Karate Kid (NES) Thoughts

LJN.

You know it. You probably hate it thanks to the Nerd. But not ALL of the company's published work is garbage. They really do get a bad rap. Yeah, Uncanny X-men is a pile of shite, but Jaws, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th are damn fine offerings.

The Karate Kid is one of LJN's earliest games released on the NES too. And while you may think that the game is just based off the original movie, it actually only has one level dedicated to the first film. The rest of the game is based directly off the second movie with Daniel-san.

More like Karate Kid Part 2

Sure the graphics aren't all that great. But I would say it does the job of what is there. I would like to point out that Daniel's clothes change each and EVERY level. So that is a neat bonus. Plus, his wardrobe actually matches with what he actually wears in the movie. It's true! Also, the bonus screens look really nice, especially the fly catching bonus screen and the ice breaking game.

The fly catching bonus level is actually a lot of fun!

The only thing really challenging about the game are three things (and they're all cheap mind you);

1. Getting hit by the enemy sends you flying around like a pinball
2. Level 3 is super annoying because of the wind pushing you back
3. The spear men 

If you can manage your crane kicks and drum punches wisely you can breeze past level 1 and 2. Things get trickier when you add in the wind factor and relentless enemies in level 3. Finding a way past the spear men is another challenge entirely. I find that jumping into them (like Mario would to a Goomba) knocks the spear out of their hands, and you can pummel them accordingly.

At only four levels the Karate Kid is a short game with sub par graphics, excellent music, and annoying in certain parts. I like the variety of all the bonus levels (there's 3 or so in total). Although the addition of a two player fighter just thrown in there is weird, either way I like the Karate Kid. Check it out.