Yie Ar Kung Fu

Copyright : Imagine | Reviewed by : Ritchardo

Yie Ar Kung-Fu is a test of skill development in the traditional Martial Arts. It features Oolong in his attempt to become a Grandmaster in the ancient skills in honour of his father, a kung-fu master before him.

Your ultimate goal is to become a grand-master but to achieve this you must defeat a variety of opponents each more deadly than the last. They are armed with differing skills and weapons and must be overcome with a combination of ten different attack moves.

Graphics

With two distinctive backgrounds, Yie Ar Kung-Fu is a visually striking, almost cartoonish 2D fighter. The main character Oolong and his eight opponents are all individually styled and are easily distinguished between one another - with only the last fighter, Blues, a copied sprite (of Oolong himself). The characters, as well as being individual in appearance have all been animated separately also as the each have different fighting styles and poses which are as fluid as they are varied.

On the original tape and disk versions, Yie Ar Kung-Fu loads on either side with one having the mountain background and the other, the pagoda. Although both are well drawn, the pagoda is graphically the stronger of the two. On the file available on NVG, the first four opponents are battled at the mountain and the final four outside the pagoda.

Sound

An excellent tune plays throughout each bout and will live long in the memory. The spot effects are also fairly varied if not as impressive as the oriental flavoured in-game music.

Gameplay

The first serious contender to The Way of the Exploding Fist, Yie Ar Kung-Fu is a fast and furious one on one beat-em-up. The eight opponents are a tough challenge and each will require as much thought and examination of weakness as they will toe-to-toe fighting.

You have at your disposal a combination of ten attacking moves as well as the ability to dodge your opponent?s attacks through some well timed jumping and ducking.

Mistakes can be heavily punished as one false move can give your opponent the opportunity to capitalise and take the initiative, often leading to several slots of your energy bar being depleted.

Looking back, Yie Ar Kung-Fu is a definite inspiration for Capcom?s Street Fighter series as it contains the same cartoony elements and the variety of fighting styles and warriors, as the world?s most famous beat-em-up.

The one drawback with Yie Ar is the lack of a real two-player option. Instead of being a one-on-one battle, players merely take turns each of taking on the computer. A real missed opportunity.

Having said that though, Yie Ar Kung-Fu is still much fun to play now as it was back in the day and although quaint compared to the likes of ?Super-Combo Fighter X Deluxe II? or any other next generation 2D fighter, like them it?s just as playable as the day it was released.