Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn Reviews
As bad as Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is, it could always be worse.
This is 2018's most cuttingly unpleasant game to play. And I'm one of those that played Agony.
Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is a misfire in just about every way. The gameplay is dull and simplistic, the art and sound design are low quality, and the story is not only unfunny, but also surprisingly offensive. In other words, it's exactly what you would expect a Shaq Fu sequel to be like.
This is a bad game. It's not worth $20 and, in my opinion, not worth $5, unless you're the kind of person that would get a kick out of Paris Hilton slut jokes in 2018 and can't get enough lazy, casual racism. A lack of cooperative multiplayer outright dooms the title, forcing it be be endured alone by those unlucky (or stupid) enough to buy it. I'm honestly shocked that Shaq lent his name and voice to this turd pile. My guess is that he cashed the check and hasn't seen the game. A disclaimer opens the game stating that the events depicted don't represent Shaq's views or opinions and that those who take issue with the content of the game shouldn't bother him. It's almost like the developers knew ahead of time that all of this was a bad idea and expect backlash to be directed towards O'Neal. Nice work, guys. 2/10 low-effort dick jokes.
In all respects superfluous continuation of one of the supposedly worst games ever. Yes, the original was better.
Review in German | Read full review
If there's a lesson to be learned from A Legend Reborn, it's this: don't build a game off a meme.
From being a technical disaster and unfunny self-aware piece of software, Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is an embarrassment to Shaq-Fu's 16-bit legacy. The original may not have been much, but at least it was not made ironically. The original was made by a talented team that did the best it could with what it had. A Legend Reborn is made with current technology and it somehow looks uglier and plays worse than the game that was coded in the '90s with pixels. Shifting the genre to a beat 'em-up was a logical choice, but this execution was a terrible miscalculation. Compounded with the overall poor quality, this is an extremely short game that clocks in at about two and a half hours. Not much value in Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn at all. Better stick with the 16-bit original.
Whether or not the developers didn't have faith in their product or it was just trying to be clever, the meta-jokes about how silly everything in the game is entirely accurate. The game is only a couple hours long, and unless you are trophy/achievement hunting, there isn't any reason to return to the game. Even then, playing through the game feels like a chore, as levels overstay their welcome. Time will tell if the original promise of co-op makes it into the game, but that doesn't change anything concerning the borderline racist and offensive style of comedy used throughout.
"People crowdfunded this crap?" Yes, they did. And seeing the finished product, they probably kick themselves for giving its developers so much money. Time and nostalgia had transformed Shaq Fu, the bad 16-bit game, into a funny joke. And unfortunately, the joke has now gone to far. Shaq Fu : A Legend Reborn is a terrible game that manages to be very short and too long at the same time. If you aren't one of the game's backers, you truly should spend your money elsewhere.
Review in French | Read full review
At the end of the day, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is a cautionary tale. Jokes are not funny just because you say them. Nor are they funny just because they raised over $450K. But being not funny isn't a cardinal offense for a video game. Being dull and soulless mechanically is.
A poorly written game with gameplay that feels stiff and archaic, along with endless waves of enemies that take far too long to beat.
The plot of Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is, as Shaq says himself "convoluted and full of holes". A poor Chinese orphan, Shaq Fei Hung, is forced to face up to his destiny when it becomes apparent that some of the world's biggest celebrities are actually demons plotting to keep the people in a state of moronic subservience. As dictated by The Prophecy, Shaq must use the skills taught to him by his kung-fu master, Ye-Ye, to travel the globe, take down the celebrities and save the universe.The game itself is a simplistic scrolling brawler. As Shaq, players take on wave after wave of drone-like enemies. Mashing attack builds up a combo, before ending it with Bayonetta-style giant boot finisher, Shaq also has a shoulder charge, a ground pound, and a fairly useless jump-kick. Various weapons can be gathered from the streets or dropped by opponents. Once you reach the end of a stage, you face a celebrity boss, who must be defeated to progress.The problem is, the game is just so numbingly repetitive. Despite the fact it is a mere six stages long, and can be completed in about three hours, it becomes so drawn out, due to the endless waves of villains - non of whom put up a decent fight - and tiresome sequences designed for variety, but are just tedious. For example, one stage has you push boulders down a hill onto enemies for what seems like an eternity, before you move to another hill and do the exact same thing again. Occasionally a stage will lock you into an area, power you up (such as with the "Big D" Mech suit) then force you to defeat, literally, 200 baddies before you can move on. Even though you can mow through them with ease, it's just really boring to do so.
Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn manages to do things at such a basic level that it numbs us to the idea of anything entertaining happening ever. A product from the past that lacks in every department, one has to wonder why they even bothered?
I wanted this game to be a success, I wanted it to be as fun as the trailer made it out to be, but I don't know the last time I played a game which made me prefer the option of turning off my console and going outside.
Simply a missed opportunity and another proof you should be wary of crowdfunding games. Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn pales in comparsion to the 30 year old Double Dragon. Add in the ridiculous price tag and short length and you'll end up with something you shouldn't buy outside of sales.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
For a game that was in development for years and was funded as much as it was, it is pretty disappointing. Barely takes 2 hours to beat and that is on top of the repetitive gameplay stretching it out.
Unfortunately it ends up being a lot less memorable and significant, due to a rather generic audiovisual component and to its simplistic combat system, which does not try to make this experience any more poignant or worthy of praise.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.
A certain candidate for the best worst game of the year award.
Review in Persian | Read full review