They turned a Jackie Chan movie into a cartridge.
Kung-Fu Master (arcade, 1984) was born from a Jackie Chan film — an experiment in translating movie movement into game movement. A year later, Nintendo ported it to the NES under Shigeru Miyamoto's direction. Fitting big action into a small screen — the team that learned that lesson created Super Mario Bros. a few months later. The best games don't come from inside games. Kung Fu was proof: it started with a film and opened the road to Mario.
— inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto
About this game
Released in 1985, Kung Fu was Nintendo's port of Irem's arcade game Kung-Fu Master, which was based on the Jackie Chan film Wheels on Meals (called Spartan X in Japan). Directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the NES version became a training ground for the team that would create Super Mario Bros. later that year. As one of the first side-scrolling beat 'em up games on a home console, it taught Nintendo's developers how to make fast-paced action fit into a small cartridge — and that lesson became the foundation for Mario's world.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Kung-Fu Master was originally designed by Takashi Nishiyama for Irem in 1984, based on the Jackie Chan film Wheels on Meals (called Spartan X in Japan). It became one of the first side-scrolling beat 'em up games and laid the foundation for the genre. In 1985, Nintendo ported it to the Famicom/NES under Shigeru Miyamoto's direction, and the same team used the side-scrolling techniques they learned to create Super Mario Bros. later that year.
Tricks & Tales
The NES version was released in Japan on June 21, 1985, and in North America on October 18, 1985. Designer Takashi Nishiyama stated in a 1985 interview that game designers should not love games too much, but instead have an intuition for what the masses want. The game was also influenced by Bruce Lee's film Game of Death (1972), particularly the pagoda-climbing structure.
Collector's Guide
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Kung Fu copies regularly.
Can I play a Japanese Kung Fu cartridge on an American NES?
No — the Famicom (Japanese) and NES (North American) versions are physically incompatible. The cartridge shape, pin count (60 vs 72), and lockout chip all differ. An adapter exists, but the easiest path is to match the cartridge to the console's region.
My Kung Fu cartridge won't start — should I blow into it?
Please don't. The trouble is almost always dirty contacts, and the moisture in your breath slowly corrodes them further. Clean the gold pins gently with a cotton swab and 90%-or-higher isopropyl alcohol instead. Blowing only ever seemed to work because you also took the cartridge out and put it back while doing it.
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