Lo Wang

Lore & Background

Lo Wang is a bodyguard and enforcer for Zilla Enterprises, a powerful conglomerate that controls every major industry in a futuristic Japan. Although he is aware of the unchecked corruption and crime that has resulted from Zilla Enterprises' dominance, Lo Wang is too content with his well-paid position to challenge his employers. This changes when Master Zilla, the company president who desires even more power and wealth, embarks on a plan to conquer Japan using creatures from the 'dark side', having formed an alliance with the ancient deities that rule over them. When he discovers this, Lo Wang finds he can no longer stomach Zilla's evil and quits his job. Master Zilla soon realizes the threat that Lo Wang poses and orders the creatures to kill him. Forced to fight for his life, Lo Wang manages to slaughter dozens of Zilla's minions until he discovers that Zilla also had his old mentor, Master Leep, murdered. Following his mentor's dying words, Lo swears to put an end to Zilla's schemes. The game ends with Lo Wang defeating Master Zilla, who tries and fails to kill him while piloting a massive war mech styled after a samurai. Zilla is killed in the final battle, with no escape or promise of a future meeting.

In Their Own Story

Lo Wang, a loyal bodyguard for Zilla Enterprises, discovers that his employer Master Zilla has formed an alliance with ancient deities to conquer Japan using creatures from the "dark side." Unable to stomach Zilla's evil, Lo Wang quits his job. Master Zilla orders the creatures to kill him. Forced to fight for his life, Lo Wang slaughters dozens of Zilla's minions until he learns that Zilla also had his old mentor, Master Leep, murdered. Following his mentor's dying words, Lo Wang swears to put an end to Zilla's schemes. The game culminates with Lo Wang defeating Master Zilla, who pilots a massive war mech styled after a samurai. Zilla escapes, vowing they will meet again. In the expansion pack *Twin Dragon*, Lo Wang discovers he has a twin brother, Hung Lo, separated in early childhood. Hung Lo becomes a dark person whose goal is to destroy the world, using creatures from the "dark side," the criminal underworld, and Zilla's remnants. Lo Wang journeys through his dark minions, reaches his palace, and defeats the evil Twin Dragon Hung Lo once and for all. In *Wanton Destruction*, Lo Wang visits his relatives in the USA but is forced to fight off Zilla's forces again, culminating in a battle above the streets of Tokyo that ends with Master Zilla's death.

Reader's Guide

Shadow Warrior is a first-person shooter similar to Duke Nukem 3D and using the same Build engine. Players navigate the protagonist, Lo Wang, through three-dimensional environments or 'levels'. Throughout levels are enemies that attack Lo Wang, which can be killed by the player using weapons such as a katana. Shadow Warrior also features puzzles that must be solved to progress in various levels. Lo Wang's arsenal of weaponry includes Japanese-themed weapons such as shurikens and a katana, and guns such as Uzis, a riot gun that fires shotgun shells, and the Eraser-inspired railgun. In addition, the head and heart of certain enemies can be used as weapons. The game features turrets and various vehicles (such as tanks) that the player can drive around freely in, climbable ladders, and multiple firing modes for various weapons.

Did You Know?

• The shareware version of Shadow Warrior was released for the PC on May 13, 1997, while the full version was completed on August 25, 1997 and released in stores on September 16, 1997.
• Shadow Warrior was developed using Ken Silverman's Build engine and improved on 3D Realms' previous Build engine game, Duke Nukem 3D.
• The game's improvements included introduction of true room-over-room situations, the use of 3D voxels instead of 2D sprites for weapons and usable inventory items, transparent water, climbable ladders, and assorted vehic
• A combination of Shadow Warrior and Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition was published by GT Interactive in March 1998, titled East Meets West.
• In 2005, 3D Realms released the source code for Shadow Warrior under the GPL-2.0-or-later license, which resulted in the first source port a day later on April 2, 2005.