Shaq Fu

n/a

Shaq Fu
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Game Gear
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Delphine Software
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Action
Release Date RRP Code US 1994-10-28 $69.9569.95 728301 EU 1994 E290SMXI DE 1994-10-28 UK 1994-11 £54.9954.99 AU 1994 US 1995 $39.9539.95 T-50038
ESRB VRC ELSPA

Shaq Fu is a video game developed by Delphine Software and was released, among other systems, for the Sega Mega Drive and Sega Game Gear. It is a fighting game which stars basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, who has accidentally been transported to "The Second World" and tasked with saving the land from a mythical sorcerer named Sett Ra.

Though it is often praised for its fluid animation and vibrant graphics, the game has been the subject of ridicule for its nonsensical plot and bad controls.

Story

Long ago and far away, in a place called The Second World, there ruled the heartless sorcerer Sett Ra. His hunger for power still gnawed at him even though his dominance over the Second World was unchallenged; he longed to extend his grasp to the fair First World, Earth.

Sett Ra's Plan was simple. He would destroy the Pharaoh of Egypt and usurp his throne. He created a perfect assassin from his own shadow who would serve him without question. This shadow became beast, the mightiest and most loyal of all Sett Ra's minions. Beast destroyed the Pharaoh, and the disguised Sett Ra soon sat upon his throne.

However, the Pharaoh son Ahmet was not deceived. He brazenly confronted the powerful sorcerer, threatening to reveal him. Sett Ra escaped from the palace to the Great Desert, where his grandfather, Leotsu the Wise, dwelt as a monk and hermit. Leotsu and Ahmet united with a coven of powerful wizards from the lands beyond Egypt, and their combined power was able to send Sett Ra back to the Second World, comatose and imprisoned within a rune-encrusted pyramid. He slumbered for a millennium, bound by the wrappings of a mummy. Beast roamed the Second World, dedicated to finding and releasing his dread master. Successful at last, Beast and Sett Ra vow to wreak havoc on those who stopped them before.They have gathered a battalion of formidable fighters to further this end.

To regain his full strength and to end his exile from the First World, Sett Ra must perform an ancient ritual upon a descendant of Ahmet. Beast has now returned from Earth with the child Nezu, a child in whose veins the royal blood runs pure. All is ready for the final cataclysmic battle-only the Chosen One can stop Sett Ra now. One who possesses strength, spirituality, courage, agility, intelligence, and unsurpassed skill in the martial arts. Where will the world find such a one? Only Shaq knows.

Gameplay

The Sega Mega Drive version is notable for including five more playable characters and three new stages (The Lab, The Wasteland, and Yasko Mines) than its Super Nintendo Entertainment System counterpart. Unfortunately the story mode is shorter than in the SNES version, but as a bonus, players can also walk down the stairs past Gargoyle's Peak to fight a blue version of Beast. The Amiga port was based on the Mega Drive port, but features less music and background animation has been removed.

The Sega Game Gear version only has six selectable characters, no tournament mode, and no in-game voices.

Characters

	Auroch
	Auroch is a simple outlaw that fights for pleasure. He taunts anything that crosses his path. Auroch's stage is The Wasteland. Height: 5'11 Weight: 456 Age: 170 Origin: 2nd World
	Beast
	Created by Sett from his own shadow, Beast is the mightiest of Sett's servants. His stage is Dragon's Pass. Height: 6'10 Weight: 410 Age: Eternal Origin: Unknown
	Colonel
	A celestial champion. Battered, shattered, and almost dead, Colonel was found by Beast on an obscure battlefield, the sole survivor of a fierce struggle. His stage is The Lab. Height: 6'4 Weight: 357 Age: 42 Origin: Bio Corp
	Diesel
	A longshoreman from the San Francisco docks, Diesel spends more time brawling than handling cargo. His stage is Yasko Mines. Height: 6'1 Weight: 205 Age: 30 Origin: USA
	Kaori
	Forced to obey Sett's will by the power of an enchanted ring, Kaori is the martial arts champion of an alien feline race. Her stage is Catwalk Falls. Height: 5'3 Weight: 123 Age: 23 Origin: Cimotha
	Leotsu
	Leotsu is the last grand master of an ancient martial art, one that remains a mystery to the other masters. His stage is North Gate. Height: 5'4 Weight: 118 Age: 500 Origin: Far East
	Mephis
	Mephis is a mighty undead sorcerer who was once Sett's apprentice thousands of years ago. His stage is Gargoyle's Peak. Height: 5'7 Weight: 165 Age: Unknown Origin: Unknown
	Nezu
	Kidnapped by Beast to free Sett, Nezu is uncontrollable when angered. Although small, Nezu is agile, swift, and cunning. His stage is South Gate. Height: 4'6 Weight: 77 Age: 12 Origin: Far East
	Rajah
	A young mystic and skilled swordsman, Rajah submitted to Sett's sorcery while exploring the netherplans with his spirit. His stage is Vagabond Temple. Height: 5'11 Weight: 210 Age: 38 Origin: 2nd World
	Sett
	An entity of ancient evil, Sett was defeated and entombed in another dimension ages ago. His stage is Tombstone Island. Height: 6'10 Weight: 212 Age: 3000 Origin: Unknown
	Shaq
	Shaq is a dominating force on and off the hoops court, rookie of the year, perennial all star and founder of Shaqido.. an extremely lethal martial art form. Height: 7'1 Weight: 301 Age: 22 Origin: USA
	Voodoo
	Many have fallen prey to Voodoo's ancient magic. She uses her power to hunt Sett's enemies. Her stage is The Forest. Height: 5'8 Weight: 143 Age: 27 Origin: Haiti

Basic Moves

• Fast Kick:
• Power Kick:
• Fast Punch:
• Power Punch:
• Blocking: Hold to block high and mid-range attacks, or hold to block low attacks. Blocking Special Attacks will cause a minimal amount of damage to the blocker.
• Shield: Pressing + makes characters create a shield around them. The shield will block projectile attacks, but other attacks will go through.
• Throw: Characters can throw when up close by pressing +.
• Taunt: Press to taunt. Taunting will leave a character open to attack. It doesn't do anything.
• Fury Bar: As a character takes damage, their Fury Bar will charge up. When it is full, the word "FURY" will appear on it and the character will deal slightly more damage for a while.
• Dizzy: If a character is hit multiple times in a row without dealing any damage themselves, they risk being dizzied. When dizzy, a character will be stunned on the ground while stars rotate above them. Recover from a dizzy by pressing buttons rapidly.

Special Moves

Name	Command
Auroch
Boomerang	, + Auroch pulls out a boomerang from behind his back and tosses across the screen. He cannot move until the boomerang either hits his opponent, or reaches its farthest distance, and then returns.
Ball and Pain	, , , , + Auroch pulls out a giant spiked ball and chain, then lashes out with it twice straight ahead.
Beast
Thermal Blast	, , + Beast spits out a large, close-ranged puff of flame.
Spitfire	, , + Beast spits out a fireball projectile that travels across the screen.
Sonic Roar	, , , , + Beast roars and the screen flashes, which will hit the opponent from any place on the screen.
Roar	+ Beast roars. No damage, but an alternate taunt.
Colonel
Heavy Metal	, , , + Colonel extends his arm, which opens up to reveal a gun. He then shoots rapidly across the screen.
Bionic Burst	, , + Colonel punches twice straight forward with extending arms.
Missile Launch	, , , + Colonel launches a small missile out of his back, which homes in on his opponent.
Diesel
Dash Upper	, , + Diesel dashes forward very quickly and uppercuts his opponent up close.
Crate Crusher	,, , + Diesel throws a volley of energy-charged punches in front of him at various angles.
Dockside Dagger	, + Diesel throws a small dagger projectile across the screen.
Kaori
Cat's Claw	, , + Kaori slashes with her arms and sends a spiralling wave projectile across the screen.
Cyclone	, , + Kaori spins into a cyclone and moves forward. Holding will cause her to move forward until the move runs out. She will turn back to normal when she hits her opponent.
Energy Bomb	, , , , + Kaori tosses a ball of energy at the ground a short ways in front of her, which creates an explosion.
Teleport Kick	, , , , + Kaori vanishes in a puff of smoke, then appears over her opponent and drops onto them with a kick.
Leotsu
Blast Kai	, , , + Leotsu launches a ball of energy from his Bo across the screen.
Bo Kai	, , + Leotsu pulls out his Bo, then takes a quick jab forward with it.
Flash Kai	, , , + Leotsu pulls out his Bo and the screen flashes, damaging his opponent from any location.
Mephis
Lightning Arc	, , , , + Mephis raises his hands into the air, then a second later the screen will flash and a lightning bolt will hit his opponent from any place on the screen.
Lightning Jaws	, , + Mephis tosses a snapping dragon head made of electricity across the screen.
Burning Touch	, , + Mephis spins and tosses some powder into the air in front of him.
Nezu
Time Vault	,,+ Nezu tosses a slow fireball forward. If it touches the opponent, it will make them unable to move for a bit.
Eno Blast	, , , + Nezu tosses a ball of energy at the ground, which remains there until the opponent steps on it, at which point it explodes. Nezu may only have one Eno Blast onscreen at a time.
Eno Flip	, , + Nezu lays an Eno Blast on the ground and backflips twice. After he's finished his backflips, the Eno Blast will explode.
Eno Shot	, , , , + Nezu tosses a fireball projectile across the screen.
Rajah
Thunder Clap	, , , + Rajah pulls out both his scimitars and smacks them together in front of him causing the screen to flash.
Sword Shockwave	, , , + Rajah spins his scimitars and plants them into the ground, sending a wave projectile along the ground.
Scimitar Spiral	, , , , + Rajah pulls out both his scimitars and attaches them handle-to-handle, then tosses them across the screen.
Sett
Mummy Wrap	, , , , + Sett strikes forward with his arms, and extends a bunch of mummy wrapping for longer range.
Wedge Charge	, , , + Sett quickly dashes straight across the screen to ram his opponent.
Cosmic Missile	, , + Sett blasts an energy bolt projectile across the screen.
Shaq
Inferno Kick	, , + Shaq performs a high flaming roundhouse kick.
Shaq-urikin	,,+ Shaq tosses a spinning blade projectile across the screen.
Voodoo
Eagle Claw	, , , , + Voodoo raises her hand and conjures an eagle onto it, which she tosses across the screen.
Voodoo Doll	, , + Voodoo pulls out a doll of her opponent and a knife as well. Pressing any attack button will make her stab the opponent and damage them from anywhere on the screen.
Earthquake	, , , + Voodoo slams the ground with both hands and damages any opponent standing on it.

Stages

	The Wasteland
	Auroch's stage
	Dragon's Pass
	Beast's stage
	The Lab
	Colonel's stage
	Yasko Mines
	Diesel's stage
	Catwalk Falls
	Kaori's stage
	North Gate
	Leotsu's stage
	Gargoyle's Peak
	Mephis's stage
	South Gate
	Nezu's stage
	Vagabond Temple
	Rajah's stage
	Tombstone Island
	Sett's stage
	The Forest
	Voodoo's stage

History

Development

While initially pitched as a basketball game, Shaq Fu became a fighting game after talks with Shaquille O'Neal (a self-proclaimed fan of Mortal Kombat).

Delphine acknowledged that they could not compete directly with Street Fighter II from a technical perspective, instead building a game that highlighted the team's strengths at computer animations. The same rotoscoping techniques were used as in the earlier release, Flashback, where actors would be filmed against a blue screen, the frames would be digitised with the help of an SGI workstation, and artists would touch up the results using some of the roughly 7,000 original character sketches as a base for defining characters.

Shaquille O'Neal plays himself in the game, though many sequences were directed by a kung-fu expert. Other characters were filmed by movie stuntmen and women. O'Neal also assisted with some of the dialogue.

Roughly 40 people worked on the project in total.

Release

To promote the game's launch, Shaquille O'Neal released his second studio rap album, Shaq-Fu: Da Return. It peaked at #67 in the US the Billboard 200 chart, and #19 in Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Production credits

Mega Drive version

• Project Manager: Paul Cuisset
• Design Lead: Paul Cuisset
• Lead Programmer: Thierry Gaerthner
• Programmer: Arnaud Carre
• Lead Graphic Artist: Thierry Levastre
• Graphic Artist: Valerie Amghar, Stephane Aussel, Michele Bacque, Thierry Bansront, Gregory Beal, Eric Caron, Michaël Douaud, Laurent Dreno, Serge Fiedos, Herve Gaerthner, Elie Jamaa, Frederic Michel, Christophe Moyne, Olivier Nicolas, Fabrice Tete, Cecile Thomas, Jean-Marc Timert, Paul Tumelaire, Roman Vaidis
• Music: Raphael Gesqua
• Assistant Producers: Jeff Brown, William Schmitt, John Vilandre
• Testing: Jeff Brown, Ryan Enslow, Chris McCall, Chip Probst, Matt Vella, John Vilandre, Michael Yasko
• Executive Producer: Don Traeger
• Producer: Jim Rushing
• Associate Producer: Greg Suarez
• Product Manager: Lisa Higgins
• Documentation: Valerie Hanscom, Michael Humes
• Package Direction: Nancy Fong
• Package Design: 13th Floor, Dave Parmely
• Stuntmen: Remi Canaple, Patrick Cauderlier, Abi Espanol, Marc Le Loeuff, Dany Rocca, Phil Vitt
• Special Thanks: Leonard Armato, Tim Brengle, John Brooks, Lori Christensen, Jean Charles Meyrignac, Shaquille O'Neal, Management Plus, Sarah Smith, Dennis Tracey

Game Gear version

• Shaq Fu Game Gear Was Converted by: Tiertex Ltd
• Programmers: Donald Campbell, Dave Stead
• Project Management: Dympna Forkin, Thierry Gaerthner
• EA Management Team: Don Traeger, Jim Rushing, Greg Suarez, John Vilandre
• Tiertex Testing: Gary Marshall, Lee Walker
• EA Testing: Anji Mayfield, Heather Meigs
• Original Graphics: Thierry Levastre for Delphine
• Converted by: Kevin Knott at Tiertex
• Music Originated by: Raphael Gesqua
• Game Gear Music and Effects: John Prince
• Special Thanks: Dany Boolauck, Lori Christensen, Paul Cuisset, Anne-Marie Joassim, Shaquille O'Neal, Management Plus, Sarah Smith, Dennis Tracey, Jean Charles Meyrignac
• Product Management: Lisa Higgins

Magazine articles

Main article: Shaq Fu/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #62: "September 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in GamePro (US) #64: "November 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:

• EGM² (US) #5: "November 1994" (1994-1x-xx)
• Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #65: "December 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
• Sega Visions (US) #22: "December/January 1994/1995" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Mean Machines Sega (UK) #24: "October 1994" (1994-08-xx)

Print advert in Mean Machines Sega (UK) #26: "December 1994" (1994-10-28)

Print advert in Gamestar (AU) #5: "October 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Mega Force (FR) #32: "Octobre 1994" (1994-xx-xx)

Print advert in Joypad (FR) #36: "Novembre 1994" (1994-1x-xx)

Print advert in GamePro (DE) #1994-09: "September 1994" (1994-08-26)

Screenshots

• 

  Overworld map

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average

Publication Score Source Consoles + (FR) 89 Computer & Video Games (UK) 82 №155, p94 Game Players (US) 79 GamesMaster (UK) 81 №23, p50 65 №64 Games World: The Magazine (UK) 76 №7, p14 Joypad (FR) 90 №36, p118-121 Mega (UK) 76 №28, p28-29 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 79 №24, p76-78 Next Generation (US) 40 №1, p101 Player One (FR) 69 №48, p156 Sega Power (UK) 76 №61, p64 Sonic the Comic (UK) 75 №44, p10 Sega Force (SE) 57

	74
Based on 14 reviews

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 50 Alaab Alcomputtar (SA) 76 Cool Gamer (RU) 60 Computer & Video Games (UK) 82 Computer + Video Giochi (IT) 84 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 50 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 79 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 78 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 81 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 65 Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL 76 Joypad (FR) PAL 90 LeveL (CZ) 65 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 70 Mega (UK) PAL 76 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 79 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 25 Player One (FR) 69 Play Time (DE) PAL 54 Score (CZ) 84 Sega Magazin (DE) 60 Sega Power (UK) PAL 76 Sega Force (SE) 57 Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL 75 Todo Sega (ES) 82 Tricks (RU) 78 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 78 Video Games (DE) PAL 66 VideoGames (US) 60

	70
Based on 29 reviews

Shaq Fu

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart

Game Gear version

Game Gear, US
Cover
Cart Manual