Ah, Bruce Lee...I first played this fantastic game back in the early eighties on what was then a top of the line Atari 800XL (64 Kilobytes of memory! How could you possibly ever need more memory than that!). The game in its time was stunning and had everything you could ask for in a game: great gameplay, fantastic graphics and fairly intelligent puzzles and enemies to contend with.
You play as the title character in a quest to find and defeat an evil Wizard who has wronged you in some way (the game doesn’t really explain this in detail).
Along the way you will do battle with the quick and cunning Ninja as well as the “Green Yamo”, a hulking brute who despite his size can perform most of the same acrobatic combat actions as can Bruce Lee himself.
The gameplay features fairly simple jumping and ladder climbing action (somewhat like Donkey Kong). At the beginning of each level you are tasked with collecting lanterns or possibly finding wall switches that are scattered throughout the map and activating them in order to be able to advance to the next level. Attempting to stop you in your search are the previously mentioned Ninja and Green Yamo.
The game has a somewhat stripped down control scheme and the fighting action is pretty straightforward.
Bruce can either punch an enemy if he is fairly close to them or alternatively he can perform a leaping kick if he is running towards his target. As for his opponents, the Ninja is speedy and uses a katana when attacking, and the Green Yamo performs the same style kicks and punches as Bruce does. To avoid injury Bruce can duck below both the Ninja’s blade and the Yamo’s kicks/punches. He can also jump over his enemies to escape harm if need be.
When the time comes to deal out some punishment though, Bruce really brings the hurt down on his enemies. Although Bruce only has two options for attack (Only one type of punch and kick), they are satisfying to perform and give a sense of some real damage being delivered. When Bruce connects with his leaping kick for instance, his enemies are thrown back a fair bit and are momentarily dazed, and though his punch doesn’t evoke the same feeling of power, it is fun to go toe-to-toe with his opponent and duck under their attack only to spring up with a well-timed fist to the face. The combat is fun and is full of the type of frenetic moments where you might find yourself cornered by the Ninja and are close to perishing when along comes the Green Yamo aiming his leaping kick at your head only to have him take out the Ninja instead as you duck under his attack, allowing you to make a hasty retreat.
Don’t let apparent simplicity of this game fool you, it was most definitely a blast to play (and still is to this day believe it or not.) Don’t take my word for it, download this and give it a shot. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
