476th played so far
Genre: Fighting
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1985
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Yie Ar Kung-Fu is described in the book as the archetypical fighting game. I’m sure it is, but I’ve never heard of it.
The images make it look fairly standard, so let’s just go.
Our Thoughts
Boy, did this look like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. The game plays like a simplified version of a fighting game we’ve seen more often – indeed, Wikipedia says it’s seen as the basis for modern fighting games, and that became clear as we were playing.
A lot of familiar elements are there – a 2D playing field on which you move left and right, fighting a single opponent. You can jump, duck and attack. Health bars keep track of how you’re doing, and there’s a varied roster of enemies, which you fight in order.
There are also still some differences. There’s no character select, you just play as your one character, which you need to master. The opponent do have different patterns of attack, so at least those differences are there, but there’s no favourites or different tricks for you.
It’s challenging at first, the first enemy or two fairly easily defeated but still difficult enough to cost you a life at first. It ramps up quickly from there though, and you still need to master the game.
In looks, the game is fairly simple, with some shades of anime. It looks quite nice, the cartoon-like looks adding to the appeal and dating the game a bit less than it could.
Final Thoughts
Yie Ar Kung-Fu would not be as remarkable if it hadn’t been the first, true, but it’s interesting to see where the genre started. The game might be relatively simple, but it’s suprisingly effective and easier to master than the combos later games offer (I just never entirely get them). It really is a game you should have tried, to appreciate the core of fighting games.