Martial arts and video games are the perfect combination and have been popular with fans for many years. This can be traced back to the 8-bit era of video games with titles such as Double Dragon, and later in the 16-bit era with the classic Street Fighter 2. The popularity of these games shows no signs of waning and has recently been reinvigorated with the release of Sifu.
Street Fighter 6 has also been announced and has a huge army of fans who have followed the series since its original release in 1987. But what about the real-life martial artists who have no doubt influenced a great deal of the games that players have loved over the years? This list will explore where real-life martial artists have appeared in video games, and surprisingly, not all of them are fighting games.
10 Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee needs no real introduction. Despite his relatively short TV and movie career due to his untimely death, his legacy lives on as one of the greatest martial artists of all time. Bruce Lee has appeared in a few different games, but the 8-bit self-titled game released in 1984 tends to be fondly remembered.
The plot revolves around Lee fighting his way through different chambers to seek the ultimate prize of immortality. Special mention should be made of the amazing box art which showed Lee facing off against various enemies.
9 Jason Statham - Red Faction 2
Before Jason Statham came to prominence as an actor, he studied various martial arts including kickboxing, wing chun, kung fu, and karate. Clearly a talented athlete, Statham also represented Great Britain at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in diving.
These physical skills and attributes have served him well as an action star, but he has also dabbled in video games, including the original Call Of Duty, and Red Faction 2 released in 2002. Statham plays Mandril Shrike, an enhanced super soldier. Statham’s gruff voice made him the perfect choice for playing a badass character.
8 Conor McGregor - Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Former UFC champion Conor McGregor is no stranger to the limelight. His career has featured many highlights and a few controversial ones. That all being said, his star power is undeniable, and even though his mixed martial arts career is arguably coming to an end, he is still a major draw for fans of the sport.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare features a few faces people may recognize including Game of Thrones star, Kit Harrington, Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and also Conor McGregor who played Captain Bradley Fillion.
7 Jean-Claude Van Damme - Street Fighter: The Movie
The “muscles from Brussels” has starred in his fair share of action movies over the years which have shown off his martial arts prowess. Studying karate from the age of 10, JCVD also took up muay thai and taekwondo, as well as studying ballet for 5 years. This no doubt helped him perform his jumping spin kicks and splits which became an unofficial trademark of his movies.
After playing the role of Colonel William F. Guile in Street Fighter in 1994, a video game spin-off was inevitable. Despite the movie being panned by critics, the film was financially successful and has since become a cult classic with fans. Street Fighter: The Movie video game is similar to Street Fighter 2, except it uses the likeness of characters from the movie. It also digitized the actors which were popular at the time, thanks to the success of games including the Mortal Kombat series.
6 Jackie Chan Stuntmaster
Jackie Chan started training in martial arts and acrobatics from a young age. He developed his skill at the famed Peking Opera School where he met Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. The three of them worked hard to attain a level of prowess which they put to good use in the many movies they starred in together. One aspect of Jackie Chan movies that fans enjoy is the incredible stunts, which he performed himself. There were often outtakes shown at the end of his movies where the stunts didn’t quite go to plan and how Chan sustained many injuries during filmmaking.
These days, Jackie Chan is one of the most recognizable people on the planet, and his movies have entertained millions of fans across the world. Chan has appeared in a few video games, but Jackie Chan Stuntmaster released in 2000 for PlayStation stands out. Chan performed his motion capture and dialogue to create a more authentic feel for the player.
5 Chow Yun Fat - Stranglehold
Despite reports of Chow Yun Fat receiving no formal martial arts training, this hasn’t stopped him from appearing in one of the most celebrated martial arts movies of 2000, the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon directed by Ang Lee. Chow Yun Fat has also starred in several incredible action movies directed by John Woo including The Killer and Hard Boiled.
He reprised his role as Inspector “Tequila” Yuen in the follow-up to Hard Boiled, with the video game Stranglehold from 2007. Stranglehold drew comparisons with Max Payne, due to the slow-motion bullet time gameplay. Ironically, the Max Payne games were no doubt influenced by the movies John Woo and Chow Yun Fat produced in the 80s and 90s.
4 Mark Dacascos - Wing Commander 4: The Price Of Freedom
Before Mass Effect became the celebrated science fiction video game series fans know and love today, arguably the Wing Commander games were the premier video game set in space. The later games had a mixture of live-action movie-quality cut scenes and space combat gameplay. Some of the notable stars who have appeared in the series are Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, John Hurt, and Christopher Walken.
Released in 1996, Mark Dacascos appeared in Wing Commander 4: The Price Of Freedom as fighter pilot Troy "Catscratch" Carter. Dacascos is a talented martial artist who won many championships in karate and kung fu at an early age. Ironically, he also starred as Kung Lao in the Mortal Kombat: Legacy TV series.
3 Wesley Snipes - Demolition Man
There’s no denying that Wesley Snipes is a talented actor. His early performances in King of New York and New Jack City showed off his dramatic side, whereas White Men Can’t Jump allowed him to show his comedic timing alongside Woody Harrelson. It was only when he became an action star that he started to show off his martial arts skills. Passenger 57, Demolition Man and the Blade series were the perfect vehicles to demonstrate his years of training.
Demolition Man was released on multiple systems in 1995. The 3DO version in particular was notable as it featured different styles of gameplay including, light gun levels, first-person shooting, car racing, and one on one fighting. Snipes and Stallone also filmed additional footage for the game in addition to the scenes which were taken directly from the movie.
2 Chuck Norris Superkicks
Chuck Norris memes and quotes have become almost as famous as the man himself. Lines like “when the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris” and “Once a cobra bit Chuck Norris' leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died” have cemented the legendary status of this martial artist.
Chuck Norris Superkicks released in 1984 gave fans the chance to play the titular hero. The game sees him face off against different enemies including bad guys who throw shurikens. The graphics for the time were fairly simplistic, so a great deal of imagination would have been used by the player to picture Norris as the lead character.
1 Jet Li - Rise To Honor
Wushu champion Jet Li is famed for his speed and agility. As a child, Li would often compete against adults and won his first national championship at the age of 11. He later went on to have an impressive career making critically acclaimed and commercially successful movies.
Jet Li: Rise To Honor released in 2004 for PlayStation 2 not only showed off the talents of Li but also the director and martial arts choreographer Corey Yuen. Coincidentally, Yuen directed the 2006 live-action video game adaptation of the fighting game DOA: Dead Or Alive.