Jackie Chan in Fists of Fire is gdlk

Current Fighting Games Fighting Game Discussion
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INTRODUCTION:

In the grand tradition of World Heroes Perfect, it’s time to break down yet another hidden gem most of you haven’t played! First, a little Q&A:

OK, so what the heck is this?

Jackie Chan in Fists of Fire is a 2-D fighting game with digitized graphics developed in 1995 by Kaneko, who had previously made a couple other bad fighters (e.g. Shogun Warrior, Blood Warrior). It’s actually sort of a “Champion Edition” to an earlier game of theirs called Jackie Chan - The Kung-Fu Master; both have the same backgrounds and music, but Fists of Fire expanded the engine, added new moves & changed some old ones, and made the 3 versions of Jackie Chan playable.

Wait, what? 3 versions of Jackie Chan? And you couldn’t even play as him in the first one?

Yes, these games have 3 “Jackie Chan” characters which are based on his characters in Drunken Master, Spiritual Kung-Fu, and Project A. For some bizarre reason Kaneko thought it was a good idea to make them unplayable bosses in the first one, but no need to worry - the game we’re dealing with here is the one that has them right on the character-select screen!

I heard this game was unreleased. Is this true?

Nope, although it is extremely rare. You can find people who remember playing this in the arcade, and the Japanese arcade Mikado has it.

OK, so how do I play this?

You’ll need a newer version of MAMEUI (the new name for MAME32).

Is there any way to play this online?

Unfortunately, not at the moment. FBA (the emulator used for GGPO and 2DF) supports some other Kaneko games, and one of the developers has said he will consider it in the future since it uses similar hardware to Blood Warrior.

So if there’s no online why would I want to play this?

Because if you know anyone else IRL who likes fighting games at all and you try this, you’ll be hooked. It seriously takes almost no effort to get good at this game, yet it’s ridiculously fun.

BASIC GAMEPLAY/SYSTEM INFO:

  • This is a 4-button game, SNK-style: LP, HP, LK, HK.

  • The timer is only 30 seconds. That sounds dumb until you learn how fast-paced and high-damage this game is; time-out wins are still the exception and not the rule.

  • Throws are 1-button, HP or HK or both depending on character. Kim-Maree’s air frankensteiner is the only airthrow in the game.

  • This game has chain combos with the same basic idea as Marvel: LP -> LK -> HP -> HK. One unique addition here is the ability to chain HK into HP if you hadn’t previously used HP in the chain, which is useful for certain juggles. You can also chain into a command normal if you hadn’t already used its button.

  • In addition to this, each character has one canned combo string performed by mashing LP repeatedly and a special combo string with different button sequences. As far as I can tell, all of these are useless except for Sam’s special string.

  • The juggle system is most similar to the SF EX series: After a launch, you can juggle with one move or one “series” of moves (e.g. a short chain into a special move).

  • The wakeup system is kind of like Darkstalkers but with some additions. The downed player must rotate the stick and mash buttons rapidly to get up, and you can “roll” to the left or right or even get up with an invincible rising attack (mash LK or HK as you get up). The player who scored the knockdown can OTG with various normals (multiple OTG hits are possible) or perform a ground pounce with up+HP. Ground pounces are actually like a lot of old SF2 throws (Balrog etc.), in that you can mash buttons to continue the attack and your opponent has to mash to escape it.

  • Every character has an overhead command normal, and a couple can combo from them. Remember that you can chain to overheads from low short!

  • Each character has one super, and meter is built by doing just about anything, even whiffing jabs & shorts! Again, this sounds bad on paper but the pace of the game won’t let you get away with too much of it. The supers themselves mostly tend to be more powerful versions of specials, but there are a couple unique ones.

  • You can charge your super meter like in old KOFs or S-Groove by holding HP or HK. You can also press HP+HK to taunt and reduce your opponent’s super meter. Again, however, it will be rare for you to have enough time to do either of these things. Although one time I taunted after winning a round and reduced their meter…will have to look into this.

  • Jumping is terrible. Seriously, if you thought SF4 jumps were floaty, wait till you see this…

  • On the flip side, this game has the craziest ground dashes I’ve ever seen. Both forward and backdashes cover huge amounts of ground in a short time, and the forward dash can be canceled at any time. You can even dash up and instantly throw without having to stop first. More than anything else, it’s the dashes that give this game its character, as they lead to powerful low short/throw mixups and cracked-out footsies.

MOVE LIST:

This should be complete now, thanks BBH!

LAU:

Throw 1 ? f or b+HP when close
Throw 2 ? f or b+HK when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 ? LP-LP-HP-HP-LP+HP
Overhead Kick ? f+HK
Air Screw ? qcf+P
Air Cutter ? dp+P
Air Kick ? qcf+K
SUPER ? qcf+LP+HP

YEUNG:

Throw ? f or b+HP when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 - d+HK-HK-HP-HP
Bo Thrust ? f+HP
Senton Splash ? f+HK
Crow Shot ? qcf+P
Crane Wings ? hcb+P
Swallow Kick ? hcf+K
SUPER ? hcb+LP+HP

THORSTEN:

Throw ? f or b+HP when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 ? LP-LP-HP-HP-HP-HK-HK-LK+HK
Overhead Fist ? f+HP
Mid Kick ? f+HK
Jackknife Storm ? b,f+K
Slash Sword ? d/b,f+P
Gatling Kick ? d,u+K
Teleport ? d,u+P
SUPER ? f,b,f+LK+HK

?DRUNKEN MASTER? JACKIE CHAN (yellow outfit):

Throw ? f or b+HP when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 - LP-HK-HP-LK-LP-HP
Overhead Kick ? f+HK
Pot Bomb ? qcf+P
Drunk Dragon ? hcb+P
Reversing Attack ? d,u+P
Trick Kick ? qcf+K
SUPER ? hcb+LP+HP

?SPIRITUAL KUNG-FU? JACKIE CHAN (red outfit):

Throw ? f or b+HP when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 - LP-HP-HP-HK-HK-LK+HK
Hopkick ? f+LK
Backward Hopkick ? b+LK
One-Two Punch ? f+HP
Overhead Kick ? f+HK
Tiger Fist ? hcf+P
Crush Kick ? qcf+K
Frantic Kick - hcb+K when close
SUPER ? hcf+LP+HP

?PROJECT A? JACKIE CHAN (white suit):

Throw ? f or b+HK when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 - f+HK-HP-HK-HK-LK+HK
Overhead Kick ? f+HK
Dragon Attack ? hcf+P
Dragon Kick ? dp+K
Fire Shot ? hcf+P in air
SUPER ? hcf+LP+HP

SAM:

Throw 1 ? f or b+HP when close
Throw 2 ? f or b+HK when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 ? LP-HP-HK-HK-u+LK+HK (last hit takes timing to combo)
Overhead Ax Kick ? f+HK
Spiral Kick ? qcf+K x 3
Thousand Spear ? qcf+P
Arrow Kick ? qcb+K
SUPER ? qcf+LK+HK

KIM-MAREE:

Throw 1 ? f or b+HP when close
Throw 2 ? f or b+HK when close
Throw 3 - d/f or d/b+HP when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 - LP-LK-HP-HK-HK-LK+HK
Overhead Kick ? f+HK
Double Frankensteiner ? hcf+K when close
Air Double Frankensteiner ? hcf+K when close to airborne opponent
Death Lariat Drop ? qcf+P
B Bomber ? d,u+P
SUPER ? hcf+LK+HK when close

MYSTERIOUS LION:

Throw ? f or b+HP when close
Combo String 1 ? LP-LP-LP-LP-LP-LP
Combo String 2 - LK-LK-HK-HP-HP-LP+HP
Cape Whip ? f+HP
Overhead Ax Kick ? f+HK
Crazy Bomb ? qcf+P
Mad Crusher ? f,b,f+P
Midnight Escape ? hcb + any button
SUPER ? f,b,f+LP+HP

MATCH VIDEOS:

Mikado Exhibition Matches (really good stuff for Lau, Yeung, Red Jackie, & White Jackie)

Casual matches from LordBBH (not sure about quality but he’s usually good for this stuff):
[media=youtube]WJ1YkYndAb8[/media]
[media=youtube]j0NvzSPJZr0[/media]
[media=youtube]0Q64HsFWM5Y[/media]
[media=youtube]Xz_lOE2xE7U[/media]
[media=youtube]_KKIBysVecw[/media]
[media=youtube]zhselfgDoOM[/media]

Well, I think that’s about it for now! Don’t worry, I’ve done plenty more work on the characters themselves and their combos, and even have a rough idea of a tier list already, so I’ll probably post a bit more tomorrow.

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Is your avatar Captain Tenneal from MXC?

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No, it’s from the very game this topic is about.

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sounds like fun. Will download the rom this weekend.

Is Jackie top tier in this? As you being good in your fighting game seems to correlate with your fighting game being good. Look at Karnov in Karnov’s Revenge (god tier). Now look at Shaq in Shaq Fu (Roll tier).

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Way to take my glory of promoting jackie chan in the midwest funkdoc!

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Lau and Yeung are out of hand. Chairman Jackie probably next in line. I posted tiers in the Shitty FG thread. BBH and I posted some info in there so there is some info to get people started there. I can post in depth writeups for Lau and Thorsten if needed.

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Hey you/Keits/Mow got me started in the first place, I just figured “hey why not make a thread” =P

Also, I’ve figured out more nasty stuff with Drunken Master Jackie, to the point where I think he’s top tier now. We really, really need to start doing this at Arcade Legends ranbats.

EvilSamurai: Yep, you hit the nail on the head right there. I think White Jackie is #1 in the game, and as I just mentioned above Yellow Jackie is right up there as well. Red Jackie doesn’t seem so hot though, unless he has more moves I don’t know about.

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noooo.
I’ll just repost the old post regarding this.

Top:
Yeung, Thorsten, Lau, Chairman Jackie
Mid:
Kim Maree, Drunk Jackie
Low:
Shitty Jackie
Sam
LOL:
M-Lion

Yeung: Has the best high-low mixup game, she just does pole attack for free all day and is safe. Her other ground normals complete her keep away game, making it near impossible to get in. It’s not a matter of even hitting the opponent as much as just chipping them to death with the overhead… Easily #1 in the game, but the top tier can compete with her.

Thorsten: Low B is fucking stupid as shit, it is a great poke and combo tool. Out of control priority. He has the best OTG game, and has an incredibly damaging bnb. His super is a good punish, and you can combo a flip kick after it as well for extra damage. His overhead is also REALLY good, second only to the pole.

Lau: My Main! Lau’s low D is incredible for spacing and combos. The super gives him juggle options and his OTG game is also very strong. I should also mention his low a probably is one of the best in the game.

Chairman Jackie: Super is completely safe and does great chip, Dragon Kick loop is fucking dope, and leads to free OTG. DK Loop -> OTG -> Super is like at least 65%, even if super is BLOCKED. Good Low D to boot.

Kim-Maree: I originally thought she was low-tier until BBH figured out her good attacks / learned how to zone with her. She does at LEAST 50% EACH TIME with a combo. Her ground flips are waaay too good. Shit is ridiculous. Her low D isn’t comboable, but has stupidly good damage. If Kim-Maree had more tools to get in I’d say she would easily be in the running for #1 You could argue she is top tier, but the Yeung matchup is just too crappy for Kim. As a side note: If you can counter mash REALLY REALLY well, her throw and flips aren’t as good but you’ll get tired quick.

Drunk Jackie: Ass attack and Nerd Pirate are great, being safe at most ranges. Unfortunately his other attacks leave a bit to be desired. His command grabs are great, but don’t lead to a good OTG. Super will put you in the corner on whiff :confused:

Shitty Jackie: He’s pretty shitty. Alright normals, but none of his specials are any good. The lack of good OTG game leaves him near the bottom of the barrel…

Sam: Oh boyy… The hundred hands might seem good at first, but are easily punishable once someone gets the timing down. The aerial kick is alright, but so predictable and doesn’t do much chip at all :confused: No thanks.

Mysterious Lion: His standing C is actually REALLY good, but the rest of his attacks are just abysmal. the psycho crusher puts him close to the corner, which is NOT where you want to be with M-Lion. The biggest problem is that he lacks the speed of the other characters. He also doesn’t have a combo that does decent damage… In super mode he does good damage, but that is timed and people can even beat you out of it :confused: If you like to lose, M-Lion is a great choice.

Only difference since this post is that Shitty Jackie is better and Lau is #2 now.

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Some of this stuff I could see but I’m still not totally sold on Yeung yet. I’ll probably get it as I play more though.

As for Chairman Jackie…even besides the super, he has best throw in the game + quick low short + overhead that combos into double dutch loop or dashing elbow for ridic damage. Lau gets more combo damage on standing opponents and more safe chip, but he can’t combo from his overhead and can’t juggle from his throws at midscreen. It’s very close but I still think Jackie comes out ahead on this one.

Drunk Jackie has the only other overhead that can start combos, and it’s quicker than Chairman Jackie’s. Combine that with the jugs and I think you have a really good character.

I can definitely be convinced otherwise, though, especially considering I probably don’t even know all the moves yet. You had mentioned something about Drunk Jackie having command grabs - what all am I missing in my movelist?

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Somebody posted these in another thread, my apologies for forgetting whoever that was. I think it was fan-made though because the super motions are wrong. It does list the rest of the original chain combos though. Of course not all of them actually combo and are more like attack strings, but whatevs:

Chairman Jackie - f+HK, HP, HK, HK, LK+HK
Drunk Jackie - LP, HK, HP, LK, LP+HP
Shitty Jackie - LP, HP, HP, HK, HK, LK+HK
Lau - LP, HP, HP, LP+HP
Yeung - d+HK, HK, HP, HP
Thorsten - LP, LP, HP, HP, HP, HK, HK, LK+HK
Sam - LP, HP, HK, HK, u+LK+HK
Kim-Maree - LP, LK, HP, HK, HK, LK+HK
M. Lion - LK, LK, HK, HP, HP, LP+HP

(Chairman Jackie’s chain starts off his overhead too! too bad the last hit doesn’t combo)

Shitty Jackie’s third move is a command throw - hcb+K. I think he can juggle off it in the corner but I don’t remember with what. Actually lately I’ve been thinking that Shitty Jackie isn’t quite as weak as I thought, but he’s still the worst of the 3 Jackie’s by far.

I don’t agree on Yeung being #1, people here just think that because they keep blocking low and I keep spamming qcf+LP, lol. She is not as solid as Lau or even Chairman I think. She’s still up there in the top 3 though, I think they’re all in the same tier.

Important move that’s essential to playing Kim-Maree - df+HP throw. Most damaging throw in the game if you’re good at mashing. It’s actually better than her super throw!

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Believe it or not i played this game… and A FUCKING LOT, i have two friends who are very decent at this game… gotta play this shit again some day.

I play with Sam, he is not top, but is far from shitty. Thorsten is totally broken.

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Ryu is Top Tier or one of them in Sf4/Sf4 is a good game.

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thanks BBH! edited OP with all the info.

btw, i just figured out that sam can link his special string from low short -> low jab. much like sf4, you have to be careful not to chain the jabs, but it isn’t too hard. too bad his low short is so slow…

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I remember when I saw matches for this game and thinking it looked fun. I’ll have to try it. Is it playable on mame with p2p kaillera by any chance? Maybe we can all get some games in :razz:.

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Unfortunately there isn’t any p2p support for newer versions of MAME, so we’re out of luck for the time being.

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Yo getting bettah!

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That sucks. I’ll still give it a shot though.

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so we are playing this at arcade legends right?

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DAAAMN son this game looks tight! I seriously wouldn’t mind putting some time into this.

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I’ll probably run a side tourney if we have space for it.