#GamingBucketList: Kung Fu (NES/FDS)

This is Thomas & his girlfriend    Sylvia. One day while they were taking a romantic stroll tragedy struck! Some  gang members attacked and in the ensuing melee was kidnapped!  then received a note from the sinister Mr. X! If  wants back he'll have to go to The Devil's Temple and defeat the 5 Sons of The Devil and whomever else stands in 's way to save  and live happily ever after! And with my help  will succeed in his mission of love!

Welcome to Kung Fu! A NES classic and the latest conquest on my #GamingBucketList! I really didn't think it would take this long to beat a game with only 5 stages but it's been a long time coming. Kung Fu until yesterday was a game that I loved but didn't fully understand the inner workings of. And now that I do, so will you. I'm going to have a bit of fun with this one but the point of #GamingBucketList will shine through. Trust me on that. So where do we start of the journey of feet, fists and true love?

The psychology of the game of course! This is one of gaming's earliest beat-em-ups and fortunately enough the psychology of these types of games even works here and in a lot of cases very paramount to success or failure. Do you remember what the psychology is for beat-em-ups? If you don't then here's your reminder; Knowing thy enemy is just as if not more important than knowing thy self! has plenty of ways of dispatching those who stand in the way between and those who wish to stop 's quest to save . from and his gang. Those plenty of ways boil down to kicks, (B Button), punches (A Button) and jumping (Any Up Direction) & crouching (Any Down Direction) versions of those attacks. has a 7th move for dealing with a certain type of enemy and we'll discuss that later on. For now though know that 's kicks have a longer range, quicker start up and do a bit less damage and punches have the inverse effect. And just for the record that same inverse in most cases also include the points awarded when defeats an as well. You know of 's mission and how he can succeed at it so there's nothing to it but to take the fight to !

Stage 1 is a wonderful way to get used to everything that can do and there'll be plenty of asses to kick along the way. How about I introduce some of them now. is The Gripper. 's only means of attack is to glomp you to death. Yes. Glomp you to death! 's aren't really too tough to deal with but when they come they come in groups most of the time. Still, even in this instance not to hard to deal with but they still need to be dealt with. Any attack can do deals with them nicely. My suggestion is to never let glomp you. If you happen to let glomp you is to just mash the D-Pad until they let go. will be a force in every stage so expect them in   groups because that's how Kung Fu does things.

The other enemy you'll be seeing a lot of is The Knife Thrower. of course throws knives either high or low and your job is to dodge accordingly and dispatch him. The thing is with is his other job is to completely annoy you. You can either choose to deal with or ignore and he'll just trail behind you until you do something or defeat the boss and make it to the end of the stage. If you happen to give chase to is that know that will make a run for it and usually lead you with more enemies to deal with so be careful if that's the path you choose.

After dealing with making his advances to glomp you and throwing his namesake weapon at you is you'll meet the 1st Son of The Devil... The Stick Fighter! isn't too hard to deal with. will either swing high or low and all needs to do is dodge accordingly and counter attack. In my personal opinion   is best dealt with by using rapid crouching kicks. It won't be long before will take a one way trip off the screen back home to Hell! You'll climb those stairs collect your bonus points and brace yourself for the next level of The Devil's Temple!

Stage 2 has a lot to introduce but luckily for most of what he'll see will be a one time thing. Doesn't mean what's on 's plate for the 2nd Floor of The Devil's Temple is any less dangerous. As soon as moves forward will be assaulted by these items falling from the ceiling. Each is something that needs to know how to deal with.

First up is The Confetti Ball. is the easiest of the 3 to deal with. You can either ignore it before it explodes or hit it with a jumping attack to destroy it. I'll leave the call to you on how to best deal with .

Next up is The Dragon Ball. And before you ask collecting 7 of these does not summon a Dragon that grant wishes, OK!  The does summon a Dragon that after a couple of seconds if you don't defeat it will start breathe fire . If the starts to then you should duck it to dodge the attack and after that will vanish into thin air.

And the 3rd item is The Snake Basket. When hits the ground a snake will emerge from it and there's no way for to attack even with a crouching attack of any kind. So your only method of dealing with is to jump over when it emerges from .

Be careful of and know that you can attack before they hit the ground to destroy them before they can do anything else.

Once you've dealt with the assault from the ceiling is that will be here to see you through the 2nd half of Stage 2. Just so happens that aren't alone and they have a new friend who'll be with them for the rest of 's journey.

This is Tom Tom. Not to be confused with Tum Tum from 3 Ninjas! Couldn't resist. Anyway, 's are annoying little buggers. Emphasis on little because of 's short stature is that they have to be dealt with using crouching attacks. The thing is that if a catches you crouching is that they'll bounce of your head and it does enough damage to understand that you never want that to happen. The best way to deal with them is with crouching kicks as well. The other problem is that usually the game likes to send with a and mix it up with a pattern like this to confuse you so that 's can get their glomp on as well. Now remember earlier I alluded to a 7th attack that has. 's are the enemy this attack can be done and you simply perform it by jumping. The knee that performs is a counter for when 's make an attempt to jump on your head when you're crouched. This attack can only hit 's and are ineffective to any other enemy in game. There are some enemies I wished it worked on but knowing you have this tool will prove very useful in the trials ahead.

After dealing with   you'll meet up with the 2nd Son of The Devil... The Boomerang Fighter! Dealing with is a simple matter. Much like dealing with actually. will throw a boomerang either high or low and throw a second one at the opposite height. After launches 1 boomerang is that should use that opportunity to get in and pummel him until as well joins in Hell! Make your way up those stairs and Stage 2 is history and you're that much closer to saving !

Our 1st break in the action is now and it's a scene of screaming for to save her. We're on the way !

Stage 3 is a stage of no gimmicks. All you're doing here is dealing with the usual riff raff until you meet up with the 3rd Son of The Devil... The Giant! Now is pretty easy once  understands how to get the job done. has 2 attacks. A punch in which you can duck and counter with crouching attacks or a kick that hits low and can be countered with jumping attacks. Just make sure to pay close attention to what attack is doing because hits hard and one wrong move could have picking himself off the floor. Do what needs to be done and soon will join & in Hell once he falls off the screen. Move forward just a bit more, climb those stairs and collect those bonus points! With Stage 3 in the books we're more than half way up The Devil's Tower to save !

Stage 4 is here and it has a special little gimmick of its own for to deal with. This is the home of the Poisonous Moth and the 1st half of Stage 4 is dealing with . The of 's are set up in varying places of the beginning of Stage 4 and will have to find his way through. As soon as the stage starts s will start to emerge from 's and assault . The key to making it through is to determine what's an actual threat   needs to attack and what can dodge without getting hurt. Luckily you don't have to deal with the threat for too long because soon after the usual suspects will be here to guide through the remainder of Stage 4. Before can climb those stairs and claim those bonus points is that will have to deal with the 4th Son of The Devil... The Black Magician! of course uses black magic and has 2 tricks up his sleeves using his fireballs. If throws a fireball straight down then he'll summon for to deal with. If throws a fireball straight then when it returns it'll turn into a faster grey version of . The secret to defeating is knowing that can only damage with crouching punches. Try attacking with a standing attack for something cool to happen. Anyway, when does enough damage to is that will disappear and then reappear a bit farther back toward the end of the stage. Know that you can back in the corner where he can't escape and can pummel until is no more and can join  , & in Hell!

With those bonus points claimed and , , & all defeated is that its time for to take the fight to . The game lets us know were close with another scene reminding us of the mission. , time to save and conquer The Devil Tower's final floor!

Stage 5 is another no gimmick stage but as usual the goon squad is here and they're out in full force and will pull out all the stops to make sure   doesn't defeat and save ! , you've made it this far. Remember what you've learned and defeat them all! Once you've done that the one obstacle standing in 's way is...!




is no joke and for to take out is going to take some fine tuned stratagems. is all about using defense to flow into a powerful offense. will guard and dodge 's attacks until he can find the right time to strike and when he does it hurts a whole lot. The key to beating is finding a hole in that defense and its quite simple really. If places himself in a position where he can attack while prompting to drop his guard so can do damage to him. This is best done with crouching kicks. 's start up on his crouching kicks is so quick that will be countered every time he begins an attack because all of 's attacks don't come out as fast. There are other ways to get to drop his guard for to do damage but the above strategy is what worked for me so give it a try and if it doesn't work for you then do what you feel is best.

With defeated you take that walk to the end and to your beloved to free her so they both can live happily ever after!

And that's Kung Fu!

Here's some other little tidbits I picked up.

If you're aiming for the Hi-Score table then know this. For every after the 1st that defeats with a single blow will count for twice the value. Your best scoring opportunity comes in Stage 2 with either destroying for 1000 Points or a for a whopping 2000 Points!

Know that  's quest doesn't stop after you've defeated for the 1st time. In classic arcade fare is that the game continues looping forever. Each loop is bit harder than the last. How long can you go?

That'll do it!

Like I said earlier is that Kung Fu is a classic that part of my earliest memories of gaming and I'm glad not only to say that I beat it is that also this installment of #GamingBucketList spawned from it as well. I want to shout out NESMaps.com for making having these sprites available. They've been rehosted here so if you need them please snatch them from here and show that site some love for the 1 time!

As usual, I always provide everything you need to walk the way. You have to be courageous enough to take the steps!

Thanks for reading. I hoped you've learned something new and until next time!

-Triple Da G.O.D!