Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn
- June 5, 2018
- Big Deez Productions
Went wrong somewhere along the line. The original idea might have promise, but in practice it has failed. Threatens to be interesting sometimes, but rarely.
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Reviews
- Short and hilarious game with a quality side-scrolling beat 'em up experience.
- The game features solid 3D graphics, a humorous story, and entertaining cutscenes.
- Offers a nostalgic feel with corny jokes and a fun, mindless gameplay experience.
- Gameplay is repetitive and lacks depth, often feeling like a simple button-masher.
- The humor can be cringeworthy and offensive, with some jokes falling flat.
- The game is short, and many players feel it doesn't justify its price, especially without significant replay value.
- humor30 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its hilarious dialogue, absurd scenarios, and self-aware parody, appealing particularly to fans of juvenile and dark comedy reminiscent of the 90s. While many find the jokes and character banter entertaining, some note that the humor can become repetitive or grating over time. Overall, the game's comedic elements are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to its enjoyment despite mixed opinions on gameplay quality.
“I'm laughing my ass off from that dialogue and the story.”
“The game is a glorious self-aware parody with a ridiculous premise filled with hilarious banter, the kind that would result from a drunk feng shui game in the dead of the night.”
“Shaq Fu is a pretty funny game that doesn’t take itself seriously.”
- gameplay17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of creativity and humor, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of depth, making it feel generic and below standard for a beat 'em up. While the combat includes some extra moves and varied enemy encounters, the overall experience is marred by simplicity and exhaustion due to its short length. Despite its charming presentation and engaging story, many players find the gameplay ultimately fails to deliver a compelling experience.
“The gameplay has the simple combat one would expect from a beat-em-up with a few extra moves thrown in for added depth, and the level design is always changing with new combinations of enemies and obstacles to keep your interest through the story, which is the real show-stealer.”
“A simple 2 and a half hour game with pretty sweet music and simple mechanics and a decent amount of enemy variety.”
“The gameplay isn't anything astonishing, but it's fun.”
“Hilarious fun, but repetitive gameplay.”
“Sadly the gameplay does seem to feel generic and while beat 'em ups are fun, this one doesn't have a lot of variations.”
“When the game makes a meta joke about the gameplay getting stale from a repetitive standpoint... and then does the same thing over again, you know something's wrong.”
- story12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The story of the game is characterized as a humorous and playful parody, featuring exaggerated characters and silly scenarios, particularly revolving around Shaquille O'Neal. While some players find the narrative to be "meh," many appreciate its comedic elements and clever dialogue, likening it to a lighthearted homage to 1990s beat 'em ups. Overall, the story is seen as a standout feature that enhances the game's charm and entertainment value.
“The gameplay has the simple combat one would expect from a beat-em-up with a few extra moves thrown in for added depth, and the level design is always changing with new combinations of enemies and obstacles to keep your interest through the story, which is the real show-stealer.”
“The story is not unlike a parody like Kung Pow: Enter the Fist, where characters have clear goals and motivations, but it's all very silly as the game makes fun of various celebrities including Shaq himself, giving it a very playful feel.”
“Shaq-fu: A Legend Reborn shouldn't work mostly due to the name it uses but, this is an outstanding, smart, fun old school arcade beat 'em up. The story is a massive selling point; if you love Mike Tyson's Mysteries, you'll love this. While it's not as adult-themed as that series, it's still extremely smart.”
“The story is pretty meh.”
“I'm laughing my ass off from that dialogue and the story.”
“The story is not unlike a parody like 'Kung Pow: Enter the Fist', where characters have clear goals and motivations, but it's all very silly as the game makes fun of various celebrities, including Shaq himself, giving it a very playful feel.”
- music12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players praising its catchiness and quality, particularly during boss fights and the main menu theme. However, some users noted that the music can be too quiet by default and that there are occasional issues with missing sound assets and music dropping out during gameplay. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the experience, it could benefit from better sound balancing.
“The good: main title menu music theme is hella poppin'.”
“A simple 2 and a half hour game with pretty sweet music and simple mechanics and a decent amount of enemy variety.”
“The music and animation of this game is good enough to hold its own.”
“The only negative thing I can say is that the music is a bit quiet by default, which is a shame because the music is especially fantastic when fighting bosses.”
“There seems to be missing sound assets during specific attacks, and once in a while the music seemingly just dropped off the face of the earth.”
“Some of the sound design gets overshadowed very quickly by the music.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn" are described as solid but simplistic, featuring a cartoony art style that some find unappealing. While the visuals are sufficient and have a sleek quality, they evoke a nostalgic arcade feel rather than pushing any boundaries. Overall, the graphics are considered decent for the game's genre, complementing its fun and action-oriented gameplay.
“Even if you take out the terribad, self-effacing b-movie concept, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is still a decent beat 'em up with sleek stylish visuals and somewhat tight controls - Shaq himself moves a little bit slow, probably to reflect his size, but it never interferes with how responsive the game feels.”
“Fun game, good action, and very cool graphics.”
“It feels like a game that you'd play on one of those arcade machines in the movie theater for a few quarters but with some graphical improvements to account for when it was released.”
“The graphics are sufficient for the game, and they're good in their simplicity, so is the music (some catchy songs, but other than that nothing to write home about).”
“Graphically it's alright.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has limited replayability, with users noting that aside from replaying the main storyline, there are few incentives to revisit it, particularly when compared to other versions like the SNES, which offered more playable characters.
“The SNES version had more playable characters, which adds to the replayability.”
“The variety of choices and paths in the game encourages multiple playthroughs.”
“I would highly recommend the game, but the replay value is probably non-existent outside of replaying the game.”
“Zero replay value.”
“The SNES had more playable characters.”
