Kung-Fu Master (video game)

Kung-Fu Master, known as Spartan X (スパルタンX, Suparutan X) in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed by Irem and released in arcades in 1984. Considered one of the foundational games of the beat 'em up genre, it established many of the conventions that would become staples of the genre.

The game follows Thomas, a martial artist (in the Japanese version, a direct stand-in for Jackie Chan due to its licensing), as he fights through five floors of increasingly difficult enemies to rescue his girlfriend, Sylvia. The gameplay is relatively simple, involving punching and kicking enemies as they approach from both sides of the screen.

Each floor culminates in a boss fight. These bosses each have unique attack patterns and require different strategies to defeat. Enemies encountered throughout the game include standard foot soldiers armed with melee weapons, knife-throwing assailants, and characters with supernatural abilities such as spitting fire or grabbing Thomas from above.

The game's controls are limited to movement (left, right, up, and down) and two attack buttons: punch and kick. Combining directional input with the attack buttons allows Thomas to perform a variety of moves, such as jumping kicks and punches.

Kung-Fu Master was a commercial success, spawning ports to numerous home consoles and computers, including the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari 2600, and Commodore 64. While the ports often differed in their graphics, sound, and gameplay mechanics due to hardware limitations, the core premise of rescuing Sylvia remained consistent. The NES version is particularly well-known and contributed significantly to the game's enduring popularity.

The game's influence can be seen in subsequent beat 'em ups such as Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, and Final Fight. Its simple controls, repetitive gameplay loop, and focus on melee combat established a template that many later games would follow and expand upon.