I never thought this day would come, but apparently the sequel to one of the worst fighting games of the 16-bit era, if not the history of video games, is now well on its way to becoming a reality. Funding for Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn began a funding drive on IndieGoGo this past March, with the set goal of reaching $450,000 in contributions, and in just hours before the deadline, developer Big Deez passed its goal, showing exactly why NASCAR has so many fans - people just love to watch a wreck.
Shaquille O' Neil Says Shaq Fu 2 "Coming Soon"
Impressively, Big Deez even managed to bring in an additional $24,000 to its budget, proving that masochists are an actual demographic in the video game community, and have they got money to burn. In this case, there were a little over 1,300 contributors that forked over (on average) $350 each to get the Shaq balloon off the ground.
"SHAQ FU IS HAPPENING!" wrote the game's writer and designer, Oliver Hollis-Leick, in an update over at the game's campaing page. "This is just the beginning. Now that the game is funded and will be seeing PC and console release it's time to start production. We'll soon be putting together a platform where our team (that's you!) will be able to contribute ideas and suggestions, as well as help us reflect on our own choices. We'll be keeping a developer diary and you'll have exclusive access to the whole thing. Making video games is a slow process and there's much to be done, but you'll be with us every step of the way...Our promise still stands: This time we won't Fu it up!"
"Fu it up?" Well, yeah. The original Shaq-Fu is considered an atrocity, so much so that one website exists for the sole purpose of destroying every last copy. Not exactly what you'd call an outstanding legacy, but at least that means Big Deez has anything but big shoes to fill. Ironic, given the titular behemoth's size 22E sneaker...
Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is a Thing that Exists, Seeking Funding on IndieGoGo
But that was the 90's, and Shaq was a big (no pun intended) embodiment of the decade, representative of the times nearly as much as DeLoreans and cocaine were to the 80's, though it's up for debate whether the fine white powder was more damaging to society overall than the big man's film career. Watch "Steel" or "Kazaam," and you'll understand.
With the funding goal met, the game is now set to headed over not just the PC, but to consoles as well. The Wii U, Xbox 3660 and One, and PlayStation 3 and 4 were all named as launch platforms. That being said, peep the trailer below and see what you think about this inevitability.
So this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a Shaq Fu.
