Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn Hands-On – Shaq Master

When last we saw Shaq Fu, it was…well, a rather average fighting game. Not miserable like Time [...]

By ComicBook.com Staff

Shaq Fu

When last we saw Shaq Fu, it was…well, a rather average fighting game. Not miserable like Time Killers, mind you, and there was potential about a basketball superstar taking on a number of intergalactic opponents. But the controls were rather plain, and the graphics just couldn't compare with legendary classics like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II.

But Saber Interactive and Wired Productions are looking to change how we see Shaq Fu, as they're taking their Indiegogo-funded project Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn and finally giving Shaq Diesel the game he should've gotten in the first place. But instead of a typical fighting game (like what was attempted long ago), it instead caters to the side-scrolling beat-em-up genre, which means fans of the likes of Final Fight will have something to look forward to this summer.

The game is a single player affair, so sadly you can't have fellow Shaqs join you on your journey. (No Kobe either, sigh.) However, you can take control of "destined warrior" Shaq, as he takes on an armada of dangerous enemies big and small, in the hopes of crushing a demon force that's ready to overtake the Earth. That's right, it's up to the man behind Kazaam to save us – and that's not nearly as far-fetched as you might think.

First off, Saber Interactive have made the game pretty stylish, with a fun Eastern theme going for it, rather than the usual slums or streets. That makes the game much more colorful than expected, with a unique variety of enemies. For that matter, the music is fun to listen to as well, and Shaq even went as far as to record a new rap song for the game, just in case that's your thing. (It's not bad, even though it's not called something like "Shaq Attaq."

But it's the gameplay that's surprisingly well put together. As Shaq takes on his adversaries, he can unleash a number of moves. There are your basic punching attacks, along with slo-mo moments in which you can dramatically take out an opponent, such as knocking them into the air; and then there are the souped-up Shaq moves, such as summoning a large foot to squash an enemy flat; dashing at someone to throw them off guard and temporarily disable them; or even delivering a Shaq slap to send them into the middle of next month.

The adversaries are basic at first, with the usual goons. But then the game introduces some rather creative types, like women that deliver crushing blows from a distance, as well as shielded enemies that require a little bit more strategy. For that matter, the boss encounter we saw was a lot of fun, too, as we took on a chain-flinging demon who has a penchant for listening to Michael Jackson's "Beat It." It was actually a pretty fun encounter.

And that's what makes A Legend Reborn stand out from the original Shaq Fu. It knows how ridiculous its premise is, but rather than try and make it legitimate, it just has fun with it, from the dialogue (which is cornball, and features "dramatic" voiceovers from Shaq himself) to the music to the brawling. It rolls with this theme and becomes more fun as a result.

We've only seen the opening level for the game, but Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn sets a far better tone than the original release ever could have – and it gives Shaq more than enough justification to be an action hero. (More than Steel, anyway.)

We'll take a closer look at the game when it arrives on June 5 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC.

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