Editing Kung-Fu Master (video game) (section)

==Impact==
===Beat 'em up and fighting games===
''Kung-Fu Master'' is regarded as the first [[beat 'em up]] video game (also referred to as brawlers) in the world.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FdMnDwAAQBAJ&q=beat+em+up+kung+fu+master&pg=PT51|title=The A-Z of Atari 2600 Games: Volume 1|first=Kieren|last=Hawken|date=16 February 2017|publisher=Andrews UK Limited|isbn=9781785386428|access-date=2 March 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtEnDwAAQBAJ&q=beat+em+up+kung+fu+master&pg=PT29|title=The A-Z of Atari ST Games: Volume 1|first=Kieren|last=Hawken|date=6 June 2017|publisher=Andrews UK Limited|isbn=9781785387005|access-date=2 March 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="Mott">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olpPoAswgHoC&q=beat+em+up+kung+fu+master+1984&pg=PT152|title=1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die: You Must Play Before You Die|first=Tony|last=Mott|date=5 December 2011|publisher=Octopus|isbn=9781844037155|access-date=2 March 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-side-scrolling-beat-em-up|title=First side-scrolling beat-em-up|access-date=2 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.racketboy.com/retro/beatem-ups-101-all-you-need-to-know-about-brawlers|title=Beat'em-Ups 101: All You Need to Know About Brawlers - RetroGaming with Racketboy|date=10 August 2010|access-date=2 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzMYYrsDaAEC&q=beat+em+up+kung+fu+master+1984&pg=PA162|title=The Video Games Guide: 1,000+ Arcade, Console and Computer Games, 1962-2012, 2d ed.|first=Matt|last=Fox|date=3 January 2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786472574|access-date=2 March 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref> According to ''[[Retro Gamer]]'', ''Kung-Fu Master'' invented the genre.<ref name="RG"/> It distinguished itself from ''Karate Champ'' by simplifying the combat system and featuring multiple opponents along a side-scrolling playfield.<ref name="CGW">Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce; Katz, Arnie, [http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_52.pdf#page=48 "The Furious Fists of Sega!"], ''Computer Gaming World'', Oct 1988, pp. 48-49</ref> It established the "walk forward and beat up dudes" trend that influenced many games after it.<ref name="HG101"/> It also established the end-of-level [[boss battle]] structure used in the beat 'em up genre, with the player character progressing through levels and fighting a boss character at the end of each level; in turn, this end-of-level boss battle structure was adapted from the Bruce Lee film ''Game of Death'', where Lee's character fights a different boss character on each floor as he ascends a pagoda.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stuart |first1=Keith |title=Bruce Lee, UFC and why the martial arts star is a video game hero |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/apr/09/bruce-lee-ea-sports- |access-date=20 July 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=9 April 2014}}</ref>

According to Matt Fox, it "one hundred percent defined" the beat 'em up genre, with variations of its plot structure used in virtually every scrolling beat 'em up since.<ref name="Fox"/> There were numerous imitators, such as ''[[Black Belt (1986 video game)|Black Belt]]'' (1986) and ''[[Kung Fu Kid]]'' (1987) on the [[Master System]].<ref name="CGW"/> Other beat 'em ups that followed its single-plane side-scrolling format include arcade games such as [[Sega]]'s ''[[My Hero (video game)|My Hero]]'' and ''[[Flashgal]]'' (1985), [[Taito]]'s ''[[The Ninja Warriors]]'' (1987), Data East's ''[[Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja]]'' (1988) and [[Namco]]'s ''[[Splatterhouse]]'' (1988).<ref name="Hero">{{cite web |last1=Plasket |first1=Michael |title=My Hero |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/my-hero/ |website=Hardcore Gaming 101 |date=May 4, 2017 |access-date=8 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Unconverted |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/retro-gamer/20200123/281676846862054 |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=[[Retro Gamer]] |via=[[PressReader]] |date=23 January 2020}}</ref> Other titles such as [[Technōs Japan]]'s ''[[Renegade (video game)|Renegade]]'' (1986) and ''[[Double Dragon (video game)|Double Dragon]]'' (1987), [[Capcom]]'s ''[[Final Fight (video game)|Final Fight]]'' (1989) and Sega's ''[[Streets of Rage]]'' (1991) evolved the beat 'em up formula established by ''Kung-Fu Master'' with a belt-scrolling format.<ref name="Hero"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Spencer |first1=Spanner |title=The Tao of Beat-'em-ups - Part 2: A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Fighting from '85 to '93. |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/a_taoofbeatemups_pt2_retro |website=[[Eurogamer]] |access-date=14 April 2021 |date=12 February 2008}}</ref><ref name="Mott"/>

The boss battles had [[health meter]]s for the player character and each boss, which led to the game temporarily becoming a one-on-one [[fighting game]] during boss battles.<ref name="Lendino"/><ref name="Williams"/> The ''Kung-Fu Master'' boss battles became the basis for the 1987 fighting game ''[[Street Fighter (video game)|Street Fighter]]'', which was directed by ''Kung-Fu Master'' designer Takashi Nishiyama after leaving Irem for Capcom.<ref name="polygon">{{cite web |last1=Leone |first1=Matt |title=Street Fighter 1: An oral history |url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/7/7/21270906/street-fighter-1-oral-history-takashi-nishiyama |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |access-date=July 16, 2020 |date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Williams"/> Following the release of ''Kung-Fu Master'', Capcom was interested in hiring Nishiyama, who then led the development of ''Street Fighter''. Nishiyama later left Capcom to run [[SNK]]'s video game development division, creating the [[Neo Geo (system)|Neo Geo]] [[arcade system board]] and fighting games including ''[[Fatal Fury]]'', ''[[Art of Fighting]]'', ''[[Samurai Shodown]]'' and ''[[The King of Fighters]]''.<ref name="1up"/>

===Side-scrolling character action games===
''Kung-Fu Master'' was an early example of a [[side-scrolling]] character [[action game]], a genre of games that featured large [[Sprite (computer graphics)|sprite]] characters in colorful, side-scrolling environments, with the core gameplay consisting of fighting large groups of weaker enemies using attacks (or weapons) such as punches, kicks, guns, swords, [[ninjutsu]] or magic. More arcade side-scrollers followed during the mid-to-late 1980s, including [[ninja]] games such as [[Taito]]'s ''[[The Legend of Kage]]'' (1985), Sega's ''[[Shinobi (1987 video game)|Shinobi]]'' (1987), and [[Tecmo]]'s ''[[Ninja Gaiden (arcade game)|Ninja Gaiden]]'' (1988) as well as [[run and gun video game]]s such as Konami's Rush'n Attack and [[Namco]]'s ''[[Rolling Thunder (video game)|Rolling Thunder]]'' (1986).<ref name="Williams"/> ''Kung-Fu Master'' was the first side-scrolling [[martial arts]] action game,<ref name="Gregersen">{{cite book |last=Gregersen |first=Andreas |chapter=Hit It: Core Cognitive Structures and the Fighting Game |editor-last1=Perron |editor-first1=Bernard |editor-last2=Schröter |editor-first2=Felix |title=Video Games and the Mind: Essays on Cognition, Affect and Emotion |date=19 July 2016 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-1-4766-2627-7 |pages=61–3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPXBDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA62}}</ref> serving as the prototype for most martial arts games during the late 1980s,<ref name="CGW"/> and also established the [[health meter]] mechanic as a standard feature in fighting games and side-scrolling action games such as beat 'em ups.<ref name="Williams"/> Jamie Lendino also notes that, unlike "most arcade games" which had emphasized [[high score]]s and [[Life (video games)|lives]], ''Kung-Fu Master'' "had a genuine narrative arc" with a beginning, middle and end.<ref name="Lendino"/>

The game's side-scrolling action gameplay played a key role in the development of Nintendo's influential side-scrolling [[platform game]] ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' (1985),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horowitz |first1=Ken |title=Beyond Donkey Kong: A History of Nintendo Arcade Games |date=30 July 2020 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-1-4766-4176-8 |page=149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UXD0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA149}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dingman |first1=Shane |title=Thirty things to love about Mario as Nintendo's star turns 30 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/tech-news/30-things-to-love-about-mario-as-nintendos-star-turns-30/article26329371/ |access-date=13 December 2021 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=11 September 2015 |language=en-CA |url-access=registration}}</ref> developed by the same Nintendo team behind the NES port ''Kung Fu''. Shigeru Miyamoto cited his development of the Famicom port as one of the key factors behind his creation of ''Super Mario Bros.'' According to Miyamoto, the concept of ''Super Mario Bros.'' came about as a result of the "technical know-how" built up from ''[[Excitebike]]'' and ''Kung Fu'',<ref name="Miyamoto Reveals All">{{cite web |last=Gifford |first=Kevin |title=Super Mario Bros.' 25th: Miyamoto Reveals All |url=http://www.ugo.com/games/super-mario-bros-25th-miyamoto-reveals-all.html |website=[[1UP.com]] |access-date=October 24, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105015455/http://www.ugo.com/games/super-mario-bros-25th-miyamoto-reveals-all.html |archive-date=January 5, 2015 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> his work on which inspired him to come up with a game that would have the player "strategize while scrolling sideways" over long distances, have aboveground and underground levels, and have colorful backgrounds rather than black backgrounds, resulting in the creation of ''Super Mario Bros.''<ref name="Miyamoto"/>

''Kung Fu'' was one of the first NES titles that originated from a third-party developer, giving it a "special place" in the [[history of the Nintendo Entertainment System]] according to IGN.<ref name="IGN"/> ''Kung-Fu Master'' also influenced the combat system of ''[[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]'' (1987).<ref>{{cite web |last1=McWhertor |first1=Michael |title=Zelda 2 was Nintendo at its best: unpredictable |url=https://www.polygon.com/zelda/23600112/zelda-2-adventure-of-link-nes-tears-of-the-kingdom |website=Polygon |access-date=24 June 2024 |date=16 February 2023}}</ref>

===Popular culture===
[[Akira Toriyama]] cited the Famicom version of ''Spartan X'' as an inspiration for a major saga in the [[manga]] and [[anime]] series ''[[Dragon Ball]]'': the [[Red Ribbon Army]] saga (1985-1986), specifically the Muscle Tower arc, which involves [[Goku]] ascending an enemy base and fighting enemies on each floor. This arc was a turning point for ''Dragon Ball'', a departure from the [[tournament]] format of the previous saga.<ref>{{cite book |script-title=ja:DRAGON BALL 大全集 2: STORY GUIDE|year=1995|publisher=[[Shueisha]]|pages=261–265|language=ja|isbn=4-08-782752-6}}
* {{cite web |title=Translations Archive: Dragon Ball Daizenshuu 2: Story Guide: Akira Toriyama Super Interview: 2nd Round — The Unpredictable Story |url=https://www.kanzenshuu.com/translations/daizenshuu-2-akira-toriyama-super-interview/ |website=Kanzenshuu}}</ref> [[Tooru Fujisawa]], creator of manga and anime series ''[[Great Teacher Onizuka]]'' (''GTO''), is also a fan of ''Spartan X''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Okamoto |first1=Yoshiki |author1-link=Yoshiki Okamoto |last2=Nishiyama |first2=Takashi |author2-link=Takashi Nishiyama |title=[ENG SUB] A Talk Between the Creators of Street Fighter and Fatal Fury: KOF (Takashi Nishiyama) |date=9 July 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqRFod7nuHo |access-date=17 July 2021 |script-work=ja:世界の岡本吉起Ch |via=[[YouTube]] |language=ja |time=1:20}}</ref>

The game also influenced a French film called ''[[Kung Fu Master (film)|Kung Fu Master]]'' (1988) directed by [[Agnès Varda]]. Despite the title, it is not an adaptation of the game, nor is it a [[martial arts film]], but it is rather a [[drama film]] concerning a divorced mother falling in love with a 14 year-old video game player. The film showcases various arcade games, with the character's interest in the ''Kung-Fu Master'' arcade game being a central [[plot device]].<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |author1-link=Roger Ebert |title=Kung-fu master! |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kung-fu-master-1989 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |date=November 17, 1989 |access-date=16 March 2021}}</ref>