Game Profile

International Karate is a simulation of a Karate Tournament where two people can play against each other or one can compete against the computer.

During the game, you will fly around the world to various locations and in two-player game there is also a special bonus round.

Each round consists of three 30 seconds bouts. The first player to score two full points wins the bout, and the first to achieve victory in two bouts wins the round.

In a two-player game, the victor in each bout then goes on to the special bonus stage which involves dodging a flying weapon. Success in this part of the game will earn you 500 points. Read More »

The winner of each round scores an extra 2000 points and the next destination is then automatically on screen.

When competing against the computer, you must win in each round in order to carry on to the next destination.

Game Review

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Review

USA Sat, 29 Mar 2008 by Kelvin Green

It's karate time!

You could almost hear the groans of disappointment when this game was announced for the Virtual Console, simply because the sequel, "International Karate Plus", is so legendary. But that's a disservice to the original, as it is a strong game in..

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User Comments

Boredom v2.2

1. Boredom v2.2 United States 24 Feb 2008, 21:34 GMT

This must be Smash Bros back B4 Smash Bros lol!

Will

2. Will Ireland 25 Feb 2008, 17:13 GMT

Flippin class, this is what retro gamin is all about!! Then your pants fall down!! lol

DEMON212

3. DEMON212 United Kingdom 26 Feb 2008, 03:14 GMT

IK+ was better. But IK will still be bought :)

djpiter

4. djpiter Poland 28 Feb 2008, 15:39 GMT

It was the first game I have played in my life on Atari 800XL. I will buy it definitely.

ICEknight

5. ICEknight Spain 29 Feb 2008, 15:37 GMT

They'd better release the Amiga version of IK+ as well, which was a million times better... It was a Commodore machine too, so they shouldn't have any problems releasing it.

eltomo

6. eltomo United Kingdom 01 Mar 2008, 18:53 GMT

I LOVE THIS GAME!!

IK+ for the win thou, hope that comes out... I notice everyone else says the same, haha!

Kelvin

7. Kelvin United Kingdom 02 Mar 2008, 13:36 GMT

Great game, but IK+ was better. The first three-player beat-em-up?

sandos

8. sandos Sweden 05 Mar 2008, 18:53 GMT

I am so buying this, and IK+ when it comes out!

Rossi

9. Rossi United Kingdom 06 Mar 2008, 17:25 GMT

I dont get it.. the video shows the cpu dieing first time every time..

DEMON212

10. DEMON212 United Kingdom 28 Mar 2008, 01:31 GMT

Just got it, controls are dodgy at first. Love the virtual keyboard, first Wii VC game to use the Wiimote :)

Not keen on how your punches/kicks connect and nothing happens. Caught my brother many a time but nevet got anything for it.

Quimby

11. Quimby Australia 28 Mar 2008, 02:10 GMT

@rossi - thats because the video is a run through. The guy playing is rather good at it. From memory, the AI was tough enough for you to take weeks of practice to get to mt. Fugi.

Jon

12. Jon Sweden 28 Mar 2008, 06:54 GMT

One of the best games ever!

aphexbr

13. aphexbr Spain 28 Mar 2008, 08:42 GMT

I´ll wait for IK+ (did that come out on C64? I had it for the Atari ST), which was a much superior sequel (3 player action!). This was a decent game though.

2097

14. 2097 Sweden 28 Mar 2008, 18:14 GMT

I've played IK+; what's the difference between that and this?

Betagam7

15. Betagam7 United Kingdom 28 Mar 2008, 23:22 GMT

no balls!

werdy

16. werdy Hungary 29 Mar 2008, 08:25 GMT

Distance. This is the keyword in this game (and in the real martial arts too). If you choose right attack method for the current distance, you are the winner.

Jesse_Blue

17. Jesse_Blue Germany 29 Mar 2008, 09:15 GMT

16 bit IK+ version and I'm in for 500 points.

Starwolf_UK

18. Starwolf_UK United Kingdom 29 Mar 2008, 14:00 GMT

Having read the Eurogamer review I noticed this:
"To start the game, you need to press the 1 button. This brings up a virtual C64 keyboard, which in itself will probably be enough to send fans into spasms of glee. You then need to prod the pretend F1/F2 button to start a one-player or two-player game. Then you press 1 again to remove the keyboard.

There's no getting around the fact that it feels clunky - especially since the round begins as soon as you press the F1 button, meaning you have to race to clear the screen and turn the Wiimote around for normal play before you get clobbered. Making it even more intrusive, you need to go through this awkward process every time you start another round. Quite why it couldn't have the start function mapped to some of the other buttons is beyond me, especially since Uridium needs no such faffing."
Seems a bit daft to me.

Kelvin

19. Kelvin United Kingdom 30 Mar 2008, 20:37 BST

2097, the main difference is that IK+ has three fighters, which makes it a bit more frantic and engaging, I think. It's got a bit of visual and aural polish over its predecessor too, but the main difference is the number of players.

Will

20. Will Ireland 30 Mar 2008, 21:12 BST

I dont understand how ppl can download this crap. it might have been good a 100 years ago but its so basic now. it makes me laugh just looking at it. 500 points eh. i wouldnt download it if it was free with a bonus wii point card through the post, not ever nope not ever

I think your in the wrong place buddy. Im guessin your one of these gamers discovering classics for the frist time (i.e your first console was probly PS2, maybe PS), this my friend, is a gem.

timp29

21. timp29 Australia 31 Mar 2008, 08:52 BST

Yeah, I started out gaming on a c64 and I certainly gave this game a good thrashing. I've given it a 3 out of nostalgia, but why cant we get the system 3 classic games of 'the last ninja series' on the vc. I played the last ninja 1 and 2 for years and would regularly download emulators to have another crack at them.

dimlylitmonkey

22. dimlylitmonkey United Kingdom 06 Apr 2008, 02:06 BST

I wasn't too optimistic that games from hardware pre-dating the NES would hold up well today, but I can't believe how great this game is. The fighters are surprisingly well animated and when a hit connects it's really satisfying. I'm hardly an expert in fighting games, but IK feels like the most realistic I've played. Werdy, I think you're absolutely right about knowing what attack to use depending on the distance from your opponent. It's a bit of a nuisance when your fighter is facing the wrong way, but I need to practice the controls more (I currently use a reverse crouching punch to turn round). The earlier 'Way of the Exploding Fist' looks similar, is that good too?

sashaboo

23. sashaboo United Kingdom 06 Apr 2008, 09:21 BST

Well ok then Will we are all entitled to our own opinion. If you get enjoyment out of playing aincient games with 2 frames of animation per fighting move then please yourself. But your wrong about my first games machine. I started my gaming career with a commadore Vic 20 when i was about 5 years old and used to love games such as space invaders and that snake game where the snake gets longer ect ect... But they just wouldnt do it for me anymore. Oh and by the way my first console was a nes then every nintendo console after up to the Wii. Never bothered with playstation cos i dont think they are reliable enough.

sandos

24. sandos Sweden 19 Apr 2008, 22:39 BST

This is game is just awesome. It seems almost random in the start (even though I did play this a lot back in the day) but slowly, slowly you start to learn ;)

Mr 64

25. Mr 64 United Kingdom 23 Apr 2008, 11:36 BST

I have to be honest, it's great to play International Karate again. Admittedly it's a million miles away from the 2D beat-em ups of today, but what would you expect for a game of it's age? .

It's simple no-nonse moves and combat system are still entertaining enough, the graphics aren't as bad as certain people claim (bear in mind this game was released in 1985) and the music is absolutely awesome. Compared with Yie-Ar Kung Fu (the big 2D fighter in the arcades at the time), this game is positively space age in terms of presentation. And the animation isn't that bad for sprites as big as the ones used here by the way - I'd like to see a NES game with sprites as big running so smoothly.

500 Wii Points might seem steep, but it's no less complicated than many of the NES games retailing for that price, and it's certainly more entertaining than the lion's share of them.

Fingers crossed for IK+, a game which expands and improves upon every aspect of this game. Though I am a little worried that the only games out so far were ones from the D64 TV thing.

sashaboo

26. sashaboo United Kingdom 25 Apr 2008, 15:44 BST

It may have been good back in those days but then we could,nt compare it to the standard of quality with 2D fighting games in the early to mid 90s such as Street Fighter 2 or Killer instinct and Mortal Kombat. Compared to them is just an absoulute pile of Rubbish end of story.

Kelvin

27. Kelvin United Kingdom 02 May 2008, 10:41 BST

To be fair, Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat don't exactly hold up very well nowadays. Should we consider them rubbish too?

Mr 64

28. Mr 64 United Kingdom 29 May 2008, 10:34 BST

Sashaboo, your argument is ridiculous. By your logic, Space Invaders and R-Type are piles of rubbish as they don't offer half the level of sophistication of a modern shoot 'em up. Maybe you think Doom 3 is a better game than Doom?

And I have to be honest, I've had far more fun playing IK and IK+ than I've ever had from Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat. And I also challenge you to find a better 1985 beat em up than this.

stephen c

29. stephen c United Kingdom 12 Jul 2008, 01:53 BST

This is good classic game, however the sequel is much better in my opinion ik+ is well worth a download and it has all the gameplay that this one has and a lot more.

jayc4life

30. jayc4life Ireland 10 Nov 2008, 17:30 GMT

In the original game on the C64, you could get 4 different backgrounds depending on which side the tape was loaded on, One had Sydney, London, Mount Fuji and some sort of Oriental shrine or something, and the other had Egyptian Pyramids, Rio de Janeiro, London and the Acropolis.

Is there any way to get the second 4 backgrounds on the Virtual Console, as I'm sure it's only the first 4 on there.

Still, I'd have paid maybe 1000 Wii Points just for this game. I still have it on the original tape (but my C64's busted), and i got this as soon as I got my Wii, along with +. Arguably the best beat-em ups I've ever played, and I think the only people that would disagree are people that grew up with Tekkens 3 or later.

rocketman

31. rocketman Netherlands 16 Nov 2008, 19:37 GMT

:( Too bad that you cannot choose to use the nunchuck, for controlling the 8 directions in this game. Even when using the VC-controller, you can also not use the 'nunchuck' like controls. If this would be possible, it would be a real improvement.
Still a nice game. Also would like to see the PC game, Budokan for the WiiWare, although I don't know if this game has also been released on any of the consoles.

Ikiosho

32. Ikiosho United States 04 Jan 2009, 01:50 GMT

There's actually a game very similar to this, for the NES. It's called Karate Champ.

Ian Daemon

33. Ian Daemon United States 23 Feb 2009, 18:26 GMT

@Ikiosho: What was the name of the arcade game with two analog sticks and no buttons? I thought THAT was Karate Champ.

darthmix

34. darthmix United States 23 Feb 2009, 21:18 GMT

@Ian Daemon, Ikiosho: The NES Karate Champ is a port of the dual-joystick arcade fighter of the same name. IIRC International Karate follows Karate Champ's model REALLY closely, to the point that it could almost be called a ripoff or clone. But the NES port didn't come out until some years later, so this was as close as you got to the Karate Champ experience on a home system for a while.

Ferret75

35. Ferret75 United States 23 Feb 2009, 21:41 GMT

This is smart.
They released the first game in America even though the first AND improved second version are in Europe.

So they'll probulay release + in like two weeks, meaning a lot of people including me are gonna basically buy the same game twice.
They make double the profits from some people. XP

Phalyn

36. Phalyn United States 24 Feb 2009, 12:15 GMT

Someone correct me, but wasnt there a NES port of this as well? That one I played for hours on end

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