Powerman
The game was designed for Irem by Takashi Nishiyama. "Kung-Fu Master" is based on Hong Kong martial arts films. It is a loose adaptation of the Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung film "Wheels on Meals" (1984), called "Spartan X" in Japan, specifically the final part of the film which involves Thomas (Jackie Chan) climbing a Spanish castle to rescue Sylvia (Lola Forner), with the help of Moby (Sammo Hung) and his cousin David (Yuen Biao). However, the game borrows more heavily from Bruce Lee's 1972 film "Game of Death", with the five-level Devil's Temple reflecting the movie's setting of a five-level pagoda with a martial arts master in each level; in contrast, "Wheels on Meals" takes place in Spain as opposed to the game's East Asian setting. The final part of "Wheels on Meals" had itself borrowed its concept of climbing an enemy base by fighting enemies along the way from "Game of Death". The game was also influenced by the Bruce Lee film "Enter the Dragon" (1973).