Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn Video Review
With a plethora of remakes, remasters, and revitalized IPs coming at us almost every other week we have been treated to some of the greatest updates to the games of our childhood: Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, and the upcoming Spyro remaster to name a few. However, for every Crash Bandicoot there is a Bubsy, and for every Spyro a Shaq-Fu. Everyone was surprised to see this game surge back to life, mostly because the first one was so abysmal as to be unplayable.But through crowdfunding and hard work, Shaq-Fu was – well – reborn into the modern era, promising explosive new gameplay and the kind of zany fun we enjoyed in the 90s before every protagonist became a brooding mess. How well did Shaq-Fu hold up to the promise? Check out our video review below to see what we thought.
Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is a 2.5D side scrolling beat-em-up with a semi-open area, allowing the player to travel to the background and foreground in most cases. The game tells a story of Shaq being raised Asian and being picked on for being bigger than the rest. After being trained in kung-fu, an ancient evil comes to kill his master and Shaq sets out on a quest to stop the destruction of the world. The game pokes fun at itself and frequently breaks the fourth wall, but much of its humor is derived from racist or borderline homophobic jokes that do not translate well today. Gameplay feels stiff and uninspired, with hitbox issues, a broken tutorial, and generally poor locomotion. While this could have been a worthy revitalization of the IP, it instead comes across as awkward on all accounts and overly immature.
Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. For more information, check out the game’s official website.
