In 1994 the gaming world was given a great gift as the popularity of Shaquille O’Neal had crossed various entertainment mediums including movies, music &, obviously, video games as Shaq became the face of a 2D fighting game simply known as “Shaq-Fu”. As expected from any 2D fighter during that era where “Street Fighter 2” and “Mortal Kombat II” ruled the roost, “Shaq-Fu” attempted to be like the competition and outstandingly failed. As someone who not only played any fighting game available on various consoles during the 16-bit era of gaming, “Shaq-Fu” entered my home for a weekend rental and stayed in my Sega Genesis until it was time for my dad to take it back to the store. “Shaq-Fu” proved to be a terrible game; but wasn’t the worst ever. Rather than be angry about the legacy “Shaq-Fu” left on the gaming community, the developers of a release nearly twenty-five years later embraced the failure that was the original game and decided to switch things up by letting Shaq handle all the fighting in an old school style, side-scrolling brawler full of sophomoric humor and hordes of enemies. Would “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn” remove the long-lasting stench of a terrible game, or prove that Shaq and video games not involving basketballs just don’t mix – I was crazy enough to find out.
Did I Complete “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn”?
Instead of sticking with the genre that made the “Shaq Fu” franchise infamous, “A Legend Reborn” tries to pull off something that was a staple of 16-bit gaming just like fighting games were all those years ago: a side-scroller brawling beat-‘em-up. And similar to the classic offerings such as “Turtles in Time” and the “Streets of Rage” trilogy, “Shaq Fu” has the player moving across the screen from left to right and back again as Shaq while beating up various enemies until reaching the boss at the end of each level (six in total). With the game lasting only two to three hours and most of the trophies/achievements being connected to finishing chapters or defeating a certain amount of enemies under specific circumstances (such as knocking down enemies with barrels) makes this a relatively easy game to complete in a very short amount of time.
Did “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn” Live Up to the Hype?
During a time when nostalgia is ruling the gaming world thanks to remasters and even the production of mini-consoles it only seems perfect that one of the most infamous games from the 1990s would get a reboot based around a 16-bit generation genre staple. As Shaq, the player moves through six very similar stages to destroy invading demonic forces from tearing up his small, Chinese village and, eventually, the world. Shaq’s offense is relatively simplistic as the protagonist throws punches that, when used in succession, powers up his “Size 22” kick attack that can knock an opponent flying into the camera a la “Turtles in Time”. Shaq can punch the ground to send shockwaves throughout an area in limited fashion as the ground punch must be built up by hitting enemies. Tapping the bumper buttons will propel Shaq across the screen for a push-back attack that only works on certain opponents; while the triggers can both pick up various strategically placed weapons or knock down stunned adversaries. One of the most surprising aspects of Shaq’s offense is his stage-specific transformations that are not randomly generated or earned by defeating enemies – Shaq Diesel (Shaq becomes an armored, steam-powered puncher) and ShaqTus (Shaq literally turns into a needle shooting cactus). Shaq can also roll up & down screen, but the reaction time makes rolls terrible in execution as well as enemies having honing-like strikes/projectiles. Sadly, there are no leveling up or variations of Shaq’s abilities.
Taking on enemies ranges from incredibly easy to absurdly difficult due to the copious amount of adversaries that will flood the screen. Enemy hit boxes can be a little difficult when Shaq is surrounded and getting peppered by small punches or the annoying projectile throwers. Unfortunately, enemy variation is lacking as the base set of people Shaq has to take down (easily disposable thugs, projectile users, fast-paced punchers, summoners, teleporting ninjas that only strike from behind, beefy brutes) in the first level are essentially re-skinned and used throughout the other levels with some of those original variations even appearing in the wrong stages. Boss battles are both unique and underwhelming as a majority of the level-ending moments can easily be defeated no matter the difficulty level (except the third boss that is cheap as cheap can be thanks to a stun attack that can’t be avoided and utilizes a poorly placed quick-time event). The gameplay is so similar to old school brawlers in being repetitive, but it doesn’t expand upon the unique stages, enemies or scenarios that made its predecessors in the genre so great to cause a player forget just how similar one stage is compared to the one that came before it and will occur afterwards.
The story isn’t half bad with Shaq trying to defend his village against otherworldly forces before having his focus switch to taking down celebrities. In “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn”, Shaq is an orphan who ended up in China, was made fun of for being taller than everyone else, learned kung fu under the guidance of master teacher & entrepreneur, and found himself as the prototypical “chosen one” in a video game. The low-brow humor based on racial stereotypes, outdated celebrity references/parodies, and sheer outrageous moments like Shaq getting a motorcycle ride from a very happy biker will either turn off some players or get a few chuckles from others. The mostly lacking writing just emphasizes how much of an injustice was done to the voice actors as everyone involved in the audio department did a marvelous job (including the song usage such as the game’s main theme).
The biggest issues with “A Legend Reborn” are the price point and its length. “A Legend Reborn” will take a player, at the most, three hours to complete even on the hardest difficulty. This lack of gameplay time is made even worse thanks to “Shaq Fu’s” price point at twenty to thirty dollars with the cheapest option being a digital purchase that lacks the DLC featuring Barack Obama taking on Kanye West. There’s no reason why this game should be priced so expensively considering it takes little to no time to complete “A Legend Reborn” and there’s no multiplayer (online or local) to keep people coming back for more.
While there’s no doubt this is an overall better experience than the original “Shaq-Fu”, “A Legend Reborn” is an average game at best priced way too high and would benefit from some added stages, enemies, and co-op opportunities.
Should You Play “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn”?
“Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn” is definitely better than the original; having an understandable, though unremarkable system in regards to its core gameplay mechanics. The story is absurd in the best way possible, yet is ultimately forgettable and somewhat cringe-worthy thanks to the dated material used to take potshots at celebrities & the culture celebrity idolization has created. For all its flaws (no multiplayer or online functionality, being incredibly short, having very little enemy variation, hit detection being iffy at times & an outrageous price tag), “A Legend Reborn” isn’t something you should avoid under all costs. It’s the type of game perfectly made for a rental from Gamefly or bought for five dollars. Though “A Legend Reborn” isn’t a great game, it’s a lot better than it could’ve been and feels like a solid reboot leading to a potential impressive sequel.
