I’m a huge fan of The Karate Kid films, and even the more recent Cobra Kai series on Netflix, which I would recommend to anyone. But after seeing what became of the recent Cobra Kai tie-in video games, I admittedly hesitated to give this one a go. Upon further research, I was pleased to find that The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is not only inspired by the original films but by another generation of beat ’em ups altogether, complete with retro visuals and an approach that favours gameplay above almost everything else.
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with The Karate Kid: Street Rumble, it doesn’t do much to set itself apart from anything else. The gameplay is generally functional but does become a little repetitive over longer gameplay sessions. While it covers the first three films, it’s not necessarily fixated on giving newcomers that much context, instead relying on the nostalgia of those who have seen the original films.
Wax On, Wax… Yeah, You Get It
Following the general premise of the first three films in The Karate Kid franchise, we accompany young Daniel LaRusso as he and his mum move from New Jersey to California after she takes up a new job at a computer firm. As Daniel tries to adjust to life on the other side of the country, he meets Johnny Lawrence, the school bully who causes Daniel nothing but trouble. He then meets Mr Miyagi soon after, who essentially teaches Daniel karate and enrols in the local Karate tournament to face off against Johnny and the Cobra Kai Dojo once and for all.
Yes, I know I spent a fair amount of time outlining the events of the first film. Unfortunately, the context isn’t as important in The Karate Kid: Street Rumble. Soon after Daniel meets Johhny in the first stage of the game, for example, he’s already whopping the asses of half the school, before even meeting Miyagi. It’s not a dealbreaker, as games of this era are pretty much all about the gameplay, but it does force the gameplay to take the wheel, in turn becoming that much more repetitive down the track.
Even when the game is doing its best to fill you in, the still images feel like they’re from another game entirely. They don’t match the pixel art style of the gameplay, and in turn, they come off as a little jarring, looking like they could have been created in Microsoft Paint.
As the game progresses, you do get to partake in certain minigames as Daniel learns the ins and outs of his newfound craft, which I found the most endearing. While these minigames are anything but complex or difficult, they encapsulate iconic scenes from the films in a way that feels equally natural and charming. It’s just a shame that the rest of the story doesn’t feel the need to remain as faithful.
Just Keep Punchin’
From a gameplay perspective, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble will likely feel familiar to anyone who has played a side-scrolling arcade brawler before. You’re able to mix light and heavy attacks in combination with a dedicated jump, which can also be used to dish out aerial attacks. Daniel can even grab enemies when up close, for some extra damage. Players can also build up a Focus Meter, which can be used to trigger special attacks, depending on who you’re playing as. I’m glad they took this opportunity to introduce the surprisingly legal Crane Kick move as a result.
The gameplay is incredibly functional and the punches, in combination with those crunchy 16-bit sound effects, help the attacks feel rather satisfying. But as you’ll soon find out, the amount of combinations on offer is relatively slim, meaning that sooner or later you’ll be relying on the same receptive attacks to get the job done. The Focus Meter attacks help and are rather devastating when you’re surrounded by enemies, but it’s not saving much.
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble also supports 4-player co-op, and even gives players the choice to choose between those four characters when playing solo. You can choose between Daniel, Mr Miyagi, Ali and Kumiko. While the first two characters make sense, I have no idea what the love interests from the first two films respectively are doing here. I don’t have an issue with the characters themselves, but as they’re not involved in the action as much, it feels like they were wedged in for the sake of it.
It’s also worth mentioning here that The Karate Kid: Street Rumble feels way too easy on lower difficulties. It’s a double-edged sword in this regard, as the fans who grew up with these films are now fully-fledged adults, while younger audiences who would benefit from the easier difficulty most likely have never seen the original films unless those older fans are their parents.
I would recommend the Hard difficulty setting to most players, and even then, I rarely went down more than once throughout most levels. The game gives you three tries in the first place, so you’re rarely going to have to start all over again. Players also receive a letter grading and score based on their performance, and even after all the mashing and minimal strategy, you’re most likely going to receive the top S+ ranking.
To top it off, boss encounters also feel a little flat. They usually rely on one or two attack patterns, which are easy enough to learn from the get-go. As a result, most encounters feel like a hollow slug fest as you rinse and repeat your attacks.
Overall, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is serviceable in parts, but wears thin throughout its 12 levels. The lack of story context isn’t a huge issue, but it leads to overreliance on its shallow gameplay mechanics without the ambition to mix things up. The inclusion of additional mini-games, or harder difficulty settings in general might have helped to encourage players to rely on a wider spread of attacks and mechanics.
Look the Part
I don’t have too much to say about The Karate Kid: Street Rumble’s visuals but will say, apart from the wonky opening and closing stills, things look great. Character models are unique and charming while remaining accurate to their real-life counterparts. Environments are also inspired by the film, and while also accurate, like the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, are bursting with a sense of energy through vibrant colour palettes.
From a performance perspective, there’s not much to mention. It runs well enough and is free from any serious or game-breaking bugs, although I couldn’t imagine this would have weighed down consoles or gaming rigs of any sort.
Final Thoughts
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is serviceable in parts. Through its charming retro visuals and lovingly crafted minigames, it’s admittedly enough to intrigue most fans of the franchise.
But through repetitive gameplay and a lack of context as far as the overall story is concerned, there’s not much meat left on the bone after just a couple of hours with it.
TWO AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Charming retro visuals and character models; Minigames recapture certain moments from each of the first three films so nicely
Lowlights: Repetigve gameplay; Overall story lacks context for those who have never seen the films
Developer: Odaclick Game Studio, Atlus
Publisher: GameMill Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 with a pre-release code provided by the publisher.
