Kung Fu Kid
System: SMS
Release Date: October 1987
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Beat ‘em Up
Alright, this is a nifty little beat ‘em up we’ve got with Kung Fu Kid. It’s like a mix between Kung Fu on NES and Black Belt on SMS. And in this, I like it. Run to the right and kick or jump kick your enemies to oblivion. The first guys you see charge with their arms up, reminiscent of the huggers from Kung Fu. When you kick them, they disappear into oblivion.
Levels are short and sweet. As you kill enemies, a small talisman may appear above you. Collect it. You’ll need them later. You can power up the talisman in level 2 by defeating lobsters and in level 4 by defeating the jumping guys. At the end of each level is a boss. These are pretty easy in the first five levels. Just attack and evade when necessary. The boss of level five got me a couple times because I was in rough shape health-wise thanks to the zombie enemies on the level. Then I realized how important the talisman was when it came to killing the zombies. Good thing I had a crap ton saved up.
Level 6 is a boss gauntlet and it had its way with me for awhile. The first ogre dude has a huge club and can only be hurt if you attack his legs. The second boss is a pair of twins that went down pretty easily as long as I kept the pressure up. The third boss had my number for awhile until I discovered that I had to stun lock him with kicks to the back to beat him. The fourth boss had two attacks, a knife throw to jump over and kung fu kicks to jump over or duck under. Then the fifth boss was an old man who liked to jump kick. He almost got me, but once I stopped being reckless, he was no match for me.
Then you make it to a quick level 7. I was tired of fighting at this point and let a train of zombies follow me so no one could spawn in front of me. I recommend this tactic if you’re tired of fighting. There I was face to face with the final boss, Madanda. We went to war and killed each other simultaneously. I used my zombie train trick to make it back to him unharmed and killed him without much hassle. Then lightning struck him down for his wicked ways, leaving me the winner!
Graphics: 3.0
The graphics are pretty good and I really like the animations for the main character.
Sound: 2.5
The music and sound effects are slightly above average. They aren’t bad.
Gameplay: 3.0
The gameplay is tight. There isn’t too much to have to learn and everything works.
Difficulty: 1.5
I beat the game in less than an hour from first booting it up. I’d put it at too easy.
Fun Factor: 3.0
But it was certainly a good time. Not worth 50 bucks, but a fun game.
Overall Grade: 2.6
Kung Fu Kid earns a B-. Not quite as good as Kung Fu or Black Belt, but certainly in their realm. I recommend giving this one a try!