Apple II Game: Karateka (1984 Brøderbund)

[@quietdemon8138]

The fact that this was made by one kid working on his degree is incredible also for people who don't know the kid who made this went on to make Prince of Persia

[@veronicabelmonte2708]

Jordan Mechner

[@matrix91234]

One of the best games ever made

[@CartoonPhreak]

@@veronicabelmonte2708 Yep He licenses the intellectual property to Walt Disney Pictures (as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time) He also released The Last Express (which is owned by Interplay Entertainment Corp)

[@HistorysMysterys]

For it’s time it looks great but I still think Pac-Man, space invaders and donkey Kong were amazing.

[@sharinglungs3226]

@@veronicabelmonte2708what is he doing lately? Seemed to have a few hits and then just dropped out never to be heard from again.

[@TonyTube407]

I haven't given a single thought to this game since I played it when I was 13 years old, 28 years ago! Then today, I see it again and realize how many memories I have.. Seriously, 28 years without a single thought and I still know every sound effect and the music. Insane!!!!!

[@Disperato_ma_non_serio]

38 years ago today! Gosh

[@thediydaddy2649]

Not just the music, but even the graphic and the technology back then. Cause I remember this game used to be on a 'Floppy Disc' 😊

[@cmrees2]

Things I learned from this game as a child: 1. Birds are unstoppable flying death machines 2. If you get hit while running, you will immediately die 3. Never walk under an open gate

[@Radii_DC]

4. Never approach your girlfriend with a fight stance.

[@deasq]

cmrees2 1. birds were stoppable. you just should choose rigth moment to kik them to kill

[@deasq]

sometimesI was lucky to kill it at the beginning

[@joechase2689]

The circle is now complete. You are ready.

[@NameCallingIsWeak]

@@Radii_DC If you RUN to the woman, she hugs and kisses you. LIFE LESSON!!

[@kanshu28]

Bwahaha. I so remember making the mistake of walking up to Mariko in finghting stance and getting that one-hitter quitter after I don't know how long it took me to get there. Very nearly 'Karateka'd" my commodore 64 after that!

[@axiom5000]

The creator of the game, Jordan Mechner, used a technique called rotoscoping for the animations, i.e. real Super 8 motion picture footage of his Karate teacher running around and doing kicks and punches.That's why they were so revolutionary looking in 1984.

[@Warkive]

I remember the first time I finally got through this game only to have that woman I worked so hard to save one-shot me. Taught me everything I needed to know about women.

[@ilham78]

Lol

[@Zodi77]

Yep.

[@SamuelAna4Ever]

Quite possibly the best comment I've ever seen posted on KZbin.

[@gregfalco4528]

This shit was MGTOW 30 years before the movement started.

[@quasar4601]

It took me many weeks to figure out the name of this game. I finally google Apple 2 and bird boss battle and I got the name. I was a big fan of this game as I was only like 9. The Gate was annoying as you would die if you failed to do it right as well.

[@scottkraus9325]

There's just something special about that out of tune synth music that is so memorable. I've hummed that end/credits music for 30something years.

[@CrazyCowboyBuilds]

I used to play this on my dads Atari computer. Watching this video felt like the first time I saw this game all over again. Wow that’s powerful how vivid those memories are almost 40 years ago

[@s0c1al1z3dm3d1c1ne]

I think I watch this vid once a year or so and feel really strong nostalgia for the early days. Thanks for posting this.,

[@mandeskelton9548]

Ditto😊 One other for me is Castle Wolfenstein. Totally brings me back to being 9yrs old!!

[@jayalldayism]

Wow I'm so glad I found this video. Just brought back so many memories lol I remember playing this game everyday in one of classes. I would sneak to play it because I wanted to beat it so bad. I remember being so confused the first 20 or so times the princess killed me until one day just deciding to run to her lmao!

[@151mcx]

I never could get over this game. If she could kill him with one kick, then why couldn't she just fight her own way out?

[@PaganMin-1966]

She could have killed the final boss instead😂

[@NemeanLion-]

The final boss wisely wore an iron jock as all men should.

[@Jemmasoftball20]

SPOILER!

[@doncarlin9081]

lol I still remember my first encounter with her, and that’s exactly what happened to me. And I thought the same thing too.

[@daviddietrich9449]

One of my favorite Apple iie games! Many hours playing it until I beat it.

[@bobowai]

My sweet child memory with Apple II!

[@Video-Games-Are-Fun]

this game actually plays decent with very good hit detection. must have been amazing when it came out because this was very new. really reminds me of street fighter 2. would have loved to have had this as a kid.

[@sdutango]

Hot detection is everything, also animation is good too. It's not like 1 frame punch

[@paul.9828]

The little flip of her hair when she turns around at 1:24 is a nice detail.

[@VladK73]

Oh! That's how it looks in color!

[@D0nK3yDon]

Hello, fellow green-screen-er.

[@saubervonHerzen]

I remember playing this on a yellow monochrome monitor...and the total amazement the day dad got us a monitor that was color......sooo many snow days.......and Karateka..thanks for posting!!!!

[@zacktube100]

I was looking through comments to see if anyone else played in monochrome.

[@saubervonHerzen]

@@zacktube100 we had a Franklin Apple II clone..had two disk drives and everything......legendary

[@TraitofSiNN727]

I remember the days of my youth when games like this was the highest quality for it’s time.

[@markhormann]

That god damn EAGLE, had me tearing out hair & swearing, until I finally defeated it! haha

[@ThaGeNeCySt]

these animations are really good

[@quasar4601]

i loved this game as a kid !! I loved it

[@mikepetri3536]

I'm assuming you're being sarcastic about the graphics

[@artvandelay3840]

@@mikepetri3536 For it's time, they are really good. The animation is quite smooth and realistic.

[@dtrellis]

For 1984 they were incredible, compare them to the 2 or 3 frame animations you got for most video game characters at that stage.

[@DoubleAAmazin]

Fav computer game of my childhood....the clicky sounds of the punches and kicks is so satisfying

[@D.Norton]

THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST UNDERRATED VIDEOGAME IN HISTORY

[@macklroy2005]

Loved this game. This and captain goodnight WAS my childhood gaming. :)

[@nxsmotorsports]

I could never get past that gate as a kid. Couldnt remember the name of the game after all these years. Randomly thought about it and came to find a playthrough. It's so obvious now! Thanks for uploading this gem!

[@saubervonHerzen]

Played this as a kid on a Franklin Apple II knock off and I never realized until today...baby got back.......

[@SquirrelMonkeyCom]

When you see Brøderbund, you know it's gonna be a good game.

[@torley]

THAT ENDING! 🤣 Approaching the princess with a combat stance, haha.

[@greatguy200]

26:45 HAHAHA!! Boy that made my day!!

[@pentiummmx2294]

that girl owned him

[@Valitzu777]

thank you, one game in my entire life I've never been able to finish.. well done! I'm happy to see the ending!

[@NameCallingIsWeak]

If you RUN to the woman, she hugs and kisses you. LIFE LESSON!!

[@nicksousa8]

Omg I used to play this game when I was five everyday.. I forgot all about this gem

[@djwheels66]

This was mine and my brothers childhood in the ‘80’s!!!!! ❤❤❤❤

[@inn0x]

Thanks for uploading this! This brings back so much childhood memories! This has to be one of the first fighting games ever and with a great story line and cutscenes! But I couldn’t stop yelling “Stop throwing those stupid punches!!” while watching this...... Indeed punches are next to useless against 90% of your opponents except 1) when you’re advancing, or 2) against the hawk. I used mid kicks 90% of the time simply because it has higher priority over high kicks, and it can push your opponents back. I’d usually wait for my opponents to come within striking distance then I’ll hit 3 kicks. That’s enough to kill all of your opponents. As for the hawk, you can just keep throwing high/mid/low punches depending on its position then you’ll hit it 95% of the time. Easy. Fun fact: Your first opponent (the one waiting for you at the front gate) will keep standing unless you’re in fighting stance, and you can keep bowing to him as many times as you like because he will always bow back, so you two can keep bowing to each other infinitely. XD

[@Sim-ys7cr]

Ermm true, but if an opponent Bow more than 3 times, mostly they're not interested to fight from my experience. Accept for the first bow

[@johnpeters482]

This brings back memories! I played this one hundred times a week. I hated the eagle!

[@iceswallow7717]

John Peters hi brother. i also played this in kindergarten and we couldn’t get past the 4th guy. it was legendary that someone actually went into the castle

[@mandeskelton9548]

That eagle scared me, haha!

[@erikknouse1195]

1:04 "Get back in that Kitchen"

[@markspinozzi2882]

I remember playing this as a kid. A couple of my friends had this Apple computer!!

[@davidsantacarla]

Still remember a friend whose family got the Apple 2E and they had this game. It was awesomeness!

[@scottphillips5901]

You could knock the bad guys back by stepping forward while center kicking. It was best to step forward just after they kicked. You could get in a few kick hits and knock them back without taking damage most of the time. Worked on the main bad guy too, but had to be more careful. The biggest thing with the bird at the end was not to let it knock you back into the previous room. That allowed it to get in some easy hits on you.

[@kevingutteron8431]

Balls-out to you for doing the princess kill!

[@botake11]

Thanks for helping me relive some old childhood memories...yes..never go to mariko in fighting stance

[@Noondroid]

I remember! If you didn't assume the fighting position, you could bow to your opponent and he would bow back! Also, wasn't there a way to get enemies stuck in the gate?

[@mandeskelton9548]

I remember having a bowing stand-off!

[@CaptainCanuck74]

Yes, to the bowing stand-off, and yes to backing the enemy up until the gate fell on him. I remember doing both on the C64 version of the game

[@jirikurto3859]

It's funny seeing the scrolling text at the beginning. I remember playing this game before I could read.

[@felixc.arroyo3246]

Played this on a Commodore 64. First time I played she kicked me at the end but the second time I ran to her and she hugged and kissed. This game was great. I stayed home sick from school once just so I could play this game to the end.

[@djmixnmagic]

That fuckin' bird, man...

[@eperez7744]

I played this on my IBM computer back in 1988...this is what karate gaming is all about..no weapons & no magic fireballs...just bare hands

[@Lightsydephil]

Until Street Fighter 2 came along with Ryu and Ken

[@UrbanTiger74]

I played this religiously on my C64. I remember you can get some sick combos too. LOL!!!

[@abdhalimzainul5982]

i played this during pre-university course. bring back a lot of memories

[@duirace]

WOW! Memory lane. As a kid, I use to stay after school to play this game.

[@nubia.jackson]

Minha infância num só vídeo! Consigo escutar a trilha sonora desse jogo na minha cabeça, antes de começar kkkkk Que saudade

[@luissilva5804]

Explica pra mim este final não entendi! 26:44 Ele foi morto pela princesa!!! O objetivo não era resgatá-la?

[@mihailatanasov6598]

Oh boy, i remember this game since i was a child. If you get hit while running you immediately die. Also, if i remember correctly, if you don't bow down to the princess at the end she kills you with one punch. Man, that brings memories...

[@PianoMelodicaDark]

"You're the BEST.... AROOOUUUUUUUUND!!! Nothing's gonna ever KEEP you DOWN!"

[@philb9015]

Lol nice. Wonder how many ppl would know from what movie that is . 80s where the best.

[@zaphnathpaaneah3108]

Yeaaahhh! Get him a bodybag

[@Guntank]

...except walking backwards off the cliff you spent hours climbing and splattering yourself on the cliffside, that is.

[@johneygd]

The graphics & sounds are amezing for a system never intended for this,like hardly paralax scrolling & digital voices, sure it looks boring concidering the slow gameplay but what could i expect from such old system. This game can be clearly seen as the absolute for runner of street fighter (2) because it contains many element to it.

[@JordanCS13]

I loved this game as a kid. I’m rewatching this playthrough I was trying to remember if I’d ever actually beaten it, and then when the boss was beaten, I remembered: you have to run into her arms or she will kill you! And I definitely remember the ending scroll.

[@spunkflunk]

how did u get fraps to work lol?

[@ketosistic]

wow verified person with just 5 likes

[@ketosistic]

here before this comment blows up

[@zabicka0766]

You mean sony vegas right? XDD good old times using fraps xD

[@niceguy169]

Wow, I haven't had that many fights outside the temple since the early 80s! I always hurry, so I tend to get 3: Right after climbing the cliff, one after running several screens, and one at the temple door (then HURRY inside before someone else comes out). You can ALWAYS hit the bird, BTW. Just that punches have shorter reach, making it harder. I pretty much never punch in this game at all, while I'm closing in to land punches I'm in range of the enemy kicking me. Nice job including both endings. :)

[@andyp3834]

WOW, i so remember playing this way, thank you for kicking ass! she never hugged me, ;-(

[@Pookie2419]

wow... I remember playing this one of my high school classes. Thanks for posting the video; now I can try to find it and download it.

[@bradleyhoward74]

I remember playing this when it came out on our school computers. And double siding your floppy disk with a hole punch lol. Damn...that was almost 40yrs ago 😂

[@AndreSantos-nc3fe]

Muito obrigado por postar esse vídeo. Trouxe lembranças da minha infância! 😊

[@gcristoforo]

I always played this with keyboard controls. Played it again the other day for the first time in 30+ years and I was still kickin' ass at this game! :)

[@stevenponte6655]

I have wanted to go to Japan ever since playing this game as a child to see both Mt Fuji and the beautiful Tori gate on the water. I just returned. The weather was always cloudy, so I barely got to see mt Fuji and the Tori gate was under reconstruction and had a huge scoffolding over it. Oh well!!!

[@gonzisonsbc]

I used to play this on the older apple computer that only had green and black on the screen.

[@sunggeunpark6030]

me too

[@myunself9976]

me three

[@BrendanBellina]

That was a limitation of the monitor, not the computer. The Apple II always had color.

[@danpal6737]

Me five in green looks better

[@HelpTheWretched]

The first time I ever made it to Mariko, I was probably 6 or 7, and my dad was watching me play. He said something like "Is that the end? Better be careful..." So I walked up to her slowly and *WHAP*! He trolled me so hard that day. I was really upset about it at the time, but now I look back and appreciate it.

[@Mastermind8908]

I think I laughed my ass off when I made him step off the edge of the cliff in the beginning and heard that thud. 🤣

[@handsomebrick]

I can't believe this came out the same year as Karate Champ.

[@geometricart7851]

used to play this game every day around 1986-87 in our computer lab at school during lunch break. I was in middle school haha

[@chuongha9530]

hehe! I love that ending; I tried many times to beat up Mariko; it was great when you killed the vulture in burst of feathers, LOL!!!

[@krillin876]

I remember not bein about to continue, and if you got hit while running you were done

[@gibbytffl]

Thank you, THANK YOU, oldclassicgame, for posting this video!! Ive been looking for a complete demo of this game for quite some time on YT because it's one the first games I got really good at and is considered one of my favorites! AWESOME!

[@kelvinsoo9456]

Who is watching in 2024. I always thought they would make a sequel that sadly didn’t materialize.

[@iamnotanuggetblackhart5103]

First time I played this game was on a Game Boy Multi-Cart and it was on it. Would play it repeatedly!

[@jameshalleluyah8133]

This original version is so much better than the NES remake. The looks of the men and the boss are superior as is the MIDI music and the famous HYAH Karate scream.

[@jsrodman]

FYI: While the MIDI specification was created in 1981, it didn't get to computers until much later, and certainly wasn't available on the Apple II built-in hardware in 1984. This is code pushing in and out the Apple II speaker, which more or less required that you write tight timing loops just to get a tone (unless you were a very creative programmer), so usually the game can't do much else while playing sound. Thus the silences when things are animating.

[@KreigsMarine2]

Did we get trolled with the kick to the nuts scene?

[@squirlmy]

I was a teenager and got a pirated version of the game! Hacking copy protections on the 5 1/4 inch floppies was a big deal, and different games had entirely different types of protections (I remember one where the formatting itself was changed for copy-protection). My friends were able to copy games on school computers and play them before the school figured it out. Only a few of us had Apple IIes, so there wasn't that much piracy going on. The memories of that are more fun than actually playing the games.

[@berighteous]

I changed all the enemy heads to smurfs and released the hack as "Smurf Butcher Bob in the Far East." Also gave the princess a boob job. I miss the Apple ][ days.

[@Msf1011]

Could you possibly give me a link to it?

[@lemonslice2233]

And that was 25 years before Avatar.

[@mandeskelton9548]

COOL!

[@macombcougars1112]

First game I ever finished in 85 or 86 sheesh...

[@hankjohnson2204]

Played this in high school. Now look at me. I'm a karate master.

[@quasar4601]

I played this in Middle School and it took me weeks to find the name

[@dancampeau1963]

I remember playing this on the Apple2c. Good times.

[@X-OR_]

Happy 40th Birthday Apple II. Introduced at the West Coast Computer Faire on April 16, 1977

[@jsrodman]

Does the warlord really just teleport into the room after the bird dies in the Apple II version, or is there a gap in the recording?

[@starvinmarvin351]

Gap. He is in the room with the girl when the fight starts

[@Stonemantis2]

Nice I never got to see the end of this game

[@lostn65]

the ending where she kills you should have been canon

[@NealGutierrez]

irst time I played I ran toward the first guy without taking a fighting stance and got dropped with one kick.

[@timothykwoh6172]

Can't believe you messed things up by getting into fighting stance towards the Princess!

[@ou812scott]

Oh man used to play this all the time back in the 80's. My dad bought one when they firest came out.

[@scruti]

My first computer game with my fathers Apple II. Oh, great times :-)

[@aviezek3072]

owww thank you...childhood game..i could never finish the game...it was like so hard and dteicky to fight the master

[@NameCallingIsWeak]

If you RUN to the princess, she hugs and kisses you. LIFE LESSON!!

[@TheHonestFoodTeller]

I remember that you were supposed to bow (pressing B) before you run to the princess. Otherwise she kills you. Such a last minute resistance, amazing.

[@mysticdragonwolf89]

Wait....if you move towards her in attack position she attacks you? The faque?

[@jitsmapper4438]

Trust and you will be trusted in return. Run to love with an open heart.

[@handsomebrick]

If it's possible to beat her, then I say do it. Anything less is technically quitting.

[@gr3ygh05t9]

Not only that, she takes half your stuff too 🤣 JK

[@PSTA]

So many memories !

[@jjlee34]

my first game...in youth age... but i didn't see an ennding. Finnally i can see This! Thanks.

[@quasar4601]

This was one of my first games I played but I played earlier games off the Intellivision

[@chewieonyaboot5172]

I always wondered why Mariko didn’t just one kick Akuma in the nuts to get free

[@mandeskelton9548]

If she killed him there would be no game! ;)

[@Zodi77]

26:31 - Ahh the dreaded slow walk to her which gets you knocked out. I remember when I finally got to the end back in the 80's, just to get knocked out. You gotta run to her! I'm still screaming at the screen, RUN DAMMIT......RUN!!!!

[@EugeneAxe]

Much better graphics than the Atari 2600. I remember enjoying this as a kid. Also Moon Patrol, Shifty Sam, and Wavy Navy.

[@scottm4969]

This takes me back!

[@Malesalsero]

First time I played this was on my friends Commodore 64. So many memories

[@Astrih_Konnash]

Loved this game back then, the eagle was @#$%¨ tough to fight (imo, worse than Akuma himself) And the "bad ending" was a laugh.

[@mcrendog]

I was looking for this comment. That bird was nasty. I remember finally beating it and Akuma was sooo easy!

[@swes9598]

Oh, SNAP! Would have loved to play! Double Dragon before Double Dragon, yo! lol

[@Baelin]

You have to run towards Mariko otherwise she assumes you're an enemy come to take her away. Considering she just knocked you out in one blow though, one has to wonder why she even needs rescuing in the first place :P

[@luisquinones5159]

I remember playing this game on the Apple 2 PC as a kid growing up

[@billmcdonnell79]

One of the endings where the princess kicks her savior looks like a twist that she never was kidnapped in the first place, it was all a ruse that she's the real mastermind and Akuma was a decoy.

[@gamefails743]

looks to me that she was just being pissy because you were trying to show off

[@richard1972r]

LMAO@1:05 He looks like he's saying "Go make me a sandwich!"