Yie Ar Kung-Fu

The game was inspired by Bruce Lee's Hong Kong martial arts films, with the main player character Oolong modelled after Lee (like Bruceploitation films). In contrast to the grounded realism of Karate Champ, Yie Ar Kung-Fu moved the genre towards more fantastical, fast-paced action, with various different characters having a variety of special moves and high jumps, establishing the template for subsequent fighting games. It also introduced the health meter system to the genre, in contrast to the point-scoring system of Karate Champ. The game was a commercial success in arcades, becoming the highest-grossing arcade conversion kit of 1985 in the United States while also being successful in Japan and Europe. It was ported to various home systems, including home computer conversions which were critically and commercially successful, becoming the best-selling home video game of 1986 in the United Kingdom.

• Title — Yie Ar Kung-Fu • Developer — Konami • Publisher — Konami Imagine (computers) • Composer — Miki Higashino • Platforms — Arcade, MSX, Famicom/NES, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron • Released — Arcade MSX Famicom April 22, 1985 ZX Spectrum August 1985 Commodore 64 December 1986 • Genre — Fighting • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer

• Illustration — A screenshot of the arcade version Oolong (or Lee in the MSX and Famicom versions) must fight all the martial arts masters given by the game (eleven in the arcade version; five to thirteen in the home ports). The player faces a variety of opponents, each with a unique appearance and fighting style. The player can perform up to 16 different moves, using a combination of buttons and joystick movements while standing, crouching or jumping. Moves are thrown at high, middle, and low levels. Regardless of the move that defeated them, male characters (save Feedle) always fall unconscious lying on their backs with their legs apart (Oolong flails his legs), and female characters always fall lying on their sides. Feedle disappears. When a player gains an extra life, the word "xiè xiè" (Mandarin for "thank you") is heard. Instead of a point-scoring system like Karate Champ (1984), Yie Ar Kung-Fu instead introduces a health meter system. Each fighter has a health meter, which depletes as they take hits. Once a fighter's health meter is fully depleted, it leads to a knockout. On the arcade version, players can play on until all their lives are gone. No bonus lives are given thereafter once 9,999,900 is scored.

• Illustration — MSX version of Yie Ar Kung Fu • Oolong (Japanese: ウーロン Ūron; see oolong). • Controlled by the player, this Bruce Lee-based kung fu shih fu's story focuses on him entering the "Throne Cup" tournament in order to fulfill his father's last wish, Oolong participated in the two fighting arenas with the goal of winning the Throne Cup and win the title of "Grand Master" in honor of the loving memory of his deceased father. On Oolong's side is a variety of punch and kick blows reachable by combining the joystick with one of the buttons (punch or kick). He also has the greatest jumping ability of all the game's fighters, with the exception of Blues. "Hot Fighting History": • Buchu • He uses a leaping motion to fly over Oolong, and as a middle level attack against him. Buchu may be big and powerful, but he is also slow. Much like Oolong, Buchu does not use weapons to fight. He is the first opponent in the first gauntlet and when he gets hit in the crotch, his eyes bug out and the game says "nǐ hǎo" (which is Mandarin for "hi" or "hello"). • Star • The first female opponent Oolong faces. Star is a young girl in a pink outfit who throws shuriken (that can be punched or kicked for extra points) at all levels, and uses fast punches and kicks. Star bears resemblance to Taiwanese martial arts actress Angela Mao. • Nuncha • He is a man in a yellow gi-swinging nunchaku at Oolong at high and middle levels. His appearance is a homage to John Saxon's role as Mr. Roper in the film Enter the Dragon, and his nunchaku skills were modeled after Bruce Lees. • Pole • A short man who carries a large bo and uses it against Oolong. Pole also uses it to pole vault to gain extra momentum for his moves. • Feedle • He is basically an endurance test for Oolong. Numerous enemies (or the same enemy who can replicate himself) attack from both sides of Oolong, punching high and low. In some ports, like the Commodore 64 one, he/they are absent. "Masterhand History": • Chain • He awaits Oolong at the start of the second gauntlet (at the end of the first one in the Commodore 64 version). He is a large man who swings a giant chain with a claw-like attachment at the end (that can be punched or kicked at the extended end for extra points). • Club • Another large man who attacks Oolong. Club swings a giant spiked club (chúi) and bears a shield on his right arm to block Oolong's attacks at middle level. • Fan • Another female warrior who wears a cheongsam and is more feminine than Star. Fan throws steel fans at Oolong like shuriken (that can be punched or kicked for extra points but only for a limited time before three at a time are thrown) and kicks very swiftly. The fans fall in a feather-like pattern. • Sword • A dangerous warrior who comes ready to pounce on Oolong with a Dao and impressive aerial moves. He is also capable of warping around to the other side of the screen. • Tonfun • The final opponent Oolong must face before meeting his ultimate challenger, Blues. Tonfun attacks with two tonfa and fast-paced martial arts kicks. • Blues • Almost being a mirror image of Oolong without a shirt on and can match him move-for-move. Oolong has to find some weakness on Blues to win (Blues can often defeat Oolong with a series of speed kicks to the body if trapped). Since none of his clothes are blue, Blues is modeled after Bruce Lee with his name being another reference to the martial arts actor, based on his first name's pronunciation when said by a Japanese speaker. Blues is likely also modeled after Chuck Norris' character Colt from the film The Way of the Dragon, both fighting shirtless, sporting white pants, and the final opponent fought by the game and film's (Tang Lung) respective protagonists, alongside his character select portrait in the GBA port depicting him with a stoic, disciplined demeanor compared to the confident and energetic Oolong. When Blues is defeated, Oolong is the winner and the game begins again with Buchu (in the BBC Micro version, Blues is replaced by a second round with Feedle). Characters start to move more frequently and have more difficult attacks (e.g., Buchu flies more frequently, Star often throws three stars at a time, Nuncha starts jumping in response to Oolong's low kicks, Pole makes multiple hit attempts with the pole and not just one per charge motion at Oolong). The MSX and Famicom ports have many differences compared to their arcade counterpart. The MSX/Famicom version also follows a different plot, featuring protagonist Lee infiltrating the "Menma Tower" to defeat the villainous Chop Suey Gang. Opposed to Oolong's 11, Lee faces only 5 opponents: • Wang: Armed with a pole. Unlike Pole, he does not use his pole to gain momentum. • Tao: His special attack is breathing fireballs at the hero. • Chen: This port's version of Chain. After Chen's defeat, there is a bonus round where the hero must hit objects thrown the 3 Shots at him to score points. • Lang: This port's version of Star, but with quicker shots and moves. • Wu/Mu: The mysterious leader of the Chop Suey Gang, called Wu in the MSX version, and Mu in the Famicom version. He is similar to Buchu, as he also uses a leaping motion. When he is defeated, Lee kicks the gong and the game loops with a higher difficulty and different background colors. There are two hidden characters in Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced for the Game Boy Advance. To have access to them, the player must input the famous Konami Code at the title screen. The characters are available in the special two-player mode found on this collection. The fighters are Bishoo (a woman dressed in white who attacks with daggers) and Clayman (a living statue who attacks with a sword bigger than Sword's). A hidden character in the mobile phone version is Katana, a samurai who attacks with a katana.

A sequel, Yie Ar Kung-Fu II, was released a year later. The sequel was released only for home computers and was never ported to the arcades. Another fighting game by Konami, Martial Champion, was originally planned to be released as Yie Ar Kung-Fu 2. In fact, Jin, the protagonist of Martial Champion, was modeled after Lee, the protagonist of the Famicom and MSX versions, and after Ryu from the 1987 Street Fighter arcade game. Shao-lin's Road (1985) was also marketed as a follow-up to Yie Ar Kung-Fu.