Phantom Fighter is a really neat Chinese horror-themed beat 'em up that's a bit rough around the edges, but it's unique and it has personality in spades.
I remember playing a D&D campaign/adventure where I was a warrior monk that ripped through a bunch of ghouls. I don't think it was a reference to this game, but most fighters with blunt hits don't fare nearly as well against the undead. Of course, I started to hate that group because I otherwise died at least once per session, to the point that I disavowed D&D altogether for its culture of elitism. This before orcs became blacks or anything quite that stupid.
@@christopherthibeault7502 As a hobby gamer, yeah, DnD has some self-reflection to do in order to undo a lot of its unintentional racism. A lot of fantasy series do, actually!
Just when I thought I knew every NES game I get proved wrong once again. I’ve never seen a play through of this game or seen this cartridge in all of my years of collecting. This game is super obscure and is very charming/unique. Thanks!
My brother and I loved this game. Our dad was a poor carpenter and used to do work for folks and sometimes would make little barters to get us toys. This game came from that trading my dad did. We really dug it. What kid in the 90’s didn’t like karate fighting games with weapons and different moves to learn? Is it repetitive? Yes. Does the music get old? Yes. Are there not many varieties of bad guys? Yes. It was still rad though. Loved the funny moves you could learn like floor scooter and two legged jump kick. Ha I’m also glad to know not only my NES glitched out when the enemies would die on the floor. Ha
The game looks okayish if lacking variety though I'm more surprised to see a tie-in for HK movie. Actually I'm a fan of source material - hopping vampire genre. Mr. Vampire was a pretty solid effort mixing horror, humor, taoist magical rites and martial arts. There's another one called Magic Cop that has modern (well ~1990) setting but similar theme.
This is one of those rare titles I never once saw or played in real life, the whole time of the NES's run. I only knew of it from an advertisement in a comic book, but I never met anyone else who had it.
I was fortunate enough to grow up with this obscure gem. My Nana was huge into martial arts so made sense she'd grab this and played it constantly with me next to Zelda, Metroid, and Super Mario 2 and 3. I always thought the vampires were goofy and the intro was cool despite being a dumb kid and not realizing that he wasn breakin some door. Its a coffin. Still its a fun concept and it showcases a classic horror monster but in a unique way. It's be cool to see more games take an approach like this and use a classic monster but from a different cultures lore to help keep them fresh
So what is the traditional method of getting rid of hopping vampires? Kung Fu in this game seems the way to go. Unless Uncle was right and you just steal their shoe, stuff it with graveyard mushrooms and throw it over a river.
I remember you playing this some time ago, good times! A wonderful Halloween cult-classic for sure. The guy in the intro looks like Christopher Walken to me. I'm fond of games where you can upgrade your repertoire to perform new moves in your fight against evil, so this was right up my alley. And yes, Pony Canyon! There's an interesting company for you!
John Riggs and his extensive ranking videos of NES companies allow me to be familiar with this game, Times of Lore, Klashball, and Thunder and Lightning! He looked into the big companies like Capcom and Konami, but he also did ranking lists of FCI and the companies that published those respective games (Toho, Sofel, and Romstar respectively)
Pony Canyon. From publishing obscure video games like this one until 2003, to having the rights for a handful of anime ( *_"Yuuki Yuna is a Hero, anyone?"_* ) to being Kana Hanazawa's current music label. What a strange company this one is. I've seen a lot of weird NES games. But I don't think that *any* of them can top *_"Phantom Fighter"_* here. You're just going around fighting those enemies from *_"Super Mario Land"_* who like to hop around everywhere. This is about as Asian as you can get for an NES game that was released in the west lol. That said however, it looks like a fun game.
Didn't NC already record this game? Hopping vampires, or _chiang-shi_ (or _kyonshi_ in Japanese). Created when the higher (hun) soul leaves a body and only the lower (po) soul is left. This useless bit of trivia brought to you by D&D 3e's _Oriental Adventures_ sourcebook.
Trivia... this was originally a nightmare on elm street but the sprites was changed because Nintendo wanted Ljn to make use of the 4 player nes adapter so Ljn got rare to remake elm street and the company that was making the Freddy game made this
Great playthrough! Thanks for posting. I wonder if anyone has beaten this game without upgrading, or if that would be too boring more so than challenging..
This game was based on Hong Kong movies Mr. Vampire, a horror-action-comedy theme when priests literally kung-fu these hopping vampires like rabbits and choking their victims before bite. How to stop them is pasted yellow paper with Chinese signs on their forehead likely a switch off mode. Even this game is kinda makes us laugh and stress at the same time. Lolz.
@@Dorian_Scott Nice, I always knew I wasn't alone in that opinion! They just seemed like they were having more fun back then than they do now...I still watch old episodes despite almost choking on my own food I'm eating at the moment because they're more 'out loud' funny! I mean, they have their moments still (sonic heroes, that silly ski rescue game with the pause menu music and bad Ben are a few recent examples) but nothing matches the energy of their old content XD
Great video, as always! Have you ever considered doing playthroughs for the unofficial Soul Blazer trilogy (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia/Time, TERRANIGMA) of the SNES?
I love this game a lot when I was a kid. I used to play this game but the game came in Japanese version with all Japanese words. I can’t even understand it so I can’t complete the game. Very sad! 🥲🥲🥲
Phantom Fighter is a really neat Chinese horror-themed beat 'em up that's a bit rough around the edges, but it's unique and it has personality in spades.
I think we need the awesome Egg Shen to battle these bad guys.
Sleeping dogs has Nightmare on North Point where you actually fight those vampires.
I remember playing a D&D campaign/adventure where I was a warrior monk that ripped through a bunch of ghouls. I don't think it was a reference to this game, but most fighters with blunt hits don't fare nearly as well against the undead.
Of course, I started to hate that group because I otherwise died at least once per session, to the point that I disavowed D&D altogether for its culture of elitism. This before orcs became blacks or anything quite that stupid.
I do love watching the main character fight those...(Screams in Arin Hanson voice) "KYOOOOOONSHIIIIIIIES!!!!"
@@christopherthibeault7502 As a hobby gamer, yeah, DnD has some self-reflection to do in order to undo a lot of its unintentional racism. A lot of fantasy series do, actually!
Just when I thought I knew every NES game I get proved wrong once again. I’ve never seen a play through of this game or seen this cartridge in all of my years of collecting. This game is super obscure and is very charming/unique. Thanks!
You ever hear of Mario bros? It’s a rare one
My uncle bought this game and I played it a bunch of times when I was little but I don’t remember ever beating it
Despite the repetitive gameplay, the games background looks amazing for it's time.
My brother and I loved this game. Our dad was a poor carpenter and used to do work for folks and sometimes would make little barters to get us toys. This game came from that trading my dad did. We really dug it. What kid in the 90’s didn’t like karate fighting games with weapons and different moves to learn?
Is it repetitive? Yes. Does the music get old? Yes. Are there not many varieties of bad guys? Yes. It was still rad though.
Loved the funny moves you could learn like floor scooter and two legged jump kick. Ha I’m also glad to know not only my NES glitched out when the enemies would die on the floor. Ha
Niiiice. Been waiting for this one. Underrated & underappreciated gem. Mega nostalgia here.
The reason why they hop is because rigor mortis had set into their joints (the knees and elbows mostly).
they are Chinese vampires and i heard jumping is the soul trying to escape
😂😂😂
This was one of my favorite nes games as a kid!
The game looks okayish if lacking variety though I'm more surprised to see a tie-in for HK movie. Actually I'm a fan of source material - hopping vampire genre. Mr. Vampire was a pretty solid effort mixing horror, humor, taoist magical rites and martial arts. There's another one called Magic Cop that has modern (well ~1990) setting but similar theme.
This is one of those rare titles I never once saw or played in real life, the whole time of the NES's run. I only knew of it from an advertisement in a comic book, but I never met anyone else who had it.
this game is like a revolutionary karateka
This videogame is brought to you by Fujisankei Communications International (FCI)
This is the ancient Chinese style zombie apocalypse 😆
The animation is amazing!😊
Fortunate to own a pretty fresh copy of this game since childhood.
Great game. Difficult but great.. had fun memories with this game
0:06, That's pretty scary back when I was growing up.
I was fortunate enough to grow up with this obscure gem. My Nana was huge into martial arts so made sense she'd grab this and played it constantly with me next to Zelda, Metroid, and Super Mario 2 and 3. I always thought the vampires were goofy and the intro was cool despite being a dumb kid and not realizing that he wasn breakin some door. Its a coffin.
Still its a fun concept and it showcases a classic horror monster but in a unique way. It's be cool to see more games take an approach like this and use a classic monster but from a different cultures lore to help keep them fresh
So what is the traditional method of getting rid of hopping vampires? Kung Fu in this game seems the way to go. Unless Uncle was right and you just steal their shoe, stuff it with graveyard mushrooms and throw it over a river.
I think the SlapChop could be effective if you got creative with it
I remember seeing this game in a magazine I had as a kid.
As a kid I would have freaked out in that intro lol.
i just randomly remembered this game. thought it was trash when i was kid, but appreciate the nostalgia haha
Wow new one for me, NC! Super obscure.
I didn't know him, interesting game.
I use to love playing this it was a rare game
didn't you post this game as low-def long time ago?
One of my favorite NES games.
Ooh, something obscure. This could be fun!
Hahaha, omg, the memories. Timing is everything in this game, but it takes time getting used to the movements.
I remember you playing this some time ago, good times! A wonderful Halloween cult-classic for sure. The guy in the intro looks like Christopher Walken to me. I'm fond of games where you can upgrade your repertoire to perform new moves in your fight against evil, so this was right up my alley. And yes, Pony Canyon! There's an interesting company for you!
John Riggs and his extensive ranking videos of NES companies allow me to be familiar with this game, Times of Lore, Klashball, and Thunder and Lightning! He looked into the big companies like Capcom and Konami, but he also did ranking lists of FCI and the companies that published those respective games (Toho, Sofel, and Romstar respectively)
...goddammit!
Your thumbnail scared the shirt outta me!!!
Hahaha then it served its purpose 🎃
That intro part always freaked me out a bit as a kid lol.
Chitdrens today would have no idea how to play this :)
I played this as a child and had no idea what to do
What a different game. Excellent gameplay.
This is obscure yet fun looking.
Those kick combos are devastating
Pony Canyon. From publishing obscure video games like this one until 2003, to having the rights for a handful of anime ( *_"Yuuki Yuna is a Hero, anyone?"_* ) to being Kana Hanazawa's current music label. What a strange company this one is.
I've seen a lot of weird NES games. But I don't think that *any* of them can top *_"Phantom Fighter"_* here. You're just going around fighting those enemies from *_"Super Mario Land"_* who like to hop around everywhere. This is about as Asian as you can get for an NES game that was released in the west lol.
That said however, it looks like a fun game.
Didn't NC already record this game?
Hopping vampires, or _chiang-shi_ (or _kyonshi_ in Japanese). Created when the higher (hun) soul leaves a body and only the lower (po) soul is left. This useless bit of trivia brought to you by D&D 3e's _Oriental Adventures_ sourcebook.
Yeah, but it was eight years old and only 480p30. I thought it needed an upgrade.
Now everyone can experience this bizarre NES title in 2160p 60fps. Yay!😂
I remember another version of something similar but I believe it was with sega super advanced for their time
Trivia... this was originally a nightmare on elm street but the sprites was changed because Nintendo wanted Ljn to make use of the 4 player nes adapter so Ljn got rare to remake elm street and the company that was making the Freddy game made this
Uhh... wut?
There are some small similarities between this and NoES, aesthetically but to say this was originally intended to be that is a stretch.
ahhh....toyed with this one a bit then dismissed it. Might have to have another go at it....
The music in this game is WAYYY too upbeat for the content 😂 I love it
Great playthrough! Thanks for posting. I wonder if anyone has beaten this game without upgrading, or if that would be too boring more so than challenging..
Chinatownia?
1:18:05 Aren't they all are?...
This game was based on Hong Kong movies Mr. Vampire, a horror-action-comedy theme when priests literally kung-fu these hopping vampires like rabbits and choking their victims before bite. How to stop them is pasted yellow paper with Chinese signs on their forehead likely a switch off mode. Even this game is kinda makes us laugh and stress at the same time. Lolz.
I dig the soundtrack
I had the game but it was called Zombie Fighter
Pony Canyon
Epic developer name.
Oh man, just imagine if they used I Love Horses as their jingle? 😀 ruclips.net/video/-gSnJj90IP8/видео.html lol
Known for the best game music in the early 1990’s with arcade games.
I don't get the appeal. You go from house to house fighting the same jumping guy in different colors over and over
Hahahaha, yes! The old Game Grumps episode they did of this game is still one of the most hilarious bits of RUclips content ever created 😆 🤣
That episode is one of the only reasons why I know about this game. 🤣
Old school Grumps is *so* much better than current Grumps.
@@Dorian_Scott Nice, I always knew I wasn't alone in that opinion! They just seemed like they were having more fun back then than they do now...I still watch old episodes despite almost choking on my own food I'm eating at the moment because they're more 'out loud' funny!
I mean, they have their moments still (sonic heroes, that silly ski rescue game with the pause menu music and bad Ben are a few recent examples) but nothing matches the energy of their old content XD
2+ hours. Amazing. great.
👏👏👍
Was that Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys, never played this back in the day?
เปา เปา
This game is so scare.
Great video, as always! Have you ever considered doing playthroughs for the unofficial Soul Blazer trilogy (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia/Time, TERRANIGMA) of the SNES?
Thanks! I've done the first two already. You can find those in my SNES playlist. Haven't gotten to Terranigma yet.
characters names are japanese despite its based on chinese mythology lol
I used to really like this game as a kid. As an adult, I can see how terrible it is.
Chinese ghost story
Its one long fart
Cheater
I'm glad I didnt waste my childhood on this crap
I love this game a lot when I was a kid. I used to play this game but the game came in Japanese version with all Japanese words. I can’t even understand it so I can’t complete the game. Very sad! 🥲🥲🥲
Based on movie Mr vampire