C64 Game Memories - Revisited 30+ Years later : Bruce Lee

Released in 1984 for the Atari Consoles before being ported to the C64, Bruce Lee is one of those titles I overlooked for ages until the twilight years of the C64.

Not until I got into 2 players co-op games was this game mentioned to me by a friend and what a nice surprise it was. I actually found the single player just as good and spent some good hours playing this.

It's strange because I was a big platform guy, perhaps because again at this time in gaming history the games each side of the pond tended to differ and this was a US import.

The sound on this game is extremely limited as its an early release, but the graphics are passable and definitely give an authentic Chinese feel to the game to set the atmosphere.

The idea of the game was pretty simple platforming fair, e.g collect item then progress to next screen. In Bruce Lees case it was lanterns you had to get to progress to the next chamber but with Sumo wrestlers and Ninjas in your way. There were 20 in all, and its honestly fairly easy to complete with practice and a friend! The Wizard you have to defeat at the end is one of the easiest bosses ever and that's the only downside really. Compare this to the likes of Jet Set Willy and the gameplay great as it is doesn't last long enough.

Where it gets top marks is ease of play, so many games have buggy sprite detection or cranky controls whereas this is just an all round tightly well put together game. Definitely still ranks in the top 20 C64 games of all time for me.