Yie-Ar Kung Fu
Encyclopedia
is a 1985
arcade
fighting game
developed and published by Konami
. It was considered by many gamers in Japan to be the basis for modern fighting games. It pit the player against a variety of opponents, each with a unique appearance and fighting style. The player could perform up to sixteen different moves, using a combination of buttons and joystick
movements while standing, crouching or jumping.
), controlled by the player. Oolong must fight all the martial arts
masters given by the game (eleven in the arcade version; five to thirteen in the home ports) unarmed to win the title of "Grand Master" and honor the memory of his father. On his side is a variety of punch and kick blows reachable by combining the joystick with one of the buttons (punch or kick). He also has the greatest jumping ability of all the game's fighters, with the exception of "Blues".
Regardless of the move that defeated them, male characters(save Feedle) always fall unconscious lying on their backs with their legs apart (players flail their feet), and female characters always fall demurely lying on their sides. Feedle disappears. There are only 2 female fighters, and the rest are male.
When a player gains an extra life, the word "xiè xiè" (Mandarin Chinese for "thank you") is heard. This is sometimes mistaken for the word "sushi".
The martial arts masters are listed below (in fight order):
1 Buchu: Buchu is a big sumo
wrestler who uses a leaping motion to land on Oolong with his body. Buchu may be big, but he's also slow. Buchu does not use weapons to fight. He is the first opponent in the first gauntlet and when gets hit in the crotch, his eyes bug out and the game says "nǐ hǎo" (which is Mandarin Chinese for "hi" or "hello").
2 Star: The first female opponent Oolong faces. Star is a young ninja
girl in a pink outfit who uses shuriken
to slow Oolong down along with fast punches and kicks.
3 Nuncha: Nuncha is a man in a yellow gi swinging nunchaku
at Oolong in an effort to slow him down. According to an article at the "Hardcore Gaming 101" e-magazine (see "External links", below), his outfit and weapon are a homage to Bruce Lee
's role in the movie Game of Death
.
4 Pole: Pole is a short man who carries a large bo
and uses it on Oolong. Pole also uses it to pole vault for extra momentum for his moves.
Feedle: Feedle is basically an endurance test for Oolong. Numerous enemies (or the same enemy who can replicate himself) attack from both sides of Oolong. In some ports, like the Commodore 64
one, he/they are absent.
5 Chain: Chain awaits Oolong at the start of the second gauntlet. (At the end of the first one in the Commodore 64 version.) He's a large man which swings a giant chain with a claw-like attachment at the end.
6 Club: Club is another large man that attacks Oolong. Club swings a giant spiked club (chúi
) and bears a shield on his right arm to block most of Oolong's attacks.
7 Fan: Fan is another female warrior who wears a cheongsam and is more feminine than Star. Fan throws steel fans at Oolong like shuriken and attacks very fiercely. The fans fall in a feather-like pattern.
8 Sword: Sword is a dangerous warrior who comes ready to pounce on Oolong with a Dao
and impressive aerial moves.
9 Tonfun: Tonfun is the final opponent Oolong must face before meeting his ultimate challenger, Blues. Tonfun attacks with two tonfa
and fast-paced martial arts. Oolong has to time his attacks and hope that Tonfun makes a mistake to survive.
10 Blues: Blues is almost a mirror image of Oolong without a shirt on and can match him move for move. Oolong has to find some weakness on Blues to win. Since none of his clothes are blue, his name could be another Bruce Lee reference, based on his first name's pronunciation when said by a Japanese speaker. When Blues is defeated, Oolong is the winner and the game begins again with Buchu (in the BBC Micro version, Blues is replaced by a second round of Feedle).
, NES
, Commodore 64
, ZX Spectrum
, Amstrad CPC
and BBC Micro
. It was released on Xbox Live Arcade
for the Xbox 360
on July 18, 2007 with updated graphics and for the Nintendo DS
in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits
. In recent years, this game was re-released on some TV game products.
Yie Ar Kung-Fu was made available on Microsoft's
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Windows-based
PC
s in July 2010.
A sequel, Yie Ar Kung-Fu II
, was released a year later. The sequel was released only for home computers and was never ported to the arcades. Another fighting game by Konami titled Martial Champion
was originally planned to be released as Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2. In fact, Jin, the protagonist of Martial Champion, was modeled after Lee, the protagonist of the NES and MSX versions, and after Ryu
from Street Fighter II
.
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The MSX and NES port has many differences from its arcade counterpart. The hero is called Lee and faces only five opponents:
Wang: armed with a pole. Unlike Pole, he doesn't use his pole to gain momentum.
Tao: throws small fireballs in the same way as Star.
Chen: this port's version of Chain.
Lang: this port's version of Star, but with quicker shots and moves.
Wu/Mu: called Wu in the MSX and Mu in the NES, he is similar to Buchu (though Mu is white and seems bearded, while Buchu is black and has a shaven face). Once he is defeated, the challenge starts again with Wang.
After Chen's defeat, there is a bonus round where the hero must hit objects thrown at him to score points.
This version was relaunched for the Game Boy Color (as a part of Konami GB Collection Vol. 4), Saturn and PlayStation.
game Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced
. To have access to them, the player must input the famous Konami Code
at the title screen. The fighters are:
Bishoo: a woman dressed in white who attacks with daggers.
Clayman: a living statue who attacks with a sword bigger than Sword's.
The characters are available in the special two-player mode found on this collection.
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
developed and published by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
. It was considered by many gamers in Japan to be the basis for modern fighting games. It pit the player against a variety of opponents, each with a unique appearance and fighting style. The player could perform up to sixteen different moves, using a combination of buttons and joystick
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
movements while standing, crouching or jumping.
Gameplay
Yie Ar Kung-Fu features the hero, Oolong (written 烏龍 Wūlóng, and ウーロン Ūron in JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
), controlled by the player. Oolong must fight all the martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
masters given by the game (eleven in the arcade version; five to thirteen in the home ports) unarmed to win the title of "Grand Master" and honor the memory of his father. On his side is a variety of punch and kick blows reachable by combining the joystick with one of the buttons (punch or kick). He also has the greatest jumping ability of all the game's fighters, with the exception of "Blues".
Regardless of the move that defeated them, male characters(save Feedle) always fall unconscious lying on their backs with their legs apart (players flail their feet), and female characters always fall demurely lying on their sides. Feedle disappears. There are only 2 female fighters, and the rest are male.
When a player gains an extra life, the word "xiè xiè" (Mandarin Chinese for "thank you") is heard. This is sometimes mistaken for the word "sushi".
Characters
1 Buchu: Buchu is a big sumo
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
wrestler who uses a leaping motion to land on Oolong with his body. Buchu may be big, but he's also slow. Buchu does not use weapons to fight. He is the first opponent in the first gauntlet and when gets hit in the crotch, his eyes bug out and the game says "nǐ hǎo" (which is Mandarin Chinese for "hi" or "hello").
2 Star: The first female opponent Oolong faces. Star is a young ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
girl in a pink outfit who uses shuriken
Shuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
to slow Oolong down along with fast punches and kicks.
3 Nuncha: Nuncha is a man in a yellow gi swinging nunchaku
Nunchaku
is a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:The Japanese word nunchaku is the Kun'yomi reading of the Kanji term for a traditional Chinese two section staff....
at Oolong in an effort to slow him down. According to an article at the "Hardcore Gaming 101" e-magazine (see "External links", below), his outfit and weapon are a homage to Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
's role in the movie Game of Death
Game of Death
The Game of Death is a 1972 film starring Bruce Lee. It was almost the last film Bruce Lee had planned to be the demonstration piece of his martial art Jeet Kune Do. Over 100 minutes of footage was shot before his death, some of which was later misplaced in the Golden Harvest archives...
.
4 Pole: Pole is a short man who carries a large bo
Bo (weapon)
A bō or kon , is a long staff weapon used in Okinawa and feudal Japan. Bō are typically around long and are now used in Japanese martial arts, in particular bōjutsu...
and uses it on Oolong. Pole also uses it to pole vault for extra momentum for his moves.
Feedle: Feedle is basically an endurance test for Oolong. Numerous enemies (or the same enemy who can replicate himself) attack from both sides of Oolong. In some ports, like the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
one, he/they are absent.
5 Chain: Chain awaits Oolong at the start of the second gauntlet. (At the end of the first one in the Commodore 64 version.) He's a large man which swings a giant chain with a claw-like attachment at the end.
6 Club: Club is another large man that attacks Oolong. Club swings a giant spiked club (chúi
Chúi
Chúi is a Chinese mêlée weapon that consists of a large, solid metal sphere on the end of a medium-long handle.This weapon was traditionally used with brute force, as the strength needed to heft such weapons was considerable. As a result, this weapon is not often practiced by kung fu enthusiasts,...
) and bears a shield on his right arm to block most of Oolong's attacks.
7 Fan: Fan is another female warrior who wears a cheongsam and is more feminine than Star. Fan throws steel fans at Oolong like shuriken and attacks very fiercely. The fans fall in a feather-like pattern.
8 Sword: Sword is a dangerous warrior who comes ready to pounce on Oolong with a Dao
Dao (sword)
Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...
and impressive aerial moves.
9 Tonfun: Tonfun is the final opponent Oolong must face before meeting his ultimate challenger, Blues. Tonfun attacks with two tonfa
Tonfa
The tonfa , also known as tong fa or tuifa, is an Okinawan weapon. It is a stick with a handle, and is about 15-20 inches long. It was traditionally made from red oak and wielded in pairs...
and fast-paced martial arts. Oolong has to time his attacks and hope that Tonfun makes a mistake to survive.
10 Blues: Blues is almost a mirror image of Oolong without a shirt on and can match him move for move. Oolong has to find some weakness on Blues to win. Since none of his clothes are blue, his name could be another Bruce Lee reference, based on his first name's pronunciation when said by a Japanese speaker. When Blues is defeated, Oolong is the winner and the game begins again with Buchu (in the BBC Micro version, Blues is replaced by a second round of Feedle).
Ports and related releases
Yie Ar Kung-Fu was subsequently widely ported to platforms including the MSXMSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
, NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
and BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
. It was released on Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on July 18, 2007 with updated graphics and for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
in Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits
Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits
Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits, released as Konami Arcade Collection in Japan and Konami Arcade Classics in Europe and Oceania, is a collection of 15 classic arcade games by Konami for the Nintendo DS.-Lineup:...
. In recent years, this game was re-released on some TV game products.
Yie Ar Kung-Fu was made available on Microsoft's
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service for its Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console and for Windows-based
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s in July 2010.
A sequel, Yie Ar Kung-Fu II
Yie Ar Kung-Fu II
is a computer game where the main character fights martial arts masters and is a sequel to Yie Ar Kung-Fu. This sequel was released for the Commodore 64, MSX, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron and Thomson TO7-70 home computer systems and featured a different approach to the game...
, was released a year later. The sequel was released only for home computers and was never ported to the arcades. Another fighting game by Konami titled Martial Champion
Martial Champion
is a 1993 fighting game released for the arcades by Konami. It was Konami's third fighting game after the 1985 releases Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Galactic Warriors, and their first release that came after the success of Capcom's 1991 arcade hit Street Fighter II.-Gameplay:Martial Champion follows the same...
was originally planned to be released as Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2. In fact, Jin, the protagonist of Martial Champion, was modeled after Lee, the protagonist of the NES and MSX versions, and after Ryu
Ryu (Street Fighter)
is a video game player character created by Capcom, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series. Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament...
from Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
.
Characters in the NES and MSX port
Wang: armed with a pole. Unlike Pole, he doesn't use his pole to gain momentum.
Tao: throws small fireballs in the same way as Star.
Chen: this port's version of Chain.
Lang: this port's version of Star, but with quicker shots and moves.
Wu/Mu: called Wu in the MSX and Mu in the NES, he is similar to Buchu (though Mu is white and seems bearded, while Buchu is black and has a shaven face). Once he is defeated, the challenge starts again with Wang.
After Chen's defeat, there is a bonus round where the hero must hit objects thrown at him to score points.
This version was relaunched for the Game Boy Color (as a part of Konami GB Collection Vol. 4), Saturn and PlayStation.
Hidden Characters (Game Boy Advance version)
There are two hidden characters in the GBAGame Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
game Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced
Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced
Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced was released on March 22, 2002, for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in Europe under the name Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Classics...
. To have access to them, the player must input the famous Konami Code
Konami Code
The Konami Code, known in Japan as the , is a cheat code that appears in many Konami video games, although the code also appears in some non-Konami games...
at the title screen. The fighters are:
Bishoo: a woman dressed in white who attacks with daggers.
Clayman: a living statue who attacks with a sword bigger than Sword's.
The characters are available in the special two-player mode found on this collection.