C&VG
1st May 1985
Categories: Review: Software
Publisher: Konami
Machine: MSX
Published in Computer & Video Games #43
Yie Ar Kung Fu
Yie Ar, I am reliably informed, means one-two, and in this terrific game everybody gets the one-two treatment. This game will surely become a classic among those of us who have fancied themselves as exponents of the martial arts. The background is an oriental setting where competitors traditionally knock ten kinds of bells out of each other.
The top of the screen displays the score of Lee (yourself) and his particular opponent at that scene, together with a long bar which shows the "ki" or energy remaining for each. When the "ki" starts turning red, either you or your aggressor are in trouble and it's nearly knockout time. Beginning the game with three Lees, you get an additional life at 30,000 and 50,000 points.
The remaining Lees are shown after the indicator "Rest" and control of the action is either by joystick or keyboard.
The controllable actions are vertical jump, high kick, advance and retreat, low kick, punch and duck. The fire button must be activated to score a hit while using any of these techniques. You can also jump clean over your opponent and deliver a flying head kick, but again timing and the point of contact need to be spot on.
The scoring is quite complex, ranging from 100 points for a straight punch, to a flying kick or footsweep at 500 points.
It all sounds great so far, but until you see the speed and moves that your opponents can make, you don't realise what you are in for. If you back him into a corner at either side of the screen, he simply nips round you and starts attacking from the other side. All opponents have the same striking power as Lee and most have additional weapons.
On stage one, Wang has a large stick which he wields very freely in addition to his other moves. The second stage has Tao spitting fireballs at you if you retreat too far. Chen, your third adversary has a nasty length of chain which reaches out towards you and ,incidentally, looks like Pluto in a green leotard! At stage four, Lang is armed with throwing spikes and stage five has Lou springing through the air to connect with you.
You can hit the fireballs and throwing spikes at high and low levels to score extra points. Between stages there are also bonus points to be scored by hitting lamps, bottles and bricks moving at various levels. When you have reached stage five, you return to your first opponent and start amassing more points.
This game is very challenging. The superb graphics and background oriental music add authenticity to what, I am sure, will be a very popular game. If you haven't got an MSX, beg or borrow one just to play this game.