 The Way of the Exploding Fist


 Become a master of this mysterious ancient art: Test your strength and
 discipline and progress from Novice to Tenth Dan.

 You can control your character with either joystick or keyboard - 18
 different maneuvers including blocks, flying kicks, legsweeps, round-  
 house, and somersaults!

 Challenge the computer, facing opponents of progressively greater skill or
 compete with a friend.

 THE WAY OF THE EXPLODING FIST has it all - addictive competitive action and
 dazzling graphics animation.

 You are about to face the challenge of a lifetime!

 The Way of the Exploding Fist is a karate simulation game, and is controlled
 entirely from the keyboard or joystick. Although it may take a while to become 
 completely familiar with the various moves, you should be able to start 
 playing almost immediately without learning any of the moves.

 HOW TO PLAY WITHOUT READING ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS:

 Plug your joystick into the rear port and press the fire button. This will
 start the game.

 Moving your character:
  Left and right control the left and right movement of your character.

 Using the kicks:
  All kicks are controlled by pressing the fire button and pushing the joystick 
  in the appropriate direction.

 Leaping and Crouching:
  Pressing the joystick up will allow your character to leap up while pressing
  it down makes the player crouch.

 Block:
  The joystick also allows you to block your opponent's move. This is obtained
  by backing off your character while your opponent is performing some
  aggressive move. You may occasionally find that when you are backing off,
  your character naturally goes into a blocking stance. This is fortunate
  for you, as the "block" is only activated if you are in danger of getting
  hit by your by your opponent. To release the block, move the joystick to
  neutral or to any other position than moving backwards.

 "Holding your moves":
  Most of the moves in The Way of the Exploding Fist can be withdrawn shortly
  after beginning to execute them so that you are able to change your mind and
  start another move. This also means that if you do want to continue with a
  move you must ensure that you hold the joystick in the correct position long
  enough for the move to be executed.

 Practicing your moves:
  The easiest way to practice your moves is to go into 2-player mode and test
  all your skills. Your opponent will not make any move against you, so you
  should be able to get all moves perfected.

 This should be enough to get you started playing The Way of the Exploding
 Fist. The following instructions give you more detail on the subtleties of
 this exciting game.

 ONE-PLAYER AND TWO-PLAYER MODES

 The Way of the Exploding Fist can be played in either one-player or two-
 player mode. The white player's moves are controlled by the joystick in
 the rear port, while the red player's moves are controlled by the joystick
 in the front port. In playing in one player mode, you will always control
 the white player character.

 Various options can be selected before each game:
 
 DEL: Switch between music and sound effects, or music only.
 F3: Switch between 1-player and 2-player options.
 F7: Switch between joystick and keyboard options.
 To start a game press F1. To stop a current game press F5.

 If F1 is not pressed, the computer will automatically go into a demons-
 tration mode, with the computer controlling both characters. This is indic-
 ated by the word DEMO in the top left of the screen. Pressing the fire button
 while the computer is in demonstration mode will have the same effect as
 pressing F1 - e.g. you can start playing the game in the mode selected.

 THE SCORING SYSTEM:

 Points are scored not on which action has been taken but how well each move
 was executed. If your move is perfectly executed, you will obtain one full-
 point. In some instances your move will strike your opponent, but the hit
 will not be perfect. In these instances, you will only obtain a half-point.

 Your current point total is represented on the screen by the Yin/Yang
 symbols. The white player's points are shown on the left, while the red
 player's points are shown on the right. (A half-symbol represents a half-
 point.) As well as the points for each strike, you will get a score value for
 each move successfully executed. The score will depend on the move chosen, so
 that a difficult move, such as a roundhouse kick, will score more than an easy
 move, such as a jab kick. The score value added will be twice as much if the
 move was executed perfectly (i.e., a "full-point" execution) than if it was
 less than perfect (i.e. a "half-point" execution).

 SUMMARY OF JOYSTICK POSITIONS:

 DIRECTIONS OF JOYSTICK WITH FIRE BUTTON NOT PRESSED:


 [pic omitted, details on moves below]


 DIRECTIONS OF JOYSTICK WITH FIRE BUTTON PRESSED:


 [pic omitted, details on moves below]


 USING THE KEYBOARD:

 The keyboard option has been included for Commodore owners wishing to play
 this game without the joystick.

 The following keys are used in keyboard mode:

   Player 1              Player 2


 Q    W    E            P    @    *
  +   +   +              +   +   +
    + + +                  + + +
 A+ + S + +D            L+ + : + +;
    + + +                  + + +
  +   +   +              +   +   +
 Z    X    C            ,    .    /

Left SHIFT key        Right SHIFT key
       +                      +
       +                      +
       + + + Fire buttons + + +

 The operation of these keys is identical to the joystick controls. To switch 
 between joystick and keyboard mode, press the F7 key whilst in demonstration
 mode.

 DETAILS ON THE VARIOUS KICKS:

 As mentioned above, all kicks are controlled by pressing the fire button,
 and pushing the joystick in the appropriate direction. The following assumes
 that the character is facing right. But will find that the descriptions refer
 to "left" and "right." When your character faces the other way, all controls
 are mirrored. In other words, if you need to press right to get the midkick
 when facing right, then when you are facing left, you need to press the joy-
 stick to the left to obtain the midkick. The same applies to the punches and
 somersaults described in the following sections.

 Eight kicks are available to you, one each for the eight positions of the
 joystick:

  Flying kick:
   This is obtained by pressing the fire button and pressing the joystick up.
   This is an extremely powerful kick, and can be successful against a stand-
   ing opponent, who is not blocking against the move. Other ways to block this
   kick are, to crouch, or, if you are fast enough, respond with a counter
   flying kick.

  High kick:
   Press fire button and press joystick in diagonal upper right direction.

  Mid kick:
   Press fire button and press joystick right.

  Short jab kick:
   This is obtained by pressing the fire button and pressing the joystick in
   the diagonal lower right direction. The main benefit of this kick is that
   it's very fast to execute and can be used in closer combat.

  Sweep (forward):
   Press fire button and joystick down. This low sweep places your character in
   crouching position, then sweeps forward. This can be effective against many
   aggressive actions, as it combines offence with defense.

  Sweep (backward):
   Press fire button and press joystick in a lower left diagonal direction.
   This move is identical to the forward sweep, but the effect is to sweep be-
   hind you. This can therefore be used if your opponent is behind you.

  Roundhouse:
   Press fire button and joystick left. This move is the traditional roundhouse
   kick of karate, but also has the advantage that it allows you to turn about-
   face. This kick has two distinct operations. In the first instance (by keep-
   ing the fire button pressed throughout the kick) you execute the full
   roundhouse kick. The second mode of operation is a fast about-face.
   This is achieved by starting the roundhouse kick as described above,
   but releasing the fire button before the kick is completed. You will
   find the full roundhouse kick is a time-consuming maneuver, but it can
   be especially effective in many situations. Note also that as the
   roundhouse kick moves you out of the direct line of your opponent's
   attack: Some of your opponent's aggressive moves may not be effective
   against you while you are performing this action.

  High back kick:
   Press fire button and push the joystick in an upper-left diagonal position.
   This move is the reverse of the forward high kick and enables you to attack
   opponents that may have slipped past you. You can of course also turn around
   to attack opponents that are behind you (see notes on roundhouse kick
   above).

 DETAILS ON THE VARIOUS PUNCHES:

 As well as kicks, The Way of the Exploding Fist requires devotees to be adept
 at close fighting, using punches. These punches are available from joystick
 control. Note that the fire button should not be pressed to execute punches.

  High punch:
   This is obtained by pressing the joystick in the upper-right diagonal
   direction. (Do not press the fire button.) This is effective against an
   opponent that is reasonably close to you.

  Jab punch:
   This is obtained by pressing the joystick in the lower-right diagonal dir-
   ection. (Do not press the fire button.) This is the fastest action you can
   take, and is extremely effective in very close fighting. At times your
   opponent may use this move, and because it is such a fast jab, you may
   not even be aware what hit you!

  Low punch:
   This is obtained by going into the crouch position first, then pressing the
   joystick to the right. Because of the variety of moves that can be accomp-
   lished from the crouching, the low punch can often be a suprise move

 DETAILS ON VARIOUS SOMERSAULTS:

 Somersaults are a very fast way to move out of the reach of your opponent.
 There are two somersaults, one forward and one backward. Note that if you get
 too close to the edge of the screen in either direction, your somersaults may
 not be as effective.

  Forward somersault:
   This is obtained by pressing the joystick in the upper-left diagonal dir-
   ection. (Do not press the fire button.)

  Backward somersault:
   This is obtained by pressing the joystick in the lower-left diagonal dir-
   ection. (Do not press the fire button.)

 ADVANCED PLAYER TIPS:

  Blocks:
   Note that blocks are not the perfect answer to aggressive moves from your
   opponent. There are two blocks the computer can choose from, a high block
   and a low block, depending on the action that is being taken by your oppo-
   nent. Holding the joystick in block move means that you will be "holding"
   the block and it is possible for your opponent to start a different aggres-
   sive move that is not countered by your current block.

   Note also that the two low sweeps cannot be blocked. If you are within
   striking range of the sweeps, the only appropriate actions are a jump
   (joystick up) or one of the somersaults.

  Crouch:
   The crouch is a move that can be "held" by keeping the joystick held down.
   This allows you to execute either a low punch, or the two sweep actions. If
   one the two sweeps is selected from a crouching position, the time taken for
   this action is greatly reduced, and the move therefore much more effective.


Retyped from HTML format to e-text and
edited by C. Weathington (AKA, The Lord
of the Flies; AKA, Python).
python@eticomm.net

