Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn

 Switch
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 68 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 68
  3. Negative: 20 out of 68
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  1. OldSchoolGMR
    Aug 29, 2018
    8
    The game is silly and fun well worth 9 bucks. The low reviews seem to be more editorial then game review. The humor is mostly harmless and the game play is fun go SHAQ FU!
  2. SuperWooper
    Jun 5, 2018
    8
    I just bought the new Shaq Fu along with the old game for SNES and I wanted to compare the two. The old game was complete crap, so it wouldn't be hard to beat. I just finished the first level of Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn expecting very little of it. After that the game is......actually good. No, I really mean it. The game is good! THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THERE'S FINALLY A GOOD SHAQ FU GAME!I just bought the new Shaq Fu along with the old game for SNES and I wanted to compare the two. The old game was complete crap, so it wouldn't be hard to beat. I just finished the first level of Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn expecting very little of it. After that the game is......actually good. No, I really mean it. The game is good! THIS IS NOT A DRILL. THERE'S FINALLY A GOOD SHAQ FU GAME!

    The game isn't perfect (I'll get to that), but it's absolutely worth noting that it's worth picking up. Unlike the original game, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is a beat-em up rather than just an arcade fighting game. The controls have been completely fixed and simplified along with the enemy's hit boxes. The fighting style, animations, bosses, and enemies are unique and entertaining.

    The story line, while having some holes in it (Shaq says that in the beginning) is entertaining and hilarious. There are constant references in Shaquille O'Neal's media career, such as Kazam, and corporate sponsors like Icy Hot and Gold Bond. And unlike in Kazam, Shaq's rapping in the intro music is actually tolerable. The plot of the game is to go around the world locating demons from hell that are disguised as celebrities and destroy them before they take over the world. And guess who the first boss you fight is. Yeah, a Donald Trump look alike.

    There's still a few issues I have with the game though. First of all, when I first start the game up, I was met with a long loading screen that lasted about 2 minutes. That wasn't a good sign. It's also worth noting that even though your character can move a complete 360 degrees all over the field, they can only attack directly horizontal from left to right, much like Final Fight or any other beat-em-up game. Pretty annoying when facing a large amount of enemies, but if you're familiar with Final Fight, it shouldn't be too much for you. It's also only a single player game. No multi-player, which is a little dis-heartening. It's also a very short game, with only 6 stages. Another complaint about the game is that there are enemies who yell "YOLO" and "Cash me ousside, how bou dah?".

    I'd never thought I'd say this, but a recommend Shaq Fu. It's going to be a hidden gem on the Switch for sure. It's redeemed itself from the legacy of the original game and completely re branded the game. Shout out to Wired Productions, Mad Dog, Saber Interactive, and Big Deez for doing something no one thought possible, making an actually good Shaq Fu game.    … Expand
  3. gumparker
    Jun 8, 2018
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Arcade style side scrolling beat 'em up. Fun power ups and enough mindless button smashing to keep any fan of this genre happy. Shaq Turns into a Needle throwing Cactus...Whats not to Love?… Expand
  4. BillyBillyBoBil
    Jun 5, 2018
    10
    As more worthless games come and go, Shaq-Fu is here to stay. Shaq-Fu is possibly the greatest experience created by humans, and for humans. By combining the likes of Gahndi, Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Fred Figglehorn, you are left with Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn.

    If you haven't played the most sunning human achievement of all time that is this game,    As more worthless games come and go, Shaq-Fu is here to stay. Shaq-Fu is possibly the greatest experience created by humans, and for humans. By combining the likes of Gahndi, Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Fred Figglehorn, you are left with Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn.

    If you haven't played the most sunning human achievement of all time that is this game, don't read ahead, unless you want to ruin your life. Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn follows the story of Shaq Fe-Hung from the Chinese town Hung-Lo. He abandons his mother to fight against the demons that Yen-Lo-Weng has sent to Earth. He trains with his mentor Ye-Ye until he is murdered by the minions of of Yen-Lo-Weng. As Ye-Ye utters his last breath, he tells Shaq that Yen-Lo-Weng has sent demons to Earth disguised as celebrities, and Shaq must kill these celebrities and save humanity. All the characters are so in-depth and brought out to the public. They are so bright with personality, whether it's being caring, or being edgy, or determined enough to save the world, Shaq-Fu has all of it there.

    Along with the riveting and heart-wrenching story, Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn also excels in the aspect of gameplay. Shaq is an outstanding choice for the protaganist of this game and it shows in his personality, attitude, and his gameplay style. He can use multiple attacks and use a super attack, which may have drawn inspiration from Mega Man, but done much better, as Mega Man pales in comparison to this masterpiece of all media and enterntainment. The games focus, as I mentioned, is on Shaq's multiple superhuman abilities to defeat the evil celebrities.

    Plus the presentation is stunning running at 12K on all platform including the Atari 2600. Whoops! It seems as though I forgot to mention that this game is playable on every single games console in existence, while being able to play the same high in technicality controls, gameplay, along with the high definition graphics. Consoles from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo Gamecube to the XBOX One, Shaq-Fu runs like a dream on all platforms and plays with the same controls while being locked at 10,000 fps.

    Overall Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn is definitely the greatest piece of media in the history of all humans. This game will soon hang in a museum, in it's own concealed room, away from the garbage such as the Mona Lisa and Starry Night, on it's own, where it belongs, admired by all, old and young    … Expand
  5. Tuneison
    Jun 19, 2018
    0
    Wow Shaq, thanks for stealing thousands of people's money and, not giving people their Indiegogo rewards.
  6. JAXmudge
    Nov 14, 2018
    10
    Shaq please god Shaq visit my house or else i'm going to **** die in two days Shaq Shaq please if you're hearing this message please oh jesus christ i can feel the life slipping from me right now
  7. JackintheBox333
    Jun 5, 2018
    7
    I have played more of the original Shaq Fu than pretty much everybody who has ever existed. So I know pretty well exactly what this game is trying to build on. So with that out of the way, what does this game have in common with its infamous predecessor? Absolutely nothing.

    The characters from the original? Thrown out and disregarded. The only thing that comes close to resembling    I have played more of the original Shaq Fu than pretty much everybody who has ever existed. So I know pretty well exactly what this game is trying to build on. So with that out of the way, what does this game have in common with its infamous predecessor? Absolutely nothing.

    The characters from the original? Thrown out and disregarded. The only thing that comes close to resembling anything from the original is the ancient Chinese master which has been transformed from what was a Mr. Miyagi rip off in the original Shaq Fu to something else. The game also gleefully riffs on product placement that was rampant in the original Shaq Fu, by replacing it with Icy Hot and Gold Bond. It sorta works.

    The game play is fairly sound and the controls responsive. For a beat-em up, it plays fine. If you're looking for something to innovate the genre, look elsewhere, however the game does manage to get a decent amount of enemies on to the screen at once and has quite a few enemy types, which can provide a suitable challenge.

    There are some nitpicks worth pointing out. You cannot rebind the controls. The default setup is all you get. While the default setup is okay for the most part, with the exception of the jump button, having the option would have been nice.

    This is also a single player only game. A beat em-up that is a single player game.

    Also the biggest issue is the game's length compared to its price point. The game is $40 for 5 hours of gameplay. The game is good, but that is a lot of money to command for a purely single player experience.

    However the gameplay, what is here anyway, is good. The dialogue, pretty funny at parts, and there are quite a few references in the game to Shaq's playing career and music/acting career from the obvious and not so obvious. If you're a fan of the Houston Rockets, there is a dig in the game about them, as they were the team that swept Shaq in his first NBA finals appearance.

    Bottom line: The game isn't perfect, but dangit they actually delivered on making something that didn't suck, and took the premise of the license and went as far out as they could. I've played better games, but this game doesn't suck. So in that regard they succeeded.

    Also bonus points for Shaq's rapping actually being decent.    … Expand
  8. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 5, 2018
    5
    Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn
    Shaq is back
    A Legend Reborn is a 3 hour long beat up game where you play a once ordinary Chinese boy shaquille o niel however you weren’t as ordinary as you think you have the mark.. the mysterious birth mark of the chosen on So you set out to take down celebrities to get one step closer to taking down yen lo wang as the prophecies have for told… And this    Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn
    Shaq is back
    A Legend Reborn is a 3 hour long beat up game where you play a once ordinary Chinese boy shaquille o niel
    however you weren’t as ordinary as you think
    you have the mark..
    the mysterious birth mark of the chosen on
    So you set out to take down celebrities to get one step closer to taking down yen lo wang as the prophecies have for told…
    And this game is just not fun.
    Shaq Fu tries to do the whole Suda51 thing which is really its only saving grace
    its full of pop culture references, one of the boss battles is against what I’m assuming is kim kardashians butt though in the game shes given a different name.. but we know the truth…
    youll be taking on a number of others here as well that I wont spoil, but every level ends in a boss fight..
    These levels though just drag on forever..
    back to the suda 51 thing.. the constant jokes are the only thing that kept me going through this game..
    however theyre poorly delivered by the game..
    not the voice actors..
    the voice acting is fine, the writing is great..
    it just feels so awkwardly placed in game.. there are never smooth transitions such as moments where shaq breaks the 4th wall to tell the game designer to stop with the endless waves of enemies..
    and I wish he would’ve taken shaqs advice..
    all enemies in every level is pretty much the same enemy with a different skin, and youre mashing buttons punching and kicking filling up a meter to unlock a powerful move rinse and repeat until you get to a boss fight, which is the only fun moments of the game..
    but from the beginning of a level to the boss is just a monotonous grind with the occasional fun moments of being big deiseal or shactus slicing through enemies like warm butter while the game slaps you with some pretty offensive stuff and the occasional icy hot patch
    Shaq Fu A legend reborn is a functioning game but that’s about it..
    its playable though a boss fight against paris Hilton stopped working twice forcing me to restart.
    the ridiculous humor is all this game has going for it.. and with the poor delivery of the humor through the game, saying that is even a stretch,
    I give Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn
    a 4.5/10    … Expand
  9. Youmustdienow
    Jun 5, 2018
    4
    Here’s the truth. I don’t like giving low scores or trolling reviews. To put it bluntly this game is one of those games that is legit bad enough to deserve a 4 from both critics & fans. For the first few stages I thought this game was actually fun. Its when I played more & more that it dawned on me that it is a repetious wave/hord fest where a non-stop cluster of enemies overstay theirHere’s the truth. I don’t like giving low scores or trolling reviews. To put it bluntly this game is one of those games that is legit bad enough to deserve a 4 from both critics & fans. For the first few stages I thought this game was actually fun. Its when I played more & more that it dawned on me that it is a repetious wave/hord fest where a non-stop cluster of enemies overstay their welcomr during each challenge. Its a shame the game ran out of ideas so quickly because the controls are very well implemented. There’s 40 levels & 6 stages that are well designed artistically. Its too bad they didn’t take a lot more time on this. Signs of a good game are blurred by the uneven mission structure.… Expand
  10. ShaqFu
    Jun 6, 2018
    10
    The most amazing achievement of mankind! I love this game and have been waiting for months for it to be released. 10/10
  11. FYWLPB
    Aug 11, 2018
    0
    Avoid if you're Chinese. The racism is strong in this one.

    Actually, do yourself a favor and just avoid it if you consider yourself a gamer because it's also just a legitimately bad game and maybe one of the few that actually deserves the troll 0 score.
  12. cheddarboyee
    Aug 4, 2018
    8
    If you are someone who doesn't always take games seriously you might find this enjoyable. It's a side scrolling beat em up where Shaq (born from China) needs to stop demons from taking over the world. As silly as this sounds the story is ridiculous in a hilarious way and the cut scenes are well done. It does have some edgy content and humor so not for young kids. The graphics while notIf you are someone who doesn't always take games seriously you might find this enjoyable. It's a side scrolling beat em up where Shaq (born from China) needs to stop demons from taking over the world. As silly as this sounds the story is ridiculous in a hilarious way and the cut scenes are well done. It does have some edgy content and humor so not for young kids. The graphics while not the most cutting edge are quite good and colorful. Shaq is well designed as well as the goofy enemies and zany bosses. The gameplay is fun and challenging even on normal. The game is short. Took me about 4-5 hours to beat it but had lots of laughs and fun. Come in with low expectations and you may be pleasantly surprised.… Expand
  13. N1nt3ndo_Sw1tch
    Jul 28, 2018
    10
    Even though I haven't played it, they were obviously trying to imitate the original with this one.
    10.5/10
  14. jobran
    Oct 26, 2018
    10
    shaq i love you marry me pls man i cant love much longer without you .
  15. GameCompleters
    Jul 15, 2018
    4
    This game is really average. After an hour and a half of playing it, I can not play anymore. Its repetitive and boring. I don't usually give games low scores but I really do not recommend buying this game on any platform. 4/10
  16. DarkWolf523
    Jun 12, 2019
    1
    *sacristy claps* Where to begin...I saw the trailers and gameplay and read what they are offering. They said that they won't "F" it up again, but apparently that was a lie, and the idea was so lame karate kid idea its amazingly redundant. Now, there are so many problems with this game its not funny. I saw that the programing is flawed and bosses keeps teleporting for random reasons,*sacristy claps* Where to begin...I saw the trailers and gameplay and read what they are offering. They said that they won't "F" it up again, but apparently that was a lie, and the idea was so lame karate kid idea its amazingly redundant. Now, there are so many problems with this game its not funny. I saw that the programing is flawed and bosses keeps teleporting for random reasons, then there is the generate enemies with just reskins is really lame. I have played Streets of Fury and that has more options that it puts this game to shame. The bosses with the story of making fun of the celebrities of yesteryears is not a smart idea since we now have more celebrities to hate. One of the bosses a woman's ass, that explains everything that how the game was made for. I really hate on how its getting praise for its tongue and cheek humor, but where is the humor, I heard better humor from roasting, and that makes me laugh, more to point, most of the these ideas are really outdated, like how Shaq calls anonymous for help, they have NEVER been talked about since 2016, and this game came out in 2018. I am stunned that this is supposed to funny. Plus the game is too short and not engagingly tough enough, not even for a replay. The final nail that seals the coffin is that company doesn't exist or they made promises they did not keep. It shows on how Shaq is selling himself short. They may have a some fans for this game, but I am glad I am not one of them.… Expand
  17. gungaginga
    Aug 12, 2019
    10
    by all means is this a good game bro.. really love this game. it was a birfday gift aond i have like 5000 hours on it and i like it shaq fu is best game i everplay. really sucks that whoever shaq fu is is black. i dont like black people. cool game and i really enjoyed thisg ame its like mortal kombat but better.
  18. K0DeX
    May 20, 2020
    1
    Buggy, generic, uninspired, repetitive, tiresome and not in any way fun. The animations are the only reason this game gets even 1 point.
  19. KamiPiccoNail
    Jan 29, 2021
    10
    I made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgement, and I don’t expect to be forgiven. I’m simply here to apologise.

    What we came across in the woods that day was obviously unplanned. The reactions you saw on tape were raw; they were unfiltered. None of us knew how to react or how to feel. I should have never posted the video. I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording    I made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgement, and I don’t expect to be forgiven. I’m simply here to apologise.

    What we came across in the woods that day was obviously unplanned. The reactions you saw on tape were raw; they were unfiltered. None of us knew how to react or how to feel. I should have never posted the video. I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through.

    There's a lot of things I should have done differently but I didn't. And for that, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. I want to apologise to the internet. I want to apologise to anyone who has seen the video. I want to apologise to anyone who has been affected or touched by mental illness, or depression, or suicide. But most importantly I want to apologise to the victim and his family.

    For my fans who are defending my actions, please don't. I don’t deserve to be defended. My goal with my content is always to entertain; to push the boundaries, to be all-inclusive. In the world live in, I share almost everything I do. The intent is never to be heartless, cruel, or malicious. Like I said I made a huge mistake. I don’t expect to be forgiven, I’m just here to apologise. I'm ashamed of myself. I’m disappointed in myself. And I promise to be better. I will be better. Thank you.    … Expand
  20. Lighthouse90
    May 23, 2021
    7
    A genuinely fun game that is difficult to put down. The sequences are corny but graphically well done. Good soundtrack as well.
  21. Begew
    Nov 10, 2022
    5
    too simple and too repetitive but some people might have a good time with it
  22. MundiLibriDash
    Jul 9, 2023
    10
    This videogame is a piece of art, i think this game has a rather good gameplay and perfectly represents the black community AND asian community, The story is as compelling as Yakuza 0, excellent game bravo shaq fu!

Awards & Rankings

73
#73 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
49

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 5 out of 11
  1. Jeuxvideo.com
    Jul 19, 2018
    45
    Trying to play the nostalgia chord is risky, because it has its own limits. It shows, in Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn. Despite its hilarious scenario, the game is repetitive and devoid of any attempt to create something new.
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  2. FNintendo
    Jul 16, 2018
    40
    Its overly simplistic visuals are easy to forget and its repetitive combat system does not do a lot for the player's amusement. A missed opportunity to make something more memorable that could rival the original game.
    Read full review
  3. Nintenderos
    Jul 8, 2018
    30
    A bad experience in multiple ways. It seeks to be entertaining, but has a repetitive gameplay. Seeks to be funny, but turns out to be antiquated. If A Legend Reborn sought to clear the name of the original Shaq Fu, it has failed miserably.
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