Karate Champ, known in Japan as Way of the Karate (空手道), is a fighting game released in 1984 for arcades. The game was primarily developed by Technos Japan, with Data East providing assistance and publishing the game. A revision of the game, titled Karate Champ: Player vs Player (対戦空手道 美少女青春編, Competitive Way of the Karate: Pretty Girl Edition), was released the same year in Japan, with this version serving as the basis for the international versions of the game.
It was ported to the Apple II, Commodore 64 and TRS-80 CoCo personal computers by Barkeley Software in 1985, to the NES by Data East in 1986, and was released digitally by Hamster in 2015 for the Sony PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch as part of their Arcade Archives line.
Overview[]
In Karate Champ the player controls a karateka who fights in one-on-one matches against another karateka. The character is controlled with two joysticks, the first being used for movement and the second for attacks, with each direction corresponding to an attack in that direction. The player can also combine motions between the two joysticks to execute different moves. Matches are decided by a point system, with each successful hit scoring the player either a full point or a half point, with the first fighter to score two points winning the match.
After each match the player is awarded with a bonus game. In "Evade" various objects fly in the player's direction, who must hit them as they come. In "Trial Chop" the player must mash down in order to break a pile of bricks. In "Get the Bull" a charging Ox rushes in the player's direction, who must hit it at the right time.
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