The Way of the Exploding Fist

The Way of the Exploding Fist was one of Beam Software’s best-selling games, and reached number one in Europe. It was one of the first beat-em-up games for the home computer and the first multi-move beat-em-up. Jordan Mechner’s Karateka(1984), which came out just before The Way of the Exploding Fist, was basically punch and kick.

The game offered an unprecedented sixteen karate moves, which allows for strategic game playing and complexity. Combinations of joystick directions (or keys on the keyboard) and the fire button (or SHIFT-key) make this game initially complicated to learn. However, once mastered, the controls are intuitive and become standard on single-button control systems. Designer and programmer Gregg Barnett practised all the movements as he developed it, mapping the combinations onto the joystick so that they felt fluid and natural.

The game allows for thumps, cracks and cries when you or your opponent is kicked effectively. Its sound design really brings home the sense of the combat in contrast to Neil Brennan‘s soundtrack, which offers an atmospheric sense of place. One of the most memorable features seems to be the intensive and high volume scream of “:kai-ai”’ during the loading screen. made possible by Beam Software’s fast-loader, the Pav-Loada. The animation of the fighters is impressive, Beam’s artist Greg Holland cunningly dividing the body into two grids to support more complex animations. The quality of the graphics, including Japanese background imagery, adds to the overall essence of the game.

A review in Crash (issue 10, 1985, p12) says that The Way of the Exploding Fist “is by far and away the best sports combat simulation available yet.’

[Source: Play It Again website: http://www.ourdigitalheritage.org/archive/playitagain/games/the-way-of-the-exploding-fist-c64/

Last accessed: 13/8/2020]

Our version of the game is playable on Commodore 64 and Commodore 128.