Shadow Fighter (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Shadow Fighter is a computer game for the Commodore
Amiga
, and Amiga CD32
developed by NA.P.S. team and published by Gremlin Interactive
in 1994, and became one of the Amiga's best beat 'em up
offerings during its final years, competing at the time with the likes of Acclaim
's impressive home console ports of Midway
's Mortal Kombat franchise, and Team 17's Body Blows
.
Each character of course has their own special moves. Like most beat-em-ups, they involve pressing a certain directional combination, followed by a button press to activate. Some of the moves are quite tricky to pull off using a joystick
or keyboard
, though much easier with a joypad
(which started to become more popular on the Amiga towards the mid-90's).
But for those still finding the moves too difficult to perform, the player can practice their moves on a training dummy called Pupazz. However, Pupazz is kitted out with his own set of moves, which make him lethal in his own right. Pupazz can only be accessed as a playable character via a cheat.
During the in-game action, players are notified of bonuses for performing certain actions (such as first attacks and combos), in a very similar way to Super Street Fighter II
.
To rival the bloody violence of Mortal Kombat
, a "blood mode" is included in the game, which can be toggled on or off. Unfortunately, this appears to do nothing other than turn the floor an untextured red colour.
The main character of the game is Shadow Fighter himself. The player can only fight Shadow Fighter if they are playing the game under Normal or Hard difficulty setting, as the game will end just before you reach Shadow Fighter under Easy. Shadow Fighter can be accessed as a playable fighter by using a cheat.
The game ran at a constant 25 frames per second, however with the use of a cheat the game could be made to run at 50fps on AGA Amigas.
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, and Amiga CD32
Amiga CD32
The Amiga CD32, styled "CD32" , was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe, Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year...
developed by NA.P.S. team and published by Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Interactive
Gremlin Interactive was a British software house based in Sheffield and working mostly in the home computer market.- History :...
in 1994, and became one of the Amiga's best beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
offerings during its final years, competing at the time with the likes of Acclaim
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
's impressive home console ports of Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
's Mortal Kombat franchise, and Team 17's Body Blows
Body Blows
Body Blows is an Amiga Versus fighting game game. It was released in 1993 by Team 17. The game is compatible with all Amiga systems, including the CDTV system with joystick support. It was followed by Body Blows Galactic and Ultimate Body Blows. A version for DOS was also released...
.
Overview
The game itself is as one would normally expect from any beat-em-up: fight through 3 rounds against all opponents to reach the main boss at the end. The game features 17 characters (2 hidden) from around the world (including one from space).Each character of course has their own special moves. Like most beat-em-ups, they involve pressing a certain directional combination, followed by a button press to activate. Some of the moves are quite tricky to pull off using a joystick
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
or keyboard
Keyboard (computing)
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
, though much easier with a joypad
D-pad
A D-pad is a flat, usually thumb-operated directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern video game console gamepads, game controllers, on the remote control units of some television and DVD players, and smart phones...
(which started to become more popular on the Amiga towards the mid-90's).
But for those still finding the moves too difficult to perform, the player can practice their moves on a training dummy called Pupazz. However, Pupazz is kitted out with his own set of moves, which make him lethal in his own right. Pupazz can only be accessed as a playable character via a cheat.
During the in-game action, players are notified of bonuses for performing certain actions (such as first attacks and combos), in a very similar way to Super Street Fighter II
Super Street Fighter II
is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1993. It is the fourth game in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting...
.
To rival the bloody violence of Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
, a "blood mode" is included in the game, which can be toggled on or off. Unfortunately, this appears to do nothing other than turn the floor an untextured red colour.
The main character of the game is Shadow Fighter himself. The player can only fight Shadow Fighter if they are playing the game under Normal or Hard difficulty setting, as the game will end just before you reach Shadow Fighter under Easy. Shadow Fighter can be accessed as a playable fighter by using a cheat.
The game ran at a constant 25 frames per second, however with the use of a cheat the game could be made to run at 50fps on AGA Amigas.
Characters
Below are a few of the characters featured in Shadow Fighter, and their pre-match bios:- LEE CHEN - (ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
) Raised in a mist surrounded temple, Lee has learned to harness the forces of nature.- Special Moves - Firey Handspring, Fist of Falling Sun, Fire Fist, Fury Spin, Falling nunchaku.
- SLAMDUNK - (DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
) Slamdunk combines his mastery of the basketball with an expertise in all the fighting arts.- Special Moves - Jumping B-Ball, Spinning Fire Kick, Speed Attack, Spinning Fire B-Ball, Head Spring Kick.
- SORIA - (BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) He is the world kickboxing champion.- Special Moves - Spinning Roundhouse Attack, Flying Kick, Double Drop Heel.
- ELECTRA - (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) Living on the streets taught Electra the hardest and greats rule of all - self preservation.- Special Moves - Electric Body, Power Launch, Earth Power Energy, Electric Boomerang, Double Kick, Spinning Jump.
- FAKIR - (PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) Exploring the inner mind and life force, Fakir has harnessed the power of ancient secret magical knowledge.- Special Moves - Genie Hurricane, Mystery Fire, Teleport, Magic Carpet.
- YURGEN - (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) Yurgen entered the tournament with an on-going investigation in mind; Yurgen believes that one of the fighters is a murderer.- Special Moves - Gun Fire, Power Fist, Earthquake Fist.
- CODY - (USA) He is the Kuto arts master.
- Special Moves - Kuto Kick, Fast Punch, Flying Powerball, Kuto Fireball.
- SALVADOR - (SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) - Fighting on the streets of Madrid is how Salvador made his living.- Special Moves - Spinning Powerball, Turning Flip, Flash Panther.
- KURY - (TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
) - Kury is something of an enigma, preferring to keep his chequered history and private life to himself.- Special Moves - Power Smash Fist, Body Drop, Rock Roll, Spinning Fire Hand.