Gameplay Karateka (video game)

fighting akuma in apple ii version.

karateka uses gameplay elements found in both side-scrolling 2d platformers , fighting games.

the player introduced unnamed hero ascends mountain akuma s fortress rescue princess mariko. player directs hero fortress, various foes appear , attempt stop him. once in fighting stance, player delivers blows, punches, , kicks @ enemy while dodging enemy s attacks. player s health, shown bar on bottom of screen, diminishes every hit takes, though health recovered not engaging in combat. should player lose health, game over, requiring player start again. enemy s health bar shown on screen well; once drained, player has defeated him , can progress forward.

in addition human enemies, akuma sends trained hawk attack player, can deflected well-timed punches. there environmental hazards player can come upon, such falling portcullis or open cliffside, end game if not avoided. throughout game, cut scenes shown, displaying such scenes akuma ordering men attack player , mariko nervously awaiting fate.

eventually, player reach , face akuma in final conflict. once akuma defeated, player able rescue mariko, though player must assure out of fighting stance, or else princess assume enemy , kill him in 1 blow. once mariko freed, , player leave fortress together.

an easter egg present on apple ii floppy disk release. though claimed sold single-sided disk, reverse side of disk included full version of game rendered upside-down on player s monitor. according mechner, done joke, causing naive users call tech support , ask why game upside-down. invariably, users receive reply, take disk out, insert right-side up, , reboot .