GAME CLEAR No. 144 -- Karateka Remastered

Karateka Remastered (2023, Multiplatform)

Remaster of: Karateka (1984, Apple II)
Compilation: The Making of Karateka (2023, Multiplatform)
Original Developer: Jordan Mechner
Original Publisher: Brøderbund
Remaster Developer: Digital Eclipse
Remaster Publisher: Digital Eclipse
Clear Date: 9/5/23
Clear Platform: PS5

Karate chops

When Digital Eclipse announced The Making of Karateka as the first entry in their so-called Gold Master Series, I was struck with a mix of emotions. Above all, I was excited that Digital Eclipse was starting something they were calling a “series,” as that implied there would be more. I’ve previously expressed my utter trust in them to deliver excellent emulation and historical video game products, so I’m always happy to hear they’re doing more of that. Critically, though, this looked like a series of titles that would focus on one game at a time, unlike their previous compilation work. Quite compelling.

But then I wondered, “What the fuck is Karateka?” When I saw the announcement, I recognized the little guy in the gi, but that’s about it. But I figured if it was important enough for Digital Eclipse to focus so heavily on, it was important enough for me to check out.

Upon Googling it, it became obvious why I was unaware of the game: it was an old home computer game! Originally released for Apple II, it was also quickly ported to the likes of the Commodore 64 and the Atari 8-bit family of computers. While it eventually made its way to NES/Famicom, that version is not well-regarded, and so Karateka never really made it to my realm of video game familiarity. I have a great deal of interest in learning more about the home computer game space, but I’ve never made the time. I’m so glad Digital Eclipse saw fit to bring this game to the attention of people like me.

The result is more or less the answer to the question “what if Atari 50 were just focused on one game?” Like that esteemed compilation, The Making of Karateka uses a chronological timeline to present the game’s history. And rather than starting with the game’s conception, it begins by introducing us to the game’s creator and lone developer Jordan Mechner (perhaps more famous now as the creator of Prince of Persia). This is partially possible because of Mechner’s evidently meticulous record keeping, as the game includes high-resolution scans of notebooks, sketches, and journal entries from as early as Mechner’s mid-teens.

But before it even gets to Karateka, the game tells us about Deathbounce, a failed project that immediately preceded Karateka. Mechner sent iteration after iteration of this little Asteroids-like space shooter to Brøderbund, but the publishing house continued to insist it was not good or unique enough to be worth their time (albeit with quite sincere words of encouragement for Mechner to keep trying). We know this, too, because Mechner apparently kept all of these letters as well. Oh, and those iterations? We can play them because Mechner also kept those! This level of access to source development documents and even playable prototypes is just mind-boggling compared to what we usually get in this industry. However, frustrated with these rejections and tired of iterating on a project that he ultimately decided was a “waste of time,” Mechner turned his attention to his then-new idea that would become Karateka.

This chapter of the game (or interactive documentary, if you like) is, of course, intended as valuable bit of background and perhaps a little story about the value of not giving up or whatever. That’s great and all, but Digital Eclipse did us one better and made a pretty, modern version of the game called Deathbounce: Rebounded that is a great little game in its own right. You could spend hours diving into Deathbounce and its reimagining before you even get to the ostensible reason this title exists at all.

But eventually you will, and you’ll be greeted with a similarly staggering wealth of documents, interviews, archival footage, and playable prototypes relevant to Karateka. You’ll learn about the game’s massive influence (all news to me!) and importance with as much info straight from the source as you could possibly want. Then once you’re satisfied, you can play the originals or Digital Eclipse’s spiffy new remaster. I went with the latter.

What you’ll find is a game about a karate man who has to save Princess Mariko from an evil guy named Akuma. He does so by moving to the right, fighting bad guys in a manner very reminiscent of the fighting game genre that would later come to be, and navigating traps and puzzles. But I suppose that describes Karateka (1984) equally as well as the remaster.

More specifically, you’ll find a game that very faithfully recreates the original experience (while adding back a couple cut concepts) but with beautiful, crisp graphics and sound. It was conceived as the definitive, faithful edition of the original game, and it accomplishes that goal quite well. The game is rendered marvelously in 2D with all the same rotoscoped animations of the original game running much more smoothly than they could on the humble computers of yesteryear. The game’s music and sound effects are higher fidelity while retaining their gamey charm. If you’re any good (or just give yourself a bunch of lives), you may well beat the game in a matter of minutes. It’s quite short.

But then perhaps you’ll be compelled to try to play through with commentary, and you absolutely should. Taking advantage of the fact that the game progresses entirely by moving to the right (and the fact that no vertical slice of screen can be skipped), developer Mike Mika jumps in with information about the game’s development and rationale behind the decisions the team made whenever the player steps into marked areas (usually highlighting something currently on screen). This is a really brilliant and enjoyable way to re-experience the game afforded only by the idiosyncracies of the original (and the faithfulness of the remaster). I won’t go into too much detail about what Mika unveils, but he does a great job of describing the thoughtfulness and care he and his team put into the remaster, and I think the result is the best version of the game to date, as it should be.

The thing is, Karateka (and Karateka Remastered) is a tiny game. It’s also dated and a bit clunky and silly and even has some rather dastardly and annoying deathtraps. As important as it is, it’s flawed! And that’s why I think it’s such a brilliant pilot for the Gold Master Series. Although I’m sure a standalone release of Karateka Remastered would’ve been met with some level of enthusiasm by existing fans of the original, it would be a pretty tiny release with little to offer for people who don’t know about it. As part of The Making of Karateka, it’s a delightful way to play an extremely faithful yet modernized version of a game that – if you’re disciplined enough – you’ve spent the past couple hours learning about. By the time I got to it, I had a level of buy in and interest in the game that would’ve been virtually impossible to have had with a standalone release. Sure, by my nature I may have played something like a hypothetical standalone Karateka Remastered, but no Wikipedia article on the game would’ve prepared me to enjoy it like The Making of Karateka did.

Hell, I hope I’ve never heard of any of the games Digital Eclipse brings to this series going forward. The Making of Karateka is the most fun I’ve had learning about a game in my life.