A fighting game is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more characters. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining attacks together into "combos". Characters generally engage in battle using hand-to-hand combat—often some form of martial arts. The fighting game genre is related to, but distinct from, the beat 'em up genre, which pits large numbers of computer-controlled enemies against one or more player characters.
The Way of the Exploding Fist is a 1985 fighting game based on Japanese martial arts developed by Beam Software, by a team consisting of Gregg Barnett, Bruce Bayley, Neil Brennan and David Johnston. Originally developed on the Commodore 64 and published in May 1985 by Melbourne House, ports were made for Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron and Commodore 16.
Data East Corporation, also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The American subsidiary, Data East USA, was headquartered in San Jose, California.
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher active in the late 1970s and 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983. Epyx published a long series of games through the 1980s. The company is currently owned by Bridgestone Multimedia Group Global.
Karate Champ, known in Japan as Karate Dō, is a fighting game developed by Technōs Japan and released in arcades by Data East in 1984. A variety of moves can be performed using the dual-joystick controls using a best-of-three matches format like later fighting games. The game was commercially successful, especially in the United States where it was the highest-grossing arcade game of 1985 and the best-selling home computer game up until 1989. Karate Champ established and popularized the one-on-one fighting game genre, for which it is considered one of the most influential games of all time.
Kung-Fu Master, known as Spartan X in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game developed by Irem as an arcade game in 1984, and distributed by Data East in North America. Designed by Takashi Nishiyama, the game was based on Hong Kong martial arts films. It is a sequel to the Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung film Wheels on Meals (1984), called Spartan X in Japan, with the protagonist Thomas named after Jackie Chan's character in the film. The game is also heavily inspired by the Bruce Lee film Game of Death (1972), which was the basis for the game's concept. Nishiyama, who had previously designed the side-scrolling shooter Moon Patrol (1982), combined fighting elements with a shoot 'em up gameplay rhythm. Irem and Data East exported the game to the West without the Spartan X license.
Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, released as Renegade in the West, is a beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for the arcades in 1986. In the original Japanese version Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, the game revolves around a high-school delinquent named Kunio-kun who must stand up against a series of rival gangs frequently targeting his classmate Hiroshi. In the Western version Renegade, the player controls a street brawler who must face four different gangs in order to rescue his girlfriend being held captive by a mob boss.
Commando, released as Senjō no Ōkami in Japan, is a vertically scrolling run and gun video game released by Capcom for arcades in 1985. The game was designed by Tokuro Fujiwara. It was distributed in North America by Data East, and in Europe by several companies including Capcom, Deith Leisure and Sega, S.A. SONIC. Versions were released for various home computers and video game consoles. It is unrelated to the 1985 film of the same name, which was released six months after the game.
Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and publishers of the 1980s and 1990s.
1984 saw many sequels and prequels along with new titles such as 1942, Boulder Dash, Cobra Command, Jet Set Willy, Karate Champ, Kung-Fu Master, Yie Ar Kung-Fu and Punch-Out!! The year's highest-grossing arcade games were Pole Position in the United States, for the second year in a row, and Track & Field in the United Kingdom. The year's best-selling home system was Nintendo's Family Computer (Famicom), which was only sold in Japan at the time.
Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.
Yie Ar Kung-Fu is an arcade fighting game developed and published by Konami. It first had a limited Japanese release in October 1984, before having a wide release nationwide in January 1985 and then internationally in March. Along with Karate Champ (1984), which influenced Yie-Ar Kung Fu, it is one of the games that established the basis for modern fighting games.
Street Fighter is a 1987 arcade game by Japanese developer and publisher Capcom. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the first installment in the Street Fighter series. It was a commercial success in arcades and introduced special attacks and some of the conventions made standard in later fighting games, such as the six-button controls and the use of command-based special moves.
Spindizzy is an isometric video game released for several 8-bit home computer formats in 1986 by Electric Dreams Software. It combines action and puzzle game elements. Players must navigate a series of screens to explore a landscape suspended in a three-dimensional space. Development was headed by Paul Shirley, who drew inspiration from Ultimate Play the Game games that feature an isometric projection.
World Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx for the Commodore 64 in 1986. Versions for the Apple IIGS, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Master System and other contemporary systems were also released. The NES version was released by Milton Bradley, and ported by Software Creations on behalf of producer Rare.
Super Monaco GP is a Formula One racing simulation video game released by Sega, originally as a Sega X Board arcade game in 1989, followed by ports for multiple video game consoles and home computers in the early 1990s. It is the sequel to the 1979 arcade game Monaco GP. The arcade game consists of one race, the Monaco Grand Prix, but later ports added more courses and game modes based on the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
Data East USA, Inc. v. Epyx, Inc. 862 F.2d 204, 9 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1322 was a court case between two video game manufacturers, where Data East claimed that their copyright in Karate Champ was infringed by World Karate Championship, a game created by Epyx. Data East released Karate Champ in arcades in 1984, and the game became a best-seller and pioneered the fighting game genre. The next year, Epyx published World Karate Championship for home computers, which sold 1.5 million copies. Data East sued Epyx, alleging that the game infringed on their copyright and trademark.
Karateka is a 1984 martial arts action game by Jordan Mechner and is his first published game, created for the Apple II while attending Yale University. The game was published in North America by Broderbund and in Europe by Ariolasoft. Along with Karate Champ and Yie-Ar Kung Fu, Karateka is one of the earliest martial arts fighting games. It was inspired by Japanese culture and by early Disney animated films and silent pictures.
Boulder Dash Construction Kit is the fourth game in the Boulder Dash series. It published for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family in 1986 by Epyx. Ports were released for the Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and MS-DOS. The Spectrum version was rereleased as Boulder Dash IV: The Game. Boulder Dash Construction Kit includes new levels and a level editor.
Capcom U.S.A. Inc. v. Data East Corp., 1994 WL 1751482 was a 1994 legal case related to the copyright of video games, where Capcom alleged that Data East's game Fighter's History infringed the copyright of Capcom's game Street Fighter II. It was revealed that the design documents for Fighter's History contained several references to Street Fighter II, leading Capcom to sue Data East for damages, as well as a preliminary injunction to stop the distribution of the infringing game. In spite of the intentional similarities between the two games, the court concluded that Data East did not infringe upon Capcom's copyright, as most of these similarities were not protected under copyright. Judge William H. Orrick Jr. applied a legal principle known as the merger doctrine, where courts will not grant copyright protection where it would effectively give someone a monopoly over an idea.
