Kung Fu Chaos often breaks the fourth wall. The entire game is about the player controlling a selection of characters making a kung fu film. The actions of these characters are then processed as films and the player can watch them. Although the game is centered on a classic kung fufilm, it has certain characters and levels that do not belong in a martial arts film.
Xui Tan Sour: A young martial artist who seeks to avenge her parents, who were killed by members of a rival circus, parodying the idea that in martial arts films, the hero/heroine is avenging their families' death from a rival, often a rival clan.
Captain Won Ton: An overweight luchadore. Wrestler by day, justice avenger by the rest of the day.
Shao Ting: The film's loud and obnoxious director. He also serves as the final boss of the game. He sees himself as a womanizer, and after creating Kung Fu Chaos the Movie, with no plot whatsoever, he creates an experimental art film where he runs around naked for two hours chased by zombie nurses.
Development
Kung Fu Chaos is the first game developed by the Cambridge-based developer Just Add Monsters. The game's concept was co-created by design directorTameem Antoniades, producerNina Kristensen, and technical directorMike Ball once the company was founded. According to Antoniades, the game was prototyped in three months using four to eight people. In early 2003, Just Add Monsters began working on a more mature sequel to the game titled Kung Fu Story. However, realizing it would be a difficult idea to sell an existing intellectual property to prospective publishers, they shifted their focus on developing for the next-generation of consoles. Specifically, they started work on a new IP, Heavenly Sword for the PlayStation 3. The company resurfaced in 2004 under the name Ninja Theory after it was purchased by former Argonaut Games CEO Jez San.
Reception
Kung Fu Chaos received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, where the game was ported for release under the name Kung Fu Panic on 29 May 2003, Famitsu gave it a score of one eight, one seven, one eight, and one seven, for a total of 30 out of 40. The game was included among the best Xbox party games by IGN in 2005.
