Shaq-Fu: The Worst Fighting Game (ft. Justin Wong) 

➤ Matt McPlushy Campaign - www.makeship.com/products/matt-mcmuscles-plush ➤Justin's Channel - ru-vid.com

There's probably an alternate universe where this game did so well that Shaq is a star at EVO every year

I feel bad knowing that Shaq enjoyed fighting games and was excited to be part of his own only for it to turn into such a dumpster fire

"Did this just turn into an episode of Wha Happun?" I'll be honest, I forgot it wasn't until I had to check the title.

imagine an alternate timeline where Shaq-fu was a huge hit and Shaq-fu 10 turbo edition is the main game at evo and its made by Arcsystems and Shaq crosses over with guilty gear.

Poor Justin Wong He started out all like "Okay, it seems like on paper this whole thing should work pretty well! Maybe this should be okay!" And then he slowly regrets his life choices.

Say what you want, i played this mostrosity for hours cuz i love the art. Truly the most beautiful garbage

When Matt cuts to Justin to talk about the mechanics, I was half expecting Justin to go "There aren't any." and then it cut back to Matt

I wish we lived in a world where Shaq Fu was a legitimately good game and to this day there'd be a community of Shaq Fu players competing in this old cult classic.

As kids I rented this with my cousin. It was awful. We did manage to cheese it enough by repeating one move to see the ending. We then returned it and exchanged it for free after telling the rental store it was a broken game. It was a 30 minute walk to the rental store and back, but the alternative was to continue playing Shaq Fu.

It's kind of a sad story hearing what happened behind the scenes for this game, it had all the right ingredients just not the right polish or direction. Shaq was genuinely hyped for it and Delphine didn't deserve to go out of business.

I unironicly loved Shaq Fu growing up, it was one of my favorite games to play and to this day idk why or how

The "furry" and "fury" meters are 2 different things.

Some small praise, it’s not too bad visually. Yeah we all know how Shaq Fu’s reputation is but visually it’s not too bad. It looks way better than some 3D fighters like Vs on PS1, the Genesis port of Time Killers looked way worse, even stuff released on Switch and PS5 today like Goonya Fighter look a bit eye gouging compared to Shaq Fu. But if Dead or Alive 6 has taught us, you can have a good looking game but fall apart in other areas

As a child who grew up throughout the '90s I really can't be mad at Shaq-Fu solely because Shaq has always seemed to be such a warm, genuinely good guy. He doesn't even look truly threatening on the box art.

Human Killing Machine is still the absolute worst fighting game of all-time, and I highly recommend you check it out for this series. Especially the Atari ST version.

I legit forgot there was a crowd funded sequel. Lol

Delphine Software should get their own "What Happun?" Episode. Their games were awesome, then they made Shaq Fu, then somehow only made Moto Racer sequels, and then they were gone.

I absolutely loved Shaq-Fu when I was a kid. Great character design & music. I consider myself to be the #1 Shaq Fu fan as I own the game for SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear & Amiga. Even the entire trading card line. It was the first fighting game I ever played too. Diesel, The Colonel, Nezu, Beast & Kaori were my favorites

Mephis is just a buff Tonberry, lets be real here.

How can you fix Shaq Fu Reduce lengths of cross jumps Make blocks/attacks less inaccurate Reduce lag time that gives input delay A lot of microtuning with excessive frames

The biggest problem to shaq-fu is that the prejump and landing frames are twice that of most games (4-5 whereas shaqfu is 8-9 frames) and the landing frames are also 8-9 frames long where you can't block instead of the 1-2 in a regular game. There's just too many frames in the wrong places since the input lag is only 4 which is normal for console games. It's super weird on how it sucks, cause there is good animation, but its not designed around the genre it's supposed to be in.

Imagine asking for Mortal Kombat 2 for Christmas and getting Shaq Fu instead. What a pittance!

Me: This sounds like a Wha Happun video... Matt (3 minutes later): "This is turning into a Wha Happun episode!" XD

The pairing of Delphine and “Shaq Fu” is still one of the oddest in gaming history.

50% of those characters look like something out of MOTU or Thundercats while the rest looks like background characters from The Double Dragons cartoon.

I'm very bothered by the mispronunciation of "Dr. Machino" at 1:52. As an avid Awesome Possum enthusiast, I must humbly request that you immediately rescind this video until this egregious error is addressed.

Honestly, desptie the sprites being quite small, the game actually looks really good and is a lot less offensive on the eyes than a thousand other polygonal messes that would follow.

It's bad enough already that there's a website dedicated to destroy every single Shaq Fu copy in existence

There's a part of me that really wants to know the frame data for Shaq-Fu given the rotoscope animations. Like, i would not be shocked if you tell me the Shaquriken is 20+ frames of startup and "fast" normals are 8 or 9 frames.

There's a timeline where Shaq-fu is actually an insanely good fighting game and I'm heartbroken that I don't live in that reality.

i unirionically like this gane maybe partly because it was one of the 5 games i owned for sega.

There’s definitely well worse fighting games rise of the robots comes to mind

I remember renting this game as a kid and taking it back same day asking to trade out for anything else.

One of my favorite parts of your channel recently. Keep it up, these are gold.

“WHAT A PITTANCE!” Can of coke to you, Matthew!

when I was a kid I'd lose matches on purpose to learn new moves since the game would give advice during the game over screen. I beat it a few times and didn't know people hated it so much till many years later in high school.

Truck Mang only appearing in the Genesis version? What a pittance!

Starting to think that will never have a fighting game bad enough to dethrone Criticom. It’s badness is to powerful to dethrone.

I actually like it, at least for the fluid animation, the way they ricochet off each other when striking in mid air, and for the sound effects and music (I have the Megadrive version, but I find it strange that the SNES one is lacking so many characters)

Interestingly enough, Shaq has training in Boxing, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I like to think Shaq was thinking, "People think I can't actually fight because of that game. I'll show 'em." In all seriousness though, that's pretty cool. Martial arts are in my opinion one of the coolest things you can do. I have a passion for martial arts and I hope to teach one day. Due to disabilities I can't continue to practice the styles/methods I used to, but I've gotten to a point where I'm capable enough to take up Boxing and I hope to train others one day once I'm good enough and have the right credentials/experience.

I see that EA forcing developers to make games in genres they have no business working in isn't a recent thing.

I actually loved this game as a kid. The weight of the animation was interesting as it seemed more like Out of This World/Blackthorne than Street Fighter.

"You can't block those movements because you don't believe in you. Believe in yourself. That's the true meaning of Shaq-Fu." -Some McDojo master.

Got the Genesis version of this game for free as a kid, I wasn't great at it, but eventually beat it with every character one summer. I've played worse stuff. When I heard they were making a Shaq Fu sequel I was kind of hoping they'd flesh out the cast of this game, then I learned it had nothing to do with the original and immediately lost interest. I know Shaq is the reason this game got made, but I think it would have been neat as its own thing, without the celebrity tie-in.

What I don't understand is, where's all the modders at making this more playable?

I remember in middle school a friend just straight up gave me his copy of the SNES game because he didn’t want it any more. All I knew going into it was that I wasn’t really a Shaq fan. I remember being impressed with the character animation. It just seemed more smooth and detailed than most other games I had at the time.

Honestly, purely on the surface, just watching the gameplay without needing to experience it first hand, this doesn't LOOK bad at all. I kinda love the idea of having a basketballer in a line up of monsters and cyborgs.

Lol Justin Wong breaking down while demonstrating is just rhe icing on the cake tbh 😂

You hit the nail on the head when it comes to Shaq Fu. Delphine software did put a lot of effort into the game. It just wasn't a genre of game that they were skilled at. I'm sure EA didn't help by hyping the game like crazy back then and by having a relatively short development window. Plus having Shaq so involved in the game from a PR side looks great but I would bet that involvement caused some time issues for Delphine if Shaq wanted lots of changes made. Worst fighting game ever? No, not even the worst 16-bit fighter IMO. Hyperbole on the internet tends to magnify the supposed reaction to things like this game and a whole lot of other things in life!

8:33 “Raw silence” he says as the Genesis sound chip starts to violently fart.

I've always wanted to play a shaq-fu where the designer of the game understood how fighting game animations are supposed to work. Cut half the frames and it would probably be decent.

I got Shaq Fu for Christmas, 1994, and played the hell out of it! So many memories, so much joy, it's hilarious to see it talked about all these years later.

9:30 Diesel, AKA, "That which makes a fighting game suck"

As soon as I saw a character named Diesel, I had a feeling OSW Review's influence would show up again.....in that regards, Mr. McMuscles, you did not disappoint.

Imagine a timeline where this game was a hit and today is a big franchise in the FGC? We'd have SF, MK, and Shaq Fu.

Aesthetically, I love the backflips.

Yeah, I've always kinda thought of this game as one of those that would've just been one of the thousand other me-too Street Fighter clones that were all the rage back then, had it not been for its bizarre premise and title character. I swear, even back then it read like people were just straight-up OFFENDED that the game had the audacity to exist, and you can take a scoot down any comment section regarding the game to see that this really hasn't changed much since. Mind you, as stated in any video like this one that can take a step back from that hivemind bullshit, this doesn't necessarily mean that this game is some sort of hidden gem. It IS pretty mediocre, the fighting engine does have a number of bizarre bits to it (MAN those jumps are floaty as hell), and if you could remove the references to Shaq, you'd seriously never know that this was indeed a Shaq game, as nothing else in the game strikes me as any sort of real use of Shaq's brand at the time - again, one of a thousand other me-too SF clones you'd play for a rental and then leave on the shelf afterward. But people really need to get some damn perspective on this game; you do NOT need to look far to find fighters that are worse than this. A LOT worse.

Shaq Fu was fun ! I can’t lie, I loved playing this game

Personally, as a hockey and Red Wings fan, you should of used Steve Yzerman as the hockey player example.

I actually love Shaq-Fu lol. The Sega Genesis version plays really well. And the soundtrack 🎵 was & still is a masterpiece!👌

Shaq Fu needs a redeemable reboot, i know there was that Reborn one a few years ago, however, i mean like, a open world, Freeflow/Arkham Combat and that the game changes fighting game controls, like from 2d plane and 3d plane in the main game. My vision for this Shaq Fu Reboot is incredible, only in my dreams i can play it. Idk, any developers who wants that idea, have it.

I honestly loved this game and didn't know it was bad. I thought it was so unique compared to mortal Kombat and street fighter (I was like 8 admittedly). I still love the sprites, the atmosphere and the music.

The thing that makes Shaq Fu special is that _it could have been great._ A game that truly leans into the silliness of its premise, an affectionate parody of fighting game and schlocky martial arts flick tropes, fronted by a guy gleefully hamming his way through the most ludicrous of lines... ...if only the actual game had lived up to its promise.

They should've just made a digitized MK style fighter where basketball players fight by throwing the ball like a fireball, doing skyhook uppercuts, slam dunks n shit. I expected this game to have Shaq throw the ball as an attack like MJ in Windy City footage you showed. Such a generic movie plot too. American becomes ancient mystic hero.

10:55 WTF at that 8 character select screen. They cut the roster in half, and unless there is actually an unlockable character, that bottom row with it's 3 characters not being moved over by about half a portrait block to be more centered annoys the hell out of me so much.

I clicked expecting a good laugh... Then realised this game nuked the developers of Flashback and Another World.... Now I'm kinda sad.

I really want to hear development stories about this. It feels like this was made by a studio where nobody really had more than a passing understanding of fighting games, but also they were really passionate to make a good fighting game.

I feel like… 20% of the problems with this game would be fixed by just zooming the camera in. Making the characters bigger and the stages slimmer so there’s less wild floatiness.

For my 10th birthday, my godmother/aunt bought me Shaq-Fu for the SNES in some bargain bin for like $7 -- the first and last gift I ever got from her. My father went to pick up the gift across town, and I remember the look on his face when I opened my present, just bewildered and annoyed, since I didn't play fighting games nor did I like sports unless it had the words "Mutant League," and he knew it was cheap crap she just grabbed without a care. He just turned to me and told me not to open the game, and kept it with him. A few days later he exchanged it for Chrono Trigger which I had rented god knows how many times, had a hell of a time tracking it down, and paid the difference. That game was always hard to find, even back then. Weirdly Shaq-Fu ended up leaving me with a fond memory for all the wrong reasons. I did eventually get into fighting games and played the game at a friend's house for shits & giggles. Oh Shaq-Fu, I have you associated with one of my favorite games of all time and that's the nicest thing I can say about you.

This one doesn’t have creepy old men in it like Reborn, making it the superior Shaq-Fu game

Honestly I'm glad they called it Shaq-Fu because it's an infinitely more hilarious name than Shaq Attaq and tells you exactly what you're buying right in the title.

This game also came out the same year Darkstalkers hit arcades, which happened about a month before Shaq Fu's release, so we can add ANOTHER much better fighting title it had to compete with.

Okay... hold up... there was a MICHAEL JORDAN ACTION PLATFORMER????

As a kid, the art style and character designs (aside from Auroch) had me totally enthralled. Visually, this game was peak 90s trash.

6:30 "You seem like a good fit for our next project but before we sign the agreement tell me what games you've worked on." *Long sigh* "Shaq Fu..." "Okay. Get out."

When I first saw it in my EGM magazine, I thought it was going to be a side-scrolling beat 'em up. I never knew it wasn't until now. Of course, at the time I was far too busy with MK2, rocking it with my 6 button controller, to care about this game.

I like it, the large stages is unique to most 2D fighting games

Shaq Fu is a bad game, but it’s at least functional. Honestly, it’s just sub par Mortal Kombat clone, but that’s hardly a new thing.

"There were more characters!?" - Me who played on snes

My brother got this at the Megamall for me during Christmas one year. It was the best gift I ever got from him. Thank you bro😊

"Furry meter" 💀

Shaq Fu is like an honorary name from The Fu-Shnickens. They featured Shaq on What's Up Doc? Moc Fu, Poc Fu, Chip Fu and then Shaq Fu. He mentioned them as his favorite rap group early on when he first hit the NBA.

Ever heard of "Tongue of the Fatman"? From my understanding it might be a serious contender for beating Criticom.

Floaty jumps, unblockable projectiles, huge stages, too much idle animation, teleports and good graphics, totally made up martial arts attacks, awful match-ups...wait, are we talking about Shaq Fu or modern Mortal Kombat games?

First!

this is really cool I hope you keep this series going I love the transitions feel of the episode and avatars you use all awesome looking forward to more nice job

"You fight like a darn rookie" Harsh words, this game is relentless.

As absolutely horrendous as this game is, my friend and I got drunk one night and loaded it onto one of my SNES copiers in 2012 and beat it. We had a ton of fun with it. There's no beating around the bush: It's awful, but that was a night to remember.

The music in the genesis version is pretty banging

The most inevitable game for this series, McMuscles.

I remember this show Fresh Off The Boat had an episode where the main character worked his ass off to get this game, only to end up severely disappointed. In that episode there was also a Dolly Parton game called 9 to 5 which one friend’s mother got them instead, and the story must’ve been amazing because when he beat it he was crying and applauding.

i keep getting reminded of how Killer Instinct [Gold] had such an AMAZING soundtrack. It did not have to go so hard and it did, and I love it for that

Now I want a What Happun on Shaq Fu A Legend Reborn. I remember it coming out and not hearing about it later.

Was very nice to see Jwong collabing on this. I hope we see him on even more videos in the future! :D

18:18 I had so much trouble against Leotsu as a child. He was worse than anyone else in the game, including Sett. It warms my heart to know that the legendary Justin Wong had trouble with him too, and that wasn't just me with a skill issue.

For me, nothing's ever going to be worse than Sega's arcade game Holosseum, which featured four whole characters that could move about a step forward and back, had about three moves each including specials (I distinctly remember the two buttons labeled "quick tricks" and "fierce tricks"), and zero background art or music. I remember it had this weird round horizontal screen that tried to make it look like you were... playing a hologram, I guess? But it wasn't even good as a tech demo, and I never saw another game that tried to use that technology. Oh, and the announcer. "KARATE SHIHAN! ...DAVE?"

Tiny Shaq gave me Chrono Trigger feelz

Oh man. I didn't know this was a series but I am totally on board for this! Can't wait for you to play Ballz or the SNES version of Pit Fighter

Such a heavy coincidence that this Vooodoo character looks an awful lot like Shantae, since the first game in that series came out in 2002.