View source for Software:Shao-lin's Road

{{Infobox video game
| title = Shao-lin's Road
| image = Shao-Lins Road arcade flyer.png
| caption= Japanese arcade flyer
| developer = [[Company:Konami|Konami]]
| publisher = Konami (arcade)<br />The Edge (computers)<ref name="cpc"/>
| platforms = [[Software:Arcade game|Arcade]], [[Engineering:Commodore 64|Commodore 64]], Amstrad CPC, [[Engineering:ZX Spectrum|ZX Spectrum]]
| release = '''Arcade''' {{vgrelease|JP|March 23, 1985<ref>{{cite web |title=Shao-lin's Road (Registration Number PA0000257007) |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov |website=United States Copyright Office |access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref>|WW|April 1985}} '''Commodore 64''' {{vgrelease|EU|1986}} '''ZX Spectrum''' {{vgrelease|EU|1986<ref name="arc_history">{{Cite web|url=http://www.arcade-history.com/?n=shao-lins-road&page=detail&id=2409|title = Shao-Lin's Road , Arcade Video game by Konami Industry (1985)}}</ref>}} '''Amstrad CPC''' {{vgrelease|EU|1987<ref name="cpc">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/cpc/941006-shao-lins-road/data|title=Shao Lin's Road Release Information for Amstrad CPC - GameFAQs}}</ref>}}
| genre = [[Software:Beat 'em up|Beat 'em up]]
| modes = 1 or 2 players alternating turns
| arcade system = Konami 6809<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=556|title = System 16 - Konami 6809 Based Hardware (Konami)}}</ref>
}}

{{nihongo|'''''Shao-lin's Road'''''|少林寺への道}},{{efn|Various ports use ''Shao-Lin's Road'' or ''ショーリンズロード'' to refer to the game.}}{{efn|"少林寺への道" is also the name of the Japanese release of ''18 Bronzemen'' (少林寺十八銅人); ''Shao-lin's Road'' may have been planned to be based on that film in a similar manner to ''[[Software:Kung-Fu Master (video game)|Spartan X]]''.}} also released in North America as '''''Kicker''''', is a 1985 [[Software:Beat 'em up|beat 'em up]] [[Engineering:Video game|video game]] released by [[Company:Konami|Konami]]. The game was commercially successful, becoming a chart hit in the [[Software:Arcade game|arcades]].<ref>''Sinclair User'', January 1987, [http://www.solvalou.com/images/arcade/reviews/237.jpg page 94]</ref> It was ported to several early [[Engineering:Home computer|home computer]]s and has also been featured in classics compilations ''Konami Arcade Classics'' for the [[Engineering:PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] in 1998 and ''Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits'' for the Nintendo DS in 2007.

The game was also released as a download-only title as part of [[Company:Microsoft|Microsoft]]'s Game Room for the [[Engineering:Xbox 360|Xbox 360]] and [[Software:Microsoft Windows|Microsoft Windows]] in 2010, as well as [[Company:Hamster Corporation|Hamster Corporation]]'s ''[[Software:Arcade Archives|Arcade Archives]]'' for the [[Engineering:Nintendo Switch|Nintendo Switch]] and [[Engineering:PlayStation 4|PlayStation 4]] in 2023.

==Plot==
Players take control of {{nihongo|Wanpyou|ワンピョウ}} (renamed Kicker in ''Kicker'', renamed Lee in other ports), who has just mastered the secret of Chin-style Shaolin martial arts. He then encounters the Triad {{nihongo|Yamucha Gang|ヤムチャ団}}, also responsible for the assassination of his master {{nihongo|Raochuu|ラオチュー}}, and is trapped within their {{nihongo|Jaken Temple|邪拳寺}}. He attempts to escape and enact revenge with his new-found skills.

==Gameplay==
The controls consist of a four-position [[Engineering:Joystick|joystick]] and two buttons. The goal of each [[Software:Level (video gaming)|level]] ("step") is to defeat a set number of enemies, as indicated by an on-screen meter. The player can move left or right, jump between platforms/floors, and attack with various jumping/kicking strikes.

Enemies emerge from doorways to attack the player; some fight hand-to-hand, while others throw projectiles. Defeating a green-clad enemy causes a colored sphere to appear, which grants the player one of three [[Software:Power-up|power-up]] weapons for a few seconds if caught: a [[Engineering:Meteor hammer|meteor hammer]], the ability to throw fireballs, or a ball that orbits the player and damages any enemy it touches. Food items occasionally float across the screen and can be struck for bonus points.

The player can take three hits from enemies or their projectiles and continue fighting, but a fourth hit costs one life. Each step is divided into two parts; the second half includes a fight against a boss character, who requires five hits to defeat and may have a special attack technique. Once all enemies in either half of a step are defeated, the player earns bonus points based on the number of hits taken in that half and the damage meter is fully restored.

The game includes a total of five different step designs, which repeat in a cycle with increasing difficulty. Once all lives are lost, the game ends.

== Reception and legacy ==
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Shao-lin's Road'' on their June 15, 1985 issue as being the twenty-second most-successful table arcade unit of the month.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=262|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=15 June 1985|page=25|lang=ja}}</ref> In Europe, ''Shao-lin's Road'' was marketed as a follow-up to ''[[Software:Yie Ar Kung-Fu|Yie Ar Kung-Fu]]'' and became a commercial success in arcades.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Shao-lin's Road: The arcade hit... in your home! |magazine=Popular Computing Weekly |date=19 February 1987 |page=16 |url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1987-02-19/page/n15}}</ref> ''[[Software:The Legend of Kage|The Legend of Kage]]'', released by [[Company:Taito|Taito]] later the same year, was influenced by ''Shao-lin's Road''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hamilton |first1=Ferdy |title=Legend of Kage |magazine=Commodore User |date=20 December 1986 |issue=40 (January 1987) |url=https://archive.org/details/commodore-user-magazine-40/page/n28}}</ref>

==Records==
The current arcade world record is held by Estel Goffinet scoring 50,000,000 points on June 28 of 2014 in just under 32 hours of play. The score is listed in the Twin Galaxies database.

The current arcade world record for "Extreme Settings" is held by Joe Hudak scoring 5,054,500 points on September 17 of 2018. The score is listed in the Twin Galaxies database.

Adrian Rodriguez holds the official world record of 13,007,800 in the MAME platform on Twin Galaxies on 2018.<ref>{{citation|title=Kicker Marathon Settings (MAME) World Record by Adrian Rodriguez|date=December 7, 2018|url=https://www.twingalaxies.com/showthread.php/196602}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{moby game|id=/shao-lins-road}}
* {{WoS game|id=0004445}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-rAuiOmI3Q Youtube Video: Shao-lin's Road Bruce Lee Edition - Gameplay]

[[Category:Arcade video games]]

{{Sourceattribution|Shao-lin's Road}}