14. Kung Fu Master
After those last few reviews, I told myself I wouldn't go back to writing about games again so soon. Why restrict myself to waving my joystick around wildly? The Commodore software library has so much more to offer!
On the other hand, I sure could write a few paragraphs about Berkeley Softworks' conversion of the Data East side-scrolling beat 'em up Kung Fu Master.
I was never really a big fan of the arcade original, but Kung Fu Master's NES port (the more concisely-named Kung Fu) is one of my favorite 8-bit ports, period. I've played it a lot. I speed-run it from time to time. Sometimes I beat it just for fun. It's really good, that's what I'm trying to say.
While the C64 version of Kung Fu Master does have its bright spots (and controls more smoothly than the arcade version in my opinion), it's lacking in a few areas that make it a serious contender vs. Nintendo's black-belt conversion.
The game comes in cartridge, cassette, and disk forms, with the disk being multi-format. I played a "patched" disk copy that included a level-select option. The box art for all physical versions, while unique to each format, is nothing to write home about in any respect.
At first glance, the shows great potential with the same increased speed found in the NES version, good (if not NES-perfect or anywhere-near-arcade-perfect) graphics, and music roughly on par with the NES version (it's maybe a little more harsh in general, but the harmonic and melodic content is all there, and the noise generator of the SID chip makes for a nice snappy snare sound). There's no slowdown in sight, and all the baddies and gameplay elements you'd expect of the original are there.
Digging deeper into the gameplay, a number of mechanical differences quickly become apparent. The controls, while mostly loose and responsive, aren't perfect, and reacting to a large number of enemies coming at you from multiple directions feels even more difficult than normal. Hitboxes seem to be a little tighter, and it's no longer possible to spam kicks toward rushing enemies - they frequently seem to slip through despite all efforts.
With the C64 being limited to a one-button joystick in the vast majority of cases, it's also difficult to toggle between punching and kicking using the space bar (maybe I can mash it with my elbow)?
The balance of the levels themselves have also changed slightly. While the first level is almost identical to the NES version, the second is overly easy. The falling pots are larger and move very slowly (you're mostly able to cruise-control through this section completely with the exception of maybe a single jump to evade a snake), and the boss's boomerang attack is easily dodged and presents the player with no real challenge.
Things start to go a little haywire on the third floor. Dwarf enemies do a little more damage than expected with their cannonball-on-your-head routine, and the knife-throwers (an occasionally tricky foe at the best of times) feel a little more erratic with the C64's smaller playfield and their comparatively faster-moving projectile. From here, it unfortunately gets much worse. The boss is massively overpowered to the point where a single kick takes about 90% of your health bar, meaning you'll have to run a perfect stage in order to avoid being one-shotted. Most frustratingly, that kick will hit you nearly every single time no matter how quickly you hammer the fire button. And therein lies the strategy - you walk up to him, you kick as fast as humanly possible, you hope he drops before you do. It's a war of attrition around these parts.
The bees in level four are also a little more difficult than I'd expected, and they seem to have comparatively-tightened hitboxes that make running for one's life a more effective strategy than stopping and fighting (hey, just like real life!) The old trick about needing punches to beat the boss still applies.
The final stage is as non-descript as stages one and three, though the final boss now seems to be Bruce Lee. Also, he seems to be kind of short. Also, he's way, way more difficult to defeat. Enjoy spamming that kick button once again - maybe we can file a retroactive class-action lawsuit against Data East for the severe cases of carpal-tunnel syndrome afflicted upon the entirety of this game's playerbase.
Still, overall: I had fun. Decades later, this remains the nicest 8-bit Kung Fu Master port on any computer or console not ending in "-intendo" and outright mops the floor with many of its competitors of the time. I'd file it firmly into the "You never regretted spending the money on this one back in 1984" category given the game's engaging action, challenge, and replay value - even in spite of the few added flaws that keep it from reaching the upper tier of classic computer games.
If you enjoy Kung Fu Master as much as I do and want to try beating my high score, check out our High Scores page and submit a screenshot to earn your spot in Hank's hall of fame!
This site is copyright 2023 Hank Wesley Chorkin. If you don't like it, you can get out!
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