Congratulations Shaq Fu apologists, your sequel game delivered. We’re working on monkey paw rules however, so that means Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn only delivered on being a competent game instead of a good one.
Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn
Developer: Big Deez Productions
Price: $20
Platform: PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One
MonsterVine was supplied with a PC code for review
Shaquille O’Neal aka Big Diesel, aka Shaq Attack, aka Big Daddy, aka the Big Agave, aka the Real Deal, aka Superman, aka Big Aristotle has been trying to get another Shaq Fu off the ground for over twenty years and he finally succeeded. Back in 2014 a crowdfunding campaign just barely squeaked by and four years later we have the result of that: a game that’s definitely better than Shaq Fu with some good ideas but mediocre execution.
Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn opens with Chinese orphan, Shaq Fei Hung, being thrust in a fight to save the world from invading demons. It’s a setup that’s played totally straight and when the few jokes that land do so, they land hard. Hearing Shaq refer to himself as a “poor Chinese rickshaw driver” in full earnestness is funny, but the game opts to lean harder on the easier, and more problematic, racist and sexist jokes than the stuff that actually works.
Unlike the original that was more of a fighting game, this game goes the classic beat ‘em up route and for the most part succeeds in checking all the boxes for the genre. There are enemies to punch, a few power-ups, interactive weapons, your typical bosses, and the attacks have a nice flourish to them as Shaq summons a giant sneaker to kick foes into the screen. It all just works and that’s honestly way more than the train wreck I’m sure most of us were expecting. As you look at the game, there’s some genuinely neat stuff here. Shaq growing up a Chinese orphan who has to fight demons is a genuinely funny hook, the power-ups like the cactus suit are creative, and I like the art style particularly the animated cutscenes which would work great as a cartoon like Mike Tyson Mysteries. It’s just that none of this blends together into something great, just something that’s content on just coasting by.
There’s no real “oomf” when hitting an enemy, with attacks feeling extra flat considering Shaq’s exaggerated size in the game, and the combat is beyond mindless. There are some mild attempts at added strategy such as enemies who will counter your jumping attacks, or others that require to be stunned before attacking, but for the most part you’re just smashing the attack button as your eyes glaze over.
Shaq gets two power-ups throughout the game: Big Diesel that slaps a bunch of steampunk armor on Shaq and Shaqtus that has him in a cactus getup. Donning both of these suits makes you feel powerful as you cut through waves of enemies, but when you already feel powerful without the suits there’s no moment of joy when you get these items; it all becomes just one big blur of meaningless punching.
There’s a decent variety of enemies, but once you see them all in the first level then that’s it for the rest of the game. I’ll give credit for them at least giving the enemies a visual makeover in each level, but they still more or less function the same. The bosses themselves, which should be highlight moments, feel like they go on for too long, many of them being vague enough references to have you thinking they could be various celebrities. Bosses also have their own special gimmick that function more to prolong the already tedious fight than to spice things up. There’s one boss in particular that starts a dance battle minigame that could have been incredibly fun, but like with the rest of the game it was done with the barest effort.
It’s ironic, given Shaq’s gargantuan statue, that the game is so short. At six stages with each being easily beaten under twenty minutes, you could easily finish this game in less than two hours. This works in the game’s favor considering the second half of the game is when it starts to hit its lull. The reskinned enemies, repeat use of the same two power-ups, and mindless mashing finally hits its zenith and once it kicks in you’re left wanting off Shaq’s ride. In a very clear attempt to pad out the final moments of the game they even include multiple segments where they have you fend off 200 enemies while powered up; a task so simple I watched a YouTube video on my phone while playing and didn’t get hit once. In an attempt to add some clever meta humor to the game, Shaq speaks to the game developers to change aspects of the game during the final level. This is probably one of the biggest missed shots I’ve seen in a while because none of these moments land when they could have been an entryway into some clever game design. In a moment of apparent self-awareness, Shaq even comments on the annoyance of the “defeat 200 enemies” segments, which the dev says he’ll nix for something more engaging… only to then thrust you into the exact same segment you’ve done half a dozen times already.
The Final Word
Therein lies the frustration with this game. There are some really good ideas here but none of it is fully realized into a great game, let alone a good one. Instead, the highest praise is that Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is simply okay. Maybe next time Shaq.
– MonsterVine Review Score: 2.5 out of 5 – Mediocre
