Kung-Fu Master - Gameplay

Gameplay

In this early beat 'em up, the player controls the main character, Thomas, by punching with the A button and kicking with the B button. Either move can be done from a standing, crouching or jumping position. Punches are worth twice as much as kicks and do twice as much damage, but their range is shorter.

The first floor of the temple contains Grippers and Knife Throwers. Subsequent levels introduce Tom Toms, poisonous moths, fire-breathing dragons, snakes, and confetti balls.

Each of the five floors ends with a different boss who must be defeated before Thomas can climb the stairs to the next floor. Thomas must complete each floor within a fixed time. The timer starts at 2000. If it falls below 330, an acoustic warning sounds. If a boss defeats Thomas, the boss laughs. Although there are five bosses, the game only uses two different synthesized laughs. (The NES port uses a third, high-pitched synthesized laugh for the Black Magician.)

Once the player has completed all five floors, the game restarts with a more demanding version of the Devil's Temple, although the essential details remain unchanged. A visual indication of the current house is displayed on the screen. For each series of five completed floors, a dragon symbol appears in the upper-right corner of the screen. After three dragons have been added, the dragon symbols blink.