2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

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VideoGameCritic
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2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 13th, 2021, 4:33 pm

Let me know what you think of these two new NES reviews!

Karate Champ is a 20-year update, with the same grade. Wolverine is new, and it's a pleasant surprise all things considered.

Voor
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby Voor » July 13th, 2021, 7:56 pm

Karate champ is one of the worst games ever. I never had a instruction book for it, and part of me is relieved that it wasn’t much help. There was no hope for this game!

It would be hilarious if nintendo included one of those characters in a Smash Bros DLC.

crimefighter
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby crimefighter » July 13th, 2021, 8:16 pm

The arcade game isn't any better.

This game for the C64 which is a clone of Karate Champ plays much better (and Data East sued over it!)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Karate

goldenband
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby goldenband » July 13th, 2021, 9:14 pm

Yeah, Karate Champ is not much of a game. I wouldn't call it the worst ever, but you can pretty much run through the whole thing by sitting there, waiting for your opponent to come to you, and then crotch-punching him when he does. Its carcass was picked clean of exciting gameplay before we got to it.

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Matchstick
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby Matchstick » July 13th, 2021, 10:41 pm

goldenband wrote:...you can pretty much run through the whole thing by sitting there, waiting for your opponent to come to you, and then crotch-punching him when he does.


Well, I mean, Van Damme did play the Karate Champ arcade machine with his biker buddy in Bloodsport, sooooo... maybe there's some sort of connection there??

Image

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GeoX
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby GeoX » July 14th, 2021, 4:03 am

VGC,
Interestingly Karateka for the Atari 8bit has aged much better than Karate Champ and it’s a year older!
You gave it an A- in your review, what would you say made the difference, the controls?

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 14th, 2021, 4:26 pm

I'd say EVERYTHING is better in Karateka - the graphics, controls, sense of progression...

By the way I need to rewatch Bloodsport. That's one of my all time favorite but the arcade scene is a little fuzzy. That's for posting that picture.

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BlasteroidAli
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby BlasteroidAli » July 14th, 2021, 4:38 pm

Critic,
and everyone else Data East's Karate Champ was a twin stick fighting game and it was easy to pull off the moves in the arcades. That is why they are talking about the levers. The NES was great at some games but I think that way of the exploding fist did the same idea better and it has no need to twin sticks as it was a c64 game.
BA

Robotrek
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby Robotrek » July 14th, 2021, 8:07 pm

Funny. Back in the mid 80s my dentist's office had a Karate Champ. If two players knew what they were doing with the twin stick controls, it could actually get quite intense. The NES port couldn't hope to match that level of tension with it's two button controller. I remember giving it another go with my old neighborhood best friend back in 2010. After about 20 minutes gathering our bearings, it ended up being a BLAST as waiting for the other to make the first move made for intense gameplay. When the other player makes a sudden jump at you, it can be startling as you try to plot the precise time to counter his attack, or jump backwards to dodge. If you play it under the right circumstances in the arcade, it can seriously be a fun time.

lynchie137
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Re: 2021/7/13: NES: Karate Champ, Wolverine

Postby lynchie137 » July 15th, 2021, 3:01 am

I hate the NES port of Karate Champ with a purple passion. But this screen always makes me smile. Like, how did he get up on top of that tree? And more importantly, how is he keeping his balance.... ;-)
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