Karate Champ

this is a great game but harder then i remembered last time i played it was in the 80's .

I had this game as a kid and recently had nostalgia and ordered a NES and some games. Karate Champ is a very basic karate game where knocking down the opponent results in a point. The first one to 2 points wins the next round, and after a few rounds, the difficulty and scenery change. The fight sequences are usually in what appears to be an outdoor setting. Graphics are basic, and there are limited kicks and mobility in general. While it is fun to progress through the levels and play the two-player setting, this game is not one of the best NES games and probably better suited for someone who played the game back in the day (and wants to rehash some memories).

WORKS WELL

If you're looking for what started the whole fighting genre, this game is pretty close.The premise is very simple: You are "karate man in white suit," and you must defeat "karate man in red suit"--over and over and over again. And, well, that's pretty much it. It's one of those old, neverending Nintendo or arcade-style games that you never actually finish.The graphics are just basic NES fare, although quite primitive since it was an early NES title. Can't really comment much on the music, since there are really only 3 songs in the whole game: the opening theme, the victory song, and the game over song. The sound effects aren't much either--just generic swinging and hit sounds, the sound of points scrolling on the score, and the voice of the old referee saying "Begin!" "Point!" "Stop!" or "Judge!" All of them were pretty cool though.Like the whole premise, the rules are simple: You fight round by round, and each hit scores either a full point or a half point, depending on how impressive of a move you used. The first one to reach two full points, or the one with the most points at the end of the time limit, wins. If you win, you get to play a bonus round in which you are trying to hit objects that are being thrown at you. The game ends when you get hit (which will probably be by the first object, until you get used to it).The gameplay is what really stands out here. You wouldn't think so by just looking at it, but upon playing this game, I can see that there is more depth in this game's simple fighting engine than in many of the 3D fighters out there today. It's like this: Every different combination of a button and a direction results in a different move. Each different move is useful for any given situation. Certain moves will counter other moves. A sweep, for example, will counter a roundhouse, and a roundhouse, in turn, will knock a jumping opponent right out of the air. There are attacks that strike low, and some that strike high. Some strike in front of you and some strike backwards. There are some attacks which let you quickly whirl around and attack behind you. You can also jump horizontally to lunge toward your opponent, slip behind your opponent, or get away from the opponent. You can also jump vertically to dodge an opponent's low attacks, such as sweeps and low kicks. Some attacks will score more points than others, depending on the situation. For example, striking your opponent from behind or knocking them down with a counterattack will usually get you more points.Ok, let me take a breath after all that... When you get down to it, it's an impressively deep fighting engine for such an old game, and that's what amazes me about it. It's also rather addictive.If you just happen to be checking out really old games, or want a quick little diversion from Tekken and the like, check this one out.

It's terrible, and I love it.

Karate Champ is a game I wish I enjoyed more, but the fun just isn't there. I don't have a problem with the game being limited to an extremely primitive fighting game, but the controls are too unforgiving. Although I've never seen a coin-op arcade version of Karate Champ in the wild, the arcade supposedly used two joysticks to control the fighter's movements and strikes (many recall seeing Van Damme play this arcade in the film "BloodSport").I'm not sure how well the coin-op arcade's two joystick control system functioned, but the translation to the NES controller was rough. There are a couple online guides and youtubers that attempt to explain how the controls function, but overall the consensus is that Karate Champ is unplayable due to poor controls. The only way to have fun with this game is to play with a friend and share some laughs over the major shortcomings of the game for a few minutes.That being said, this game is very low in value and can be purchased for $5. Even though this is one of the cheapest NES games to purchase, I'd still pass.

I bought this for nostalgia...it was as horrible as I remembered. I believe I paid a dollar for this game - almost worth every penny.

I used to play this at the arcades when I was a kid but noticed when I got this game for home use it was a little different to play.did not like the way it plays hard to control so it took the fun out the game not really satisfied such a shame cause I used to love this game!!