Shao-lin's Road

Shao-lin's Road (少林寺への道),[5][6] originally released in North America as Kicker, is a 1985 beat 'em up video game released by Konami. The game was commercially successful, becoming a chart hit in the arcades.[7] It was ported to several early home computers and has also been featured in classics compilations Konami Arcade Classics in 1998 and Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits in 2007, and was released for Microsoft's Game Room in 2010.

Shao-lin's Road
Japanese arcade flyer
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami (arcade)
The Edge (computers)[1]
Platform(s)Arcade, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseArcade
Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
Amstrad CPC
Genre(s)Beat 'em up
Mode(s)1 or 2 players alternating turns
Arcade systemKonami 6809[4]

Plot

Players take control of Wanpyou (ワンピョウ) (renamed Kicker in Kicker, renamed Lee in other ports), who has just mastered the secret of Chin-style Shaolin martial arts. He then encounters the Triad Yamucha Gang (ヤムチャ団), also responsible for the assassination of his master Raochuu (ラオチュー), and is trapped within their Jaken Temple (邪拳寺). He attempts to escape and enact revenge with his new-found skills.

Gameplay

Controls consist of a four-position joystick and two buttons. The goal of each level ("step") is to defeat a set number of enemies, as indicated by an on-screen meter. The player can move left or right, jump between platforms/floors, and attack with various jumping/kicking strikes.

Enemies emerge from doorways to attack the player; some fight hand-to-hand, while others throw projectiles. Defeating a green-clad enemy causes a colored sphere to appear, which grants the player one of three power-up weapons for a few seconds if caught: a meteor hammer, the ability to throw fireballs, or a ball that orbits the player and damages any enemy it touches. Food items occasionally float across the screen and can be struck for bonus points.

The player can take three hits from enemies or their projectiles and continue fighting, but a fourth hit costs one life. Each step is divided into two parts; the second half includes a fight against a boss character, who requires five hits to defeat and may have a special attack technique. Once all enemies in either half of a step are defeated, the player earns bonus points based on the number of hits taken in that half and the damage meter is fully restored.

The game includes a total of five different step designs, which repeat in a cycle with increasing difficulty. Once all lives are lost, the game ends.

Reception and legacy

In Japan, Game Machine listed Shao-lin's Road on their June 15, 1985 issue as being the twenty-second most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[8] In Europe, Shao-lin's Road was marketed as a follow-up to Yie Ar Kung-Fu and became a commercial success in arcades.[9] The Legend of Kage, released by Taito later the same year, was influenced by Shao-lin's Road.[10]

Records

The current arcade world record is held by Estel Goffinet scoring 50,000,000 points on June 28 of 2014 in just under 32 hours of play. The score is listed in the Twin Galaxies database.

The current arcade world record for "Extreme Settings" is held by Joe Hudak scoring 5,054,500 points on September 17 of 2018. The score is listed in the Twin Galaxies database.

Adrian Rodriguez holds the official world record of 13,007,800 in the MAME platform on Twin Galaxies on 2018.[11]

Notes
  1. "Shao Lin's Road Release Information for Amstrad CPC - GameFAQs".
  2. "Shao-lin's Road (Registration Number PA0000257007)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  3. "Shao-Lin's Road , Arcade Video game by Konami Industry (1985)".
  4. "System 16 - Konami 6809 Based Hardware (Konami)".
  5. Various ports use Shao-Lin's Road or ショーリンズロード to refer to the game.
  6. "少林寺への道" is also the name of the Japanese release of 少林寺十八銅人; Shao-lin's Road may have been planned to be based on that film in a similar manner to Spartan X.
  7. Sinclair User, January 1987, page 94
  8. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 262. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 June 1985. p. 25.
  9. "Shao-lin's Road: The arcade hit... in your home!". Popular Computing Weekly. 19 February 1987. p. 16.
  10. Hamilton, Ferdy (20 December 1986). "Legend of Kage". Commodore User. No. 40 (January 1987).
  11. Kicker Marathon Settings (MAME) World Record by Adrian Rodriguez, December 7, 2018
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