Kick Master is an action-platformer with light RPG elements, developed by KID and published by Taito for the NES in 1992. As the martial artist Macross, you must travel across the kingdom of Lowrel to defeat the evil wizard Belzed and rescue the princess. Unlike traditional platformers that rely on weapons, combat revolves around an expanding repertoire of martial arts kicks that you unlock by defeating enemies and gaining experience points, alongside a magic system driven by MP dropped from foes.
How to play
The objective is to fight through each stage’s enemies and defeat the boss at the end. As you destroy enemies, they drop three items that bounce in an arc: experience points, MP restoratives, and HP restoratives. Catching these items before they fall off-screen is crucial for leveling up and surviving.
Default controls are mapped to the keyboard:
- Arrow Keys: Move Macross (D-pad)
- Z: Kick / Attack (B button)
- X: Jump (A button)
- Enter: Pause (Start)
- Shift: Magic Menu (Select)
Tips
- Enemies drop items that bounce in a specific trajectory; learn the arc to catch them mid-air, as items that touch the floor will disappear instantly.
- Leveling up not only increases your maximum health and magic, but also grants new directional kick moves, such as sliding kicks and dive kicks, which are essential for later stages.
- Pay attention to the magic spells you collect; defensive spells like the Shield are incredibly useful for getting through projectile-heavy boss fights.
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