Karate Champ

I'm guessing that at one time this was a fun game. When the competition was Pong and the like, and when graphics weren't stunning like they were later when games like Super Mario Bros. 2 hit the scene, this game might have been something of a showpiece. Presently, though, I have nightmares that I'll invite a buddy over to my apartment, he'll see the game lying on the carpet, and I'll have one less friend. Stranger things have happened.

There was a point in time where people might have liked this game, but now it is a steaming pile of shit that should never be touched. I remember playing the original arcade version before and enjoying it for what it was worth. A unique game for one quarter of game time at local arcades. This…just do the right thing and stay away from the Nintendo version of Karate Champ.

With all due respect to this early pioneer of one-on-one fighting games, Karate Champ hasn't aged well. The game features two fighters and a scorekeeper presiding over the action. The graphics are plain, but it's the animation that really kills this game. The fighter movements are extremely choppy, and the jumps are ridiculous. The control is terrible in general with hard-to-execute moves and fighters that tend to get stuck facing the wrong direction. Karate Champ may have been intriguing in 1986, but for those of us who cut our teeth on Street Fighter II, there's no turning back.