The basic wax-on package.
While the Cobra Kai Netflix series has been doing remarkably well for the past six seasons, the legacy of the Karate Kid goes all the way back to 1984. I was five when the original film came out, however; I didn’t see it till I was a little older. While I am in no way a fan of the series, having only seen the original film, and the mediocre reboot, I am nonetheless a huge fan of the beat’em up genre, and Karate Kid: Street Rumble certainly provides just enough fun to be a fairly decent time.
Karate Kid: Street Rumble is set throughout the iconic locations of the first three films. You’ll step out of the dojo and explore the streets of the San Fernando Valley and Okinawa, the setting of the second film. Street Rumble is developed by Odaclick Game Studios, the Argentina based developer behind Misplaced and Chimera Tribes Battle. While I am unfamiliar with their past work. Street Rumble certainly does enough to make me take notice.
Street Rumble has 12 stages that you can play in full four-player local co-op (no online..) that take place throughout the trilogy, Allowing you to visit Topanga Beach, West Valley High, Cobra Kai Dojo, the All Valley Tournament, and more. In total, there are six stages built around the original movie, two centered around its sequel, and the final film having four levels to wrap it up. Between a few chapters, you’ll have a series of mini-games, such as timing a press to dodge a swinging pendulum before it hits you, to attacking a dummy by pressing Y as fast as you can. While these distractions are not terribly memorable, they provide a ton of XP to boost your level, should you need to level up to unlock more lives or more energy to perform combo attacks.
While the movies are centered around Daniel LaRusso, and Mr. Miyagi, with supporting characters such as Ali Mills, and Kumiko, each of these characters can be played throughout the story, regardless if it makes any sense to the narrative. Initially, in a few of the game’s opening levels, Daniel will appear to be part of the cutscene, but then disappear if you are playing as any of the other three. I found it rather hilarious that I won the final battle as Ali Mills and then a comic-book style cutscene played with Daniel being awarded the championship. The cutscenes are drawn well enough, but I do wish that the artist who did the cover of the game did these as their work just stood out considerably more.
As you work through each stage, you’ll encounter many of the iconic villains of the films. Johnny Lawrence, John Kreese, and Terry Silver, among others, are just as you remember them. However, there are a few annoyances that can disappoint. First, bosses have a particular timing when they attack. It is easy to dodge the attack, get in a few shots, and either move out of the way, or use your dodge and then wait to attack again. They don’t really change up their attacks or attempt to really stand out more than any other character in the game. This can make them incredibly easy should you have the space to move around.
That said, when the game decides to pack in multiple of them, you can be bashed in the air, hit again, bounce off the edge of the screen and back into the boss to be juggled around until you die. This will happen constantly, especially in single player as the boss and his minions, or another boss as well, will only be focused on you. While you’ll start with three lives and eventually have five, once you die, your progress in that level is reset. While you can find health in various breakable objects, you cannot find additional lives. It can really take the wind out of your sails when you get to a fight with two or three lives left, have to fight two bosses who can both juggle you senseless and die before even getting a single hit in, even on easy.
The general fodder you fight against varies from standard thugs to those wielding weapons, and the bruisers who can take a bit more punishment. Sub-bosses are generally just more powerful versions, but there are tricks to absolutely waste them. If you’ve played the recent Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragon, or TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, you’ll have a good understanding of the types of enemies, even if this beat’em up doesn’t come to those the excellence those games deliver.
Karate Kid: Street Rumble follows in the footsteps of games similar to those. The same 16-bit era flavoring echoes throughout each pixel here, with familiar trappings like destructible objects hiding healing items, to moving from one side of the screen to the other side as you trounce an near endless mob of enemies across a variety of environments. I’m actually surprised that a few staples of the genre are not here, however. There are no exploding items, weapons, or background elements, like cars, that attempt to drive over you. One boss has a motorcycle, but the world has very little interactivity elsewhere, making these locations somewhat bland in their approach. The visuals of these areas are fantastic, I’ll give it that, but I expected a bit more from the levels themselves.
Each character has some wonderfully animated attacks and each follows a specific attack system. You have a series of Light and Heavy attacks, both usable in the air. You can jump, dodge, and revive allies should they fall. You’ll start out with one signature attack, but earn additional ones as you level up. These are performed originally with the R button, but evolve into more with a direction applied to the R button as well as a fifth signature attack performed in the air. You’ll have a series of combo attacks as you dance between the Y and X button for your light and heavy strikes. Combine that with running attacks, jumping attacks, and grabbing attacks, and you’re more or less set for some very basic beat’em up mechanics. You'll have a typical health meter, and the energy that you have saved up for your signature attacks is used as a shield, preventing your health from being hit.
While you’ll certainly be able to bash away at various attacks, and despite the signature attacks looking very striking, Karate Kid: Street Rumble lacks that wow factor, especially with Rise of the Dragon and Shredder’s Revenge both having that in spades. I would have loved a screen-clearing special attack once you had a full energy meter that really conveyed that character’s ability, or something that made me take notice. Combat is more than serviceable, and does feel good, it just doesn’t stand out in any meaningful way. While I did enjoy the brief few hours that the campaign gives you, I just wanted more from a gameplay perspective, given what the genre has offered over the past few years, especially recently.
As you play through the storymode, you’ll unlock a few modes and features. Minigames, Boss Rush, Endless, and Arcade unlock once you have beaten the game, and are pretty much self-explanatory, as are the jukebox and art galleries. While the mini-games can be selected in the storymode, it is nice having them all in just one place. I also appreciate that you continue to earn experience in this mode as well. Boss Rush mode has 16 challenges to take on as you work your way through the game’s bosses in different scenarios one after another. Arcade is just the storymode but without having to return to the menu to select the next level. All of this is pretty standard stuff but all feel like something you may not engage with since it is just more of what you experienced in the storymode. Still, being able to continue to level up your characters here is the one redeeming quality that I will give it props for.
Street Rumble has some extremely charming visuals with the pixelated art of its leads and the really impressive level of variety. Animations are solid and the signature moves all impress. I could have done with another five or six enemy types, given you see a lot of the same ones throughout most of the game, with only one level having its own unique type. Regardless, while it doesn’t hit the highs of its contemporaries, it still is a solid outing from a developer not known for this type of game.
Karate Kid: Street Rumble is a solid attempt at entering into the genre with a property that works well here. The challenges you can take on during its story mode do add a bit of fun, but the little bit of experience they offer can likely see you skipping them. It is a bit odd that you can push through Daniel’s story with any of the cast, and even more odd that beating the game doesn’t unlock any additional characters. Still, I had a fun time here despite not being blown away, taking in a few fights around the San Fernando Valley, and the brief stint in Okinawa. While it doesn’t add to the genre, and could be priced a tad too high, Street Rumble is exactly what it appears to be, a fun beat’em up brawler built around a movie property that many hold in high regard.
Developer - Odaclick Game Studio.
Publisher - GameMill Entertainment. Released - September 20th, 2024. Available On - PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC. Rated - (E 10+) - Mild Violence. Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.