Naturally, this one's a punch'em out rather than a shoot'em up. Your animated Bruce Lee has to find a wizard and kill him but must first collect Japanese lanterns hanging from the ceilings in order to activate secret doors into the other rooms of the extensive fortress. Two opponents block the way - a solid black ninja, with his bokken stick, and the green Yamo, a sumo wrestler who can kick and karate chop with the best of them. Finish them off and they quickly reappear at the top of the screen to interfere with your progress.
More dangers loom as you advance, including deadly electrical charges, exploding bushes and the wizard himself. You can jump and duck to avoid blows, and climb vines to reach other levels of the multi-tiered rooms. Martial arts have never been so well incorporated into a game. Animation is great, especially the flying drop-kicks that are unique to Lee. But the game wouldn't have received an A if not for the two-player option that pits you as Bruce against a player controlling the Yamo (while the computer moves the ninja). In combat, the flying leaps are often as funny to watch as the game is fun to play. Two players can also choose to take turns controlling Lee against the computer-controlled Yamo. |