Shaq-Fu

"K so its not original but..."

Ok first off I am writing this review because the other people that review this game have to be playing a different Shaq Fu than I am. It realy isn't the worst game ever. Well the genesis version at least.

Story 1/10
Probably the games biggest flaw has to do with the crappy way games are made now. Nobody cared about a smegging storyline back then, and any true fighting game fan STILL doesn't. Go beat the boss is basicly the whole story. But street fighter has the same storyline minus Shaq and is worshiped.

Graphics 8/10
I love the animations of the characters. SO fluid. I especialy like the way the lighting Mephis uses looks.

Sound 4/10
Ok so the sound is pretty bad, but this is a Genisis game after all. The music is the only thing that stopped the game from getting a 1 in this category. The actualy in game sounds, especialy when the characters get hit, fail to sound even remotely like a grunt or gasp.

Gameplay 6/10
Pretty much a standard fighting game. If it werent for Shaq I think they might of even made a sequel cause Shaq isn't even realy needed in the game and without him i think the game would of been more accepted. There is a wide variety of characters, and with a wide range of special moves unlike the street fighter games were everyone has a move very close to somebody else. You can and actualy have to use one of the few original features of this game to survive, a forcefield style effect created by pressing the run button and down which absorbs projectile and a few other types of special attacks. The game has a knockdown system not unlike Virtua Fighter, not meaning its as refined, but yes you can hit them when they're down.

Control 4/10
The very same animations I like in the game are what makes the control less than perfect, and that matters in a fighting game. You must wait for your character to attack and withdraw their strike before you can attack again. Another similarity to Virtua Fighter. If you have a six button controller then this games a 7/10, but with the standard three button controller you have to tap start to swap between kicks and punches, and the run button is replaced with a useless taunt button on the punch layout.

Mood 5/10
Blah shaq is SO out of place in this game. Once again the game is flawed up by his presence. Other than that it's not any more absurd than Street Fighter.

And that's it. It's an OK game you can pick up for REALY cheap. So if you crave a half decent fighting game for the Genesis pick this one up, ignore story mode, and put a piece of electrical tape over the picture of Shaq on the character select screen.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/29/01, Updated 11/29/01