Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style (1999). Play online

Summary

Wu‑Tang: Shaolin Style is a PlayStation fighting game that throws the whole Wu‑Tang Clan onto a 3‑D arena. Each of the nine members appears as a stylized brawler, complete with their own voice‑overs and tracks contributed by the group itself.

The engine, originally built for the unreleased Thrill Kill, lets up to four players scrap at once in free‑for‑all or team bouts. A life‑system means you respawn until the last life fades, while a power‑up meter charges from hits and, when dumped with all four face buttons, powers your attacks dramatically. Finishers are true “fatalities”; each character unlocks five finishing moves by clearing the story’s challenges.

Progression follows the 36 Chambers, a nod to the clan’s debut album and Shaolin cinema, requiring everything from specific combos to particular finishers before the next door opens. An uncensored blood mode is hidden behind a code printed in the manual, and collectors still gush over the limited “W‑shaped” controller released by Activision – a quirky replica that works but is notoriously awkward.

Storyline

Wu‑Tang: Shaolin Style tells its story through FMV cutscenes that follow a band of martial‑arts students under Master Xin, the last keeper of the ancient Wu‑Tang discipline. Master Xin is hiding on Staten Island when the villain Mong Zhu declares he will steal the Wu‑Tang secrets and use them to dominate the world. Zhu’s thugs capture Xin, and the clan battles across Staten Island, mainland New York and finally China to rescue their master. During a torture scene Zhu learns the secrets are tattooed on Xin’s chest, slices the skin and kills Xin, gaining the knowledge.

The heroes confront Zhu, who triggers a gas bomb as a last‑ditch move. RZA, recognizing his talisman matches the bomb, activates his own device and forces it into Zhu’s mouth, stopping the explosion. With the portcullis opened, RZA grabs a hanging lamp and the clan escapes as the dojo erupts in fire. The game ends with Master Xin’s spirit watching over the victorious clan, smiling.