Previous Next

If two games were ever alike, it's The Way Of The Exploding Fist and this. The games are almost identical. But is International Karate better than its predecessor? Like Fist the game is played in front of various backdrops. The moves are all basically the same, i.e. roundhouse, flying kick, lunge punch, etc.

Scoring is done in points; half point for a normal move, full point for a well-executed move. First player to two wins the round. Three consecutive rounds move you up a belt and onto a new, slightly more advanced opponent. You get one life so you can't afford to lose a round.

In between opponents there are several types of bonus sections. For example you get to headbutt a stack of rooftiles or evade flying objects, the latter being the harder option. A nice touch is when you've won a round, your man flicks the sweat of his forehead. The speed this game plays at, you might will find yourself doing the same thing.

This is the difference between the two games, International Karate is much faster than Melbourne House's game. It plays at near Atari speed. Sound is also superior, mainly thanks to one of those Rob Hubbard icing-on-the-cake soundtracks. It sounds like something Ryuichi Sakamoto might put together. The music gets quicker as you progress through the levels. There's some nice thudding sound effects in there as well to make you wince.

The backdrops are all excellent, the first one being a great drawing of the sphinx. The animation is excellent.

International Karate is a polished up version of Fist and is, dare I say it, better on all counts. All except one. Originality. If System 3 had got their act together and put the game out when Oriental fighting games were in then they'd have got away with it.

It is, however, little more than a copy, a copy though that sells for a steal, so if you don't have Fist and feel tempted, go for it.