Karate Champ: Fighting Game
History
Ahhh,
Karate Champ. Developed in 1986 by
Data East. The great fighting game of the early 80's era, and perhaps the first fighting game ever. Originally a stand-alone
arcade game it was later released on the
Nintendo Entertainment System or
NES.
There wasn't much notable in the fighting game section back then. Wasn't any room for your Sreet Fighters, Tekkens, and Mortal Kombat by-products. You either had your Yie Ar Kung Fu or your Karate Champ. If Yie Ar Kung Fu was the Street Fighter, then Karate Champ was your Virtua Fighter equiv.
Story
Basical you are white suit karate man. You must face red suit kartate man every where in the world, like a tournament. A Dojo in caves on top of moutains on Mars wherever and when ever. No matter how many times you beat the pants off this guy he keeps coming back and bringing the master with him.
Gameplay
This game is for 1 or 2 players. This game has one great factor that is the FUN factor. You and a friend can go back and forth with this for days and not even realize the time is going by. The game is rather different from the average fighting game concept of the lifebar and the specials and the KO. There's no lifebar, and you're fighting for the knockdown, which in this game is just any contact. Hit and you've got a half-point. If you counter or use a high-risk move, that's a full point. You're playing to two points, though two and a half is possible. You have thirty seconds, and any remaning seconds get counted up as points. (number-type points, not match points) There's a few moves, and none are particularly special, as it were. Get used to it. You'll like it.
Visuals
The graphics are pretty good for a old '80s game. Both guys look different and you can tell them a part. The backgrounds change every level their is about 8 of them, then they keep looping. This isn't a bad thing when you really start playing it and getting into the action you will know why