Action/Platformer
October 1985 (Nintendo)
Remember that the goal here is to play the games today, not as they were when they were released. For the most part I can do that. But I have to admit that Kung Fu was a bit tricky.
First off, the game isn’t amazing by any stretch of the imagination. It’s pretty much your standard side scrolling beat ‘em up game. You earn different amounts of points depending on if you kick or punch the enemies.
Some enemies are coming at you with weapons. Obviously they’re scared of you and the rage you’re in since you have to save your woman. Some enemies come at you in groups. In that respect, this game is pretty well named because it follows my theory of kung fu movie fighting: the hero will be approached by a group of villains who will all think they’re capable of taking his as an individual1.
It’s repetitive. The bosses aren’t all that difficult. Really, there’s no logical reason why I should like it.
But I do. It might be the two difficulty levels. It might be that I tend to gravitate toward it when something is getting under my skin. But whatever it is, I just think that Kung Fu is worth playing.
- I’ve never understood how they decided on the order of attacking either. Is it Star Trek style and the weak go first so they wear down for the strong? Do you go high to low in rank so there’s no chance of the weak getting credit for the kill? [↩]
