PlayStation
A Tribute to Jackie Chan's Legendary Moves
Released in 2000 for the PlayStation, Jackie Chan Stuntmaster was developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Midway. The game captures the essence of Jackie Chan’s iconic martial arts style, blending humor, acrobatics, and creative combat sequences. Players take on the role of Jackie himself as he fights his way through gang-infested streets to rescue his kidnapped grandfather, all while dodging environmental hazards and pulling off cinematic stunts.
Graphics: Simple but Effective
Though it’s not exceptionally, visually groundbreaking to look at , Jackie Chan Stuntmaster’s colorful, cartoon-like environments work well for its lighthearted tone. The levels are varied, featuring backdrops like urban streets, warehouses, and rooftops. The character model used for Jackie Chan stands out with fluid animations, making his trademark kicks, punches, and flips feel authentic as if they were ripped right from the celluloid of one of his hit movies, despite the hardware limitations. It was simply just cool to see Jackie Chan motion-captured so well into a video game.
It's simply just cool to see Jackie Chan motion-captured so well into a video game.
Controls: Tight and Responsive
To my surprise, the controls in Jackie Chan Stuntmaster are intuitive and pretty damn air-tight, allowing me to chain punches, kicks, and evasive moves quite smoothly. Jackie’s acrobatic abilities, such as wall jumps and climbing, were mostly easy to execute which added variety to the engaging gameplay. Occasionally, some of the platforming sections could be incredibly finicky due to imprecise jumping mechanics (hello, Subway ride), but the combat remained completely satisfying and dynamic throughout my entire play-through.
Sound: Lighthearted and Energetic
The upbeat soundtrack is filled with funky beats and works well to keep the energy high through the game. The sound effects for punches and kicks are exaggerated, adding to the cartoonish fun of it all. The icing on this already tasty brawler cake is Jackie Chan himself providing all the voice work for his character, complete with playful quips and grunts throughout the battles, which enhances the game’s charm.
Replayability: Fun but Limited
The game offers a straightforward campaign that can be completed within a few hours (I finished it around 4 and half hours or 5 hours). Scattered through the levels there are some hidden dragon collectibles for players looking to explore thoroughly, but beyond that, the replay value is pretty limited. Honestly, at the end of the day, it’s the pure joy of pulling off Jackie’s signature moves that keeps the experience entertaining. This is a game I will return to a couple times trying new combat approaches – and maybe work at collecting all those dragons that I missed.
Final Verdict: A Charming Tribute to a Martial Arts Legend
Jackie Chan Stuntmaster may not be the most complex game on the PlayStation, but its incredibly tight combat, all the charming humor, and the surprisingly faithful representation of Jackie Chan’s stunts make it an absolutely delightful beat-‘em-up. Any fan of martial arts games or Jackie Chan himself will, without a doubt, appreciate this fun and action-packed adventure. Despite some of its flaws, I totally recommend this game for anyone looking for a hidden gem in the PlayStation library. Jackie Chan Stuntmaster should have gotten more notoriety on the market.
