Jet Li was at the absolute peak of his global powers in 2004. He’d just finished Hero, Cradle 2 the Grave was a thing, and honestly, he was the only guy who could realistically challenge Jackie Chan for the title of "World's Most Famous Martial Artist." So, Sony did something ambitious. They didn't just license his face for a quick cash-in. They built a whole game around him. Jet Li: Rise to Honor arrived on the PlayStation 2 as a weird, experimental hybrid that tried to bridge the gap between cinema and gaming. It succeeded in ways people forget, and it failed in ways that modern games still struggle with today.
It's a time capsule.
The game feels like a lost Hong Kong action flick. You play as Kit Yun, an undercover cop caught between duty and a promise to a dying boss. Standard stuff. But the way you play it? That was the kicker.
The Right Stick Revolution (and Why It Was Awful)
Most beat 'em ups back then used buttons. Square, Triangle, Circle. You know the drill. You mash buttons, the guy kicks, everyone goes home happy. Jet Li: Rise to Honor decided to throw that out the window. It used the right analog stick for combat.
Flick the stick toward an enemy, and Kit Yun strikes in that direction. It was meant to feel fluid. Like you were choreographing a fight in real-time. Cory Barlog—the guy who eventually directed God of War (2018)—was a lead designer on this. You can see the DNA of cinematic combat being born right here. It’s snappy. When it works, you feel like a god. You’re parrying three guys at once, spinning around, and landing a roundhouse kick without ever looking at your controller.
But man, when it doesn't work? It’s a mess.
The precision just wasn't there for the PS2 era. Sometimes you’d flick the stick to counter a guy behind you, and Kit would just sort of twitch. It was frustrating. Yet, you have to respect the swing they took. They wanted to remove the "gamey" feel of menus and button prompts to keep you immersed in the action. It was a bold choice that paved the way for games like Batman: Arkham Asylum and Sifu years later.
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Motion Capture That Actually Mattered
Sony Foster City didn't play around with the presentation. They actually flew Jet Li in for extensive motion capture sessions. This wasn't the janky, stiff animation we were used to in 2004. Li’s signature Wushu style is all over the screen. The way he shifts his weight, the specific snap of his punches—it’s unmistakably him.
They even brought in Corey Yuen.
If you don't know the name, Yuen is a legend. He directed The Transporter and choreographed X-Men. Having him direct the digital fights meant the "cinematic" tag wasn't just marketing fluff. The camera angles in the cutscenes and the transitions into gameplay were seamless for the time. It really did feel like a playable DVD.
Hong Kong vs. San Francisco
The story splits its time between the neon-drenched streets of Hong Kong and the gritty docks of San Francisco. It hits every trope in the book. You’ve got the betrayal. You’ve got the "I'm a cop but I'm doing this for family" tension. You've even got a scene where you're fighting in a kitchen using fish and plates as weapons.
Classic Jet Li.
One of the coolest parts was the environment. You could run up walls, swing off poles, and smash people through tables. It wasn't just a flat arena. The game rewarded you for being creative. If there was a chair nearby, you were probably going to use it to break someone's ribs.
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The voice acting was a mixed bag, though. Jet Li spoke his own lines, which added a ton of authenticity, but some of the supporting cast sounded like they were reading off a grocery list. It didn't matter much. You weren't there for the Shakespearean dialogue; you were there to see Kit Yun beat up thirty guys in a high-rise.
The Difficulty Spike Nobody Expected
For a game that was supposed to be a "cinematic experience," it was surprisingly brutal. Jet Li: Rise to Honor didn't hold your hand. The shooting sections—yeah, there were shooting sections—were kind of a slog. They utilized a slow-motion mechanic (think Max Payne but a bit more stiff) that was cool for about five minutes before you realized the controls weren't really built for it.
The boss fights were the real killers.
You had to learn patterns. You had to time your counters perfectly. If you messed up the rhythm, you were dead in three hits. It was less of a brawler and more of a rhythm game where the "notes" were fists flying at your face. Honestly, it was a bit ahead of its time. Today, we’d call it "soulslike-lite," but back then, we just called it "controller-breakingly hard."
Why It Still Matters in 2026
We’re seeing a resurgence in martial arts games. Sifu showed there’s a massive appetite for technical, high-fidelity hand-to-hand combat. Sleeping Dogs (which is basically the spiritual successor to this game) remains a cult classic. Looking back at Jet Li: Rise to Honor, you see the blueprint for everything that followed.
It was one of the first games to truly prioritize "the feel" of a specific actor. It wasn't a game about Jet Li; it was a game as Jet Li.
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The graphics have aged, obviously. The textures are muddy and the resolution is low. But the choreography? That still holds up. If you watch a clip of the fights today, the flow is better than half the AAA games released last year. It has a soul. It wasn't a corporate product designed by a committee; it was a love letter to 90s action cinema.
The Legacy of the Analog Combat
You don't see the "right stick for fighting" mechanic much anymore. It's mostly been relegated to sports games like Fight Night or UFC. Developers eventually figured out that buttons are just more reliable for fast-paced action. Still, the experiment wasn't a total failure. It pushed the industry to think about how to make combat feel less like "inputting commands" and more like "performing."
If you’re a fan of Jet Li, or just a student of gaming history, this is a title you can't ignore. It’s flawed, sure. It’s short—you can beat it in about six hours. It lacks a multiplayer mode. But those six hours are packed with more style than most 40-hour open-world games today.
Actionable Steps for Retrogamers
If you're looking to revisit this classic or experience it for the first time, here is how to get the best out of it.
- Find the Original Hardware: While emulation is an option, Jet Li: Rise to Honor was designed specifically for the PS2 DualShock 2. The pressure-sensitive buttons and the specific tension of those old analog sticks actually change how the combat feels. If you can, play it on a fat PS2 or a backward-compatible PS3.
- Master the Counter Early: Don't just flick the stick wildly. The game is built on a "counter-first" philosophy. Wait for the enemy to commit to a strike, then flick the stick toward them to initiate a parry. This is the only way to survive the later stages in the skyscraper.
- Watch the Movie "The One" First: It’s not related to the game’s plot, but it puts you in the right headspace for the 2004-era Jet Li aesthetic. The game captures that specific high-energy, slightly superhuman Wushu style perfectly.
- Check the Bonus Features: The game actually includes some great behind-the-scenes footage of Jet Li and Corey Yuen in the mo-cap suits. It’s a fascinating look at how they tried to digitize martial arts before the technology was truly ready for it.
- Don't Ignore the Environments: Almost every boss arena has something you can use to your advantage. Whether it's a wall to run up for a diving kick or a kitchen counter to slam a head into, the environment is your best friend.
Jet Li: Rise to Honor remains a fascinating experiment in cinematic gaming. It tried to be a movie you could touch, and while the controls were a bit of a reach for the tech of the time, the heart of the project—the pure, kinetic energy of Jet Li—comes through loud and clear even decades later.