You'll never work in this town again: Kung Fu Chaos

So, kind of new feature I wanted to do on games that I thought had a certain something, but were ultimately condemned to never rise again. Today's entry will be Just Add Monsters party game/brawler Kung Fu Chaos.

Released in 2003, KFC scratched an itch that had been left open by Fuzion Frenzy, which was an off and on favorite for visits between Grits and I and many of our friends. What KFC added, was a stronger brawler set, a better setting, and the creative use of kung fu movie filters to liven up playbacks. The point of KFC being that you were a silly-ass character, modeled after Kung Fu movie tropes, doing stunts and being directed by a tastefully subtle homage to well-respected Asian directors.

Which, is where the game got in a bit of hot water. By and large, the game was called out for blatant racism. Being Super McWhitey, myself, it's hard for me to judge whether the game deserved such vitriol. I like things like Chapelle's Show and the movie Friday, so I occasionally have a hard time knowing where the line is. Though, in retrospect, that "Flied Lice", director is a little bit over the top.

All in all, the brawling was fun, but not dazzling. What really set the game apart from it's predecessors were the settings for the brawlers. All of them played out across movie sets which would scroll, add platform elements, animate backgrounds, and generally break down, adding to the B-movie theme. Afterward, you were allowed to watch a replay of what you did, complete with 70's film grain and painfully unfunny commentary from Mr. Director himself. Between these stages, you were treated to fun minigames that were challenging and offered the same post-game replays. I remember there being unlockables in the game but, for the life of me, I can't recall what they were. Rest assured, they were AWESOME.

In the end, Kung Fu Chaos sold poorly and Just Add Monsters folded, eventually becoming Ninja Theory, which most recently gave us the PS3 title Heavenly Sword. So, I guess things that came from their demise weren't all bad.

What kept bothering me about the game was the cries of racism coming from it's detractors. True, in hindsight, when I take a hard look at the game I can honestly see where it went overboard with the stereotypes it presented, particularly with the Director. Honestly though, when the people who gave us

and

as American analogues, maybe they could stand to be taken down a peg. Just sayin'.