Kung-Fu Master, known as Spartan X[a] in Japan, is a 1984 beat 'em up game developed and published by Irem for arcades.

Nishiyama, who had previously designed the side-scrolling shooter Moon Patrol (1982), combined fighting elements with a shoot 'em up gameplay rhythm.

The player controls Thomas, a kung fu master, as he fights his way through the five levels of the Devil's Temple to rescue his girlfriend Sylvia from the crime boss Mr. X.

It is a loose adaptation of the Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao film Wheels on Meals (1984), called Spartan X in Japan, specifically the final part of the film which involves Thomas (Jackie Chan) climbing a Spanish castle to rescue Sylvia (Lola Forner), with the help of Moby (Sammo Hung) and his cousin David (Yuen Biao).

[13][21] Nishiyama designed Kung-Fu Master by combining a shoot 'em up gameplay rhythm with fighting elements.

[13] Prior to the game's development, Nishiyama was invited to join Capcom by its founder Kenzo Tsujimoto in 1983, after he had left Irem.

[14] In the NES version, Thomas is closely modelled after Jackie Chan, making it the first video game to feature a real-life person.

She also praised the controls, referring to Thomas as "a whirling, kicking, jumping, fighting machine" controlled by an eight-way joystick and two buttons, the "energy levels" which allow the player to "absorb a large number of hits" from enemies, the smooth "lifelike" picturesque graphics, and the catchy music jingles.

He noted it was part of the "current craze" for arcade martial arts games, but said it had "more of a story line and game play" than others, noting the progression through five floors, simplified controls, abilities such as ducking and jumping, and multiple "standard baddies" followed by "super baddies" who are tougher to beat; he refers to the final opponent as the boss of organization X.

[47] In North America, the NES version titled Kung Fu was the top-selling video game in the United States during July 1986,[48] and again in September.

[17] Top Score reviewed the NES version in early 1987, calling it "a fantastic reproduction of its arcade counterpart" and an action-packed winner.

They said that, despite being a "dumbed-down port" compared to the arcade original, it was a fun game with rewarding gameplay, challenging boss battles and replay value.

[citation needed] The Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions of the game were included on the 1986 compilation They Sold a Million 3,[53][54] along with Fighter Pilot, Ghostbusters, and Rambo.

[55] Players control a character simply known as Lady (レディ), a female martial artist skilled in kung-fu using kicks and leg sweeps and wields nunchaku as a primary weapon.

Some rooms on some floors are open allowing her to enter them with each possibly containing items, letters that can be collected for a stage end bonus, or more difficult enemies.

[21] He designed an arcade successor for Capcom, Trojan (1986), which evolved the basic gameplay concepts of Kung-Fu Master.

[18] Kung Fu Kid, known in Japan as Makai Retsuden (魔界列伝), is a Master System video game released in 1987.

[61] Spartan X 2 did not receive a North American release until 2016, when it was included as a built-in title for the Retro-Bit Generations retro video game console under the name Kung-Fu Master 2.

[62] On December 26, 2019, developer PiXEL[63] released their doujin game Xiaomei and the Flame Dragon's Fist (焔龍聖拳シャオメイ, Fire Dragon Master Fist Xiaomei) for PC through DLsite[64] and was later ported to the Nintendo Switch by publisher Leoful[65] on March 31, 2023 as a digital only release.

The plot features heroine Xiaomei, who embarks on a journey to save her older sister, Xiaoyin, from the evil influence of the Dark Dragon.

[76] Other beat 'em ups that followed its single-plane side-scrolling format include arcade games such as Sega's My Hero and Flashgal (1985), Taito's The Ninja Warriors (1987), Data East's Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja (1988) and Namco's Splatterhouse (1988).

[78][79] Other titles such as Technōs Japan's Renegade (1986) and Double Dragon (1987), Capcom's Final Fight (1989) and Sega's Streets of Rage (1991) evolved the beat 'em up formula established by Kung-Fu Master with a belt-scrolling format.

[81][16] Following the release of Kung-Fu Master, Capcom was interested in hiring Nishiyama, who then led the development of Street Fighter.

[21] Kung-Fu Master was an early example of a side-scrolling character action game, a genre of games that featured large sprite characters in colorful, side-scrolling environments, with the core gameplay consisting of fighting large groups of weaker enemies using attacks (or weapons) such as punches, kicks, guns, swords, ninjutsu or magic.

[16] Jamie Lendino also notes that, unlike "most arcade games" which had emphasized high scores and lives, Kung-Fu Master "had a genuine narrative arc" with a beginning, middle and end.

Shigeru Miyamoto cited his development of the Famicom port as one of the key factors behind his creation of Super Mario Bros.

According to Miyamoto, the concept of Super Mario Bros. came about as a result of the "technical know-how" built up from Excitebike and Kung Fu,[85] his work on which inspired him to come up with a game that would have the player "strategize while scrolling sideways" over long distances, have aboveground and underground levels, and have colorful backgrounds rather than black backgrounds, resulting in the creation of Super Mario Bros.[23] Kung Fu was one of the first NES titles that originated from a third-party developer, giving it a "special place" in the history of the Nintendo Entertainment System according to IGN.

[86] Akira Toriyama cited the Famicom version of Spartan X as an inspiration for a major saga in the manga and anime series Dragon Ball: the Red Ribbon Army saga (1985-1986), specifically the Muscle Tower arc, which involves Goku ascending an enemy base and fighting enemies on each floor.

[87] Tooru Fujisawa, creator of manga and anime series Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), is also a fan of Spartan X.

[88] The game also influenced a French film called Kung Fu Master (1988) directed by Agnès Varda.