A scheduling clash with Konami?

"Ms. Emery, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Lin Lixin gave a polite bow, even though Linda's expression as she looked at him was hardly friendly.

The woman who had given up her studies for Bruce Lee and accompanied him throughout his life was now actually standing before him.

At Lin Lixin's friendly greeting, Linda merely gave a lukewarm nod, turning her gaze toward the Street Fighter prototype by the wall.

When she saw that the machine did not even have a paint job and had simply been cobbled together from a few battered wooden boards found who knew where, her expression darkened further.

She pulled Brandon Lee, who stood between them, over to her and said quietly:

"Even if you want to collaborate with someone, shouldn't you find a major company?"

Even a giant like Konami had only managed to produce something as crude as Kung-Fu Master. It was hard to imagine how a tiny workshop like GAMENOVA could do any better.

Brandon Lee, however, looked quite happy.

After all that effort, he had finally brought his mother here.

Once she played this game, she would understand him.

"Me? I won't play. You play, and I'll watch."

But when he tried to invite Linda to play, she refused, standing to one side with her arms folded and an expression that said she would absolutely never touch that machine.

Without being given a signal, Shannon Lee merely stood beside Linda, looking around curiously.

"Then... Mr. Lin, how about a match?"

Seeing this, Brandon Lee could only invite Lin Lixin to face him in PvP.

After all, if he asked Sam, he would only play Guile, which always seemed to take something away from the visual spectacle.

"Aha, then I won't hold back."

Lin Lixin nodded in agreement, but his character choice surprised Brandon Lee.

He had actually chosen Chun-Li.

"What? Lost your confidence?"

"Then let's wait and see." Naturally, Brandon Lee still chose Fei Long.

After all, the main purpose of this visit was to show his mother this character.

Yet Lin Lixin showed no intention of playing an exhibition match. Right from the start, every move went straight for the kill.

Startled, Brandon Lee hurriedly had Fei Long block and create space to establish his neutral game, quickly working out a suitable safe distance.

But Lin Lixin was a fighting game veteran, after all. Though his talent might not have been particularly outstanding, his ability was not to be underestimated.

On top of that, Brandon Lee was relatively unfamiliar with Chun-Li's moveset. After some back-and-forth, Lin Lixin actually won the first round.

Behind them, Linda looked very displeased.

Of course, she had long since recognized who the character named Fei Long was modeled after.

But how could Bruce Lee possibly lose?

This was nothing short of malicious slander!

It was even worse than Konami's "LEE"!

Shannon Lee was not as rigid as her mother, however. Instead, she was particularly interested in the game before her.

Her eyes stared fixedly at Chun-Li as she struck her victory pose, sparkling with fascination.

Round two.

Lin Lixin was a little surprised. Winning that last round had been nowhere near as easy as it looked.

After taking a beating in the first half, Brandon Lee had actually adjusted quickly and more or less figured out Chun-Li's game plan.

Right from the start of this second round, Lin Lixin gained little advantage, whiffing several kicks in succession.

As the timer ticked down second by second, Lin Lixin had taken several overheads, and his remaining health clearly meant he was going to lose.

Looking at his now-full meter, Lin Lixin made up his mind and threw out a raw super.

"Shichisei Senkukyaku!"

If this move landed, it could easily break through Brandon Lee's crouch-block and deal respectable damage.

Smack.

Almost instantly, Brandon Lee slapped the button.

Lin Lixin's heart sank, but it was already too late. His super was easily neutralized, and a command grab was thrown in for good measure.

Now Lin Lixin was in trouble, pinned against the wall and pummeled.

Having figured out the new character's capabilities, Brandon Lee stopped being modest or cautious. He dispensed with all formalities and poured everything into his offense.

"Wataah!"

The crisp sound effect rang out from the speakers as Fei Long, bare-chested and wearing only martial arts trousers, pulled out a pair of nunchaku and unleashed a string of special moves on Chun-Li.

At that signature battle cry, Linda suddenly froze, her eyes following Fei Long across the screen.

All of Brandon Lee's kung fu had come from his father's instruction, so naturally, all sorts of little details closely resembled Bruce Lee himself.

Even their fighting experience shared some similarities.

This truly lent the Fei Long under his control a little of Bruce Lee's spirit.

For a fleeting moment, Linda almost seemed to see Bruce Lee on the other side of the screen, displaying his martial arts and taking on the world.

"K.O!"

In the second round, as expected, Lin Lixin quickly lost once he no longer had the advantage of knowing more than his opponent.

But he felt no frustration, because a notification had suddenly chimed in his ears just now.

[Ding!]

[Mission complete!]

[Reward obtained]: All attributes increased by 20

[Bonus objective complete!]

[Reward obtained]: Skill pack x1

That could only mean one thing.

Lin Lixin turned to glance at Linda behind him.

"Ms. Emery, what do you think of this game?"

"Hmph." She snorted coldly, ignoring Lin Lixin, her gaze still locked on Fei Long on the screen.

After a long while, she slowly spoke:

"I'd say it's only average. Also, Bruce Lee wasn't this weak. You need to buff him."

Brandon Lee and Lin Lixin exchanged smiles. It seemed they had achieved what they had come for.

"Mr. Lin, could I give it a try?"

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased a little, Shannon Lee, who had been watching the whole time, finally stepped forward and bowed slightly to Lin Lixin.

"Of course. Go ahead."

Two minutes later.

"K.O!"

Chun-Li emptied Fei Long's health bar with a beautiful Hazanshu.

Everyone fell silent.

What was this? Had a fighting game prodigy randomly spawned?

At the end of the year, Konami's North America division finally wrapped up its arcade port project.

Thanks to the arcade hardware's across-the-board advantages, the arcade version of Kung-Fu Master had naturally received across-the-board improvements. It could almost be called a remake.

Three whole new stages and boss fights, more colorful graphics, and higher-resolution sound effects!

For this version of Kung-Fu Master, Konami had set its sights on the high-end market occupied by Contra.

"Boss, we have a problem."

The vice president, who was checking the inventory list for the first batch of arcade machines produced, looked up in puzzlement at his subordinate's words.

This was the perfect opportunity to ride the tailwind of the arcade boom and rebuild Konami's market in North America. What problem could there be?

The subordinate walked over to the television and turned the knob.

On the screen, Brandon Lee, dressed in Bruce Lee's iconic look, and Schwarzenegger, wearing a bizarre yellow broom-top wig and green camouflage fatigues, stood on opposite sides in fighting stances.

Both stepped forward and charged at the same time, their two sandbag-sized fists colliding solidly.

Then an artistic title appeared in the center of the screen, its strokes like flying dragons and dancing phoenixes:

[Street Fighter]