An Honest Look at Karate Kid on the NES

Karate Kid on the NES is one of the first games that got the LJN treatment in the mid-2000s. It is also a game that I vaguely remember from the time I watched the video. I had played it as a kid, but didn’t know much about it.

I don’t remember looking for this game when I started collecting retro games. It wasn’t until the 2010s when I began collecting again that I tried to get ahold of this game. This was around the time I started watching AVGN and wanted to see how bad the game might’ve been.

If there were a grading scale for games published by LJN, this would probably be somewhere in the middle. It isn’t as bad as some of the games they published, and I don’t think it is as good as games like Jaws or Friday the 13^th. Yes, I like those two games.

TLDR: A good idea that was badly executed.

A Brief Story

I think most people know by now that this game was made by Atlus and published by LJN. This was one of the first games that Atlus worked on as the company was around a year old. They weren’t known for much at the time.

Karate Kid was released at a time when Acclaim didn’t own LJN. They were still a toy company first and a video game publisher second. Their video game division operated similarly to their toys, where they would purchase a license to a popular movie or TV show, and hire a developer to make a game based on it.

From looking at several of the games made in this way, you can tell which companies used it as a way to try new things. Many of these games are very creative, and a few of them are fun to play. Quite a few people who played these games have memories of renting them or getting them as birthday and Christmas gifts. In the 2000s, internet reviewers came along, and some of the first “reviews” of these games told people they were all terrible.

Narrative

This game has a story. Since it is a movie based game, that is the source material that the developers drew from. Atlus attempted to incorporate the story from the first two movies into this game.

The first level is the climax of the first film, and the second film inspires the other three stages, I think. I’m not entirely sure, but that would make the most sense. At the end, Mr. Miyagi tells you that Daniel is now a karate master. Great.

It is nice that the game has a story. I’m not sure how many kids would’ve cared about it. This game could’ve been anything, but having Karate Kid attached to it most likely helped out the game’s sales.

Gameplay

The gameplay isn’t all that different from other mediocre or bad platformers you might’ve experienced. There is a punch and kick button, and to jump, you have to press the Up direction on the D-Pad. There are other annoying things in this game, but let’s take a closer look at the controls.

The controls are bad. They do function, which makes this a little better than the unlicensed games on the NES, but I wouldn’t say they were average. The biggest issue is trying to jump.

This isn’t exactly a platforming game, but there are a few instances where you’re expected to jump over a pit. This simple action is made harder by having it tied to the Up button on the D-pad. It makes something harder than it needs to be.

You get knocked back when you get hit, but what is worse is how you’re also stunned for a second. This becomes a problem when you’re trying to go up stairs or jump to a lower platform. You can get ganged up on and beaten down quickly.

In some games, you’re invulnerable for a brief period after being hit. This doesn’t happen in Karate Kid and makes what I mentioned earlier possible. It is incredibly annoying.

This isn’t a long game, but that was standard for games in the mid to late 1980s. These games weren’t meant to be played for hours, so they’re short experiences like many games that LJN published. I only remember playing it for about half an hour before moving on to something else.

There are two “power ups” in the game. These are Cs and Ds that can be collected at random points. They replenish some of your health and let you do special kicks and punches.

Overall, I don’t like the gameplay. It makes me want to play one of the better platformers on the NES or Genesis. This one is a largely forgettable game that tried to capitalize on the popularity of a movie.

Visuals

Karate Kid looks okay. There isn’t anything wrong with the game’s graphics. This is one of those games where things look decent enough and, at times, look pretty good.

The level design is another matter altogether. It is terrible, and the game’s awkward controls only add to the hurt. It is far too easy to jump onto a platform you don’t want to be on. In this case, the graphics work alongside the gameplay to make this a miserable experience.

While everything looks okay for an NES game released in 1987, it doesn’t translate to anything positive. At times, the game can look quite good, but when the graphics impact the gameplay, they outweigh the good things.  

It is sad because the game has some good pixel art. Whoever did the graphics at Atlus did a good job. But it is overshadowed by terrible level design and gameplay.

Reviews at the Time

Karate Kid was released in 1987. This is going to make this section a little problematic, as reviews from this time aren’t well archived. I’ll do my best to find something.

I couldn’t find a review of the game from the late 1980s. When I looked at MobyGames, they didn’t have anything from the 80s or 90s.

That being said, I don’t think the reviews there are too far off the mark. I’m a bit more forgiving of most games, but I think the delusional review from The Video Game Critic website was ridiculous. They gave it a B+, and I can’t think of anything to justify that.

5.5/10. The best thing I can say about this game is that it is playable. The controls are awkward, enemies are annoying, and I really hated what you’re asked to do in this game.

Pros

• It looks good
• The game is playable
• Thankfully, it is short

Cons

• Awkward controls
• No invulnerability after being hit
• Stupid bonus stages
• Terrible jumping mechanics

Conclusion

I think this is a case where the internet reviews are significantly misleading. This isn’t a good game and has some frustrating gameplay. I think that might’ve been the reason I put this down and wandered outside when I was a kid.

Even playing it for this review, I felt the need to go outside for a while. While I was thinking about what I wanted to write about the game, I kept coming back to thinking that LJN might’ve published a prototype. I’ve felt that a few times when looking at these games.

This is going to sound bad, and I truly mean it. I would rather play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the NES over this game. That game is also bad, but I feel a sense of accomplishment when I play it. With Karate Kid, I only feel a deep sense of disappointment, like I wasted my time playing it.

If you liked this post, please check out my other reviews of LJN games, such as X-Men and Spider-Man.