Shaq-Fu

"Interesting game . . . too bad it didn't quite come up to par."

This game is Shaq Fu. It's fairly infamous as one of the so-called ''worst games of all time.'' It's not really that bad, it just has a fairly odd story, and kind of crappy control. But once you look past that, it's . . . still not very good, but good if you're just messing around with your friends on a rainy afternoon.

Graphics - 6/10

The graphics for this game are pretty average, but cool. It used a technique called rotoscoping, which did the graphics fairly well. Not very well, of course, but average enough so that it gets the story through. The overworld (yes, there is an overworld!) graphics are supposed to be bleak, and they are (think 2400 A.D. from Chrono Trigger), it being the Nether World or whatever.

The characters are also drawn pretty well, especially Shaq, as one would believe so.

Gameplay - 3/10

Ick. Horrible controls on this one. If you can get Shaq to respond enough to deliver a punch, you're lucky. Same for his special move, the Shaquriken. Seriously, there's bad controls on this puppy. Maybe it's because I was playing with the three-button pad - maybe if one played with the six-button pad it'd be better?

Sound - 1/10

When sound is there, it is . . . mediocre, at best. And I thought the Genesis had an FM sound chip!

Story - 2/10

Honestly, I had no clue what was going on. Shaq is looking around Tokyo prior to a charity basketball game and he goes into a dojo? And then the old man tells him to go to the second world to save his son, and he goes in? What the hell? Confusing for me.

Innovation - 7/10

You get to control Shaq in an overworld of sorts, slightly like the Quest Mode of Tobal 1 . . . only you don't get any treasure, you just fight monsters. I thought it was pretty damned cool at the time, and I still do. Combined with the rotoscoping animation, I thought it was fairly innovative at the time.

Total score: 3.8, but since GameFAQs doesn't allow fractions, then a solid 4.

Now this question must be asked: should you buy the game, or should you rent it?

If you can find a store that rents Genesis games, rent. You could probably find it cheaper at some used game stores, though. If you decide to buy it, prepare to be disappointed - unless you have a few friends to play it with ;)

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/08/03, Updated 06/14/03