For those of a certain age, Karate Kid will forever be synonymous with “wax on, wax off”, Daniel-san, Mr Miyagi and the naughty karate punks of the Cobra Kai. The modern remake was a bit hit and miss for me, despite Jackie Chan turning up, but the original film, and less so its sequels, are all solid gold.
So, when making a game focusing on the first three films in the trilogy, what genre would you go for? It has to be a fighting game, right? Well, Odaclick Game Studio and GameMill Entertainment certainly agree, deciding to turn the classic films into a retro styled side scrolling beat ‘em up. Is this the correct way to treat such great source material?
The story then is pretty well known and the narrative here is similar to that of the first three films, from Danny arriving in town through to winning the All Valley Tournament at the end of the first film. The events of the second and third films are also twisted into a form that meets the demands of the genre – mainly a street or a building to walk through, kicking seven shades out of all-comers. And there is a certain simplistic symmetry to this treatment that I find pleasing.
Presentation of The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is quite good, all things considered. The hero characters that we can play as, Daniel, Mr Miyagi, Kimiko and Ali Mills (who as far as I can recall didn’t fight much in the films) are all present and correct, each complete with their own unique fighting style, depicted largely as special attacks in different ways. There is a Street Fighter-y use of power moves with blue auras in the game, and while a bit of artistic licence is never a bad thing, it does mean it moves away from its source material.
The enemies that you face, apart from bosses, all seem to be cut out of a limited number of cookie cutter moulds – fighting six copies of the same character on screen at once isn’t unusual – and while it is done in a way to try and make the game feel retro, it is very noticeable in some of the longer stages. Either that or there are a lot of identical twins in this town!
Still, the animation is exactly as you’d expect from a game with retro pretensions, including not quite as many animation frames as you think there should be; going from a standing start to a leaping attack all in one frame. Sound is good, however, with thumping audio effects all working as they should, taking place alongside a very nice retro chiptune soundtrack that takes you right back to the 80’s. There is no doubt, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble makes a decent fist of looking good.
Now, gameplay, and as The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is proud of its retro style, the vibe continues with the actual gameplay. Largely, we are tasked with walking from left to right to get to where we need to be, and between us and the goal are a variety of na’er do wells who are ripe for a good kicking.
We have a weak attack (X), a strong attack (Y) and a special attack (RB), and from these buttons can mighty combos be made. We also have a dodge move (B), that certainly comes in handy in the later levels. Basically, you’ll be found wandering from left to right, tapping buttons like your life depends on it (which, in a strictly gaming sense, it does) and that is about it. That means The Karate Kid: Street Rumble does start to get a bit samey after a while.
The bosses inject a bit of variety into the game though, and they are all recognisable from the films, such as Johnny Lawrence and so on. These guys can pose a bit of a challenge, at least until you learn their attack patterns, and it is here that another nice touch is found – multiplayer.
Yes, as we all know, it’s dangerous to go alone, and so you can grab up to three mates for a bit of couch co-op rumble action. Obviously, splitting the aggro four ways makes The Karate Kid: Street Rumble a lot easier. When you have finished fighting for the day, there are a number of mini games to try your hands at too – everything from crane kicks to catching flies with chopsticks has been turned into a mini game, and there is a lot of fun to be had here.
It’s safe to say that The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is a pretty good stab at crafting a game from a great film franchise. The action and the baddies are there, it is just a shame that the inspiration that clearly hits in the mini games section doesn’t stick around for the actual fighting levels, for they start to feel far too familiar quite quickly.
If you love Karate Kid and want to be Daniel, then knock yourself (or your opponents more likely) out – but just be aware that it starts to run out of ideas pretty rapidly.
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble Delivers Nostalgic Beat ‘Em Up Action – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-karate-kid-street-rumble-delivers-nostalgic-beat-em-up-action/
Buy The Karate Kid: Street Rumble on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/the-karate-kid-street-rumble/9MZXNTB08039
