This past March, Indie developer Big Deez Productions launched a crowdfunding campaign for a brand new Shaq Fu title. Departing from its 2D fighting game roots, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn would be a 3rd-person character-action game, featuring the eponymous basketball player himself. To the surprise of many, the legend of Shaq Fu will live on, as the sequel was officially funded last night.
Originally released in 1994 for the SNES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Shaq Fu was a 2D fighting game featuring legendary basketball player Shaquille O’Neil. The premise behind the title involves Shaq entering a dojo before attending a basketball game for charity. Upon speaking with a martial arts master, Shaq is teleported into an alternate dimension, where he’s tasked with rescuing a child from the mummy Sett-Ra….. Hey, video games had more plot-leeway back in the 90’s. As ridiculous as the story may have been, the plot isn’t what Shaq Fu is memorable for.
Shaq Fu is considered to be one of the worst fighting games ever made.
Over the years, Shaq Fu has been on several “Worst ____” lists, including GameInformer’s “Top 10 Fighting Games We’d Like To Forget”. In akin to thousands of E.T. Atari cartridges being buried in the desert, a website was created for the sole purpose of finding and destroying any remaining copies of Shaq Fu. Despite the negative legacy, Big Deez Productions together with Shaq himself, believed that they could revive the stained title, with a new, completely original title. On March 6, Big Deez launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn. If the initial funding goal of $450,000 was reached, Shaq Fu….uh, “fans” would get to experience a new character-action title with Shaq, releasing for the PC.
Last night, during the final hours of the campaign, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn reached- and surpassed- the funding goal of $450,ooo. While the game was originally panned as a PC-exclusive- unless additional stretch goals were met- a late update announced that the title will now come to PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U.
So, those few of you who prayed for a decent Shaq Fu reboot, it looks like your prayers have finally been answered.