Kung Fu Punchies

Kung Fu Punchies is an action beat 'em up video game developed by Green Sleeve Studio and published by Install Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 video game console. Kung Fu Punchies was directed by Jonathan Sutton. The game was released in 2014 in Japan and North America with 2015 PAL territories and later on it was re-released for the PlayStation 4 as a downloadable title on the PlayStation Network. The development team's desire was to create an action game aimed at "hardcore gamers" intermixed with a large amount of comic relief. The game received an overall slightly positive response from critics and sold only modestly upon its release in Japan. Install Entertainment announced just days after the game's North American release that it would dissolve Green Sleeve Studio.

Gameplay
The player moves in all directions, attacking with the face buttons and using special moves (unlocked or powered up as the game progresses through an in-game shop). The character moves like a tank with the camera directly behind him. The player must manually turn around using a button, and all actions (outside of basic attacks) are performed via a context sensitive button. Using this button allows the player to jump up ladders, pick up items, and use special attacks (like a flurry of punches and kicks or special attacks) that can only be used when the enemy is in a dazed or tired state, each type of special attack depends on the type of enemy.

The player maps any attack they wish to Triangle, Square, and X, making the game very customizable to the player's choice and gameplay style. Square is the only button that allows the player to chain multiple attacks at once. There are over 100 moves in the game for the player to choose from including Drunken-Style and Capoeira Martial Arts to Basic Jabs and Punches. The player can also counter. Unlike most fighting games Kung Fu Punchies has two types of counters: Basic and Complex. Basic counters are simple one button press counters that can easily be countered by other enemies. Complex counters are much harder to perform but are uncounterable and always stuns enemies.

The player can map a limited amount of moves to their Punch Reel. These moves are limited to a number of orbs that the player has collected throughout the level. These attacks are notably more powerful than basic punches and have different properties. Some moves send the player's opponents flying into the stratosphere while others are simple punches or kicks to specific places (a groin kick, for example). Some specific Reels can also enhance the character's abilities or heal him.

Another move in the player's arsenal is his hand itself. As the player strikes, dodges and defeats enemies, his kung Fu bar goes up. When it reaches a set amount, the player can unleash the true power of Kung Fu. In this state the player is completely invincible and all of his attacks increase in both power and speed (also ignores the enemy's blocks and all recovery from moves, allowing to successfully lock enemies in combos). By purchasing various stat boosting items, the player can increase the size of his kung Fu bar to hold more power.

The game features a unique Level Bar (levels 1 to 3), that increases or decreases depending on the player's performance. If the player gets caught up in a flurry of punches and combos, his level will drop. If the player deals a large number of attacks to their enemies, then their level will go up. Enemy attack strength and AI increases as the levels increase, at Level 3 a fully maxed out player can be killed in a few hits, depending on the opponent. Also, the more enemies defeated in a higher Level, higher is the cash obtained at the end of each stage. This forces the players to master the enemies AI in order to gain a higher score and purchase more moves.

There's a small percentage of chance, after killing each opponent, that the opponent becomes a Demon, which is a disfigured humanoid creature. These Demons are unique with the screen getting darker. They're are very deadly and can teleport around the screen to dodge attacks. There are 4 types of Demons: Red Demons (the most common type, whose hands can transform into a long blade), Purple Demons (that can release Dark Flames projectiles at distance), Yellow Demons (which can release long spikes from their bodies that can attack in all directions, if he's too close) and Blue Demons (the rarest type, who are big muscled centaur-like creatures wielding a gigantic trident to attack). The chances of an enemy transforming varies from the current Level Meter.

Creative Vision
This is an idea I dreamt up many years ago, basically I thought let's make a little 3D action game.

The player punches some freakish thugs. The music is pumping and loud. The art direction is a lot like Gears of War, a bunch of big meatheads just screaming to be punched. So you beat up guys and they ragdoll into one another. Right hook. Shotgun kicks. Left hook. Just relentless action. That's all the game is, pure overly stylized violence, nothing more, nothing less. The longer you survive, the crazier the freaks become. Maybe they have different weapons. Maybe you can kick a huge clever out of one guy's hand, and if it hits another guy, he'll get cut in two and go flying. Maybe if you punch a guy right in the torso, his torso explodes out of his body like a projectile, slamming into a bunch of other dudes, blowing their arms off, as the original guy's arms fall onto the ground. This game would just be a simple stylish fighting game, but oh, what style it would have!

Maybe suddenly, you'll find the screen full of enemies and projectiles, and you'll feel hopeless for an instant. Except there is no such thing as hopeless, at any point, one kick or punch is all you need to clear the whole screen. It's just a matter of whether you are a tough enough Übermensch to take that shot and make it.

Thanks for reading. If you want please check out my other game ideas:

Indestructible Death Suit

Dead Men

Kung Fu Kicker!

Development
In 2013, during PAX, it was announced that Kung Fu Punchies would be released for PlayStation and Xbox simultaneously. Before this public announcement, game industry journalists under a non-disclosure agreement had previewed the game in a private showing during E3 2013 and were reportedly amazed.

At E3 2014, the first trailer of Kung Fu Punchies was well received. The version shown there differed greatly from the one exhibited previously, marking the first major overhaul in the game's development.

As rumors had predicted, Sony announced that it had acquired the rights to the game. Kung Fu Punchies became an exclusive game for Sony's PS3 video game console, and Green Sleeve Studios rewrote the game's engine, heavily altering its presentation and turning it into an action beat'em up.