In the golden age of video games, the one dominated by Sega e Nintendo, had made its appearance a somewhat particular fighting game that had the well-known basketball player as its protagonist Shaquille O'Neil. It will be for the desire to measure oneself with one's past that Big Deez Productions he decided to get back into the game by creating Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn.
The title was the subject of a crowdfunding campaign in 2014, but everything has remained silent ever since. The team behind the project is made up of developers who have worked on titles such as Halo, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy and Alan Wake. The game itself has been defined as a hybrid of “Street Fighter and Devil May Cry,” or as “a modern beat'em up”. The time has come to take a closer look Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, the scrolling fighting game starring Shaquille O'Neill.
The end of the world is near, the greatest celebrities in the world are but demons ready to take control of the planet. The only hope of arresting their domain is an orphan in name Shaq Fei Hung, found at an early age in a basket on the bank of a river (a revived Moses in bet'em up sauce?), abandoned by his parents. Raised in solitude and a favorite prey of bullies, Shaq Fei Hung is trained by his master, becoming the muscular hero that we will play in the course of the adventure. We will punch every enemy that comes within range and we will make the best use of the elements present in the scenario, classic combination of fast-paced gameplay and interaction with environments.
If we wanted to give a game definition to Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, could be identified as a classic horizontal scrolling beat em'up, a real godsend for all fans of the genre, especially for gamers who grew up in the 90s by spending dozens of tokens on titles like Final Fight. From China to Los Angeles, from Fiji to Hell itself, 6 different locations divided into checkpoints, populated by enemies of all kinds, including many malefic celebrities ready to show their true nature.
During our reckless adventure we will have at our disposal not only our muscles to unleash powerful hooks at the opponents, but also upgrades provisionals including super punches, or the possibility of resorting to a special mech, which overheating slows down our advance, forcing us from time to time to discharge the accumulated heat and transforming it into destructive energy.
Through the HUD it is possible to keep the vital bar under control. In particular, an accumulated energy will be used to deliver devastating lethal punches, as well as lightning bolts useful to quickly reach enemies. As we have seen in the past with many other titles of the same genre, it is possible to grab enemies to throw them against the screen, kick them or spin them to eliminate multiple opponents simultaneously.
By destroying crates and barrels we can restore a part of the life bar, and also the energy for the combos. Through the main menu we have the possibility to see all the contents unlocked during our game experience, from the movies to the character models, in addition to the countless objects used. At any time from the menu you can resume the game from the last checkpoint reached, or replay one of the already completed levels, including the boss fight. There is no shortage of hilarious jokes and references of various kinds.
The whole is accompanied by a graphics compartment in cel-shading nothing short of exciting, with beautifully crafted and truly inspired cutscenes, like a real animated film. The sound sector is of exquisite workmanship, a completely congenial and never banal mix of dance and hip-pop, totally composed by Shaquille O'Neal himself. Below the sufficiency, however, the overall duration of the game. For those who love the genre, longevity will not be rewarding. In a matter of hours, thanks to the low level of challenge, the story mode can be safely archived without too many problems. Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn it will not take away many hours of your time, but it is able to entertain and amuse, giving a game experience, if not completely satisfactory, without other colorful and full of hilarious ideas.
