Developer : Delphine Software International
Release date : October 28, 1994
Synopsis :
Shaq Fu is a 2D fighting game released for the Sega Genesis and Super NES on October 28, 1994. It was ported to the Game Gear, Game Boy, and Commodore Amiga platforms in 1995. The game was published by Electronic Arts and developed by the now-defunct Delphine Software International. It features former professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal as the player character.
Shaq Fu was met with mixed responses from critics upon release, though it has since come to be considered one of the worst video games ever made. A sequel, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, was released in 2018.
In the game’s storyline, Shaquille O’Neal walks into a dojo while heading to a charity basketball game in Tokyo, Japan. After speaking with Leotsu, a martial arts master, Shaq goes to another dimension, the Second World, where he must rescue a young boy named Nezu from the evil mummy Sett Ra.
The Genesis version of Shaq Fu has five more playable characters (Auroch, Colonel, Diesel, Leotsu, and Nezu) and three more stages (The Lab, The Wasteland, and Yasko Mines) than the Super NES version, thus the Genesis version has a longer story mode. The North Gate/South Gate stage is accessible in the SNES version with a cheat code, whereas the Genesis version has the North Gate/South Gate stage available by default. The Amiga version contains the same content as the Genesis version (it keeps the text “Licensed by Sega Enterprises, LTD” left over from that version on the title screen), though the backgrounds have no animation. It also only has three tunes; there is no background music during the fights.
The Game Boy version has the same seven characters as the Super NES version, whereas the Game Gear version only has six characters (Shaq, Leotsu, Mephis, Rajah, Kaori, and Sett Ra). Both the Game Boy and Game Gear versions lack a tournament mode and in-game voices.
Both the Genesis and SNES versions of the game contained a hidden button sequence that would initiate a “blood code” in the spirit of Mortal Kombat. The blood effects were subdued and minor which kept the game at its “MA-13” (known by modern rating standard as “T”) rating. However, the blood code gave access to finishing moves within the game that were triggered by striking the opponent in a certain way to end the match. The finishing moves were not gory as those depicted in the fatalities of Mortal Kombat but were considerably more violent when performed against monster-type characters in the game, rather than humans. Some of the finishing moves that have been discovered include the following examples:
Sett Ra, when struck with a high attack toward his head, would drop to his knees as his head caught fire. The body of Sett Ra would then dissolve, the wraps falling to the ground and the smoldering shoulder armor tumbling forward.
Mephis, when struck with a mid-range attack, would shatter into ghost-like shards which fade away into the air, leaving his decrepit robe behind.
Genesis-exclusive character Auroch would turn to stone and explode if struck with a mid-range attack.
Source : Wikipedia
