Kung Fu
スパルタンX
- Year
- 1985
- Developer
- Irem
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Platform
- FC / NES
- Hardware
- Family Computer (8-bit)
- Genre
- Beat 'em up
- Players
- 1 player
- Controls
- D-pad (move) + A (punch) / B (kick)
- Series
- Kung-Fu Master series
Gameplay Screenshots
About This Game
Kung Fu is the NES conversion of Irem's arcade hit Kung-Fu Master - the game that established the single-plane brawler. Thomas climbs five floors of a pagoda, one per stage, fighting a fixed roster of enemies before a boss at the top of each.
Its design is beautifully stripped back. Thomas can walk, crouch, punch, kick and jump, and that is everything. Enemies come in four types - knife throwers, snakes, midgets and the large Grigoro - each with a tell that dictates whether you duck, kick or back off, and stage five ends with Mr. X. In Japan the game was released as Spartan X, a tie-in with Jackie Chan's film, and it is the direct ancestor of the arcade brawler: everything from Double Dragon to Final Fight inherits its walk-right-and-hit-things rhythm.
- Five single-plane stages, one per pagoda floor
- Four enemy types with distinct tells, ending in a boss on each floor
- Deliberately minimal move set - punch, kick, crouch and jump
- The origin of the side-scrolling brawler as a genre
Version History
- Arcade original (Kung-Fu Master)1984
Irem's coin-op, released in Japan as Spartan X.
- Famicom Japanese version (Spartan X)1985-06-21
Japanese console release tied to the Jackie Chan film.
- NES US version1985-10-18
The version on this page, one of the NES launch-window titles.
Tips & Strategy
Duck the knife throwers
They wind up visibly before releasing. Crouching takes the knife over your shoulder - do not try to jump it.
Kick, do not punch, the snakes
Snakes are low and the kick has a longer reach. Punching them means stepping into their strike range.
Keep backing to the wall
You cannot scroll back past the left edge. Fighting with your back to it removes the option of retreating and forces you to commit early.
Read the boss pattern first
Every boss has a fixed attack set. Losing one life to learn the cycle is faster than guessing your way through.
Download Resources
Resource packs for this game are provided through the button below.
⬇ Coming soon