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

===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>