As a seasoned gamer who grew up in the 80’s with a VHS copy of The Karate Kid worn out from repeated viewings, I approached The Karate Kid: Street Rumble with a mix of excitement and caution. The pixel art was a delightful nod to the classics, but the gameplay left me wanting more.
Three decades later, John G. Avildsen’s heartwarming martial arts spin on the sports drama formula, which had previously brought him success with Rocky, remains contemporary. The unexpected hit reboot Cobra Kai has sparked renewed curiosity about the Karate Kid universe, revitalizing Ralph Macchio’s career and bringing William Zabka back from relative obscurity in indie films. Remarkably, Cobra Kai managed to breathe new life into a series that had been deteriorating with each release, developing previously minor characters and altering the narratives of others in innovative and intelligent ways.
In terms of video games linked to a franchise, the results have been somewhat varied. The latest offering, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble, is the third installment and the second side-scrolling game in recent years inspired by this iconic series, following the moderately good Cobra Kai game from 2020. Its predecessor didn’t fare well with critics. The question is whether this new one can meet the standard the franchise requires. Regrettably, it falls short of that mark.
The game “The Karate Kid: Street Rumble” appears quite appealing with several noteworthy aspects. The cover art depicts an engaging anime version of Daniel-san and his companions, while the game’s graphics are stunning pixel art creations, reminiscent of those found in the well-regarded game “Shredder’s Revenge.” However, the similarities to that title end there.
In this game, there aren’t any weapons to grab; instead, you collect power-ups that boost your character’s level in a subtle nod to role-playing game (RPG) elements. You’ll encounter various types of enemies on screen simultaneously and battle familiar villains from different movies, including multiple versions of Johnny, such as the iconic Halloween costume version, Kreese, and Terry Silver. Unfortunately, the game is generally quite easy due to a powerful jumping special attack that essentially makes your characters invincible while using it. This move, if you recall the old Double Dragon game where you could complete levels just by performing the elbow attack, has the same effect here. Each use of this jumping attack charges your special attack gauge, making the game repetitive and lacking in much difficulty except when facing certain boss characters, who have special moves that can be tricky to avoid. This inconsistency makes achieving challenge parameters seem nearly impossible.
Each stage requires you to accomplish three tasks repetitively: strike an aerial attack fifteen times, employ a grab attack ten times, and occasionally finish the level undamaged. One challenge in fulfilling these specific requirements is that the grab attack is weak and it often takes numerous hits to defeat even the most feeble opponents, turning the task of killing fifteen enemies using grab attacks into a tedious endeavor. To make matters worse, there are also issues with inconsistent hit zones, imprecise jumps, unimpressive power in the attacks, and characters that seem perpetually on ice, resulting in an average game experience within the genre.
As I breezed through the game with minimal resistance, I found some stages exceptionally long, which is often an issue in games like this. However, things took an unexpected turn when, deep into the storyline, a single stage sprung a pair of incredibly tough boss henchmen out of nowhere. These behemoths could obliterate me with just a couple of hits! I had already effortlessly defeated characters such as Kreese, Snake, Johnny, Sato, and an array of other iconic badasses, but these seemingly insignificant opponents left me defeated.
As a dedicated fan, I must say that the pixel art characters in this game are mostly fantastic! The main characters are easily identifiable and some of them, such as the menacing Kreese and Chozen, are spot-on, particularly in capturing their ominous demeanor. There’s a touch of creative freedom evident, which I found quite appealing. It’s quite fascinating to see Mr. Miyagi, a peace-loving martial arts instructor, dishing out some serious beatdowns to hordes of enemies. The level designs are visually pleasing and filled with destructible objects, adding to the gameplay experience. However, the quality of the in-game art is strikingly different from the peculiar cutscenes that introduce and conclude the action, which seem to have been drawn from an entirely separate game, featuring versions of the characters that are somewhat hard to recognize.
The game is interspersed with some cleverly implemented mini-games, often quick time events, that incorporate themes from the lore, like catching flies with chopsticks. However, these mini-games don’t significantly improve The Karate Kid: Street Rumble. If you’re craving a new game in this genre, there’s content here for you, but other games in the same category are superior, making it challenging to suggest playing this one.
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2024-09-20 13:16