This one on the status 800xl was my first in some cases... First game I rly like as a kid Back in the day my only way to play Atari 800xl was renting the thing by 1 hour, yep, that is third world to you.... obviously time start once the game is loaded because this took like 30 minutes or something like that, right? Was my first game I get....was the first I "back up" with a double cassette player... Was the first game I finished....Montezuma was the second.... I remember how realistic I thought the game because I had to run a little before pull out a thing kick or jump in place .... ironically you fall soooooo slooooow.... So the days always got me... Awwwww...
I couldn't remember the game from the title, but as soon as I saw it running, I recognised it. I spent hours and hours playing this on my spectrum all those years ago.
I have fond memories of this game. I used to play it on my Amstrad PC1640 and was quite good at it (Could finish it more often than not). Mind you, if you use PCem with the right settings, you can emulate CGA composite mode and play the game with 16 colors. (Artifact colors, exploiting the properties composite signal had). Be sure to check it out if you find the time. In my opinion it was one of the best versions of the game.
This is easily one of my favorite Atari 8-bit games, very challenging and satisfying in its level designs and enemy fights. Glad to see it was available on so many platforms, so everyone can enjoy it.
It reminds me a lot to a El Zorro, a very similar game in graphics and mechanics, that I played a lot in my Amstrad CPC. Commodore 64 moves amazing! Thanks for the video!
I still play the C64 port every now and then (2019) and I still have a great time. It's amazing how a game like this that doesn't really look like much still manages to have such an enormous entertaining value.
There is a 2001 remake of the C64 version for Windows 9x/Me/XP (still runs on Windows 7 64-bit!) by Mark Rosten, which I played as a kid. Unfortunately his website is no longer online, but the game can still be found elsewhere online if you search for it.
The music on the spectrum title screen sounds like newborn by muse but Bruce Lee came first. One of the few speccy games I could finish without cheating
proof that system limitations don't remove Style ! i remembered the c64 version, played it on PCjr. only 4 colors ! great joystick game, as easy as keyboard. a true "computer game" that no console had !
Absolute classic game. Still great fun, but the first platformer collecting things is rather Jumpman (and I'm sure there are even earlier games). BTW, on the C64 there are also 2 relatively recent, quite good and free homebrew games, called "Tiger claw" and "Bruce Lee II", which are reprogrammed and improved variants of the original. If you like the original Bruce Lee (which you obviously do), you might wanna give these two a try.
I wouldn't say the BBC is humble or limited. Yes the colour palette is a bit gaudy but it's a lot more advanced than the Spectrum for example. The BBC version certainly could have been better.
Ahhh, the endless C64 joys of punching the hapless stick-ninja off a cliff into an electrical field, beating the shit out of the green sumo or making them fight eachother :D
Great video thanks Mark. This is one of those games I watched someone else play and complete, everytime I went round my speccy owning friend's he'd play this to complete it and I never wanted a go after watching.
The IBM PC version looks so much more colorful if set to use the TV set or Composite monitor option. This version not only looks more colorful but sounds better when run on an IBM PCjr. Both modes are shown starting from this point here : ruclips.net/video/YbCF22Lsxfk/видео.html
The DOS port looks a lot more colourful if you use the CGA composite mode. Search YT for "bruce lee cga composite". In DOSBox you can set "machine=cga" in the conf file and choose the TV option in the game, then it'll run in composite mode automatically.
One of my first games ever seen on a C64, I clearly remember wanting to have one to play it, and when I finally played, it was very very hard to finish, actually I never finished it.....amazing game but hard as balls
Probably a game fondly remembered by anyone who had it at the time on their system of choice (or fate). For me the C64 version is therefore the go to game. Faster than the Atari original and more colourful than the Speccy (which does have smarter AI though!). Also, on the C64, I'm pretty sure many people remember a version of the game they had (perhaps of dubious origin ;), that was wont to crash on a warp screen! :) The electric field was a nightmare as a kid but once you get the pattern, it's easy. As is the entire game really but still fun to play every now and then. So glad we got a port of the unofficial Bruce Lee II on the C64 as well! And yet *sigh* I'm stuck on the electric field level in that game again, just like the kid I was when playing the original!
I had the Atari version , still play it quite regular , also trying other ports too , came across a Sega master system version a few years ago which is also good
My C64 copy was badly cracked, and sometimes it liked to crash when you moved to different screen, loved to play it regardless :) Spectrum port is my second favorite, thanks to better A.I of computer enemies, Ninja attacks you more often and his attacks are faster, and Yamo often follows you on ladders, BBC Micro version already have sprite flickering with only Bruce and Yamo, thats probably why they didnt put Ninja in it. first time i ve seen NEC PC-8801 port. There is also Ultimate Bruce Lee, fanport on PC with slightly updated graphics and lots of extras to unlock. Sega Master System also recieved fan port.
The version he showed is the PC Booter version. PC Booter wasn't a different system, it refers to games that you start up by booting your system with the disk in the drive rather than through the DOS prompt. Many early DOS games you find on abandonware sites are booters that have been hacked to run through a conventional executable file.
Bruce Lee was the first game I finished on my beloved Speccy. I still have my copy and I still play occasionally. Introductory music is somehow hypnotic. By the way, isn't PCjr a version apart from the PC family? At least in DOSBOX it looks better than the standard version of IBM PC using RGB monitor emulation.
Not really. The MSX was a Japanese system. It was developed by ASCII in association with Microsoft for the OS. It would be the same as saying the PS5 is Japanese while the Xbox is American.
It's actually very surprising the MSX version is NOT a half-arsed port of the Spectrum Version :) But it still looks like shit for an MSX game. I believe this got a few fan-made ports of other systems. A friend of mine worked on the recent SMS port that looks AMAZING and plays very well too. Check it out if you don't know it yet :)
I was going to replace the msx with the mz 800 version because this is a half arsed port of the spectrum version if you can get past the minus color graphics.
Manic Miner also had collecting which pre-dates this. I'm sure there are other. Maziacs comes to mind and ant attack. Pretty certain is older than this. An interesting observation though.
Great video as always. I will add that the IBM PC version is much easier on the eyes through CGA Composite, simply because there are more colors to work with.
Bruce Lee rocks (the game, but I guess the guy too then :P) because rarely does a retro game feel this modern. One would think it's a web browser game (I would say Flash but yikes) from recently. Good level design, no unnecessary difficulty, gameplay twists, or control difficulties, one can actually work it all the way to an ending without getting bored or too infuriated in the process. Allegedly, gaming magazines of the time reviewed it negatively because it was deemed "easy".
i loved the 2 player mode i think player one was bruce and p2 was the black ninja ......wed kill each other for hours ......you know back in the day people would put their name on the start screen after seeing some of these horrible games/ports I'mm asking "why?"
I'm kinda surprised the game didn't come to consoles, what with how many ports it got. Seems like a sure fire seller. Big name, relatively simple controls (apparently), graphics probably would look just fine after a minor touch-up (couldn't look more basic than Famicom Thexder), and a lot of action. I can't imagine that being a hard sell at all on the Famicom/NES or the Mark III/Master System.
This game seems to have been conceived by somebody who has heard of Bruce Lee, but had never seen any his movies. Why is Bruce fighting ninjas and sumo wrestlers? Why is he collecting lanterns of all things? Why is he blonde in the BBC Micro version of the game!? It's a good game, but it just makes no freaking sense.
The dos version supported a higher color palette through cga-composite. It looks quite nice, but I don't think there's any way to play it without original hardware. Truthfully, aside from a couple of weird color choices (probably due to limitations) these all look mostly the same to me. For once, a good port was had by all!
There is a Sega Master System Homebrew port that really deserves be mentioned: www.smspower.org/Homebrew/BruceLee-SMS i can't tell about the fidelity of the gameplay, but the graphics are nice.
Loved this game on my Amstrad CPC 464. Thank You for reviewing this. Lots of lovely memories associated with this game. Theres actually a bug where you can loads of extra lives. Theres a screen where you can collect a yin and yang symbol. collect and leave the room but come back and its still there. do this 4 times without loosing a live and your lives count jumps to 99. I hated the laser floor level.
I wonder what was the first platform game with collectible items? Donkey Kong in 1981 maybe? First home-only game maybe Miner 2049er or Pitfall in 1982?
Some questionable colour choices here and there, like the purple skinned and blond haired Bruce Lee on the BBC Micro! It's funny that in quite a few ports (MSX, CPC and C64) yellow was considered an acceptable colour option for the main sprite, I imagine just because Bruce Lee was a Asian man!
the pink sprite with grey background would have looked terrible on most setups (tv via rf cable). it is hard to imagine it these days (looking at oled and lcd screens via hdmi) but it was a thing back then :)
I used to love playing Bruce Lee on my old BBC B (though he's the most sunburnt Scandinavian looking Bruce Lee ever due to choices made with the colour palette). I was very surprised you don't have the homebrew Master System version on there from a few years ago. It looks fantastic! ruclips.net/video/FnfZRMUxms4/видео.html
It's a preservation of the legend of Bruce Lee.
That it is.
Just realized I had this game in MSX back in 1990, but never really knew its name. I always found funny the Monty Python-like sounds for the walking.
I love this neat unofficial port of the game to SMS. It feels absolutely perfect to play
I wish I had known about that when making this video.
@@RetroCore yeah, it'd have been a fun thing to see
One of my favorite games for the Atari 8-bit
First played this on a friend's C64 way back in 1985! After actually owning one a few years later, I had this, could never complete it! Good times....
This game is what happens when Bruce Lee plays Prince of Persia.
This one on the status 800xl was my first in some cases...
First game I rly like as a kid
Back in the day my only way to play Atari 800xl was renting the thing by 1 hour, yep, that is third world to you.... obviously time start once the game is loaded because this took like 30 minutes or something like that, right?
Was my first game I get....was the first I "back up" with a double cassette player...
Was the first game I finished....Montezuma was the second....
I remember how realistic I thought the game because I had to run a little before pull out a thing kick or jump in place .... ironically you fall soooooo slooooow.... So the days always got me...
Awwwww...
Yet another classic that could use a modern day remake
I couldn't remember the game from the title, but as soon as I saw it running, I recognised it. I spent hours and hours playing this on my spectrum all those years ago.
I have fond memories of this game. I used to play it on my Amstrad PC1640 and was quite good at it (Could finish it more often than not). Mind you, if you use PCem with the right settings, you can emulate CGA composite mode and play the game with 16 colors. (Artifact colors, exploiting the properties composite signal had). Be sure to check it out if you find the time. In my opinion it was one of the best versions of the game.
The relatively recent Sega Master System unofficial port is a real work of love and a fitting tribute to this juggernaut of a game.
Nice. Wish that was around when I made this video.
Love Bruce Lee on the c64 😍so much good memories
At the time I was playing with my younger brother (it was one less enemy), it was fun
That is such a satisfying jump kick
One of my go to games for the Spectrum. Still plays great after all those years
I had it on Amstrad CPC, I found it hard as hell back then
Some of the later levels can be tricky I guess.
This is easily one of my favorite Atari 8-bit games, very challenging and satisfying in its level designs and enemy fights. Glad to see it was available on so many platforms, so everyone can enjoy it.
The Master System version also no is one port? Thanks for this video!
somehow this game looks the best to me on the spectrum. imagine that.
Sometimes that can be the case. Not often though 😅
One of my favourite games from my youth. I always hoped for a sequel, even if it was just more of the same.
I'm sure somewhere out there a homebrew with more stages exists.
@@RetroCore - I'll have to search around for it. Thanks for the info.
It reminds me a lot to a El Zorro, a very similar game in graphics and mechanics, that I played a lot in my Amstrad CPC.
Commodore 64 moves amazing!
Thanks for the video!
I wonder is El Zorro was inspired by this game? I've never seen El Zorro so I should check it out.
My first exposure to this game was the MS-DOS port. I discovered it right around the time I discovered his movies. So, good times.
I put so many hours into the ZX Spectrum version. Could complete it over and over till I turned it off.
Used to play the Atari 800XL version, its a shame the reward for winning the game is simply watching Bruce Lee jump up and down.
I still play the C64 port every now and then (2019) and I still have a great time. It's amazing how a game like this that doesn't really look like much still manages to have such an enormous entertaining value.
That was an enjoyable vid. I've never been good at this game at all but watching this makes me want to try it again.
There is a 2001 remake of the C64 version for Windows 9x/Me/XP (still runs on Windows 7 64-bit!) by Mark Rosten, which I played as a kid. Unfortunately his website is no longer online, but the game can still be found elsewhere online if you search for it.
I played the CPC and Apple II versions back in the day. The Apple II one also features a 2-channel intro music that sounds better than the PC's!
Great video as always.
On CPC, if you crouch next to the wall at the bottom right you will go to the next screen
Nice handy tip that is 👍
The music on the spectrum title screen sounds like newborn by muse but Bruce Lee came first. One of the few speccy games I could finish without cheating
Loved the C64 version as a kid. Played it constantly!
Played the heck out of it on my Atari 800xl :)
proof that system limitations don't remove Style ! i remembered the c64 version, played it on PCjr. only 4 colors !
great joystick game, as easy as keyboard.
a true "computer game" that no console had !
Yep. Good game play can be had from simple graphics.
Never knew there was game . loved his movies . sad he no longer with us . great movies he made
Interresting. On the MSX instead of boxing Bruce Lee seems to dodge. Oh, look and listen at all of this.. I'm so glad I grew up with the C64 version.
Good job.
Absolute classic game. Still great fun, but the first platformer collecting things is rather Jumpman (and I'm sure there are even earlier games).
BTW, on the C64 there are also 2 relatively recent, quite good and free homebrew games, called "Tiger claw" and "Bruce Lee II", which are reprogrammed and improved variants of the original. If you like the original Bruce Lee (which you obviously do), you might wanna give these two a try.
I wouldn't say the BBC is humble or limited. Yes the colour palette is a bit gaudy but it's a lot more advanced than the Spectrum for example. The BBC version certainly could have been better.
Ahhh, the endless C64 joys of punching the hapless stick-ninja off a cliff into an electrical field, beating the shit out of the green sumo or making them fight eachother :D
There is a homebrew version for the master system that was good
ruclips.net/video/FnfZRMUxms4/видео.html Wow, looks great. Thanks for the info
Yeah, I didn't know about that one.
@@RetroCore update video with it just kidding. But check it out you will like it.
Forgive my lack of knowledge on the subject but, was this an arcade title originally of which these are all ports of?
No, this was originally an Atari 8bit home computer game.
One of my favourite games on the Atari, C64, Spectrum and Amstrad!
Great video thanks Mark. This is one of those games I watched someone else play and complete, everytime I went round my speccy owning friend's he'd play this to complete it and I never wanted a go after watching.
Unfortunately, this game not release for any video game console.
Another great video.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
It turns out that a Master System homebrew was made.
@@RetroCore , I didn't know that.
👏👏👏👏👏
@@rudycassiano It's very good.
The C64 version also has two unofficial sequels, both of which are well worth seeking out. Also the PC remake is excellent.
I love these battles !!!!
Quite the rare treat indeed. It's nice to see that so many micros received a good port.
So many fond memories of playing this on the Apple growing up. Though to me that version seemed the hardest in terms of the final screens.
The IBM PC version looks so much more colorful if set to use the TV set or Composite monitor option. This version not only looks more colorful but sounds better when run on an IBM PCjr. Both modes are shown starting from this point here : ruclips.net/video/YbCF22Lsxfk/видео.html
6:26 Bruce Lee has been disconnected from the ladder lol
The DOS port looks a lot more colourful if you use the CGA composite mode. Search YT for "bruce lee cga composite". In DOSBox you can set "machine=cga" in the conf file and choose the TV option in the game, then it'll run in composite mode automatically.
One of my first games ever seen on a C64, I clearly remember wanting to have one to play it, and when I finally played, it was very very hard to finish, actually I never finished it.....amazing game but hard as balls
Probably a game fondly remembered by anyone who had it at the time on their system of choice (or fate). For me the C64 version is therefore the go to game. Faster than the Atari original and more colourful than the Speccy (which does have smarter AI though!).
Also, on the C64, I'm pretty sure many people remember a version of the game they had (perhaps of dubious origin ;), that was wont to crash on a warp screen! :)
The electric field was a nightmare as a kid but once you get the pattern, it's easy. As is the entire game really but still fun to play every now and then. So glad we got a port of the unofficial Bruce Lee II on the C64 as well! And yet *sigh* I'm stuck on the electric field level in that game again, just like the kid I was when playing the original!
gotta love the bbc mirco👍
I had the Atari version , still play it quite regular , also trying other ports too , came across a Sega master system version a few years ago which is also good
How to cheat in the CPC version and avoid a huge chunk of the game: go to the bottom right of each screen then crouch while still going right. Voilà!
Hah, nice cheat.
My C64 copy was badly cracked, and sometimes it liked to crash when you moved to different screen, loved to play it regardless :) Spectrum port is my second favorite, thanks to better A.I of computer enemies, Ninja attacks you more often and his attacks are faster, and Yamo often follows you on ladders, BBC Micro version already have sprite flickering with only Bruce and Yamo, thats probably why they didnt put Ninja in it. first time i ve seen NEC PC-8801 port. There is also Ultimate Bruce Lee, fanport on PC with slightly updated graphics and lots of extras to unlock. Sega Master System also recieved fan port.
One of the few games I can play without dying INSTANTLY. Did I mention that it's a personal favourite?
Played do many hours on the Zx spectrum 48k.... Once you beta the game it just restarts from the beginning and goes on and on
Man, what the hell they did with Bruce Lee's face in 8801 version?
Someone set the graphics to down syndrome?
It also came out for PC Booter and Sharp X1, as well as the FM-7 version.
For me though, the Speccy version will always rule the roost.
The version he showed is the PC Booter version. PC Booter wasn't a different system, it refers to games that you start up by booting your system with the disk in the drive rather than through the DOS prompt. Many early DOS games you find on abandonware sites are booters that have been hacked to run through a conventional executable file.
@@muffinboymcgee7411 Sometimes the PC Booter versions differed slightly. Most of the time they were the same as their DOS counterparts though.
Definitely one of my top 10 on the ole C64.
Bruce Lee was the first game I finished on my beloved Speccy. I still have my copy and I still play occasionally. Introductory music is somehow hypnotic. By the way, isn't PCjr a version apart from the PC family? At least in DOSBOX it looks better than the standard version of IBM PC using RGB monitor emulation.
It's not easy, try to finish it 😁
What's Jackie Chan's favorite drink?
Bruce TEA!
*badum tiss*
oh my god i laughed out loud when i first saw Bruce Tea at the Marukai market. Tastes pretty good, too
"MSX being of Japanese origin" is a very odd thing to say about a global standard.
Not really. The MSX was a Japanese system. It was developed by ASCII in association with Microsoft for the OS.
It would be the same as saying the PS5 is Japanese while the Xbox is American.
Ah, the good old days! When most of the sound effects in a game are like flatulence.
Be like water Mark. 8^)
Anthony..
BBC Micro has blonde Bruce? lmao!
C64 version all day , it's the best one , that and Conan for the C64 got plenty of play time from me
great gave, great video! loved it on my c64.
It's actually very surprising the MSX version is NOT a half-arsed port of the Spectrum Version :)
But it still looks like shit for an MSX game.
I believe this got a few fan-made ports of other systems. A friend of mine worked on the recent SMS port that looks AMAZING and plays very well too. Check it out if you don't know it yet :)
I wasn't aware of the Master System version when making this video. I wish I was now because it's actually really nice.
I was going to replace the msx with the mz 800 version because this is a half arsed port of the spectrum version if you can get past the minus color graphics.
Yay! Battle Of The Ports I love this❤...awesome Bruce Lee what a legend🥋😉
Manic Miner also had collecting which pre-dates this. I'm sure there are other. Maziacs comes to mind and ant attack. Pretty certain is older than this. An interesting observation though.
Amazing work as always
That game on the IBM might be better if you enable the Plantronics 16 colour mode.
Who controls the ports controls the universe!
missing sega master system port! :)
The ATARI version looks the best in that case. But I never played this one myself.
Great video as always. I will add that the IBM PC version is much easier on the eyes through CGA Composite, simply because there are more colors to work with.
Bruce Lee rocks (the game, but I guess the guy too then :P) because rarely does a retro game feel this modern. One would think it's a web browser game (I would say Flash but yikes) from recently. Good level design, no unnecessary difficulty, gameplay twists, or control difficulties, one can actually work it all the way to an ending without getting bored or too infuriated in the process. Allegedly, gaming magazines of the time reviewed it negatively because it was deemed "easy".
Interesting.
i loved the 2 player mode i think player one was bruce and p2 was the black ninja ......wed kill each other for hours ......you know back in the day people would put their name on the start screen after seeing some of these horrible games/ports I'mm asking "why?"
Nice, but you forgot the best version, the master system one
This isn't on the Master System.
@@RetroCore it's a 2015 homebrew.
@@custardo Out of the purview of the series, methinks.
Oh, never mind.
I'm kinda surprised the game didn't come to consoles, what with how many ports it got. Seems like a sure fire seller. Big name, relatively simple controls (apparently), graphics probably would look just fine after a minor touch-up (couldn't look more basic than Famicom Thexder), and a lot of action. I can't imagine that being a hard sell at all on the Famicom/NES or the Mark III/Master System.
There is actually homebrew port of Bruce Lee for SMS, and it is really good :)
This game seems to have been conceived by somebody who has heard of Bruce Lee, but had never seen any his movies. Why is Bruce fighting ninjas and sumo wrestlers? Why is he collecting lanterns of all things? Why is he blonde in the BBC Micro version of the game!?
It's a good game, but it just makes no freaking sense.
Hahaha, funny stuff.
That "sumo wrestler" could be based on the guy he fought at the beginning of Enter the Dragon.
@@PAKA62 lolllllll
The dos version supported a higher color palette through cga-composite. It looks quite nice, but I don't think there's any way to play it without original hardware. Truthfully, aside from a couple of weird color choices (probably due to limitations) these all look mostly the same to me. For once, a good port was had by all!
DOSBox can do CGA composite, so it's possible. Looks a lot nicer, too.
Interesting. I'll have to give that a try.
There is a Sega Master System Homebrew port that really deserves be mentioned:
www.smspower.org/Homebrew/BruceLee-SMS
i can't tell about the fidelity of the gameplay, but the graphics are nice.
Loved this game on my Amstrad CPC 464. Thank You for reviewing this. Lots of lovely memories associated with this game. Theres actually a bug where you can loads of extra lives. Theres a screen where you can collect a yin and yang symbol. collect and leave the room but come back and its still there. do this 4 times without loosing a live and your lives count jumps to 99. I hated the laser floor level.
3:55 Oh god damnit Mark. First, I thought you were Wario from that Mario Sports Eggs video but now you're Sans? Lol
Lol, thankfully not.
The BBC version features Bruce Lee's blond brother, I assume?
Nah, he just bleached his hair like many modern young Asians do now. Or at least they do in Japan.
Also exist a bootleg 8-bit game called The Dragon . It is fighting games with Mortal Kombat sprites
Played the C-64 Version often...with a Friend...who forced me to be the chubby green guy nearly all the time...grrrrrrr....
I always wondered why he was green.
I wonder what was the first platform game with collectible items? Donkey Kong in 1981 maybe? First home-only game maybe Miner 2049er or Pitfall in 1982?
Great video thank you. I was also surprised that US Gold could make decent ports.
I think they got lucky with this one.
Some questionable colour choices here and there, like the purple skinned and blond haired Bruce Lee on the BBC Micro! It's funny that in quite a few ports (MSX, CPC and C64) yellow was considered an acceptable colour option for the main sprite, I imagine just because Bruce Lee was a Asian man!
the pink sprite with grey background would have looked terrible on most setups (tv via rf cable). it is hard to imagine it these days (looking at oled and lcd screens via hdmi) but it was a thing back then :)
The C64 version could have looked more like the Atari version, but diddent do that. But gameplay still fun and that matter.
Really great game but let's be honest...WORST BOSS FIGHT IN HISTORY!
Just run past him in 1 go and you're done ;)
I used to love playing Bruce Lee on my old BBC B (though he's the most sunburnt Scandinavian looking Bruce Lee ever due to choices made with the colour palette).
I was very surprised you don't have the homebrew Master System version on there from a few years ago. It looks fantastic! ruclips.net/video/FnfZRMUxms4/видео.html
I had no idea about that one. That's the problem with homebrew. Unless you follow it most people will never know about it.
Huh, rather nice to see. I wonder if you would do this to Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story.
Hmm that's not a very good game from what I remember. It does have a lot of ports though.