Game Life: Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan is loved, if not by everyone, then certainly by the majority of those who know him. The cult figure of Asian and world cinema, in addition to total control of all fight scenes, is also known for his active participation in other aspects of film creation – from working with light to recording songs, not to mention the script and directing.

Well, okay, Jackie’s film career needs no introduction, and his singing talent is also not news to those who watched his films to the end. I propose to look at a less covered topic, namely his participation in video games in one role or another.

Pony and Bruce Lee

In 1983, one of Jackie Chan’s first truly successful films was released, Project A, in which the director himself played the role of the brave NCIS sergeant. And the very next year, the Japanese media company Pony (yes, it was “Pony” at that time) released a simple beat ‘em up for a number of home computers like MSX based on the film.

Most likely, at that time an agreement was concluded between Jackie and the game makers for long-term cooperation for the mutual promotion of products. Indeed, in parallel with the release of films from Chan, game adaptations of “Patron”, “Police Story” and “Project A2” appeared.

Separately, it is worth mentioning a very funny situation with the film “Diner on Wheels” (1984). At the Japanese box office the film was called Spartan X. An arcade beat ‘em up based on the film was released under the same name, which, in turn, also refers to Bruce Lee’s film Game of Death (1978). The port of the game for home consoles in Europe and the USA was called Kung-Fu Master or simply Kung-Fu. It is noteworthy that the covers also differed from release to release: on some art the main character is very similar to Jackie Chan, on others he looks more like Bruce Lee, and on others the face is completely original.

Own Kung Fu

The enormous popularity of Kung-Fu Master probably suggested an excellent option for Hudson for another potential hit in the genre. One way or another, in 1990 a full-fledged game appeared about the adventures of the already full-fledged Jackie Chan.

The platformer Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu has the most standard premise for such games – the protagonist’s sister is kidnapped by an evil Sorcerer, and now Chan must save both her and the whole of China by defeating the villain.

Jackie’s head greets us right on the start screen, lighting up with a thirty-two smile. It’s just a pity that in the NES version the character “lost” his outstanding nose. Unlike the PC Engine console, which had enough power to implement the game at a completely different graphic level, where the image of a kung fu master is easily recognizable.

But the Nintendo console still had a small bonus for fans – the end credits contain footage of “bad takes”, just like at the end of the Jackie films; and on PC Engine they were replaced by Chan’s “meetings” with developers in the form of bosses.

By the way, a hack of this game, with a mustachioed plumber instead of Jackie, could be found on cartridges for Dendy under the names Mario 10 and Kung Fu Mari.

Non-lethal battle

Jackie Chan personally visited the https://nonukgamblingsites.co.uk/review/iwinfortune-casino/ arcade machines. In 1995, during the filming of Thunderbolt, the Japanese gaming company Kaneko became one of the film’s production sponsors. In exchange for financial support of the film, Kaneko received a license to create a fighting game with Jackie with the simple name The Kung-Fu Master Jackie Chan. In addition to Chan himself, the game included actors and stuntmen who had worked with him previously.

At first glance at the gameplay, it becomes clear who became the ideological inspirer of this project. But brutal fatalities like in Mortal Kombat, of course, could not appear there, because Jackie was always against unnecessary cruelty both in his films and in video games. Perhaps this is why the announced sequel never appeared, because besides Chan’s three movie characters as bosses, the game could not offer anything more interesting.

The creators corrected the most obvious oversight in the re-release called Jackie Chan in Fists of Fire / Jackie Chan Densetsu, where, finally, Jackie’s heroes became playable characters. True, they were still the most “friendly” fighters.

By the way, resources from this game were recently used in the fan-made “hodgepodge” of Mortal Kombat New Era, where Chan can perform all sorts of abominations on a par with “friendship” or “babality”.

Your own stuntman

In 2000, another game entirely dedicated to the kung fu master was released exclusively for PlayStation. The simple title Jackie Chan Stuntmaster (literally “Stuntman Jackie Chan”) and the simple plot, during which Jackie tries to save his grandfather from the clutches of kidnappers, hide behind a full-fledged adventure to match Chan’s films. Fights with improvised means, a scattering of acrobatic tests and signature humor are included.

And although Stuntmaster didn’t offer anything new in terms of gameplay, borrowing elements from other popular games of the time, the meticulousness with which the creators tried to transfer Jackie to digital evokes a certain level of sympathy. Thus, the actor personally participated in motion capture for the game character; tried to convey to him my facial expressions, as far as possible, taking into account technology; and, of course, he voiced it himself too.

As in Action Kung Fu, the game’s end credits feature a montage of "bad takes" featuring a virtual Jackie. In addition, in the bonus mission you can test your strength in the setting of the filming of the actor’s early films. Another nice addition for fans is the presence of a short video with answers to questions, just like after the next episode of the popular cartoon of the early 2000s, “The Adventures of Jackie Chan”.

Hand drawn adventures

At the same time, speaking about the animated series, one cannot fail to mention individual games based on it. In 2001, a good beat ‘em up appeared for the Game Boy Advance with the subtitle Legend of the Dark Hand, and in 2004 a diverse action game was released for the PlayStation 2.

In the first game, Jackie searches for eight stolen scrolls of power and tries to stop the Hand of Darkness crime syndicate from releasing the demons; and in the second he collects magical talismans all over the world, the properties of which are known to any fan of the cartoon.

Jackie’s "voice" for both the series and the game was his "official impersonator" James C.

Around the world

Also in 2004, the next film with Chan’s participation was the film “Around the World in 80 Days”. This project was coolly received by critics and viewers, and as a result, it could not even recoup the money spent on it (about 140 million. dollars), having also received two nominations for the “Golden Raspberry”. And yet, the “tarnished” reputation of the film did not scare off the creators of the action platformer of the same name for the GBA.

In the game, we will play the role of Jackie Chan’s hero, Passepartout, and help Phileas Fogg overcome all obstacles in his around-the-world adventure. Passepartout must cope with difficulties using Jackie’s standard set – fights, jumps and other acrobatic sketches. The result was the most ordinary product under a film license for mobile devices – working, but without any special features.

Monkey voice

A more successful, but less significant project for Chan himself, was the first part of the cartoon “Kung Fu Panda”, released in 2008. There Jackie gave his voice to Master Monkey – naturally, the funniest member of the Furious Five. And two days before the start of the cartoon rental, a game adaptation of the same name appeared on store shelves . It was stupid to count on the same galaxy of Hollywood stars as voice actors here, but Jackie’s already mentioned “replacement” – James C – took care of his protégé in the game.

The only exception to the video game franchise was Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors (2008) for Nintendo consoles – here the Monkey’s lines are heard in the voice of Jackie Chan himself.

Other appearances

If we talk about more indirect episodes, then many may remember the film “City Hunter” (1993), where at one point the hero Jackie transforms into the characters of the fighting game Street Fighter . Chun Li in his performance is simply irresistible.

Since 1993, Jackie has been involved in gaming device advertising campaigns in his home country for several years. Chan was invited to promote the “educational system” (essentially a Famicom clone) from the well-known Chinese company Subor. But, of course, children were more interested in the gaming capabilities of this “keyboard.”. And with a recommendation from Jackie Chan himself, asking parents for a device “for studying” was as easy as shelling pears.

Chan also did not miss the practice of thanking people in the end credits who in one way or another influenced the creators or the game development process. His name can be found, among others, in such projects as FX Fighter Turbo (1996), Diablo (1996), StarCraft (1998) and even the domestic “JAZZ: Work for Hire” (2007).

In addition, in 2005, Chan became the “face” of fitness games for the Japanese console XaviXPORT. The virtual assistant showed by personal example how to do the exercises correctly, and at times gave his comments. But, of course, such training can only be called a full-fledged video game only with a big stretch.

It is clear that the above-mentioned stories from the life of Jackie Chan are not all of his gaming “exits”. For example, you can remember the recent fighting game without a license Shaolin vs Wutang . Obviously, the impressive legacy of the master of action comedies will be heard for a very long time.

And this material should end with the words of Jackie himself:

Someday I’ll get old, but that won’t happen in a video game. Today I will record my movements, artistry and humor for the game, and maybe the children who will play will remember me this way.