Previous Next

I was never quite sure what sort of animal Hong Kong Phooey was mean to be - some sort of deranged timber-wolf, I thought. Turn's out he's actually Penrod Pooch, inept doggy janitor of the police department, he lives in a dusty filing cabinet and his faithful assistant Spot is a police cat.

It could only happen in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, so it's no surprise that HKP is another of HiTec Software's budget licences. This one isn't quite up to the standard of Yogi's Great Escape or Ruff and Reddy, but it's a reasonable slice of martial arts mayhem.

The Plot - originally written on the back of a cigarette packet over lunch with Mr Hanna, I presume - goes just a little like this. Baron von Bankjob has escaped from jail. This is not a nice man; he's the type who eats puppies on toast for breakfast. HKP has o get the cuffs back on him, so complete with mask and kimono, his kung-fu manual tucked in his back pocket and his paws tangled up in his black belt, he negotiates the manifold perils of von Bankjob's deserted warehouse.

There isn't a lot of detail in the backgrounds; broken windows, staircases and conveyor belts just about sums it all up. HKP romps along quite convincingly, but has a tendency to float rather than walk down stairs, which can be a bit disconcerting. His strength is shown on the Kung-Fu-ometer on the lower left of the screen, and is sapped by running over or jumping into spikes, or being clobbered by von Bankjob's goons. These are pretty easy to hit - HKP has a number of martial movements which take them out with a single blow - but if you miss your chance, you'll probably be drained off enough energy to lose a life. On lower levels they start shooting at you too, which is pretty rotten and uncartoonlike.

There are two types of object to collect - kung-fu manuals which restore your strength, and power flasks which seem to do exactly the same. Other than that it's just a matter of jump, hit, follow the staircases, jump, hit, woof woof...

Not a classic then, but if you're a big fan of the dopey dog you might want to play it while you're singing the song - all together now; "Hong Kong Phooey, Number One super guy, Hong Kong Phooey, faster than the human eye..."

Label: HiTec Price: £2.99 Reviewer: Chris Jenkins

Pretty fair cartoon capers with the mild mannered janitor.