It's amusing to see how different the ports were among different platforms back then: colors, resolution, animation, gameplay, etc. We don't have that anymore nowadays.
Kung Fu Master was one of those games that became a lot easier once you got the timing down. The NES port is still loads of fun, and it looks like I'll have to give the Gameboy version a try. The C64 and 7800 versions look particularly well done, making the most of the hardware they were running on, and that is good to see. I'm going to have to give those both a try as well. I feel bad for CPC & ZX Spectrum users, as they don't seem to get very many good ports of anything, aside from Rainbow Islands. Thanks for another great episode!
Thanks for the video! I loved that game in the arcades, it had simple graphics and simple gameplay was probably the first beat-em-up I ever encountered in the wild so I have fond memories of it although I was never very good at it alas. It is a shame the 16 bit machines (consoles and computers alike) never got a conversion of it because it would have been both easy to program (and thus hard to screw up even though I am sure US Gold/Tiertex would have managed to fail it) and a nice way to showcase these machines capacities. I guess the game must was already too old at that time or not enough popular. I keep thinking of writing an Amiga conversion for it... One day, I will code it. ;)
KUNG FU MASTER VIDEO GAME HISTORY NEVER ERASE #1.Arcade King original #2.Nes super good almost like arcade + excellent Ports good graphics better gameplay #3.Commodore 64 yes is very good is played very well #4.Atari 7800 good and played fast #5.Amastrad very good they have a excellent gameplay good graphics sad no music sounds i like to played video game with music sounds anyway is still very good
I actually preferred the NES port over the arcade in many ways. While it doesn't look as nice, Nintendo tweaked the speed and feel of the game to overall feel more snappy and less laggy. It was also one of Nintendo's most impressive early titles on the system. Really made the most out of limited hardware.
Rod Brett Nintendo did handle the Famicom/NES port of Spartan X as well as 10 Yard Fight. They got the license from Irem before Irem started publishing games for the Famicom in 1986.
Can remember this being popular at the local arcade as there would always be someone playing it but i never really got into it, found it a bit repetetive and too hard. I probably would have been playing Starwars, Dragon Buster or Pacland round about that time.
Grew up loving the game in the arcades, tolerating the (pirated) Apple II port at home, getting envious of the C64 port, and then finally getting a decent port at home with the Famicom version. Find the MSX version's title hilarious - it translates to "Holy Fist Wayaaa!!" Great videos, love how you highlight the more worthy obscure titles!
The arcade couldn't catch much attention in 1984 in North America thanks to the 1983 North America Video Game Crash. Then the Famicom port came overseas and most gamers were introduced to the game from that version.
This was the first game I ever played on my NES if my memory serves me right. Or at least the one I played the most so i will always have a soft spot for it. Can't remember if I ever went past the 3rd floor boss though.
There was another Spartan X game for the MSX from Pony Corporation and it was a bigger crap. So much that programmers didn´t even care to protect the code, one could break and see the code list (!!) as parte of it was programmed in basic (!!!!!) and one could mess with the game, at least the basic code,,,
Wow, wish I had known about that. Not surprising though. Pony Canyon is one of those Japanese labels you stay away from. The name just means whatever it is attached to is bad.
This was always one of my favorite games from the 80's arcade and then on the NES in 1985. I believe the C-64 version is "the easiest port" because you have invincibility turned on? Nothing was doing any damage you. :P
The NES port is the one I most played more than 20 years ago hehe! good nostalgia, it was very good. The zx spectrum gives headaches :( those zilog80 chip based sinclair machines always suffer from not being able to run those types of 2d games properly. Good show, thanks!
Wheels on Meals is one of my all time favorite Jackie Chan films, hands down. As for Spartan X, I think I got in more time on the Famicom version more than anything, and like you said, it was a solid port. Also I've gotten quite a kick at the Natraps X parody movies on RUclips. :)
Yes, by far my favourite Jackie Chan film... I must have watched the fight between him and Benny Urquidez at least 30 times on VHS as a teenager. Also note that it is indeed called Wheels on Meals, not Meals on Wheels as in the beginning of this video!
I'm maybe biased but the C64 version (which I played in those days) is the closer to the arcade while the Famicom version is the one that plays better.
Love the NES version and that noise when you kill the boss!. Odd that the NES version didnt have any background detail also, just those simple background objects could have made the graphics much more detailed and sure the NES was capable of it!?
Yeah, it's a shame too. I never would have though of Jackie Chan to be a twat. He even slagged off America on a Hong Kong news show. Personally I reccon the Chinese Nationalist Party got to him some way.
C. C. I magazine awarded this an IFFY award for the C64 version, despite being fans of the coin op and saying this was a fairly good conversion, graphics and sound a little crude, game fun, but a little too easy, they just doubted it was worth the £10 asking price
What doesn't make sense: Irem cancels *Super Spartan X* and makes one sub-sequel for the Game Boy, one sequel for the NES instead and one spiritual sequel called *Vigilante.* Also, Irem could've given us a *Spartan X 3,* but instead we get *Jackie Chan: Stuntmaster* by Radical and Midway.
Despite the fact of the Atari 7800 version not being that good, I think it's the only game I've seen where it does look better visually than the NES version, or at least the backgrounds do.
Seeing that 7800 version was beyond weird. You can't attack unless you're moving, the hell? There's no reason for such an arbitrary control restriction. Also, while I'm not sure if this happened with the Europe release, but here in the US, the NES Kung-Fu Master was retitled simply to "Kung-Fu."
I only ever played this on Atari 2600 and C64. I didn't think the 2600 was that bad, in fact, it was one of my favourite 2600 games! Of course, I didn't play the 2600 again once I got my C64.... Are there any differences between the Famicom (Japan) and NES (West) versions? Here in Australia the NES version was simply called "Kung Fu" and was one of the first NES games released here
once upon a time the Fighting games. before that Double Dragon arrive in Arcade, this kind of fighting games was the "standard" fighting game genre. followed by Vigilante (Irem too with similar gameplay) but almost at the same time, Double Dragon came out & changed all the "Fighting Game" codes, for the best =D after that, the Long Fighting game History could start.
Vigilante is actually an unofficial follow up to Spartan X / Kung-fu Master hence the similar game play. But yeah, Double Dragon really did mix things up with Final Fight taking it to what could arguably be called the modern fighter.
Retro Core Renegade was the precursor to Double Dragon, but Kung Fu Master was quite historic in introducing the concept of a unique boss to complete each level, a system which came to be used in everything from beat 'em ups to shoot' em ups to platformers, etc...
I had kung fu masters for the 2600 when I was a kid. I'm sure that the collision detection wasn't that BAD! I did beat the thing (well the levels just continued looping so I'm not sure if that counts as beating it)
You are playing the MSX version at the WRONG speed. Next time, please, set your MSX emulator to 60hz. Its cringing to see the game running so slowly. The game isn't that slow in the proper hardware. And then maybe you'll see it's not a bad port at all.
Spidey (@metodologic) I wouldn't doubt some people didn't know that, being confortable to play at their own speed like that. The Commodore 64 is another such system were games either were played at different speeds depending on region.
Where did you find the remixed Kung Fu intro music?? This game was at the pub at the end of my road so as a kid I used to play it to death with my dad - very fond memories and in turn a game I'll always love!
There is a prototype of Kung-Fu Master 2 (the title screen says "Beyond Kung-Fu 1987", but on the PCB it's written "Spartan 2") The video is in french, but you don't care: ruclips.net/video/Efr9EQkbCSQ/видео.html Basicaly, the guy explains that the PCB is damaged, so they have only some parts of some levels. He also says that "maybe" the game looked too much similar to the first one, so Irem wanted to drop it and push Vigilante (wich is from the same game designer)
That's some pretty interesting information. Despite the PCB being g broken that's still a treasure of an item. I can't imagine there being many versions of the if any more at all being around now.
Sadly no Saturn version. My copy of it is in storage or at least I hope so because it's not in the house. Tried to find an ISO but the only ones I could find were all faulty.
+wrena79 It's the Japanese pronunciation of 功夫, which is カンフー, which is kanfu, which English speaking country refer to as kung-fu. All the pronunciations are wrong in any case.
Yeah, it looks like the energy is on infinite but it's one of those hacks where the energy bar doesn't go down but you can still die. Died a few times while making the video for that section.
![Kodak Black - Versatile 4 [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VcP_1Ua__vY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Megan Thee Stallion - Roc Steady (feat. Flo Milli) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HozPPyqW0dY/mqdefault.jpg)
It's amusing to see how different the ports were among different platforms back then: colors, resolution, animation, gameplay, etc. We don't have that anymore nowadays.
Yeah. These days the only difference is frame rate and texture quality but even that isn't always that easy to notice.
Remember playing the c64 version with my cousins in the late 80s. The music was so catchy in this game.
It's one of those iconic game tunes that everyone knows :)
It's Jackie Chan playing Bruce Lee's relative, Chin!
Allie-RX haha good reference
DuhDun Dun!!!
Kung Fu Master was one of those games that became a lot easier once you got the timing down. The NES port is still loads of fun, and it looks like I'll have to give the Gameboy version a try. The C64 and 7800 versions look particularly well done, making the most of the hardware they were running on, and that is good to see. I'm going to have to give those both a try as well. I feel bad for CPC & ZX Spectrum users, as they don't seem to get very many good ports of anything, aside from Rainbow Islands. Thanks for another great episode!
+Someinterweb guy In the GB game you can do backflips as well!
Thanks for the video!
I loved that game in the arcades, it had simple graphics and simple gameplay was probably the first beat-em-up I ever encountered in the wild so I have fond memories of it although I was never very good at it alas.
It is a shame the 16 bit machines (consoles and computers alike) never got a conversion of it because it would have been both easy to program (and thus hard to screw up even though I am sure US Gold/Tiertex would have managed to fail it) and a nice way to showcase these machines capacities. I guess the game must was already too old at that time or not enough popular.
I keep thinking of writing an Amiga conversion for it... One day, I will code it. ;)
KUNG FU MASTER VIDEO GAME HISTORY NEVER ERASE
#1.Arcade King original
#2.Nes super good almost like arcade + excellent Ports good graphics better gameplay
#3.Commodore 64 yes is very good is played very well #4.Atari 7800 good and played fast
#5.Amastrad very good they have a excellent gameplay good graphics sad no music sounds i like to played video game with music sounds anyway is still very good
The attract text on the arcade shows some very witty text at the start IMO.
I guess they couldn't get Bruce Lee game of death rights XD
I actually preferred the NES port over the arcade in many ways. While it doesn't look as nice, Nintendo tweaked the speed and feel of the game to overall feel more snappy and less laggy. It was also one of Nintendo's most impressive early titles on the system. Really made the most out of limited hardware.
Didn't Irem do the port to the NES?
Oh, I must have misheard you on the video because I thought you said that Nintendo handled that port. Either way, its a solid port of the game
Rod Brett Nintendo did handle the Famicom/NES port of Spartan X as well as 10 Yard Fight. They got the license from Irem before Irem started publishing games for the Famicom in 1986.
@@AndrewAmbrose 10 yard fight wasn't that bad either, really.
Can remember this being popular at the local arcade as there would always be someone playing it but i never really got into it, found it a bit repetetive and too hard.
I probably would have been playing Starwars, Dragon Buster or Pacland round about that time.
+Craig Wilson To be honest I would have been playing the games you mentioned over this one. Especially Pac Land.
Something to note about many of the western computer ports using a joystick: the spacebar is used to toggle between punching and kicking.
Yes, this is true and a real pain in the arse.
Grew up loving the game in the arcades, tolerating the (pirated) Apple II port at home, getting envious of the C64 port, and then finally getting a decent port at home with the Famicom version.
Find the MSX version's title hilarious - it translates to "Holy Fist Wayaaa!!"
Great videos, love how you highlight the more worthy obscure titles!
Thanks for the comment. Yeah, I like to feature a mix of common and not so common titles. I feel it keeps things fresh :)
Jump kick missing on 2600 version as Dan Kitchen couldn't stretch the character sprite due to hardware limitations.
The arcade couldn't catch much attention in 1984 in North America thanks to the 1983 North America Video Game Crash. Then the Famicom port came overseas and most gamers were introduced to the game from that version.
To be fair, it probably got of attention outside North America, judging by the 8-bit computer versions, especially the pretty good lookin' C64 one.
This was the first game I ever played on my NES if my memory serves me right. Or at least the one I played the most so i will always have a soft spot for it.
Can't remember if I ever went past the 3rd floor boss though.
There was another Spartan X game for the MSX from Pony Corporation and it was a bigger crap. So much that programmers didn´t even care to protect the code, one could break and see the code list (!!) as parte of it was programmed in basic (!!!!!) and one could mess with the game, at least the basic code,,,
Wow, wish I had known about that. Not surprising though. Pony Canyon is one of those Japanese labels you stay away from. The name just means whatever it is attached to is bad.
One of the first arcade games I ever finished :) I was so happy, I hugged the person stood next to me :D
This was always one of my favorite games from the 80's arcade and then on the NES in 1985.
I believe the C-64 version is "the easiest port" because you have invincibility turned on?
Nothing was doing any damage you. :P
The NES port is the one I most played more than 20 years ago hehe! good nostalgia, it was very good.
The zx spectrum gives headaches :( those zilog80 chip based sinclair machines always suffer from not being able to run those types of 2d games properly.
Good show, thanks!
a Jackie Chan game I never knew was a Jackie Chan game... cool. Time to fire up the Saturn and play it! thanks for another great video
+neozeed1984 Well, it's not really a Jackie Chan game as such. Just that Irem did a tie in at the last minute :)
Wheels on Meals is one of my all time favorite Jackie Chan films, hands down. As for Spartan X, I think I got in more time on the Famicom version more than anything, and like you said, it was a solid port. Also I've gotten quite a kick at the Natraps X parody movies on RUclips. :)
Yes, by far my favourite Jackie Chan film... I must have watched the fight between him and Benny Urquidez at least 30 times on VHS as a teenager. Also note that it is indeed called Wheels on Meals, not Meals on Wheels as in the beginning of this video!
I'm maybe biased but the C64 version (which I played in those days) is the closer to the arcade while the Famicom version is the one that plays better.
Love the NES version and that noise when you kill the boss!. Odd that the NES version didnt have any background detail also, just those simple background objects could have made the graphics much more detailed and sure the NES was capable of it!?
It was an early game so I guess they were still not really sure of how to programme the NES.
Never played this game, but I must say Spectrum version looks trippy. Like a nightmare of game designer.
I spent me a lot of time with the NES version! I had no idea there was any connection to Jackie Chan until years later.
+Andrew Vrba Sadly Jackie Chan seems to be a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party these days :( He's even on the bench.
Yeah, whats up with 80s action icons turning out to be complete twats?
Yeah, it's a shame too. I never would have though of Jackie Chan to be a twat. He even slagged off America on a Hong Kong news show. Personally I reccon the Chinese Nationalist Party got to him some way.
Retro Core Probably involving his son and those drug charges.
Ah, you could have a point. Still, it is sad to see him like this.
Guy on the Amstrad is too lazy to walk up the stairs!
C. C. I magazine awarded this an IFFY award for the C64 version, despite being fans of the coin op and saying this was a fairly good conversion, graphics and sound a little crude, game fun, but a little too easy, they just doubted it was worth the £10 asking price
While the game does have the main characters from "Wheels On Meals" the setup seems more like the original plot from "Game of Death".
Ah a new BotP!
I was never a fan of the original but I love the sequel/remake/remix for the Gameboy.
Yeah, the Game Boy version is pretty good.
the Game Boy Kung Fu Master is an awesome game! Played it like crazy as a kid.
What doesn't make sense:
Irem cancels *Super Spartan X* and makes one sub-sequel for the Game Boy, one sequel for the NES instead and one spiritual sequel called *Vigilante.*
Also, Irem could've given us a *Spartan X 3,* but instead we get *Jackie Chan: Stuntmaster* by Radical and Midway.
The games industry is a strange place with so many questionable decisions.
Despite the fact of the Atari 7800 version not being that good, I think it's the only game I've seen where it does look better visually than the NES version, or at least the backgrounds do.
I'd agree. Most 7800 stuff just looks like a blocky mess.
I've played it on C64 a lot of time! Great game.
Seeing that 7800 version was beyond weird. You can't attack unless you're moving, the hell? There's no reason for such an arbitrary control restriction.
Also, while I'm not sure if this happened with the Europe release, but here in the US, the NES Kung-Fu Master was retitled simply to "Kung-Fu."
Hmm, I think it was also just called Kung Fu in the UK too.
I only ever played this on Atari 2600 and C64. I didn't think the 2600 was that bad, in fact, it was one of my favourite 2600 games! Of course, I didn't play the 2600 again once I got my C64....
Are there any differences between the Famicom (Japan) and NES (West) versions? Here in Australia the NES version was simply called "Kung Fu" and was one of the first NES games released here
once upon a time the Fighting games.
before that Double Dragon arrive in Arcade, this kind of fighting games was the "standard" fighting game genre.
followed by Vigilante (Irem too with similar gameplay) but almost at the same time, Double Dragon came out & changed all the "Fighting Game" codes, for the best =D
after that, the Long Fighting game History could start.
Vigilante is actually an unofficial follow up to Spartan X / Kung-fu Master hence the similar game play. But yeah, Double Dragon really did mix things up with Final Fight taking it to what could arguably be called the modern fighter.
Retro Core Renegade was the precursor to Double Dragon, but Kung Fu Master was quite historic in introducing the concept of a unique boss to complete each level, a system which came to be used in everything from beat 'em ups to shoot' em ups to platformers, etc...
My mum bought me the Speccy version .I was crushed when i loaded it up,totally ruined my weekend!
Your poor mum probably didn't have a clue at how bad the Speccy version was.
@@RetroCore It wasent all bad..on the same day she also bought me Sai Combat..which was ok.
Requested: Vigilante also by Irem.
Did that a while back. Search Battle of the Ports Vigilante.
I had kung fu masters for the 2600 when I was a kid. I'm sure that the collision detection wasn't that BAD! I did beat the thing (well the levels just continued looping so I'm not sure if that counts as beating it)
Things always seemed better in the past :) iv played many old games that I though we're excellent only to find out they were pretty awful.
You are playing the MSX version at the WRONG speed.
Next time, please, set your MSX emulator to 60hz. Its cringing to see the game running so slowly. The game isn't that slow in the proper hardware. And then maybe you'll see it's not a bad port at all.
Correct! The game isn't as we can see here. In fact, Spartan X (60hz, of course) is a very good conversion for the MSX home computers.
Spidey (@metodologic) I wouldn't doubt some people didn't know that, being confortable to play at their own speed like that. The Commodore 64 is another such system were games either were played at different speeds depending on region.
The atari 2600 version I have is a fantastic game it is the real one not an emulation it was pushing the limits of the atari
the NES version doesn't make my ears bleed so its the best by default
The NES port doesn't look great but it plays the best by far. I can get a million points on it.
+RyuHayabusa06 I'm awful at all versions of this game. Pretty easy to tell from the video I think :)
Nunca consegui passar da segunda fase desse jogo ! kkkkkkkkk very good video!
+Feru Games tv Thanks!!
Which one do you prefer between the Atari 2600 and the ZX Spectrum version if you have to choose?
Probably the 2600 just because it's on the 2600. Seeing Arcade conversions on that system is cool simply because it's so weak in specs.
before the YMs arcade audio was quite awful. they should have licensed the SID chip or something like that ^^
I think I went back and rewatched that part at 2:07 about ten times just now. I laugh like an idiot every time.
Where did you find the remixed Kung Fu intro music?? This game was at the pub at the end of my road so as a kid I used to play it to death with my dad - very fond memories and in turn a game I'll always love!
+wrena79 It'sd from a site called ocremix.org/
It's a fantasic place to get all sorts of great game mixes.
Great stuff thank you! I'll head over and take a look.
There is a prototype of Kung-Fu Master 2 (the title screen says "Beyond Kung-Fu 1987", but on the PCB it's written "Spartan 2")
The video is in french, but you don't care: ruclips.net/video/Efr9EQkbCSQ/видео.html
Basicaly, the guy explains that the PCB is damaged, so they have only some parts of some levels. He also says that "maybe" the game looked too much similar to the first one, so Irem wanted to drop it and push Vigilante (wich is from the same game designer)
That's some pretty interesting information. Despite the PCB being g broken that's still a treasure of an item. I can't imagine there being many versions of the if any more at all being around now.
No Saturn version? *Riots* Didnt know about the Wheels on Meals connection, was cool to learn that.
Sadly no Saturn version. My copy of it is in storage or at least I hope so because it's not in the house. Tried to find an ISO but the only ones I could find were all faulty.
Never noticed on the game intro either it says he's a Kanfu Master!!?
+wrena79 haha, well spotted. Maybe this is only in the Japanese version?
+wrena79 It's the Japanese pronunciation of 功夫, which is カンフー, which is kanfu, which English speaking country refer to as kung-fu. All the pronunciations are wrong in any case.
That Zed X version was so painful I had to skip ahead!
I always found that game very hard and annoying when not boring (Amstrad version).
Activision was behind the atari 2600 port?
The Amstrad version looks like it uses the same sprites as the C64?! Also, as noted, looks like you have infinite energy on during the C64 game ;)
Yeah, it looks like the energy is on infinite but it's one of those hacks where the energy bar doesn't go down but you can still die. Died a few times while making the video for that section.
I take it that you have a grudge against the MSX
Nope. I actually own a MSX 2. I did a special on it. Search for Retro Core MSX on RUclips.
❤arcade🤬spectrum
Do Galaga
In the future it will be covered. I have loads of requests each week so it will take some time.