Inspired by one of the earliest and most classic beat'em up games, the 1984 "Spartan X" (known outside Japan as "Kung-Fu Master" or "Kung-Fu"), the game is an unapologetic homage to the iconic side-scrolling fighter and a simple Doujin game from "Pixel" who specialize in 8-16 bit love letters to classic games. For those who don't know, Spartan X was a tie-in based on Jackie Chan's film, "Wheels on Meals", but it doesn't have much in common outside of the names of the protagonists to avoid license or copyright issues. There are a few works inspired by the game, the most well-known probably being "Kung-Fu Kid", "Dragon Wang" and "Tifa Tan X / X 2" (yes, THAT Tifa... if you haven't heard of it, look it up at your own discretion, you may thank me later), but this 35 year anniversary tribute takes the most direct approach and adds a little plot and a female protagonist. As Xiaomei, you are travelling the land to find your former master who taught you the ways of Kung-Fu, but he has turned his back on humanity and now seeks to awaken the dual-headed dragon of destruction to bring the land to its knees. Will you be able to find him in time? Gather information by defeating each of his top minions and utilize both Yin and Yang to deliver the finishing blow!

The game is a simple title that can be played with a keyboard or controller and uses a simple two-button control scheme: one button punches, the other kicks. Xiaomei also gains a power stock and can do four special attacks -- a rising uppercut (up and punch while in air), her "Flaming Whirlwind Kick" (down and kick while in air, costs some power stock) and two ultimate attacks. The first ultimate attack is her "Thrusting Flame Dragon" (punch and kick simultaneously while on the ground) and her second ultimate attack is her "Fire Dragon Kamui" (which is done the same but in the air). There is a single power-up in the form of a dumpling which restores a bit of health, and a timer that quickly runs down as you clear each segment. The game becomes progressively more difficult as each stage introduces a new enemy with a different attack pattern or other hazards to pile on the old-school arcade difficulty, but veterans of old games will clear this game easily in no time as it's rather generous compared to its contemporaries. The visuals are vibrant and reminiscent of the early-mid 80s arcade scene and the game's few FM music tracks are excellent. The reason the music "slaps" is because Pixel gained aid of the legendary Namco music composer, Norio Nakagata, to do the soundtrack (he is best known for "Genpei Toumaden", "Low G Man", "Burai Fighter" and "Bravoman" and has a reputation for distinguishable music in underrated games).

That aside, the game can be cleared in about ten minutes and you can learn all the enemies attack patterns after a little practice (the final boss is a bit challenging, but everyone else is a cakewalk). The main point of contention I have with the game is the price... Norio may not have come cheap. The game is between 2000-2200 Yen (roughly $20 USD) depending on what version you get (digital / physical) and even on sale, I'd argue the game may not be worth half its current asking price, but the game definitely marks all the check boxes of a simple retro throwback. If you're interested, you can get this game at:

https://www.dlsite.com/home/work/=/product_id/RJ273610.html
https://www.dlsite.com/eng/work/=/product_id/RE273610.html

This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.

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