Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn (XB1) Review

The joke is back and this time, it’s actually kinda funny.

I’m guessing not a lot of younger people remember or even know of Shaq-Fu. It was a horrible game which became the butt of many jokes over the years, including one here at ZTGD with our rating system. 0.5-0.0 is a Shaq-Fu game that shouldn’t be purchased under any circumstances except for comedic value. Well, cut to over 20 years later and we get the spiritual sequel to the notoriously bad game with Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn. This time, the game is in on the joke, and you know what? It actually works.

A Legend Reborn is a side scrolling beat ‘em up in the same vein as Turtles in Time or Streets of Rage. Players control Shaquille O’Neil as he punches and kicks his way through each level taking on celebrity villain bosses at the end of each level. Shaq was raised by an old man who taught him the way of the fist. He knew that one day, he would be destined to stop evil and that day has come. It’s not the most exciting or the most in-depth story out there, but it keeps the game moving and it never takes itself seriously, but more on that in a bit.

Platforms: XB1, PS4, PC, Switch
MSRP: $19.99
Price I’d pay: $10

Shaq has standard punches and kick combos with a single button along with a special combo finisher attack that has a phantom giant shoe either stomp on enemies or kick them clear across the screen. He also has a blast attack that can damage multiple enemies at a time and create some breathing room. One of the nice things about this combat is that it doesn’t suffer from the classic stun lock one usually experiences in other beat ‘em ups when players have an enemy on both sides of them. Shaq feels like an unstoppable machine in this sense, where players feel overpowered, which makes for a fun experience. In fact, there are power-ups that turn him into a literal powerhouse. Like the diesel-powered Shaq that rapidly punches enemies and unleashes a blast after building up a lot of heat or the Shaq-tus that fires needles at enemies.

It’s a simple game with only a few real mechanics, but what it lacks in mechanics it makes up for in comedy. Shaq is tasked with killing evil celebrities. Many of which people will more than likely recognize as parodies of their real world counterparts. All of them blown way out of proportion and relatively dumb in all senses of the word. I literally fought a butt. As in, I had a boss fight with a twerking butt that shot fire. It’s that silly. Not to mention Shaq has become a full on meme on the internet, so expect to see some familiar gifs and such throughout the play through. It’s good that it makes fun of itself and it adds a lot more to the game as I was wanting to keep playing just to see what was going to come next. His health restore item is IcyHot for God’s sake.

Now, it’s not a game that is going to light up the charts. The hit detection is a bit off at times, the enemies can get monotonous, and while a fun little romp, it can easily be beaten within about three hours, and that doesn’t help the fact that this game is about ten bucks too much, but I still felt like I had a decent enough time and it’s really difficult to find a game nowadays that will legitimately make me laugh out loud, and this one actually did. While I suggest picking it up for the comedy factor and some of the stylish game play, I would still recommend you wait for a slight price drop for now, but when it does happen, pick this one up.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Funny content
  • Decent combat
  • Flashy looks and style
Bad
  • A bit too pricy
  • Some hit detection issues
  • Can get monotonous
  • Pretty short
7.5
Good
Written by
Drew is the Community Manager here at ZTGD and his accent simply woos the ladies. His rage is only surpassed by the great one himself and no one should stand between him and his Twizzlers.