Developer: Atlus Publisher: LJN Released: 1987 Genre: Action
The Karate Kid was a humongous hit in the 80s. For many of us youngins at the time it was our first exposure to karate and we thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Every kid spent hours imitating that ridiculous crane kick in the schoolyard and a good time was had by all. So it stands to reason that the Karate Kid video game would be the biggest thing since sliced bread. Unfortunately like many licensed games before and after it the game is just bad.
The Karate Kid has an interesting developer, Atlus. Yes, that Atlus of Persona fame. I guess when the rent is due you do what you gotta do. Everyone has skeletons in their closet of course (Nintendo would rather you forget about the Virtual Boy) but yikes. Even though it bears the name of the first film the Karate loosely follows the events of the first and second movie. That’s a two for one deal too bad that means it sucks twice as bad.
At the very least the game has at least one good point. The first level is a recreation of the first movie’s final tournament. It is nothing extravagant but at least allows you to learn the controls. B is for kicks and A punches. You press Up to jump which will never, ever, be intuitive. You have a small number of crane kicks and drum punches and unfortunately you have little control over their use. Despite the wonky controls your four opponents go down easily. But after the tournament the game becomes a scrolling beat em up and the problems start.
The following levels generally follow the course of the second movie. As a brawler most enemies go down in one hit. For every few enemies you kill with punches or kicks you earn another crane kick or drum punch. Trying to conserve them is near useless as they will come out at random. Each level also has a variety of minigames that will award more special attacks based on your performance. Some like the ice block challenge and chopsticks are fun. The swinging hammer is a source of much frustration but will make you feel like a bad ass if you can master the timing. The middling combat is the least of the games problems however.
There is a healthy dose of platforming mixed with the fisticuffs and much like Double Dragon the game just wasn’t meant for it. Any time you have to navigate platforms ad ledges it is clumsy at best. The Karate Kid embodies almost everything that was frustrating about early platformers in the 80s. The slightest touch from an enemy will send you flying, usually into a bottomless pit. The knock back is so ridiculous I almost think it is intentional. You have no moment of invincibility either; you can easily bounce between enemies until you die.
It should be a simple enough task to avoid getting hit and subsequently dying so easily. Yet the last two levels go out of their way to be as obnoxious as possible. The typhoon level throws random debris in your path in addition to enemies and wind that constantly pushes you back. It is beyond frustrating with all of the issues I laid out before. The final level takes it up a notch. Here the enemies are more resilient and can use your same techniques. But worst of all are the spear men who take half of your life in a single pass. Don’t get me started on the final boss battle.
Yet in spite of everything I just mentioned you’ll still breeze through the Karate Kid in record time in spite of its frustrating elements. If you can soldier through all of the game’s problems (a huge chore) you’ll find a game that is ridiculously short. I remember it like it was yesterday. My friend got the Karate Kid for his birthday and I completed it in one sitting not an hour after he opened his presents. That was not a happy birthday. We went back to playing Mega Man and forgot about the game after.
In Closing
Stay the hell away from the Karate Kid. There is nothing to see here. Watch the first and second movie instead.
