Kung Fu Chaos (or Kung Fu Panic in Japan) is a 3D third-person platform game developed by Just Add Monsters (the studio now known as Ninja Theory) and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox on February 25, 2003 in the U.S.A.
The game's premise is controlling a cast of characters as they make a series of kung-fu films under the direction of Shao Ting, independent director. As this is not a operation with a particularly big budget, there are some minor drawbacks. The sets for the movie are death traps and actually falling apart during filming. Shao demands that the actors don't use sissy acting methods like pulling punches; for his films, the cast has to murder each other while following the script. The cast themselves are a mix of kung-fu parodies who are more than capable of fighting each other. These "actors" range from a monkey deity to a obese luchador crime fighter. Whoever survives will be a Hollywood star and achieve fame and fortune.
This video game provides examples of:
- All-Stereotype Cast: Most of the playable characters are all stock characters from B Movie genres, including a Masked Luchador, a Sassy Black Woman, an Old Master and a Highly-Visible Ninja.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: Ninja Fu Hiya.
- BFG: Lucy Cannon, and her giant shotgun.
- Blaxploitation: Lucy Cannon represents the genre, with her outfit and attitude.
- Casanova Wannabe: Shao Ting, who inevitably tries to hit on his female stars once they get famous, and they either punch his lights out or otherwise harm him.
- Fartillery: Captain Won Ton.
- Foreign-Looking Font: The game uses Wonton Fonts for the character life number and
- Gameplay Grading: From 1 to 5 stars, each with their own rank name.
- 1 Star:
Straight To Video - 2 Stars: Turkey
- 3 Stars: Break Even
- 4 Stars: Sleeper Hit
- 5 Stars: Colossal Hit
- 1 Star:
- Hong Kong Dub: Parodied, the characters mouth movements don't always match what they are saying.
- Killer Yoyo: Candi Roll dual-wields these.
- Old Master: Master Sho Yu.
- Prima Donna Director: The aforementioned director, Shao Ting. It's a Meaningful Name since he is possibly the loudest and most over-the-top person on set, and he is so devoted to his artistic vision that he basically pays his actors to have deathmatches on camera.
- Punny Name: The game gleefully revels in these. Examples include Shao Ting ("Shouting") and Ninja Fu Hiya (Ninja for Hire).
- Secret Character: Candi Roll, Captain Won Ton and Shao Ting.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Shao Ting
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Every character gets a scene with Shao some time after the films were released to the public. This is also accompanied by a scrolling description of how the character used their success to further their careers, or branch off into new industries.
