Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn

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.

69%Game Brain Score

humor, story

gameplay, replayability

76% User Score Based on 155 reviews

Critic Score 30%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is a single player arcade hack and slash game with a comedy theme. It was developed by Big Deez Productions and was released on June 5, 2018. It received negative reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is a beat 'em up game featuring legendary basketball player Shaquille O'Neal. Travel through exotic locations, battling a variety of enemies using an array of combos and special moves. With a blend of humor and action, help Shaq stop the evil villain and save the world.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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76%

Audience ScoreBased on 155 reviews

humor57 positive mentions

gameplay13 negative mentions

The game is a fun and humorous side-scrolling beat 'em up with satisfying melee attacks.
It features a variety of funny cutscenes and a light-hearted story that pokes fun at celebrities.
The gameplay, while simple, offers enough variety to keep players entertained for a short playthrough.

The game is very short, with many players completing it in around 2-5 hours, leading to a lack of replay value.
Gameplay can become repetitive quickly, with waves of similar enemies and limited combat mechanics.
The humor often misses the mark, with some jokes being considered cringeworthy or offensive.

humor
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
95%
5%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it entertaining and absurd, featuring over-the-top jokes, celebrity parodies, and self-aware humor reminiscent of 90s comedy. However, some critiques highlight instances of unfunny or offensive content, including racism and transphobia, which detracts from the overall experience. While the game doesn't take itself seriously and offers moments of genuine hilarity, its appeal largely depends on individual taste in humor.
- “The humor is a bright spot; Shaq is a funny guy, and I think his sense of humor really comes out in the game.”
- “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.”
- “For starters, the game is downright hilarious with all the jokes it pulls and references it has.”
- “The humor is just strange, unfunny racism or transphobia.”
- “What they made was something that was unfunny, insulting, and pretty much should be avoided.”
gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
43%
41%
The gameplay is characterized by its repetitive and monotonous nature, often described as too easy and lacking depth, which diminishes the overall experience. While some players appreciate the humor and art style, many criticize the simplistic mechanics and poor design choices that fail to elevate the beat-em-up genre. Despite a few creative elements, the gameplay ultimately feels generic and fails to engage players for long periods.
- “The gameplay is pretty solid, with even some new aspects in a brawler.”
- “Sure, the game is quite short but the action, comedy, and simple gameplay makes it extremely fun to play.”
- “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 gameplay is terribly monotonous, even for the genre.”
- “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.”
story
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
52%
10%
The story of the game is a mix of humor and absurdity, often described as self-aware and playful, featuring parodies of celebrities, including Shaquille O'Neal himself. While some players appreciate the comedic elements and animated cutscenes, others find the overall narrative to be mediocre and the gameplay repetitive. Despite its flaws, the quirky story and humor are seen as the game's standout features, appealing to those who enjoy lighthearted, silly narratives.
- “The story is told through fully animated cutscenes with Shaq himself providing the voice for his own character.”
- “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.”
- “Great game, easy achievements, fun storyline.”
- “The story is mediocre, although it tries to make fun of some random things.”
- “The story mode (or main thing) of the game is meh.”
- “But the crazy story, bad jokes, and interesting animation clips and voice overs are sort of a reward to dealing with the bad gameplay.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
29%
21%
The music in the game is generally praised for being catchy and enjoyable, with standout tracks that enhance the overall experience, especially during boss fights. However, some players noted that the music can be too quiet by default and that there are occasional issues with missing sound assets. Overall, while the soundtrack is a highlight, it could benefit from better sound design integration.
- “Hidden gem full of laughs and fun original music.”
- “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 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.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The graphics of the game are generally described as solid and stylish, with a cartoony art style that some find appealing while others consider it unremarkable. While the visuals are sufficient and feature some improvements over arcade-style games, opinions vary on their overall impact, with some reviewers noting that they enhance the game's fun factor despite the repetitive gameplay. Overall, the graphics are considered decent but not groundbreaking.
- “Really nice graphics.”
- “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.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
Overall, the game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with many users noting that the campaign, while initially enjoyable, becomes tedious and offers little incentive to replay after completion. Despite some improvements over previous titles, the consensus is that the game has minimal replay value, lasting only a few hours.
- “The campaign starts out fun but gets tedious after a while and there is almost no replay value whatsoever.”
- “Lasts about 2-3 hours and there isn't much replayability.”
- “I would highly recommend the game, but replay value is probably non-existent outside of replaying the game.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, as the initial fun quickly diminishes due to repetitive gameplay and a lack of innovative content. The developers seem to have anticipated this by including regenerating weapon items, but overall, the campaign becomes monotonous and offers little incentive for replayability.
- “I think the devs knew this because after the first stage there are so many sections with regenerating weapon items; it feels like they anticipated the game would be tedious if you just had to rely on the base attacks.”
- “The combat works okay for what it is, but the game runs out of ideas very quickly, and the levels just become tedious to get through before long.”
- “The campaign starts out fun but gets tedious after a while, and there is almost no replay value whatsoever.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's character development is enhanced by appealing character design and immersive environments, contributing to a positive overall experience that reviewers recommend.
- “The character development in this game is incredibly immersive, allowing players to truly connect with their characters and their journeys.”
- “I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, each decision feels impactful and shapes their personalities in meaningful ways.”
- “The depth of character backstories and the way they grow over time adds a rich layer to the gameplay experience.”

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30%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Review: Shaq Fu - A Legend Reborn
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.
Destructoid.com
30%

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Frequently Asked Questions

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is a arcade hack and slash game with comedy theme.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn was released on June 5, 2018.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn was developed by Big Deez Productions.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn has received negative reviews from players and negative reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its humor but disliked it for its gameplay.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is a single player game.

Similar games include Battletoads, Icey, Kung Fury: Street Rage, Streets of Rage 4, Foul Play and others.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn

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