is a series of
adventure and
action role-playing games for the
arcade and various
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
systems. The plot of several of the games follow two young boys, Jack and Ryu, as they adventure through their home, Chinaland.
Each of the games in the series were developed by
Culture Brain
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher founded on October 5, 1980. In 2016, it was renamed Culture Brain Excel.
History
Culture Brain was founded in 1980 as Nihon Game Corporation. In 1981, a subsidiary to handle the sales operations ...
, the earlier games developed by Nihon Game, a name the company used before Culture Brain. The games that were released in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
were retitled, such as ''Super Chinese'', which became ''Kung Fu Heroes''. Many of the games were not released outside
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Overview
Common elements
In most of the ''Super Chinese'' games, Jack and Ryu are the
protagonists. They often are fighting to save their homeland, Chinaland.
Gameplay
The earliest ''Super Chinese'' games included
action game
An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, and platform gam ...
elements, such as ''Kung Fu Heroes'' and ''Super Chinese Land''. The later games in the series, such as ''Super Ninja Boy'' also integrated
role-playing video game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
elements into the gameplay. The playable characters gain
experience points from
action RPG
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...
,
random encounter battles and increase in levels, becoming more powerful.
Video games
The ''Super Chinese'' series is made up of several video games spanning many of Nintendo's earlier systems. ''Super Chinese'', ''Super Chinese Land'', and ''Super Chinese World'' are the three main groups in the series. ''
Chinese Hero
''Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword'' is a ''wuxia'' manhua series created by Hong Kong artist Ma Wing-shing. It is also referred to as ''Blood Sword'', ''Blood Sword Dynasty'', ''A Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword'' and ''A Man Calle ...
'' was the first video game in the series. Even though Culture Brain (then known as Nihon Game) wasn't mentioned in any part of the game while its publisher Taito was, ''Chinese Hero'' was developed by Culture Brain without credit. The ''Fighter'' video games are
fighting game
A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
s that allow players to fight with characters from the series, such as Ryu and Jack.
In North America, the series is mostly known as the ''Ninja Boy'' series. ''Ninja Boy'', ''Ninja Boy II'', and ''Super Ninja Boy'' were all released in North America, as well as ''Kung Fu Heroes''. While the two protagonists are
Kung fu practitioners in the original version fitting the Chinese setting, their designs were slightly altered to make them into
ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
for the North American market.
Other releases and remakes:
* ''Super Chinese Land 1-2-3 Dash'' (09/13/
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
)
* ''Super Chinese I+II Advance'' (06/24/
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
)
* ''Twin Series Vol.3: Konchuu Monster + Super Chinese Labyrinth'' (12/10/2004)
''Super Chinese Land 1-2-3 Dash'' and ''Super Chinese I+II Advance'' are compilations of earlier video games in the series. ''I+II Advance'' also included a puzzle game titled ''Super Chinese Labyrinth''.
References
External links
''Super Chinese''at
MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
{{Super Chinese
Role-playing video games
Video game franchises
Wuxia video games