NES Player - The Karate Kid NES Review

NES
1 Player
Beat 'Em Up

This is the game of the movie of the same name. The Karate Kid was a rather successful movie so of course there would be a game of it. It happens to be made by LJN (The kings of crap), and with this game they don't let us down. In the game, you play as Daniel San and must fight through 4 levels, yes 4, before you finally can defeat the evil Chozen. The plot loosely follows the movie, but tries to add its own pizzazz.

Graphics: Not too great, to say the least. Daniel San pretty much looks the same as the enemies, except he's wearing different clothes. And all the enemies look the same as each other, so there's not too much variety in characters of the game. The levels are well done for the most part. The graphics in them are pretty grainy, but they don't lack in realism. The best part of the game, graphics wise, are the bonus levels in each stage, which all have good color and animation.

Sound: The music in this game is probably the best part of the game. The opening tune is fantastic as well are the level tunes. Each of the levels has this sort of upbeat fighting tune, which makes you want to keep playing, or it would make you want to keep playing if you could get past this games problems. The sound effects are great also. It makes the loud thudding noise each time you hit or get hit, which is really cheesy, but what you would expect from a karate game.

Gameplay: The game starts out as you playing as Daniel San in a karate tournament. This part happens to be the most boring part of the game. This part can be beaten rather fast if you know how to do it, which doesn't take long to figure out. As for the other THREE levels, they are pretty much the same as the last. The real innovation in this game lies in the bonus games, which can be found in each level (except for the first one). There are three bonus games. One involves you catching flies with chopsticks, in one you have to break a stack of ice blocks with your hands, and in the other you must a dodge a hammer that is flying at you. All of them are great fun, and sadly are the best part of the game. There is also a two player fighting mode, but it really blows. In it first player is Daniel and second player is Chozen and you must fight each other, but since you know the same moves it becomes pretty much impossible to win or lose.

Control: The control in this game is so bad I had to give it its own category. This game could have been half decent if LJN had spent more time on the horrid control. First off, the jumping. For some reason unknown to man the developers behind the Karate Kid made it where you have to press up to jump. Sure this doesn't sound so bad, but it is when you have extremely cheap enemies constantly on you and your trying to get away, while punching and kicking at the same time!!! Now for the next problem. The special moves. Daniel San knows two super moves, the crane kick and the drum punch. You only have a limited amount of these. But again LJN messed up and made it where to do the special moves all you need to do is press the A or B button and to do your regular hits you have to be holding in the forward button. You might as well play this game without plugging in the controller and save yourself some time

Replay: Some people claim the hurricane level in this game is impossible. Well folks, let me clear that up for you, the hurricane level may seem hard because of the objects that are flying at you, but if you play this level enough (Which is only like 3 times) you can breeze through it. And considering the fact that there are only 4 levels, you should have this game beat in about three days (that is if you're a novice like me). This game is mighty frustrating. The enemies in this game have no attack pattern, and they are constantly attacking you. Also the creators made it where you can't drop down from a ledge, so if the enemy is below you, say goodbye. After you beat this game I seriously hope you never come back to it.

......BOTTOM LINE: LJN is known for making crap, and they lived up to their title with this game. I recommend not paying anything over $3 for this game. If you had a choice I would recommend going and buying the movie instead of this game.

-lynx561