Chew Man Fu

Did You Know?

• The game includes a small bonus Kick-Ball game for two players that doubles as practice with the control system.
• When a ball hits an enemy, it continues moving in the same direction, intervening walls, and pushes the player backwards slightly.
• Balls can be pushed forwards or pulled backwards, including around corners, and can still be moved once placed onto a pad.

Development and release

Chew Man Fu was created by Now Production, a game developer based in Osaka that Toshiaki Awamura founded in 1986. Awamura later contributed to Adventure Island II and Rolling Thunder 3. The game’s co-designers were Masami "Simotuma" Shimotsuma, along with two team members who used the pseudonyms "Yumi" and "Bimbo!". Atsutane "Wakky" Wakisaka handled all the programming, while N. Ide composed the sound. Hudson Soft first published the title in Japan on March 30, 1990, for the PC Engine, and NEC brought it to North America later that year for the TurboGrafx-16. A re-release arrived on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on February 13, 2007, followed by North America on February 26 and Europe on March 2. A mobile phone version with updated graphics, redesigned levels, and new controls came out in 2007. The game later appeared on Japan’s G-cluster cloud gaming service on June 20, 2013, and on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on July 30, 2014, and in North America on September 21, 2017. It was also included on both the Japanese and western editions of the PC Engine Mini console in 2020.

Reception

Chew Man Fu for the TurboGrafx-16 was generally well-liked by critics, with most evaluating it as an imported title. Players also responded positively; PC Engine Fan readers awarded it a 21.30 out of 30 score, placing it at number 216 in a popularity poll. Famitsu’s four reviewers compared it unfavorably to Bomberman, saying it wasn’t as “exhilarating,” but acknowledged its action element was “quite strong.” French magazine Génération 4 praised the password system for allowing players to resume progress. Joystick’s Jean-Marc Demoly complimented the well-crafted visuals, sprite animations, sound, and controls. Aktueller Software Markt’s Sandra Alter highlighted the level editor, graphics, controls, technical performance, and play value.

Some critics were less enthusiastic. Power Play’s Martin Gaksch found the game too simplistic and had mixed feelings about its audiovisual presentation. The Games Machine’s Warren Lapworth described the design as unusual but very simple and straightforward; he noted the two-player mode could be enjoyable and praised the large, excellently defined character sprites and oriental-style music and sound effects, but criticized the maze editor for not allowing saved levels. Tilt’s Alain Huyghues-Lacour appreciated the visuals, animations, and sound but ultimately found the game “a little boring in the long run.” TurboPlay’s Donn Nauert had mixed opinions on the sound but gave positive marks to the graphics and playability. AllGame’s Shawn Sackenheim called the gameplay simple yet unique and challenging, praising the cute and entertaining character animations, extra game modes, and replay value, though he found both the visuals and music repetitive.