Xiaomei and the Flame Dragon Fist is a 2D single plane beat-em-up, effectively Irem’s Kung Fu Master with improved graphics and some new mechanics. As Chinese martial artist Xiaomei, you march through six stages, with moves accompanied by scratchy digitized yells and with progress marked by Japanese numerical characters in the backgrounds. Between stages are cutscenes that advance the story, mostly with Xioamei talking with the defeated bosses as she hunts for her sister Xiaolin.
Beyond the standard punch and kick attacks, you can also execute a double jump kick as well as a rising uppercut, both moves that are handy to attack airborne enemies. Defeating enemies builds up a power meter, allowing you to execute one of three special moves when it’s filled.
In addition to the hordes of generic mooks, you’ll also fight stronger sword wielding foes, flying enemies like butterflies and birds, hopping zombies, and smaller baddies that require you to duck to hit them. Later on, you’ll also have to deal with swords flying the sides and bamboo spikes from the ground. The end stage boss fights seem tricky at first because of their overwhelming hitboxes, which damage you even when they’re not in attacking animations. But most of these can be beaten easily if you avoid them, wait for vulnerable moments, and then cheese them with a flurry of attacks.
For the most part, Xioamei isn’t too difficult. While you have limited lives, you have infinite credits and continuing will either reset you to the beginning of the stage or the boss fight. You’ll also randomly find power-ups that can restore health or fill your energy meter. It’s only in the sixth stage where your kung fu abilities are really put to the test, as the stage is flooded with all types of enemies that need to be skillfully managed. It also includes three boss fights, including an encounter with a two-headed dragon, a duel with Xiaomei’s sister Xiaoyin, and the true final boss battle.
Once you beat the game, you’ll unlock Xiaoyin mode, who has a slightly different moveset and has different story cutscenes. You’ll likely see all there is to see in less than an hour, as even 1 CCing it isn’t hard once you’ve practiced the final stage and boss fights, but as far as Kung Fu Master clones go, it’s an excellent one. Xioamei and her sister are both more interesting characters than the generic karate dudes of its predecessors. The character illustrations come from Studio Vigor, known for their work on collectible card games. The backgrounds are colorful with several layers of parallax and the rogue gallery includes some interesting villains, like the first level boss, a tiny man who attacks by throwing his enormous head. There’s only one music track during the levels (which changes depending on the player you’ve selected), but the stages fly by so quickly it rarely has the time to feel repetitive. The music is by Norio Nakagata, who worked on Namco arcade titles like Bravoman and Thunder Ceptor, with sound effects by Hirofumi Murasaki (Shinobi III) and character voices by the ladies of music group Suika.
Xiaomei was developed by Pixel Co., who also made the cute-em-up Horgihugh and the shoot-em-up Xelan Force, and was first released for Windows in 2019 and later the Switch. It was also ported to the Mega Drive in 2023 and given a physical release by Columbus Circle. The color palette is very slightly different, the music and sound is crunchier, and there’s some of that authentic sprite flicker. But otherwise, it looks and plays nearly identically, since the game was designed for retro specs anyway. Since there’s no save game function, Xiaoyin’s story is unlocked from the beginning.
Screenshot Comparisons
Steam
Mega Drive
