System: NES/TG16
Developer: Hudson
Genre: Action/Platformer
I have been wanting to review this game for a while now but didn't want to until I beat it a few more times (the game, pervert!). This game is sadly underrated. Think of it as a mish-mash of Kung Fu and Adventure Island and it all works surprisingly well. Just how surprising? Read on to find out.
Story: Jackie Chan and his sister Josephine (TOTALLY asian!) are the top fighters in China and protect their borders against evil magicians and stuff. After Josephine is kidnapped (so much for being the top fighter) you, Jackie Chan, must rise up and deliver some payback to the EEEEEEVIL tiny animals and occasional tiger who block your progress and get her back.
Gameplay:
As you travel through the game you battle your way up through China, armed with your jump button, your punch button and your totally sweet kung fu special attacks and even a "psycho wave". That's right, Jackie Chan can shoot Hadokens. This game is just a simple platformer, but goddamn is it a fun one. From the minute I started playing I could sense the polish that went into this. There are no secret paths to follow, no multiple endings, it is just a strictly point A to point B affair, but Hudson crammed in enough level variety to keep things fresh the entire way through. I didn't like how the majority of enemies you fight are fucking tiny animals. Why does that bouncing hermit crab or whatever want to hurt me? Whatever, I punch it and it dies.
Jackie wouldn't be an action superstar if he didn't have super special attacks! To get special attacks or health you have to punch a frog and he spits it out for you, why? I do not know, but it is awesome. He has a spinning kick, a 360 spinning kick, an upward angle kick and ACRO CIRCUS. Really it is just some sort of spinning front flip through the air but I try to find River City Ransom references in just about any game. For the most part I found these moves pretty useless when there are better options like the Psycho Wave attack or just jump kicking but there is one difference that makes them essential, invincibility frames. When Jackie does a special move he is invincible until the move ends, the Acro Circus move gives him like 2 full seconds of invincibility, this helps during boss fights, even though they are really simple and easy. Why is Jackie Chan fighting a cloud monster cyclops? Who cares, I think he fought a giant Buddha statue in Wheels on Meals....right? Right!?
Graphics:
The graphics look fucking awesome. Jackie is well animated and cute at that. When he runs he has this determined look on his face and when he isn't moving he has this goofy smile, when he loses he falls and does this funny twitching motion. At the game over screen he is holding up a giant um, flask? I think it's a flask with GAME OVER written on it. All these things really give the character some charm. The game is filled with big, bright detailed backgrounds and the scrolling is smooth, no lag or anything to get in the way. The bosses are also really impressive, the cloud boss takes up almost half the screen. I really don't have anything negative to say about the graphics. A.
Sound:
Oh my god! The music in this game is amazing! My personal favorite being the song in the first stage when the screen starts to force scroll and you have to make some tricky jumps. I adore the music in this game, it's upbeat and catchy and that's good enough for me. I can't get a few songs out of my head. A!
Overall:
I love this game, if you haven't played it then I highly recommend it. From the excellent controls to the awesome music, the whole thing screams "quality!". Even though it has little to no relation to ANYTHING Jackie Chan related.
Overall I give Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu 8.8 pissed off demon frogs out of 10.
GREAT REVIEW!! 
) and everybody seemed to get a kick out of it. Nothing cheap or frustrating about it, but not embarrassingly easy either. Truly, like you say, underrated.
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