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Kung Fu Master by Irem was released in the arcades in 1984.
It took the gaming world by storm with its fast paced beat-em-up levels.
At the end of each level you face off with a boss, making it one of the patriarchs of 2d fighting games.
The pretext for all of this mayhem is that the evil wizard has kidnapped the princess. He is holding her at the top of a tower and only you, the Kung Fu Master, can save her. A version was made for the NES by Data East. Absolute made a version for the Atari 7800. |
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Broderbund released Karateka in 1984. By 1986 versions were produced for the Apple, Atari, Commodore 64, and IBM.
Like Kung Fu Master, the goal of the game is to rescue the girl.
To do this you must defeat the evil karate masters in one on one combat.
The game features life units as well as three different types of punches and kicks.
Atari produced a version for the Atari 7800.
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Karate by Froggo Games Atari 2600 |
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In 1985 Konami released the coin-op version of Yie Ar Kung Fu.
Like Karateka this game features extended one on one fighting matches.
The different punches and kicks were executed by pressing the joystick in a direction and pressing a button.
It was the first game to use the life bar in its modern form.
More importantly it features a two player versus mode.
A sequel was produced.
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Karate Champ by Data East was released in the arcades in 1986.
It took the form of a traditional karate match.
The judge would signal each hit and reset the fighters.
Like Yie Ar Kung Fu, the different punches and kicks were executed by pressing the joystick in a direction and pressing a button.
It was the first fighter with a bonus round, and was also the first to have timed matches.
It also features a two player versus mode.
A version for the NES was made.
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Not to be left out of the one on one fighting genre Sega made Black Belt for the Master System.
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