History Main / ShadowWarrior

* For the 1997 first person shooter, go to VideoGame/ShadowWarrior1997
* For the 2013 reboot / prequel, go to VideoGame/ShadowWarrior2013

[[redirect:VideoGame/ShadowWarrior]]

A FirstPersonShooter based on the famous [[GameEngine Build engine]] of ''DukeNukem [[VideoGame/DukeNukem3D 3D]]'' fame, ''Shadow Warrior'' had the misfortune of being released in 1997, when the sprite-based shooters were already showing their age. (Compare ''{{Blood}}'', which was based on the same engine and released the same year, but is better remembered.)

The player controls Lo Wang, the titular Shadow Warrior, a former employee/bodyguard of [[MegaCorp Zilla Enterprise]]s... until he found out that Master Zilla was summoning monsters from the netherworld and plotting to TakeOverTheWorld ([[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses of course!]]). Being a man of honor, Lo Wang quit the corp, but Zilla decided that if Wang will not be on his side, then he has to die. Now, of course, Lo Wang sets out to reach Zilla and thoroughly kick his gluteus maximus - partly to save the world, but primarily out of revenge for the death of his former teacher, Master Leep.

Among the first shooters to contain now common features such as controllable vehicles, alternate weapon firing modes, bosses with more going for them than [[DamageSpongeBoss lots of HP]] and [[ArsonMurderAndLifeSaving lower enemy variety with slower pace]].

Characterized by crude humor and by gratuitous application of the RuleOfCool.

Not to be confused with the former [[MarketBasedTitle European title]] of ''NinjaGaiden''.
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!!Provides examples of:
* {{Animesque}}: Any female that appears, in contrast to the action movie styled rest of the game.
* AwesomeButImpractical: A lot of weapons can fit under this category.
** The Nuke. The blast radius on it is so huge, you can easily kill yourself with it. The trick is to duck behind cover before the nuke makes contact. Even after you master that trick, there aren't really a lot of places or enemies outside of bosses that warrant a nuke to the face.
** The Grenade Launcher, simply for having an absurd blast radius. It's not a good weapon for direct assaults, but it's perfect for shooting around corners.
** The Railgun. It doesn't deal as much damage as you'd expect it to, and it seems to constantly miss the enemy, even with auto-aim on. Without auto-aim, there's still the split-second delay between pulling the trigger and the shot you have to contend with.
** The Guardian Head. Fantastic weapon to use, only hampered by its insanely low ammo count, and the rate at which it consumes it.
* BeatStillMyHeart: One of the weapons is a still-beating, blood-spouting heart. It summons a clone of you if used.
** The Rippers, the monster the above weapon is taken from, will [[AndShowItToYou rip out]] ''your'' heart if they manage to kill you.
* BoringButPractical: The Riot Gun. It deals a consistent and considerable amount of damage, but it's ultimately an incredibly boring weapon to use.
** The Uzis. Great for mook crowd control, but not as fun or destructive as any other weapon.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: In the final level, which is set atop and inside a volcano, Lo Wang has no problem with prancing around pools filled with hot lava.
* CorporateSamurai: Lo Wang's former job.
* CowardlyBoss: Episode 1 ends with you facing the Serpent God, who proceeds to fight you with much fanfare... and teleports away after suffering a little damage.
--> '''Lo Wang''': HEY! Come back here and finish fight! Ugly, scary, snake... shitface!
* DiagonalCut: Ninja + katana = 2 half-ninjas
** You have SplitPersonality!
* DiscOneNuke: Not even out of Lo Wang's apartment in the first level, you can find a secret area in his house that holds a nuclear warhead, of all things.
* DirtyOldMan: Master Leep, judging by all the naked women living in his mansion.
** Not to mention Lo Wang himself...
* DoubleEntendre: Mostly related to Lo Wang's last name. Just about everything Wang says is a single entendre, at best.
--> '''Lo Wang''': You want to wash Wang, or you want to [[ADateWithRosiePalms watch Wang wash wang]]?
** Most fortune cookie messages in the game are also {{DoubleEntendre}}s.
---> '''Fortune say:''' Man stuck in pantry have ass in jam.
* DrivenToSuicide: if a standard mook fires at Lo-Wang for a long enough time without hurting him significantly, they'll eventually feel so dishonoured they'll stick their Uzi's barrel in their mouth and shoot half their skull off.
** Even that is sketchy. At times, it seems like they do it out of sheer randomness, like Lo-Wang approaching them from around a corner.
*** Startled To Suicide?
* {{Fartillery}}: The Sumo Demons leave an unpleasant gift behind when you kill them...
* {{Fanservice}}: For some bizarre and illogical reason, there are many scantily clad (if they are dressed at all) women dispersed throughout the game.
** Many players were caught off guard when the women would suddenly pull out a gun and shoot at the player if provoked enough via the use key.
** The only gal whose nipples are visible [[FanDisservice commits seppuku.]] (Probably why she went unused)
* FarEast: The game takes place in a mishmashed Chinese/Japanese setting. The main character, a ninja with a Chinese name, is the most obvious example.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: see DiagonalCut above. TropeNamer: Lo Wang actually says this occasionally when he slices up an enemy.
* HighlyVisibleNinja: Both the title character and the hordes of ninja mooks.
** Averted with one type of ninja enemy, which is always invisible until you kill him. Appropriately, he's the most dangerous of the ninjas for being incredibly fast and capable of killing Lo-Wang in one hit even at max health and armor.
* IdiosyncraticDifficultyNames
* InvulnerableKnuckles: Averted somewhat. Punching walls will actually hurt you (and may kill you.)
** Somehow, punching a wooden or straw training dummies restores your health up to 100, like the drinking fountains from ''Duke Nukem 3D''
* KatanasAreJustBetter : The katana, unlike most FPS melee weapons, is incredibly powerful and will kill many enemies in one hit.
* KillerRabbit: [[spoiler:A secret area has the original [[MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail Rabbit of Caerbannog]], cave and all!]] All the more devious because every other rabbit in the game is completely harmless, so you may not even realize what is attacking you until it's too late.
** Another example: [[spoiler:You come upon several scantily clad or nude girls. Annoy them and they'll whip out an Uzi.]]
* NukeEm: The third alternate fire for the missile launcher is a ''fucking NUKE!'' It deals massive amounts of damage and has an extremely large blast radius, and finishes off with fallout that sticks around for half a minute and hurts anyone near the epicenter.
* OverlyLongScream: If Lo Wang is falling from a dangerous height, he will scream all the way down. Find a pit deep enough and he will actually pause for breath and then continue shouting.
* RecycledInSpace: Shadow Warrior in general is ''DukeNukem 3D'' [-WITH NINJAS!-]
* ResignationsNotAccepted: Zilla sends his monsters after Lo Wang after Wang quits the corporation.
* {{Shareware}}
* ShoutOut: A secret area in [=E1M4=] is clearly taken from ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', complete with a KillerRabbit. You can also find SailorMoon in the crew quarters of a submarine, and you can encounter LaraCroft in a tomb, and Wang says "Be proud, [[JohnWoo Mr. Woo]]" when he picks up a [[GunsAkimbo second Uzi]], among other shout outs.
** Sailor Moon isn't the only scout that appears.
** A SpeedRacer remote control car in the first level.
** One of Lo-Wang's responses to cutting an enemy in half is "[[{{Highlander}} There Can Be Only One!]]"
** A poster for the ''{{Slayers}}'' anime with Lina Inverse on it can be found in the game.
** Two of the FanService naked women greatly resemble Sasami and Ayeka from ''TenchiMuyo''
* SociopathicHero: In the novelizations, Lo Wang will not hesitate to kill most people for the slightest reasons, usually involving matters of the subject's inherent honor. All the more so if they work for Zilla.
* WaterfallShower: Follow the singing to find a woman doing this. But don't stand too close for too long, or your character's pickup lines will lead her to whip out an Uzi.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original conception of the game was much straighter than what we eventually got. The wise-cracking protagonist and lashings of adult humour were only added after the success of ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D''.
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* SociopathicHero: In the novelizations, Lo Wang will not hesitate to kill most people for the slightest reasons, usually involving matters of the subject's inherent honor. All the more so if they work for Zilla.

* HeroicSociopath: In the novelizations, Lo Wang will not hesitate to kill most people for the slightest reasons, usually involving matters of the subject's inherent honor. All the more so if they work for Zilla.

A FirstPersonShooter based on the famous [[GameEngine Build engine]] of ''DukeNukem [[VideoGame/DukeNukem3D 3D]]'' fame, ''Shadow Warrior'' had the misfortune of being released in 1997, when the sprite-based shooters were already showing their age.

Characterized by rather crude humor and by gratuitous application of the RuleOfCool.

Provides examples of:

* ContractOnTheHitman: When Lo Wang quits Zilla Enterprises, Zilla decides that Wang has to die.

* ShoutOut: A secret area in [=E1M4=] is clearly taken from ''MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', complete with a KillerRabbit. You can also find SailorMoon in the crew quarters of a submarine, and you can encounter LaraCroft in a tomb, and Wang says "Be proud, Mr. Woo" when he picks up a [[GunsAkimbo second Uzi]], among other shout outs.

** A Speed Racer remote control car in the first level.
** One of Lo-Wang's responses to cutting an enemy in half is "ThereCanBeOnlyOne!"
** A poster for the ''Slayers'' anime with Lina Inverse on it can be found in the game.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original conception of the game was much straighter than what we eventually got. The wise-cracking protagonist and lashings of adult humour were only added after the success of ''Duke Nukem 3D''.

* DemonicSpiders: Coolies, they are common, slightly resistant and fast, and their only attack is getting near you and exploding but that's not enough because once they die they return as annoying flying ghosts.
** Rippers. They take 5-6 full shots from the riot gun to down, they're incredibly fast, come in packs, and deal tons of damage to you if given the chance.

* GoddamnedBats: The hornets. They're small, very fast, and can come in a small fleet. Of course, with 1 HP, they are easy to kill. Good luck trying to hit them.
** YourMileageMayVary here. They are very susceptible to explosives and the gas bomb. If you can distance yourself enough from them, you can take them all out with little hassle.

* MostAnnoyingSound : The replacement for the standard ninja enemies in the Wanton Destruction expansion will make you tear their ears out with their repetitive, squeaky chanting in pseudo-Chinese. It doesn't help that you'll be hearing it in ''every single level.''
** The Rippers let out a scream when you damage them. It's not annoying unto itself unless you're using the Riot Gun, where the sound will play over itself ''seven times!''. If you used the alternate fire, then it's '''28!'''

** Another example: [[spoiler:You come upon a girl bathing in the nude at one point. Get too close and she whips out an Uzi.]]

*** Surprised To Suicide?