This game first appeared in Arcades, and later in home consoles. But in my opinion, the Arcade version is better than the home console versions because they have more fighters and it is a lot more challenging in many ways. Now students, prepare yourselves for your first Kung Fu lesson with this review.
Gameplay. Players take control of the main character Oolong (Lee in home versions), in which they fight against a number of Kung Fu masters given by the name. In Arcades, they use the joystick to move the character, and buttons are used for punching and kicking. Some of these masters have weapons such as fighting sticks, chains, throwing stars, fireballs, and so on. After beating a number of characters, players enter bonus stages in which they have to hit the objects that come at them from both sides before they're hit. If they're hit, they will lie down on their backs with their legs apart (players flailing their feet). When players defeat opponents without getting hit once, they earn 5000 Perfect Points. The same thing goes when they destroy 20 objects in bonus stages, and earn 5000 points.
Design. The game is a 2D fighting game, with characters rendered as sprites at that time. It was at that time when video games were rising and were not all those crazy, over pixelated 3D video games that are seen today.
Sound and Music. The music of the game is completely memorable, it gives you the feel that you are actually in China fighting against Kung Fu Masters. The sound effects are also well done, and you can hear the main character's battle shouts as if he was saying "Wataaa!". In the game, the word "xie xie", which means "Thank You" in Chinese can be heard when the player earns an extra life.
History. Yie Ar Kung-Fu was an instant classic and hit upon it's release. It is actually one of those games that you want to play again. This Arcade game was also in various home ports such as the MSX, NES, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro. A year later, the game's sequel Yie Ar Kung-Fu II was released only for PC, and never in home consoles or Arcades. There were also plans for a Sega Genesis version of the game that would be released in the late 80s or early 90s, but unfortunately it was cancelled. Years went by and the game was being forgotten. However, this game was also re-released on the Xbox 360 in July 2007 and also for the Nintendo DS as part of Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits.
Memories. I remember playing the NES version, but unlike the Arcade game which has 11 fighters and others from 5 to thirteen, the NES version had only five. However, these four fighters could be fought after beating stage 5, and they would get a lot more tougher than before. Aw memories.
Rantings. Although it's a great game and all, there are also some things to rant about like any other game. In the home consoles it gets repetitive and boring after awhile, but the fun part about it is how more tough and challenging it gets. Also, in the NES version, Lang (Star) is a lot more faster and more annoying then her arcade counterpart. The fighter I hated to fight was against Chen due to his annoying chain attacks.
Good Aspects. The game has many great qualities and high replay value. I actually wished that this game would be in either PSN or the Wii Virtual Console. You can actually play this on the Xbox 360 if you have one or the Nintendo DS Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits.
Overall. Before Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Killer Instinct and Dead or Alive, there was Yie Ar Kung-Fu. I love this game, and it's really cool. Yie Ar Kung-Fu gets an 8 out of 10.
God Bless and Play Hard Gamers!