In Kung-Fu Master, you play as Thomas, a martial arts expert who must rescue his girlfriend from the clutches of the evil Mr. X. To get to Mr. X and rescue Sylvia, Thomas must fight his way through the five floors of Mr. X's castle.
On each floor of the castle, a horde of bad guys try to stop Thomas. Enemy fighters include weaponless grippers who cling to the hero and sap him of energy until he shakes them off, knife throwers who appear at each side of the screen, dwarf fighters who bounce and attempt to stick to Thomas, and killer insects who fly in odd patterns.
At the end of each floor, Thomas must face a powerful boss character. At the end of the first floor, a vicious stick fighter attacks the hero with a wooden bo staff. At the end of the second floor, Thomas faces a boomerang thrower whose tow flying weapons can hurt him coming or going. On the third floor, a powerful giant awaits the kung-fu master and can kill him with two or three strikes. On the fourth floor, a spell-casting wizard attacks. On the fifth and final floor, Mr. X, the swift footed gang leader tries to foil Thomas on his rescue mission. If Thomas defeats Mr. X, he rescues Sylvia, and the game begins anew with more attackers on each level.