Karate Champ (NES) Review

Final Thoughts
Overall this is an awful game. It may be the first fighting game for the NES and a decent attempt at a Karate simulator but the controls and gameplay hinder any fun you could have.
Graphics
3.5
Sound
4
Control
3
Gameplay
2
Originality
8
Replayability
4.5
Overall
3.5
Pros
First fighting game for the NES
Catchy soundtrack
Colorful backgrounds
Cons
Controls are awful
Gameplay is frustrating and gets boring fast
Only fun with a friend
4.1
Not Great

Karate Champ
Developer
Technōs Japan
Publisher
Data East
Platforms
Arcade, Apple II, C64, NES, Virtual Console, iOS
Release
Arcade JP: June 1984, WW: September 1984.
Genre
Fighting, Karate
Karate Champ for the NES could technically be called the first fighting game. Taking control of a Karate competitor(Karateka) in a White Gi your goal is to defeat all of your opponents to become the official Karate Champ. Gameplay consists of a 2D fight between the first karateka  wearing a white gi who is controlled by player one and the second karateka wearing a red gi who is controlled by either player two or the CPU, followed by various bonus rounds for the successful player. This pattern repeats itself in the next, more challenging round set against a new background, the first level being a dojo and all following levels taking place at the same tournament stadium.

Graphics: Very simple, the two players are palette swaps with the ref staying the same throughout. There are a few different stages that have some decent coloring but it is nothing special. Given the time there could have been a little more thrown in.

Sound: We will give this game credit the main theme is catchy. However, the voice work is awful and the hit sounds are blah. If the developers would have added some music to the stages this game would have scored much higher.

Control: The control is a joke. The inputs are outrageously laggy and executing the moves are determined with a flip of the coin. Movement is sluggish and the jump is terrible. I would love to give this game a break here, but I cannot.

Gameplay: Playing out like a real karate match your goal is to score points by striking your opponent. The first one to 3 points wins the match. In between matches there are mini games with various objects coming towards you. The problem is that you cannot pull off the moves in time, because of the input lag. Even with a friend this game is monotonous.

Originality: Since this is the first fighting game for a home console we have to give it credit. So we can appreciate being the first of its kind.

Replayability: The only replayability is the multiplayer. You could go for a high score, but lets be honest this game is not fun enough to want to replay over and over again.

Overall: Overall we can appreciate that this is the first fighting game for the NES, but we cannot forgive how bad it is. Only try it out if you are really bored and on a mission to play every NES game.

Beer Pairing: When it comes to beer pairing we had to go with the first beer we drank when reviewing games, Lionshead. This is a cheap pilsner hailing from PA, that Jim and I absolutely love. It is a perfect beer for almost any occasion and don’t let beer snobs tell you otherwise.

Watch our video review!