GOTD 5/10/2016: Kung Fu Kid (Master System)

[celerystalker]

Kung Fu Kid for Sega's Master System very much carries with it the look and feel of classic Sega arcade side-scrollers like My Hero and Teddy Boy. It's a side-scrolling action-platformer in which you, the bravest kid on the planet, must infiltrate the palace of the demon king Madanda and exact your revenge for his killing your kung fu master. Armed with exorcism talismans and two bad-ass legs, it's up to you to kick the shit out of Madanda and his demons.

In Kung Fu Kid, you hop and kick your way through seven stages with great looking backgrounds. You can jump, wall jump, kick, dropkick, foot sweep, and toss talismans at your enemies. You move faster when you hop, and most enemies go down with ease in the first few stages. Talismans are useless against bosses, but can really tear through the undead monsters in stages 4, 5, and 7. Some may complain that the controls are "reversed" from the Super Mario standard, but they are really very responsive even with an actual Master System pad, and it's your own fault when you die.

This is a short, easy, fun little game that reminds me of Irem's Kung Fu, but with more vertical platforming elements and varied enemies like zombies, kyonshis, monks, frogs, and more. Stage six is a neat series of boss fights that aren't recycled from the rest of the game, and they look pretty solid. The music has a very asian flare, as do the outstanding backgrounds. It's all pretty simple, but it's a fun, inexpensive playthrough that's catchy and colorful. I dig it.

Any fans of this one?

[Emperor Megas]

It's a side-scrolling action-platformer in which you, the bravest kid on the planet, must infiltrate the palace of the demon king Madanda and exact your revenge for his killing your kung fu master. Armed with exorcism talismans and two bad-ass legs, it's up to you to kick the shit out of Madanda and his demons.

This is one of the best game summaries I've ever read and I would have mowed several lawns to purchase this game in my first round of SMS acquisitions back in '87 had I read that description on the back of the box.

I've owned this game probably since the early 90's, but I don't think I've ever played my copy of it, and I'm really not sure why, considering the SMS is tied with the TG16 as my favorite retro console. I know that I've played a few rounds of it before, and enjoyed it, but I think that I thought that it was one of those games with infinitely repeating stages. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that IS why I didn't really get into it, because I hate that shit. If the game has a legit ending though I think I'll add it to my queue this week and lament all of the wasted years.

[celerystalker]

Glad you enjoyed that. Kung Fu Kid does in fact have an ending after level 7, no looping shit like the NES Kung Fu. You'll beat it quickly, but it's fun while it lasts.

[Steve W]

I've got the game, but I never spent more than a couple minutes with it. I bought my SMS at a street sale back around 1998 for $50 with a storage case and a dozen or so games. And all the games were the most boring ones on the system. I had been interested in the Master System since it came out, I finally had one of my own, and all the games were a total letdown. I played the various games for about half an hour maximum, set it aside, and haven't played the SMS since. I still collect for the system whenever I come across something of interest, but I never pull the trigger, pull the console out of storage, and play it. My first impression of the games on the machine was so poor I've never mustered interest in firing it up again, even after buying the 3D glasses and several other (better) games including some random imports.