''The Way of the Exploding Fist'' is a 1985

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

based on

Japanese martial arts Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms (''budō'', ''bujutsu'', and ''bugei'') are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts. The usage ...

developed by

Beam Software Krome Studios Melbourne, originally Beam Software, was an Australian video game development studio founded in 1980 by Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen and based in Melbourne, Australia. Initially formed to produce books and software to be publis ...

, by a team consisting of Gregg Barnett, Bruce Bayley, Neil Brennan and David Johnston. Originally developed on the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and published in June 1985 by Melbourne House, ports were made for

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

BBC Micro The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...

Acorn Electron The Acorn Electron (nicknamed the Elk inside Acorn and beyond) was introduced as a lower-cost alternative to the BBC Micro educational/home computer, also developed by Acorn Computers, to provide many of the features of that more expensive mach ...

and

Commodore 16 The Commodore 16 is a home computer made by Commodore International with a 6502-compatible 7501 or 8501 CPU, released in 1984 and intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20. A cost-reduced version, the Commodore 116, was ...

Gameplay

The game has various backgrounds that change as the player progresses through the levels: inside a

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning, experiential learning, or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts. The term literally means "place of the Tao, Way" in Japanese language, Japanese. History The word ''d� ...

, an outdoor field with snowy mountains and volcanoes, a Buddha statue, or some

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

s. The player takes part in a series of one-on-one

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

matches, all overseen by a wise old expert who appears in the background. Once the player defeats an opponent they move up to the next stage and a more difficult adversary. Fights are not won using the energy-bar style found in modern fighting games; instead, the player needed to get two complete

yin-yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

s. Any move that connected with the opponent would end the round; a loosely timed or borderline kick or punch would obtain half a yin-yang icon, while a well-executed move would obtain a full icon. Two complete icons ended the bout and progressed to the next level. This system of scoring, known as shobu nihon

kumite Kumite (, literally "grappling hands") is one of the three main sections of karate training, along with kata and kihon. Kumite is the part of karate in which a person trains against an adversary. Kumite can be used to develop a particular tec ...

, is used in real life in many traditional styles of karate. A half yin-yang represents a ''waza-ari'' (a committed but not decisive technique) and a full yin-yang represents an ''ippon'' score (full point, decisive finishing blow). The game control is via joystick or direction keys and a "fire" key. 18 different movements can be made, including jumping kick, roundhouse kick and a variety of punches and kicks, high and low. The game features a variety of backgrounds against which the fighting takes place. After completing a number of progressively harder stages, the player is charged at by a bull in a bonus round. The player must knock the bull out with a single hit. The bonus round mirrors the feats of

Mas Oyama , more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a Zainichi Korean karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. Early life Mas Oyama was born as Choi Yeong-eui () in Kintei, Kore ...

, a karate expert who purportedly killed bulls with a single strike. This bonus round was not present in the ZX Spectrum version and some of the early Commodore 64 versions.

Production

Before creating ''The Way of the Exploding Fist'', designer Gregg Barnett converted ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

'' and '' Sherlock'', two adventures from Beam Software, to the Commodore 64.'' First Fist, Then...'' In: '' Your Computer''. August 1985, p. 42. It was one of the first games to borrow heavily from the

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. At one time, the company had annual sales of 20 billion yen in ...

arcade game ''

Karate Champ , originally known as , is a fighting game developed by Technōs Japan and released in arcades by Data East in 1984. A variety of moves can be performed using the dual-joystick controls using a best-of-three matches format like later fighting ga ...

'', which was released the previous year. The Commodore 64 version uses over 600 sprite images to animate the player's movements. Karate champion Jeoffrey Thompson was signed to promote the game but was not sufficiently well known to have the game named after him. A

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

version was developed by

but it was never released. The game's soundtrack was written by Neil Brennan and it is based on the 1952 orchestral piece Dance of the Yao People. It has been praised for the excellent atmosphere it provided and was one reason behind the popularity of the game.

Reception

''The Way of the Exploding Fist'' topped the UK software sales charts for two months, in September and October 1985, until it was replaced by '' Monty on the Run''. ''The Way of the Exploding Fist'' became the best-selling computer game of 1985 in the UK. It sold 150,000 copies for the

by 1987, and a total of 500,000 copies across all platforms in Europe. The

version received a positive review in ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' is a computer games magazine covering games for computers manufactured by Commodore International, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazi ...

'' magazine, which called it a "Sizzler" and praised the game's sound and graphics, scoring it 93% overall. ''

Ahoy! ''Ahoy!'' was a computer magazine published between January 1984 and January 1989 in the US, covering on all Commodore color computers, primarily Commodore 64 and Amiga. History The first issue of ''Ahoy!'' was published in January 1984. The ...

'' said that the Commodore 64 version was "an excellent start for a new software label", with a "good balance of action and strategy" and some of the best graphics of the year. '' Your Sinclair'' reviewers praised the visceral sound effects.

Accolades

The game was voted Game of the Year at the third

Golden Joystick Awards The Golden Joystick Awards, also known as the People's Gaming Awards, is a video game award ceremony; it awards the best video games of the year, as voted for originally by the British general public, but is now a global event that can be voted ...

, with Melbourne House picking up Best Software House. It also received the "Voted Best Game" award at the ''

Saturday Superstore ''Saturday Superstore'' is a British children's television series that aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1982 to 18 April 1987. It was shown on Saturday mornings with presenters including Mike Read, Sarah Greene, Keith Chegwin, and John Craven. The ...

'' Viewer Awards. The ZX Spectrum version was placed at number 67 on the "''Your Sinclair'' official top 100" list in 1991. In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 76th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time" list.

Sequels

There were three sequels: ''Fist II: The Legend Continues'' (1986) and ''Fist II: The Tournament'' (1987) and ''Exploding Fist +''. Of these three, ''Fist II: The Legend Continues'' is not a fighting game involving player-versus-player, but a scrolling

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

with one-on-one fighting elements. ''Exploding Fist +'', on the other hand, returns to the style of the first game. It features combat with three characters, an idea followed from '' International Karate +'', though in this case it is possible for players to control the three characters simultaneously.

References

External links

* * *
''The Way of the Exploding Fist'' on c64-wiki.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Way of the Exploding Fist, The 1985 video games Amstrad CPC games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games Beam Software games Commodore 16 and Plus/4 games Commodore 64 games Crash Smash! award winners Fighting games Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year winners Japan in non-Japanese culture Karate video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Piko Interactive games Video games developed in Australia Video games set in Japan ZX Spectrum games