Kung-Fu Master (Arcade)

Kung-Fu Master
Also known as: Spartan X (JP) Developer: Irem Publishers: Irem (JP/EU), Data East (US) Platform: Arcade (Irem M62 System) Released in JP: December 1984[1] Released in US: March 1985[2] Released in EU: 1985 This game has regional differences.

Behold, the game famously known for birthing the beat-'em-up genre!

Mainly based on the Jackie Chan-starring film Wheels on Meals, it's also based on Bruce Lee's 1972 film Game of Death which was the basis for the game's concept.

Regional Differences

The Japanese version is a tie-in game with the Jackie Chan-starring film Wheels on Meals (called Spartan X in Japan) despite the only explicit connection being the protagonists' names. The International versions drop the license, making them a generic game.

Story

Japan	International
A KANFU MASTER,THOMAS AND SILVIA WERE SUDDENLY ATTACKED BY SEVERAL UNKNOWN GUYS.	A KUNG-FU MASTER,THOMAS AND SILVIA WERE SUDDENLY ATTACKED BY SEVERAL UNKNOWN GUYS.

The iconic awkwardly-written story text in the attract mode's intro is slightly more awkward in the Japanese version.

Here, on the first part's initial line, "KANFU" was changed to the more recognizable "KUNG-FU" on international versions.

Japan	International
LATER THOMAS FOUND A LETTER FROM X. HE IS A INHABITANT OF THE DEVIL'S TEMPLE.	LATER THOMAS FOUND A LETTER FROM X. HE IS AN INHABITANT OF THE DEVIL'S TEMPLE.

The "A" on the third line of the text's second part was changed to the grammatically-correct "AN".

Title Screen

Japan	US	Europe (World)

The Japanese title screen features Paragon Films Ltd. and Towa Promotion's copyright (which are the companies who produced the movie and allowed the game to be a tie-in with Jackie Chan's movie). Since the International versions are not related with the movie, the US title screen replaces Paragon Films Ltd. and Towa Promotion's copyright with a message that Data East manufactered the game and shifts Irem's copyright upwards and the European title screen removes Data East's manufacture message and shifts Irem's copyright a bit downwards.