Screenshots
About the game
The fighting is simple but tense: punch and kick high, middle or low, and keep an eye on your energy. And at the very end, run to the princess in fighting stance and you'll learn a hard lesson.
Mechner animated the fighters by tracing film of real people moving, so they moved far more smoothly than in other games of the time. The game cuts between scenes like a film.
History
Written by Jordan Mechner while he studied at Yale, and published by Broderbund in 1984 for the Apple II. Versions for many other computers followed.
In 2023 Digital Eclipse released The Making of Karateka, an interactive documentary that includes the original game and early prototypes.
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Ways to play
Extras
Only official, legal extras. We never link to scanned manuals or unofficial downloads.
Reviews
What the critics said. Scores are as published; summaries are our own. Follow the links to read the full reviews.