Kung-Fu Heroes (also known as Super Chinese) is a unique martial arts-themed overhead beat 'em up from Culture Brain. Its combat is notable because there is no scrolling and each stage is a single screen. Enemies respawn forever and you need to defeat a certain number to advance to the next stage. Its gameplay puts an emphasis on item collection, bonus stages, and warps.
Kung-Fu Heroes is known in Japan as Super Chinese. It's a series of over ten games that venture into RPG and fighting game territory.
To equip the sword, press a directional button + A + B with precision. You can do the same to unequip the weapon. Some enemies can only be killed with the sword. And of course, you have to find it first by punching blocks.
Kung-Fu Heroes is a strange one. It's an archaic overhead brawler with a lot of elements stolen from Mario games. It also emphasizes finding items to defeat stronger enemies later on. It looks and sounds pretty bad but its unique gameplay makes it worth trying out. Plus it supports co-op.