thomas, the titular Kung-Fu Master, as he fights his way through the five levels of the Devil's Temple to rescue his girlfriend Sylvia from the crime boss Mr. X. As he ascends the tower, he has to fight many enemies along the way and five end-of-level boss battles, a concept inspired by Game of Death. Thomas and each boss have a health meter, and the game temporarily becomes a one-on-one fighting game during boss battles.
The game was a major commercial success, topping the Japanese arcade charts and becoming America's second highest-grossing arcade game of 1985, while receiving critical acclaim for its fast-paced, side-scrolling gameplay and detailed, colorful graphics. A port for the Nintendo Entertainment System (known as the Famicom in Japan) was developed by Nintendo under the direction of Shigeru Miyamoto, released as Spartan X in Japan and Kung-Fu in the West, selling 3.5 million copies worldwide. It was also one of the top five best-selling Commodore 64 games of 1986. It spawned the sequel Spartan X 2 (1991) and the spiritual successors Trojan (1986) and Vigilante (1988).
Kung-Fu Master was an influential game that had a significant cultural impact. It is regarded as the first beat 'em up brawler, and an early example of the side-scrolling character action game genre, which became popular during the mid-to-late 1980s. Miyamoto's work on the NES port inspired his development of the side-scrolling platform game Super Mario Bros. (1985), while Nishiyama was hired by Capcom where he used the game's boss battles as the basis for the fighting game Street Fighter (1987), before working for SNK on fighting games such as Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters. Kung-Fu Master also influenced other media, such as the Red Ribbon Army saga (1985-1986) of the manga and anime series Dragon Ball, as well as the French film Kung Fu Master (1988).
The game was designed for Irem by Takashi Nishiyama.[13][15][18] Kung-Fu Master is based on Hong Kong martial arts films. It is a loose adaptation of the Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung film Wheels on Meals (1984), called Spartan X in Japan, specifically the final part of the film which involves Thomas (Jackie Chan) climbing a Spanish castle to rescue Sylvia (Lola Forner), with the help of Moby (Sammo Hung) and his cousin David (Yuen Biao).[19][17] The game also borrows heavily from Bruce Lee's 1972 film Game of Death, with the five-level Devil's Temple reflecting the movie's setting of a five-level pagoda with a martial arts master in each level; in contrast, Wheels on Meals takes place in Spain as opposed to the game's East Asian setting.[20] The final part of Wheels on Meals had itself borrowed its concept of climbing an enemy base by fighting enemies along the way from Game of Death.[19] The game was also influenced by the Bruce Lee film Enter the Dragon (1973).[17]