Overview and Gameplay
Each clean strike stops the action as a referee awards a full or half point. Karate Champ adapts Data East’s arcade tournament fighter to the NES, replacing health bars with timed, best-of-three karate rounds. In solo play, the white-clad fighter faces increasingly quick computer opponents across a repeating sequence of locations. Winning two rounds takes the match, while numerical scores reward successful techniques and remaining time.
Controls And Mechanics
- Use the directions to advance, withdraw, crouch, jump, block, and combine movement with attacks.
- A and B perform different punches, kicks, sweeps, and jumping attacks depending on direction and which way the fighter faces.
- Some techniques use A and B together, and attacks must be held long enough to complete properly.
- Two players can fight simultaneously in competitive versus matches with one controller each.
- Match winners enter a bonus challenge for extra score before the next bout.
Version Notes
This is the U.S. Revision A cartridge. Its program and graphics data differ from the original U.S. release, while the public title remains Karate Champ.
Release And Credits
- NES release: 1986
- Publisher: Data East USA
- Original platform: Arcade
