How to play Kung-Fu Master online
- Walk: left and right arrow keys
- Jump / crouch: up arrow / down arrow
- High kick: left or right plus Z
- Low kick: down plus Z
- High punch: up-left or up-right diagonal plus Z
- Low punch: down-left or down-right diagonal plus Z
- Shake off a henchman: tap left and right quickly
- Start a one-player game: F3 (Reset). Two players: F2 (Select), then F3
Gameplay
Princess Victoria is held in the Evil Wizard’s temple, and you fight your way through its five floors to reach her. Henchmen try to grab you and drain your energy. Knife throwers need two hits. Small tumbling fighters come from both sides and are best hit low. Falling balls hide dragons and falling baskets hide snakes, so break them before they land. Spinning bombs explode after a moment, and killer moths attack as well.
At the end of each floor a master blocks the way: the Stick Fighter, the Boomerang Thrower, the Giant Kicker, the Lightning Magician and finally the Gang Master. No single blow kills you, but each one takes energy. You lose a life when your energy bar or the timer runs out, and you start with four lives. In a two-player game, the players take turns each time one of them loses a life. After you rescue the princess, the game starts over with faster, tougher enemies.
| Enemy | Kick | Punch |
|---|---|---|
| Henchman | 100 | 200 |
| Small fighter | 200 | 300 |
| Knife thrower | 500 | 800 |
| Killer moth | 500 | 600 |
| Stick Fighter | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| Gang Master | 10,000 | 10,000 |
At the end of each floor, the time left is multiplied by 10 and your remaining energy by 100, and both go onto your score. There is an extra life at 75,000 points.
Tips
- Punch when you can. Punches are worth more than kicks against henchmen and knife throwers.
- Don’t fight snakes or bombs. Jump over the snakes and step away from the bombs.
- Strike only when needed. Random attacks leave you open, and every hit you take wears down your energy before the master fight.
- Watch the clock. Leftover time is worth points, and running out costs a life.
The story behind Kung-Fu Master
The arcade original was made by Irem in 1984 and designed by Takashi Nishiyama. It was inspired by Hong Kong martial arts films and loosely based on the Jackie Chan film Wheels on Meals. At Activision, Dan Kitchen converted it to the Atari 2600.
The 7800 version came from Absolute Entertainment, a company founded in 1986 by former Activision designer Garry Kitchen together with his brother Dan Kitchen, Alex DeMeo and John Van Ryzin. Its in-house studio Imagineering is credited with the development. Like Commando and Double Dragon, it reached the 7800 because the arcade rights owner was free to license home versions for consoles other than the NES. It came out in 1989, and original cartridges are scarce today.
