1980s
Kung-Fu Master
1984 · Beat 'em up · Arcade
Overview
Kung-Fu Master is a classic 1980s beat 'em up game developed by Irem for Arcade.
Deep Dive
Kung-Fu Master is a classic 1980s beat 'em up game developed by Irem for Arcade.
Developer Story
Kung-Fu Master was developed by Irem in 1984, designed by Takashi Nishiyama who would later design Street Fighter. It was based on the Hong Kong martial arts film Game of Death. Players fought through five floors of enemies using punches, kicks, and jumps. The side-scrolling beat-em-up format it established influenced virtually every fighting game of the following decade.
Did You Know?
- Kung-Fu Master was designed by Takashi Nishiyama, who later created the original Street Fighter — the fighting game genre's lineage runs directly through him.
- The game was based on Bruce Lee's film Game of Death, though the licence was not credited in Western releases.
- Five distinct floor bosses each required different tactics, introducing the concept of themed boss encounters to beat-em-ups.
- The side-scrolling brawler format created here was refined by Double Dragon and perfected by Streets of Rage and Final Fight.
