Best of Commodore 64: Bruce Lee
A rather obscure game from the 80’s is Bruce Lee. While the Commodore 64 itself is obsolete, this game is still playable on emulators or a copycat Commodore 64. Bruce Lee was a famous fighter from the movies in the 70’s. The game really has nothing much to do with the actual actor, it just borrows from that theme.
Bruce Lee for the Commodore 64 is an old side scroller video game, similar to Pitfall from Atari. In the game, you play as Bruce Lee and need to find your way through the bosses compound and defeat him. It has you punching, jumping, and jump kicking your way through dozens of screens to get to the final boss. Spoiler, the final boss is ridiculously easy.
The setting of the game is China. As the game progresses it looks less like China and more like a dungeon. There are two enemies who show up on almost every screen to attack you. They are fairly predictable and can be defeated easily.
The other obstacles are built into each screen. You have to dodge fire, electrical shocks, and projectiles. You can collect lanterns and other things along the way for points. If you touch any hazard it’s instant death. However, it takes 3 strikes from an enemy to finish Bruce off.
Bruce Lee is an incredibly simple game, yet, it’s very enjoyable to play. It can be completed in under 15 minutes.
Getting Started
Bruce Lee is dropped in a chamber which looks pleasant enough. At least until a ninja with a stick shows up. Fighting him off isn’t to difficult, but enemies continually respawn.
If you stand still and hit the button then Bruce throws a punch. Be sure to time it so your punch is first. If you’re running and hit the button then Bruce does a jump kick. Again, be sure to strike first. This game is all about timing.
You’ll find a standing jump, a jump kick, and simply jumping up all have different results for distance and air time. This is important for dodging the electrical shocks traveling along the comb-like floor in later chambers.
Fighting Through to the End
Learning the predictable moves of your enemies makes them a minor distraction on your way to the final boss. Figuring out the timing and distance of Bruce’s jumps is important for dodging obstacles.
Collecting lanterns opens up new areas to explore. You’ll find some chambers are connected by secret paths. Other chambers require you to go through them twice to advance.
It’s fairly straightforward, meaning it’s hard to get lost or sidetracked. Unless you consider all the crazy ways to dispose of your enemies.
Part of the fun is discovering how easy it is to punch or kick an enemy into a hazard. Or trick them into coming at you, only to be consumed by a fire hazard. I’m not sure if this was intentional or not, either way it’s hilarious.
The Wizard
Spoiler alert, you don’t actually fight the final boss. Merely run across the screen and kick the lantern on the other side. If you hesitate for a second one of the projectiles gets you.
The screen flashes signifying your victory, then you’re dropped back at the beginning. Only this time the enemies spawn faster and some safe spots in the obstacle chambers are removed.
A Great Game for Being So Old
Overall, it’s a short simple game. Still, between the fighting and dodging obstacles it’s very appealing. It’s not a game you can play for hours, but after all these years I still enjoy playing it from time to time. A session may only last 15-20 minutes, but those are some fun sessions.
I’m not sure if it’s the antics of defeating the enemies or the challenge of timing all those jumps in that one chamber with all the electrical shocks traveling along the floor (very satisfying to complete). Whatever it is, Bruce Lee is a great game for being so old.
Best of Commodore 64: Bruce Lee brought to you by: David M.
I’m David M. I’ve been playing video games a long time, my pong game was fire. Now, my kids run circles around me but we always have a good time. We mostly play party and family games. Strategy and battle games are still among my favorites. I like writing about games almost as much as I do playing them. My favorite games are: Moving Out 2, Out of Space and Overcooked All You Can Eat.
