‘They should be called Bruce-’em-ups’ – how Bruce Lee shaped fighting games

Fifty years since the death of the martial arts film superstar, we look at how he inspired generations of games developers - and helped take the beat-'em-up mainstream

He had this disorder that filled him with too much energy," recalled Robert of his older brother, Bruce Lee, the martial arts movie superstar nicknamed Never Sits Still by his friends and family. Speaking with writer Matthew Polly for his definitive 2018 biography, Robert continued: Bruce was like a wild horse that had been tied up."

This quote doubles as a perfect description for the dazzling way in which Lee - who died 50 years ago at 32 from cerebral oedema - fought on-screen. A demonic whirlwind of flying kicks, vengeful, air-popping nunchucks, feral animal noises (something Lee invented to unsettle his opponents) and double-fisted punches that hit enemies with the elegance of a championship fencer, Lee cemented martial arts in the global mainstream. And despite his short life, he smashed through the barrier that previously held back so many Asian actors in Hollywood.