i had it. it actually plays well although the idea felt silly to me. i had that game when i was in 3rd grade and remember thinking i’d rather be playing basketball with Jordan and the bulls than this. looking back though, it actually was a well made game,
Honestly I didn't realize that game existed. (I got it confused with Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden) Looks like Amy Hennig (Uncharted) was the designer. That's a wild journey as a dev.
I have always been a big fan of this game since I first rented it. The animation is incredible, the colors beautiful. It really is not as bad as people would have you believe. Great video...
kudos to you for actually reviewing this like an actual review and not just going on some AVGN style overexaggerated rant about how much it sucks. it really is not *that* bad, and you can tell who has played some of those more dire SF clones from this time period and who has it.
But there aren't that many terrible games on Super Nintendo, so it may still be up there among the worst of them. This has got to be in the top four worst fighting games for the system, right?
tifforo1 the SNES has some timeless classics, but there are games that were always awful and then there games that just aged horribly. Like every single FX chip game.
Actually, his rap albums weren’t too bad. They had some seriously talented rappers that made appearances, and both albums sold reasonably well. Not sure who thought they were a joke. While they aren’t classic albums, they’re fine. Also given that Shaq was THE most recognizable sports figure aside from MJ, I’d say the marketing worked.
I've actually played this a long time ago, and my opinion is pretty close to yours, I've never understood the bile thrown at this game, and I personally enjoy the absurd camp of the story mode. Also, can I just say how great the character animations look in this game? It's no surprise that the Flashback/Another World team worked on this
i've always thought this game always got unfair treatment just to feed some meme. i understand ppl this game isn't great but to be honest this game is a whole better than other fighting games like Rise of the Robots, which no one seems to mention much
Nice to see an actual balanced, thoughtful review of this for once, I'd like to see similar truly fair reviews of all kinds of overly hated-on games, even if it's unlikely I'll end up being convinced to actually play any of them. Also, wasn't there another Shaq game on SNES too? Chaos in the Windy City or whatever?
I'd love to see someone out there take the bizarre setting and characters and surprisingly decent spritework and make an alternate universe Shaq Fu that was a beat-em up instead of a broken fighting game. A basic beatem up with mooks and unlocking the weirdas fuck characters as you progress could be kinda great. Like the D&D Mystara games, but Shaq.
"There's even a website dedicated to destroying all copies. Not sure what that's gonna accomplish." Lol, it makes my copy more valuable, that's what it accomplishes.
I kinda have a soft spot for Rise of the Robots. Lets call it a "Guilty Pleasure". I always liked how the robots looked. Im a sucker for Robot fighting games. If you dont mind me making a suggestion, Id love to see you do an episode on unconventional SNES games/genres. Games like Metal Marines, or King Arthurs World. Games that are more akin to something you would see on the PC. Great video as always
Zack Schilling I had rise of the robots as a kid. I think I got it for cheap at funcoland (at least I hope I did). I feel kind of the same way as you, it looked cool but it was pretty horrid to play.
It's also obvious that it's basically an unreleased game that they basically added the Shaq character to at the end. Which is why he doesn't seem fit in.
part of me wants to see the console Wars to Tackle this game, but honestly I want them to do a regular best episode instead of a worst episode because you are right. This game is not good, but it's not THAT bad either.
The big problem is that Electronic Arts made a game company known for great animation but NOT known for fighting games design this. Delphine's strengths shine through in this release, but their complete lack of experience in the genre is just as obvious. Also, because it's a 16-bit game, those well animated characters are super tiny. Maybe it could have worked on the Saturn or Playstation, who knows. ...wait, did you say Shaq Fu had finishing moves?!
You honestly have to admire how much they tried with the sprite art, if nothing else. Think about it, a corporation told these people that they had to make a cheap cash-in Shaq fighting game. For all-intensive purposes, they could have just done the bare minimum and called it a day, but they instead decided to go above and beyond to try to create a cast of fighters that are at least varied and appeasing. Would you have tried as hard as they did if you had to work on a Shaq fighting game? I know I wouldn't have.
When I was a kid I had no idea who Shaq was, but I absolutely loved the characters and the music. Oh the music... The game itself wasn't my favourite, as I also had Mortal Kombat II.
Played a lot of Shaq-fu when I was a kid and it felt no more out of place than watching SpaceJam or Roger Rabbit. The 90s was pretty much filled with Isseaki but with a famous person instead of a nerdy guy
I remember liking pit fighter as a kid. The animation on shaq fu looks buttery smooth. Thankfully I own it on genesis so I have access to all the fighters because 7 is pretty bad. I will have to give this game another go sometime. Any in remember the game Hey Punk Are You Tuff Enough? I'm pretty sure that's how it's spelled. Another fighter of questionable quality.
I can see the Flashback influencs in the way the sprites animate...it's pretty smooth looking, but it looks like one of those "games" a character plays in a fictional story...
As I have never played Shaq Fu, I can definitely say that no, it is not worth playing. I know this because the internet told me this for many years now.
i couldnt even beat the first opponent i thought it was impossible, but i guess i just suck at "basketball star's non-basketball game that was accidentally released" fighting games
This is how you differentiate the people who think they know something about videogames and people who know videogames. I agree with your comments on this game. The guys who did the game were not happy with it. It was a commission and they were the first one not happy with many choices they had to make. They were not happy with making a street fighter 2 clone. They were not happy with the cartridges’ price Nintendo was asking for extra space so they removed characters in the SNES version to send a big FU to Nintendo…
I actually never realized until today that Shaq-Fu is a one-on-one fighting game, because I completely avoided the game just on the assumption that it would be total garbage and because I really didn't care about Shaq at all and had heard back then that his album was garbage (which makes total sense). In all fairness, it was pretty easy to assume everything he touched was crap, and hey, these things were at least 50 bucks back then, and I was a kid who didn't have a whole lot of money, so I had to be very selective. I thought it was a platformer ala Aladdin.
I always figured the hate train against Shaq Fu was a little overdone. I've beaten the game after renting it. It's nowhere near as horrible as some of the things we've seen, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll have a good time since the control is very deliberate and I couldn't figure out specialty moves at all.
Oh, great. Now I have the sudden urge to get a copy for my retro game collection if someone has been able to point out some good things about it, even if they are rather small. XD
Hell, I can name three fighters for the Genesis that were worse than Shaq-Fu... 3. Ballz 2. Heavy Nova 1. Batman Forever (it used the Mortal Kombat engine, so it counts)
You know what would've probably made Shaq Fu more palatable? Having more known characters. Don't just put Shaq in there. Bring Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman, Patrick Ewing... just whoever else was a big name in the NBA at the time... have them all duke it out. As for the plot, have it be something like King Arthur and the Knights of Justice crossed with Wu Tang: Shaolin Style... only 2D since SNES.
Street Fighter the Movie on the PS 1? I enjoyed it alot but i guess thats because on the PS 1 you had like movie clips of the Movie and what not which made it feel better graphic wise.
Most people complain about how the controls are shit. But are they, or are they just not Street Fighter 2? SF2 was so ubiquitous with fighting games that I think people expect those controls to be standard without realizing thats a Capcom thing
I see. I guess I meant are the combos different, people seem to play all SNES fighting games and expect down-forward punch to do a special move, if you understand what I mean
You non-Los Angelinos don't know what it was like being a Lakers fan during the mid to late 90s! OF COURSE WE KNEW SHAQ WAS AN IDIOT! HE WAS A GIANT DRIVING A MODIFIED Mazda MIATA! But we had to keep him happy! So we bought his rap CDs, saw his movies, and played his games. What choice did we have!
Amazing content man. Just gotta be real though, Shaq is probably one of the greatest 'Ball Players' to do both hip hop and sports. Im saying 'Ball Player' of all time not 'Emcee'. Haha
I actually had a bit of fun playing Shaq Fu when I rented it in the 90s. Was a pretty tough fighting game, but definitely isn't the worst one I've ever played
I remember getting this game as a kid 😖☹️ It was horrible, graphics were great, but we're talking about the 90's where I think some game developers thought graphics really mattered, more than gameplay. An as you can see the developers here seemed to spend more time on the graphics than the gameplay.
i remember owning this game as a kid and beating it and liking it. I too agree I dont know what the hate was all about. I agree it isn't the greatest fighting game but it's not a bad one.
This is a bit inaccurate. The SNES version received overall decent reviews. As a side note, his Rap album received critical acclaim and went platinum. Just saying, people have spotty memories when it comes to how popular Shaq was.
Absolutely one of the worst control configurations for a game that I have ever played. His movies were not that terrible as you so put it. I still enjoy Kazaam and Steel movies to this day!
His rap album was decent especially compared to some current shit! The screen movement and frame rate were oddly better than many contemporaries! The game designer explains a lot of its strengths and character designs.
Got this game from a thrift store as a kid and I thought the gameplay was awful and stiff. I didn't really like this game. I rather play something like Killer Instinct. One of the things I did like was the music and I thought that voodoo lady was pretty hot though lol
Shaq-fu should have been a beat em up. It would have gotten a lot less crap over the years. Also' his album over all isn't that good but the song "I Got Skillz" was great.
"Go play Shaq-Fu; it's better than Pit Fighter" - SNES drunk, 2016
Game: 3/10 Analysis: 10/10
when they destroy all the copies of Shaq fu they can find I will own the only copy.
No one talks about Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. It's a pretty good game with an interesting set of mechanics.
Damn! I've forgotten all about that game.
I honestly never heard of that one before now.
i had it. it actually plays well although the idea felt silly to me. i had that game when i was in 3rd grade and remember thinking i’d rather be playing basketball with Jordan and the bulls than this. looking back though, it actually was a well made game,
Honestly I didn't realize that game existed. (I got it confused with Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden)
Looks like Amy Hennig (Uncharted) was the designer. That's a wild journey as a dev.
Man I hated that game
I have always been a big fan of this game since I first rented it. The animation is incredible, the colors beautiful. It really is not as bad as people would have you believe. Great video...
"It's uh... better than Pit Fighter."
kudos to you for actually reviewing this like an actual review and not just going on some AVGN style overexaggerated rant about how much it sucks. it really is not *that* bad, and you can tell who has played some of those more dire SF clones from this time period and who has it.
*hasn't
lol
But there aren't that many terrible games on Super Nintendo, so it may still be up there among the worst of them. This has got to be in the top four worst fighting games for the system, right?
tifforo1 the SNES has some timeless classics, but there are games that were always awful and then there games that just aged horribly. Like every single FX chip game.
@@sloppynyuszi yoshi island
Did you forget it used the fx chip
Oh god, the ads for Shaq Fu, it's been years and they still haunt me. They were everywhere.
Actually, his rap albums weren’t too bad. They had some seriously talented rappers that made appearances, and both albums sold reasonably well. Not sure who thought they were a joke. While they aren’t classic albums, they’re fine. Also given that Shaq was THE most recognizable sports figure aside from MJ, I’d say the marketing worked.
Lol, that should have been on the cover..... "Hey, it's better than Pit Fighter."
I agree,this should be common, Shaq Fu isn't that bad anyways
I've actually played this a long time ago, and my opinion is pretty close to yours, I've never understood the bile thrown at this game, and I personally enjoy the absurd camp of the story mode.
Also, can I just say how great the character animations look in this game? It's no surprise that the Flashback/Another World team worked on this
Great video man. I always appreciate your point of view on things, I can always relate with how you feel about games and such.
Thanks Josh
SNES drunk You need way more subs man...
i've always thought this game always got unfair treatment just to feed some meme. i understand ppl this game isn't great but to be honest this game is a whole better than other fighting games like Rise of the Robots, which no one seems to mention much
Nice to see an actual balanced, thoughtful review of this for once, I'd like to see similar truly fair reviews of all kinds of overly hated-on games, even if it's unlikely I'll end up being convinced to actually play any of them. Also, wasn't there another Shaq game on SNES too? Chaos in the Windy City or whatever?
That was Michael Jordan
People can crap on this game all they want but DAMN , no one can say shit about the Prince of Persia levels of animation on the characters.
I'd love to see someone out there take the bizarre setting and characters and surprisingly decent spritework and make an alternate universe Shaq Fu that was a beat-em up instead of a broken fighting game. A basic beatem up with mooks and unlocking the weirdas fuck characters as you progress could be kinda great. Like the D&D Mystara games, but Shaq.
AtticusSP probably could find a beats of rage mod for it.
I think that's what A Legend Reborn is trying to do.
This comment aged well
@@gochadc I got monkey pawed on a fucking Shaq game.
I clearly remember the SNES clearance bin at the Minnetonka Best Buy was about 25% composed of Shaq Fu in 1996.
haha from the twin cities here
"Better than pitfighter" should be on the cover.
Bruh Shaq Fu is making a comeback
She Moans Tyrone LMAO on the ps4
Dorothy krupa exactly
"There's even a website dedicated to destroying all copies. Not sure what that's gonna accomplish." Lol, it makes my copy more valuable, that's what it accomplishes.
But... but it has a _catgirl_ in it! Hell, she's even been confirmed to return for the sequel!
Catigirls are great, but she ain't nothin' compared to Felicia. Props for making the only African-American catgirl I know of from any media, though.
It is a furry
@@koopakape Well, Cats exists now.
I have this on both Super Nintendo and Genesis. I want to get the Game Boy and Game Gear ports at some point. It's so lame, but it's so awesome.
I thought I was the only one that felt like this. The animation in this game is among the best on the SNES
Maybe it's blind nostalgia, maybe it's the fact that i got this instead of SF2T for my genesis for my birthday, but I always enjoyed it. Who knows.
I kinda have a soft spot for Rise of the Robots. Lets call it a "Guilty Pleasure". I always liked how the robots looked. Im a sucker for Robot fighting games. If you dont mind me making a suggestion, Id love to see you do an episode on unconventional SNES games/genres. Games like Metal Marines, or King Arthurs World. Games that are more akin to something you would see on the PC. Great video as always
Zack Schilling I had rise of the robots as a kid. I think I got it for cheap at funcoland (at least I hope I did). I feel kind of the same way as you, it looked cool but it was pretty horrid to play.
shaq's rap albums actually went platinum, so SOMEBODY liked them. Although I was not one of them.
It's also obvious that it's basically an unreleased game that they basically added the Shaq character to at the end. Which is why he doesn't seem fit in.
My proposed title for the sequel is Shaq-Fu 2: Who Flung Pu?
The animation is smooth I'll give it that!
part of me wants to see the console Wars to Tackle this game, but honestly I want them to do a regular best episode instead of a worst episode because you are right. This game is not good, but it's not THAT bad either.
The big problem is that Electronic Arts made a game company known for great animation but NOT known for fighting games design this. Delphine's strengths shine through in this release, but their complete lack of experience in the genre is just as obvious. Also, because it's a 16-bit game, those well animated characters are super tiny. Maybe it could have worked on the Saturn or Playstation, who knows.
...wait, did you say Shaq Fu had finishing moves?!
Try doing a 24hr shift on this and see if you still like this gem
I don't hate myself THAT much
It wasn't by choice. Ocean published it and I drew a short straw
I've laughed at this game since it was originally released, and I'll just keep those sentiments.
Shaq Fu is a fighting game???? This whole time I imagined it was a beat-em-up
Now I need to check on Shaq's rap album review
This game should have been a beat-me-up.
Late comment but beat-'em-ups were another incredbily oversaturated genre back then. This game shouldn't have been made at all.
Well, the sequel that came out recently is a beat-em-up, so there’s that.
"Shaq Fu is perfectly playable" said no one ever before today.
You honestly have to admire how much they tried with the sprite art, if nothing else. Think about it, a corporation told these people that they had to make a cheap cash-in Shaq fighting game. For all-intensive purposes, they could have just done the bare minimum and called it a day, but they instead decided to go above and beyond to try to create a cast of fighters that are at least varied and appeasing. Would you have tried as hard as they did if you had to work on a Shaq fighting game? I know I wouldn't have.
What's an intensive purpose?
0:23 “everything Shaq touched turned to sh*t” lmao
When I was a kid I had no idea who Shaq was, but I absolutely loved the characters and the music. Oh the music...
The game itself wasn't my favourite, as I also had Mortal Kombat II.
This video's length is 4:20, and if you plug in a controller and mash buttons while it's playing, it's also better than Pit Fighter!
Played a lot of Shaq-fu when I was a kid and it felt no more out of place than watching SpaceJam or Roger Rabbit. The 90s was pretty much filled with Isseaki but with a famous person instead of a nerdy guy
Though I disagree with your views on Mortal Kombat games, I'm happy we can agree that Pit Fighter is vomit in the form of an SNES cartridge. Nice vid!
I remember liking pit fighter as a kid. The animation on shaq fu looks buttery smooth. Thankfully I own it on genesis so I have access to all the fighters because 7 is pretty bad. I will have to give this game another go sometime. Any in remember the game Hey Punk Are You Tuff Enough? I'm pretty sure that's how it's spelled. Another fighter of questionable quality.
The sprite animated look amazing
I can see the Flashback influencs in the way the sprites animate...it's pretty smooth looking, but it looks like one of those "games" a character plays in a fictional story...
As I have never played Shaq Fu, I can definitely say that no, it is not worth playing. I know this because the internet told me this for many years now.
i couldnt even beat the first opponent i thought it was impossible, but i guess i just suck at "basketball star's non-basketball game that was accidentally released" fighting games
I played this game so much as a kid, I loved it hahaha
so since I'm too young to remember back then. 1v1 fighting was like the cod of today. so shaq fu back then would be like a shaq fps game today?
That's a fair comparison
This is how you differentiate the people who think they know something about videogames and people who know videogames. I agree with your comments on this game. The guys who did the game were not happy with it. It was a commission and they were the first one not happy with many choices they had to make. They were not happy with making a street fighter 2 clone. They were not happy with the cartridges’ price Nintendo was asking for extra space so they removed characters in the SNES version to send a big FU to Nintendo…
What is worse, this game, or Shaq's free throws ?
It bothers when they have 7 fighters instead of 8. Too see a blank spot instead of even number harmony just bothers my brain somehow.
I actually never realized until today that Shaq-Fu is a one-on-one fighting game, because I completely avoided the game just on the assumption that it would be total garbage and because I really didn't care about Shaq at all and had heard back then that his album was garbage (which makes total sense). In all fairness, it was pretty easy to assume everything he touched was crap, and hey, these things were at least 50 bucks back then, and I was a kid who didn't have a whole lot of money, so I had to be very selective.
I thought it was a platformer ala Aladdin.
I always figured the hate train against Shaq Fu was a little overdone. I've beaten the game after renting it. It's nowhere near as horrible as some of the things we've seen, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll have a good time since the control is very deliberate and I couldn't figure out specialty moves at all.
Oh, great. Now I have the sudden urge to get a copy for my retro game collection if someone has been able to point out some good things about it, even if they are rather small. XD
Me and my mates liked this game when we were teenagers the megadrive version was heaps better though
Hell, I can name three fighters for the Genesis that were worse than Shaq-Fu...
3. Ballz
2. Heavy Nova
1. Batman Forever (it used the Mortal Kombat engine, so it counts)
His rap career is like this game, not as bad as you remember it
You know what would've probably made Shaq Fu more palatable? Having more known characters.
Don't just put Shaq in there. Bring Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman, Patrick Ewing... just whoever else was a big name in the NBA at the time... have them all duke it out. As for the plot, have it be something like King Arthur and the Knights of Justice crossed with Wu Tang: Shaolin Style... only 2D since SNES.
Thank you. This game sucks but it's not nearly as bad as something like street fighter the movie.
Street Fighter the Movie on the PS 1? I enjoyed it alot but i guess thats because on the PS 1 you had like movie clips of the Movie and what not which made it feel better graphic wise.
Most people complain about how the controls are shit. But are they, or are they just not Street Fighter 2? SF2 was so ubiquitous with fighting games that I think people expect those controls to be standard without realizing thats a Capcom thing
Try it yourself, there's a delay between input and what you see on the screen that's really aggravating
I see. I guess I meant are the combos different, people seem to play all SNES fighting games and expect down-forward punch to do a special move, if you understand what I mean
You non-Los Angelinos don't know what it was like being a Lakers fan during the mid to late 90s!
OF COURSE WE KNEW SHAQ WAS AN IDIOT! HE WAS A GIANT DRIVING A MODIFIED Mazda MIATA!
But we had to keep him happy! So we bought his rap CDs, saw his movies, and played his games.
What choice did we have!
I agree. If you low your standards below the ground and compare it to pit fighter then Shaq Fu is actually playable.
Amazing content man. Just gotta be real though, Shaq is probably one of the greatest 'Ball Players' to do both hip hop and sports. Im saying 'Ball Player' of all time not 'Emcee'. Haha
I had this game on genesis as a kid .....it was my only game for months.
Now I see why it feels like Prince of Persia: The Fighting Game.
Delayed controls, and small sprites (for a fighting game) are what killed this for me.
I actually had a bit of fun playing Shaq Fu when I rented it in the 90s. Was a pretty tough fighting game, but definitely isn't the worst one I've ever played
it's just me or the sprite when the red or green guy roll or defend is very similar to comix zone enemies??
I remember getting this game as a kid 😖☹️ It was horrible, graphics were great, but we're talking about the 90's where I think some game developers thought graphics really mattered, more than gameplay. An as you can see the developers here seemed to spend more time on the graphics than the gameplay.
Had to revisit this video since this game is getting a remake.
7 characters made the vs mode get real old real fact. Pit Fighter wasn’t a game, it was a joke.
i remember owning this game as a kid and beating it and liking it. I too agree I dont know what the hate was all about. I agree it isn't the greatest fighting game but it's not a bad one.
I think Shaq-fu is just a giant troll
HEY, Steel is a great picture, better than most of the trash superhero pictures pushed out today.
I loved this game.... but on the Sega Genesis.
I got this as punishment as a kid.
This is a bit inaccurate. The SNES version received overall decent reviews. As a side note, his Rap album received critical acclaim and went platinum. Just saying, people have spotty memories when it comes to how popular Shaq was.
I always thought this was a basketball game
Blue Chips was a great fucking movie
I owed it, and the most memorable thing was the music.. God that music
I wonder if Shaq really played the game himself
Pit Fighter was a wasted Blockbuster rental
Thank you i have never understood the hate on this game this game is fine
Shaq Fu is better than his movies or music, the graphics are good and it plays pretty good. The Genesis version has more characters to play as too
Shaq-fu is coming back.....awesome
Absolutely one of the worst control configurations for a game that I have ever played. His movies were not that terrible as you so put it. I still enjoy Kazaam and Steel movies to this day!
This game looks great - key word being looks. I wish it was good :(
Thank you! You get to the bottom of the whole appraisal of this game!
So can someone explain why the Genesis version has so much more content?
hey you should try cotton 100% for super famicom
His rap album was decent especially compared to some current shit! The screen movement and frame rate were oddly better than many contemporaries! The game designer explains a lot of its strengths and character designs.
The Genesis version is actually really good
Got this game from a thrift store as a kid and I thought the gameplay was awful and stiff. I didn't really like this game. I rather play something like Killer Instinct. One of the things I did like was the music and I thought that voodoo lady was pretty hot though lol
Shaq-fu should have been a beat em up. It would have gotten a lot less crap over the years. Also' his album over all isn't that good but the song "I Got Skillz" was great.
I used to like the cat lady and her stage music
backgrounds look OK / nice
Shaq Fu: Better than Pit Fighter.
Yeah I always thought it was an "ok" game. Many worse ones for sure ;)
Always thought the game looks spectacular. Look at the spritework and the animation - actual quality stuff.