History VideoGame / ShadowWarrior1997

* InvulnerableKnuckles: Averted somewhat. Punching walls will actually hurt you, and can even kill you. However, punching wooden or straw training dummies somehow restores your health up to 100, like the drinking fountains from ''Duke Nukem 3D''.

* NoFairCheating: Cheat codes are disabled in the "No Pain, No Gain" difficulty. Trying to imput a cheat code will not work, unless the player starts a new game in a lower difficulty.

* OffWithHisHead: Bizarrely enough, it's a weapon. And a very powerful one at that with 3 fire modes (a rapid-fire stream of fire balls, [[OrbitingParticleShield a floating fireball shield]], or fireballs that create pillars of fire) at the cost of only having a small ammo counter of 80 shots, its absurdly fast use of ammo, and the fact it's a random drop from killing the very durable Guardians.

A FirstPersonShooter based on the famous [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine Build engine]] of ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' fame, ''Shadow Warrior'' had the misfortune of being released in 1997, when the sprite-based shooters were already showing their age (compare ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'', which was based on the same engine and released the same year, but is better remembered). Among the first shooters to contain now-common features such as controllable vehicles, [[SecondaryFire alternate weapon firing modes]], bosses with more going for them than [[DamageSpongeBoss lots of HP]], and lower enemy variety with slower pace. The game, like most of the other Build engine games like it (particularly ''VideoGame/RedneckRampage''), is characterized by its [[VulgarHumor crude humor]] and by gratuitous application of the RuleOfCool.

The original can be bought [[https://www.gog.com/game/shadow_warrior_complete with both expansions]] on Website/GogDotCom. [[VideoGame/ShadowWarrior2013 A reboot]] was released in 2013 by Flying Wild Hog, the same developer as ''VideoGame/HardReset'', and introduces a robust skill upgrade system, the ability to use KiManipulation and rendering the humor slightly [[ValuesDissonance less racist]] (but still immature as expected). To prepare people for this remake, they released the original game on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/238070/Shadow_Warrior_Classic_1997/ as a free-to-play title]]. In addition, a slightly UpdatedRerelease with Steam Achievements and [=OpenGL=]-compatible versions of the game and its expansions [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/225160/Shadow_Warrior_Classic_Redux/ is available for purchase on Steam.]]

* GameBreakingBug: "Skyline", the last level of ''Wanton Destruction'', is impossible to complete (even ''with'' cheats) on the lower two (out of four) difficulty levels, as the final boss fails to spawn.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: The ''Wanton Destruction'' level "Skyscraper" is impossible to complete (without cheating) on the lower two (out of four) difficulty levels as a mini-boss fails to spawn. Refer also to GameBreakingBug, above.

* NoGearLevel: Perplexingly averted in level 17, where Lo Wang gets captured. You start the game locked in a cell but still have ''all your weapons and gear'', making you wonder how the bad guys got you in your cell without getting killed in the first place.

** The ugly old woman with a crush on Lo Wang may sometimes exclaim: [[Film/{{Kingpin}} "Why does thinking about sex make we wanna crap?"]]

* InterchangeableAsianCultures: All over the place. Lo Wang is implied to be Japanese, and yet he has a Chinese-sounding name and makes references to Chinese culture ("Ancient Chinese Secret") in his dialogue. The setting also signifies a mixture of Japanese and Chinese cultures.

* GunsAkimbo: If you manage to obtain a second Uzi, whether by killing a Mook or finding it as a regular pickup weapon, you will automatically hold both of them at once for double the Dakka (and double the ammo count ''and'' consumption).

** A poster for the ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' anime with Lina Inverse on it can be found in the game, along with posters for other anime, including something by Masami Obari and what MIGHT be ''Anime/DirtyPairFlash'', although the low resolution makes them hard to make out.

--->'''Lo Wang''': You want to wash Wang, or you want to [[ADateWithRosiePalms watch Wang wash wang]]?\\

* AffectionateParody: The game is one for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_Warrior#Reception "bad kung-fu movies"]].

* VileVillainSaccharineShow: Saccharine [[DownplayedTrope is a stretch,]] but the game is pretty lighthearted and ribald, and is more like a spoof of a FirstPersonShooter than a serious one, not unlike VideoGame/DukeNukem3D. Zilla, however, is one nasty customer, and is always played completely seriously.

%%* IdiosyncraticDifficultyNames

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Videogame/DukeNukem3D''. They have the same developer, the same gameplay, and both rely heavily on heavy combat and crude humour.

* UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective: Aside from the opening cutscene.

* UnwinnableByMistake: The ''Wanton Destruction'' level "Skyscraper" is impossible to complete (without cheating) on the lower two (out of four) difficulty levels as a mini-boss fails to spawn. Refer also to GameBreakingBug, above.

[[caption-width-right:319:[[BringIt Who wants some Wang?]]]]

The original can be bought [[http://www.gog.com/gamecard/shadow_warrior_complete with both expansions]] on Website/GogDotCom. [[VideoGame/ShadowWarrior2013 A reboot]] was released in 2013 by Flying Wild Hog, the same developer as ''VideoGame/HardReset'', and introduces a robust skill upgrade system, the ability to use KiManipulation and rendering the humor slightly [[ValuesDissonance less racist]] (but still immature as expected). To prepare people for this remake, they released the original game on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} [[http://store.steampowered.com/app/238070/?snr=1_7_15__13 as a free-to-play title]]. In addition, a slightly UpdatedRerelease with Steam Achievements and [=OpenGL=]-compatible versions of the game and its expansions is available for purchase on Steam.

[[quoteright:299:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_warrior_dos.png]]
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[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e486bfc34de2f6f3748b3d80b712d11f.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[BringIt Who wants some Wang?]]]]

* DummiedOut: Some stuff that was left out can be found in the comments of the source code. For example, it was once planned that the player loses health and becomes at least temporarily blind if he has Night Vision Goggles activated while using a Flash Bomb or The Nuke.

* IdiosyncraticDifficultyNames