Yingxiong Zhuan - World Hero (英雄传), also known as Kung Fu Legend, is a Famicom fighting game based on The Legend of the Condor Heroes released in early 1994. Despite the English title, the game has no relation with SNK's World Heroes series.
Overview[]
Gameplay.
The gameplay is similar to Super Fighter III since it uses the same engine. A is used for punches while B is used for kicks. Tapping them will execute a light punch/kick while holding them down will perform a strong punch/kick. You can also perform throws by holding backward or forwards and pressing A near the opponent.
There are eight characters in the game, each based on a character from the original novel. You fight through all eight in a pre-defined order and you're awarded with an ending with a single image. The game doesn't appear to have a known story and it's unknown if it follows the original novel; the order you fight the characters in doesn't match the novel's events (notably you fight Crazy King last, who is a character based on Huang Yaoshi) and there's no similar character for Yang Kang, the main antagonist of the novel. Beauty Jenny's and Flying Dragon's ending implies they've gotten together like their original counterparts (Huang Rong and Guo Jing) like in the end of the novel but Odd Old Man's ending seems to reference the novel's sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, where Zhou Botong learned how to utilize jade bees and kept them as pets.
The characters all seem to be reinterpreted versions of the ones from The Legend of the Condor Heroes, as they all sport different and rather generic names in the manual. They also don't seem to be based on any of the film or TV adaptations of the novel as well. (A notable example is Tyrant, the derivative of Ouyang Fang, is much younger and looks more gruff compared to other adaptations that make him look older)
The stages and their themes seem to be completely original (although the fanfare that plays after beating your opponent seems to be rearranged from a similar fanfare from Super Fighter III). The graphics for the most part are original although there's some Super Fighter III assets, such as the cursor on the select screen, the peace signs indicating how many wins a player has and the counter for the continue screen. Beauty Jenny's face appears to be edited off of Chun-Li's portrait as well.
Characters[]
Character Select.
All of the character and move names were derived from the manual. From left to right, starting from the first row:
Beauty Jenny (黄蓉) - Based on Huang Rong.
- Fatal Fist - Down, Down-Forward, Forward + A
- Fatal Flying Needle - Hold Back for 1 second, Forward + A
- Angel's Blessing - Hold Down for 1 second, Up + A
Gold Heart Lady (梅超風) - Based on Mei Chaofeng.
- Soul Breaking When-You Whip - Press A repeatedly
- Positive and Negative When-Yun Claw - Hold Down for 1 second, Up + A
- Icy When-Yun Claw (misspelled "Clau" in the manual) - Hold Back for 1 second, Forward + A
Odd Old Man (周伯通) - Based on Zhou Botong.
- Dizzying - Hold Back for 1 second, Forward + A
- Surprising Fist - Press A repeatedly
Flying Dragon (郭靖) - Based on Guo Jing.
- Strong Man's Waving Fist - Down, Down-Forward, Forward + A
- Waving Chi-Kung - Hold Back for 1 second, Forward + A
- Strong Man's Fist - Hold Down for 1 second, Up + A
Drunken Beggar (洪七公) - Based on Hong Qigong.
- Pulling Gourd - Down, Down-Forward, Forward + B
- Throwing the Gourd - Down, Down-Forward, Forward + A
Drunken Beggar's diagonal jumping strong punch has an odd quirk where it does no damage but actually shifts him forward in the air.
Tyrant (歐陽鋒) - Based on Ouyang Feng.
- Out-of-Control Fist - Down, Down-Forward, Forward + A (Seems to be based on Ouyang's Toad Skill (蛤蟆功).)
- Snake Fist -Press A repeatedly (Seems to be based on Ouyang's Divine Serpent Fist (靈蛇拳).)
Tyrant has a weird ability where during the height of his forward jump, he'll boost forward in the air. Using a basic attack during this "boost" will let him travel slightly farther as well.
Shao-Lin Master-Kung Chen (少林高僧 空見) - Based on Reverend Yideng.
- Heaven-Quake Fist - Down, Down-Forward, Forward + A
- Soul Frightened Finger (Point to the Homeland) (Seems to be based on the Yiyang Finger skill. (一陽指)) - Hold Down for 1 second, Up + A
- Destroy Fist (Kicking to the Star) - While in the air, hold Down and press A at the top of the jump arc
Crazy King (黃藥師) - Based on Huang Yaoshi.
- Crazy Wave - Press A repeatedly
- Storming - Down, Down-Forward, Forward + B
- Turbulence Wrestle - Hold Down for 1 second, Up + A
Alternate Versions[]
- TV System Select version (Label's title: 倚天屠龍記 英雄传) - When booting up the game, you have a choice between either television format. While NTSC is the same, the PAL version readjusts the graphics on the screen to fit the PAL resolution. The name on the label is derived from the novel's second sequel's title, The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.
- Mao Zedong Danchen Yibai Zhounian Jinian (毛澤東誕辰一百週年紀念) - A hack which changes the title screen and the VS screen to be based around Mao Zedong's 100th birthday. The character selection was duplicated seven times, resulting in about 56 "characters". (This is notably similar to a hack of Super Fighter III known as Mari Street Fighter III Turbo.) It's unknown when this hack came out; while it would make sense to release the game in 1993, the original carts of World Heroes arrived on the market around early 1994. [1]
Trivia[]
- The board was manufactured around December 1993 while the PROMs have both “9401” and “9402”, those referring to the week numbers of the year. It was most likely out on the market in the first quarter of 1994.
- The game originally had a different English title called Kung Fu Legend. The Game Genie code ZZVKOITX will switch the banks and display the Kung Fu Legend title. [2]
- Since the World Hero graphics bank appears at the end of the CHR, it seems like the World Heroes/World Hero title was a last-minute addition to get more sales. This is further exemplified by the fact the original packaging makes no mention of the original title.
- Similar to Super Fighter III, the game contains a self-test. If you hold B + Select + Start and reset while holding those buttons, the game will test for PRG/CHR, mirroring and IRQ. [2]
- At some point, the original carts got a new original label that was simply placed over the old one, likely in an attempt to liquidate old stock. (This applies for the carts with no ids on them.)
- J.Y. Company may have had a hand with liquidating the old stock; the JY-048 1995 Super HIK 5-in-1 uses art from the reprint but without the World Heroes title, suggesting they had access to the original reprinted label. [3]
Gallery[]
