''Chambers of Shaolin'' is a 1989

beat 'em up A beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in Side-scrolling video game, scrolling, 2D c ...

video game first released for the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

then ported to the

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

and

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. The game was inspired by the 1978 film ''

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin ''The 36th Chamber of Shaolin'' ( zh, t=少林三十六房, also released as ''The Master Killer'' and ''Shaolin Master Killer'') is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts film produced by Shaw Brothers Studio, directed by Lau Kar-leung from a screenplay ...

''.

Plot

Hang Foy Qua traveled from his hometown of Queping, to the monastery of Shaolin in Tibet in order to train under the temple. Hang's younger sister has been kidnapped by the emperor. By conquering the trials and facing other fighters, Hang must become a fighting master and save his sister from a tyrannical government.

Gameplay

The game offers two distinct styles of gameplay. Initially, the player must clear six tests that showcase the player's skill in combat disciplines, specifically Agility, Balance, Fire, Speed, Stick, and Strength. Clearing the trials requires reacting to (dodging) obstacles thrown at the player, such as dodging projectiles in the Agility and Stick tests, and hitting buttons with the correct timing as in the Balance and Fire tests. After passing the tests, the player is offered the chance to clear rounds of 1-on-1 fights with other Shaolin fighters. Performance in the previous trials impacts the player's skillset and strengths against other fighters.

Reception

Overall, reception for the game was positive, praising its gameplay and handling. In a retrospective review, ''Retro Gamer'' called it graphically unimpressive, but found the gameplay and controls surprisingly sharp for the time.

References

External links

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''Chambers of Shaolin''
at Lemon64 {{Thalion Software 1989 video games Amiga CD32 games Amiga games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Grandslam Interactive games Martial arts video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Thalion Software games Video games developed in Germany Video games scored by Jochen Hippel