Karateka cover art

Karateka

"Karateka is a 1984 beat'em up video game by Jordan Mechner, and was his first game created while attending Yale University."

Jordan Mechner·Brøderbund Software·Dro Soft·Soft Pro International·Atari Corporation·DotEmu· December 31, 1984· Main Game
70
Critic Score
2 reviews
68
User Score
35 ratings

Karateka is a 1984 beat'em up video game by Jordan Mechner, and was his first game created while attending Yale University. It was originally programmed for the Apple II, and was later ported to several other home computers and early gaming consoles. The game was published in North America by Brøderbund, and in Europe by Ariolasoft. The player controls an unnamed protagonist who is attempting to rescue his love interest, the Princess Mariko, from Akuma's castle fortress. The game exhibits a combination of a side-scrolling platform and fighting game elements. The player uses punches and kicks to defeat Akuma and his guards and make his way deeper into the fortress. The game, as with most at the time of development, lacked checkpoints or the ability to save the game, making it a challenge to complete in a single sitting. Karateka has been well-received, particularly for its realistic animations used for the game's characters. The game was considered a breakthrough success for Mechner, and would eventually result in his development of the Prince of Persia franchise. A high-definition remake, spearheaded by Mechner, was released as a downloadable title for the Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, with planned ports for the iOS and Wii U systems.

Released 31 December 1984 for Amstrad CPC, Android, Apple II and Atari 7800 by Jordan Mechner, published by Brøderbund Software and Dro Soft. Rated L by ClassInd.

Karateka screenshots

Karateka screenshot 1
Karateka screenshot 2
Karateka screenshot 3

Other versions of Karateka

Games like Karateka

Karateka trailer and videos

Gameplay Video
Gameplay Video

Karateka screenshots

Karateka screenshot 1
Karateka screenshot 2
Karateka screenshot 3

Artwork & Box Art

Karateka artwork 1
Amstrad CPC
Standard
EU
Dec 31, 1990
Android
Standard
WW
May 16, 2013
Apple II
Standard
NA
Dec 31, 1984
Atari 7800
Standard
NA
Dec 31, 1987
Atari 8-bit
Standard
NA
Dec 31, 1985
Atari ST/STE
Standard
EU
Dec 31, 1988
Commodore C64/128/MAX
Standard
NA
Dec 31, 1985
DOS
Standard
NA
Dec 31, 1986
Family Computer
Standard
JP
Dec 5, 1985
iOS
Standard
WW
May 3, 2013
MSX
Standard
EU
Dec 31, 1990
PC-9800 Series
Standard
JP
Nov 1, 1988
ZX Spectrum
Standard
EU
Dec 31, 1990
Critic Score
70 /100
Mixed or Average
Based on 2 professional reviews
Aggregated from professional game critics and publications.
User Score
68 /100
Mixed or Average
Based on 35 ratings
Aggregated from player ratings across platforms worldwide.
Score Comparison
Critics
70
Users
68
Score Guide
90–100
Universal Acclaim
75–89
Generally Favorable
50–74
Mixed or Average
CriticsUsers
20–49
Generally Unfavorable
0–19
Overwhelming Dislike