Karnov
Encyclopedia
is a 1987
platform
arcade game
developed and published by Data East
. It is the debut of Data East's mascot of the same name. After Data East became defunct due to bankruptcy in 2003, Paon
, a company comprised with former Data East staff, acquired the rights to Karnov, along with multiple other Data East games.
, is actually from Central Asia, in what was then the Soviet Union as shown on the original arcade flyer and again in Karnov's Revenge.
Karnov later became Data East's mascot, and was reintroduced in many other Data East games, including Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja in which he played a boss in the first level. Karnov later appeared in 1994 in another one of his own games for the Neo-Geo
hardware called Karnov's Revenge. This game, also known as Fighter's History Dynamite, is not a sequel to the original Karnov, but to Fighter's History
, a competitive one-on-one fighter in which Karnov was the final boss.
east-Russian hero on a quest through nine different levels to search for treasures. However, between him and the treasures were several horrendous monsters, including sword wielding monks, djinn
, foot hopping giant fish and ostrich-riding skeleton warriors.
Players can make Karnov walk, jump and shoot his way through these levels and find special items that will help him on his way. He also can collect red orbs with which he can upgrade up to three fireballs at a time. Each level contains a variety of strange enemies, such as gargoyle
s, rock creatures, and strong men, which Karnov must destroy or avoid. When he reaches the end of a level he usually has to face one or more powerful enemies which he must defeat to beat the level and receive a new piece of a treasure map. At the end of the game he must face a powerful boss often called "The Wizard" and collect the treasure.
The items that are activated in special zones of levels are:
Miscellaneous items:
, Commodore 64
, ZX Spectrum
, Tiger Electronics
handheld and others.
There are also non-game play differences between the Famicom and NES versions. The Famicom provides a story throughout the entire game, complete with images. The NES game does not have such a feature. The Famicom game is also considerably more difficult since it does not allow the player to continue after all lives are lost. The NES game, however, provides unlimited continues. The NES game also allowed Karnov to be killed when both the A and B buttons were pressed on the second controller.
#142 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars.
1987 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* January 14, Nintendo releases Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in January for the Famicom Disk System in Japan only. The game would go unreleased in America for nearly two years afterwards.* February 20, Konami releases Contra...
platform
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
developed and published by Data East
Data East
also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, when it declared bankruptcy...
. It is the debut of Data East's mascot of the same name. After Data East became defunct due to bankruptcy in 2003, Paon
Paon
is a video game development company based in Japan. Through a partnership with Nintendo, the company has developed DK: King of Swing, DK: Jungle Climber and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast...
, a company comprised with former Data East staff, acquired the rights to Karnov, along with multiple other Data East games.
History
Karnov's full name is . Karnov, although popularly illustrated as an Eastern European or a SlavSlavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
, is actually from Central Asia, in what was then the Soviet Union as shown on the original arcade flyer and again in Karnov's Revenge.
Karnov later became Data East's mascot, and was reintroduced in many other Data East games, including Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja in which he played a boss in the first level. Karnov later appeared in 1994 in another one of his own games for the Neo-Geo
Neo Geo (console)
The is a cartridge-based arcade and home video game system released on July 1, 1991 by Japanese game company SNK. Being in the Fourth generation of Gaming, it was the first console in the former Neo Geo family, which only lived through the 1990s...
hardware called Karnov's Revenge. This game, also known as Fighter's History Dynamite, is not a sequel to the original Karnov, but to Fighter's History
Fighter's History
is a series of competitive fighting games that were produced by Data East during the 1990s. The original Fighter's History was first released for the arcades in and then ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in...
, a competitive one-on-one fighter in which Karnov was the final boss.
Gameplay
The game puts the bulging-muscled, fire-breathing, ex-circus strongmanStrongman (strength athlete)
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or circus performers of similar ilk who displayed feats of strength such as the bent press , supporting large amounts of...
east-Russian hero on a quest through nine different levels to search for treasures. However, between him and the treasures were several horrendous monsters, including sword wielding monks, djinn
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
, foot hopping giant fish and ostrich-riding skeleton warriors.
Players can make Karnov walk, jump and shoot his way through these levels and find special items that will help him on his way. He also can collect red orbs with which he can upgrade up to three fireballs at a time. Each level contains a variety of strange enemies, such as gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s, rock creatures, and strong men, which Karnov must destroy or avoid. When he reaches the end of a level he usually has to face one or more powerful enemies which he must defeat to beat the level and receive a new piece of a treasure map. At the end of the game he must face a powerful boss often called "The Wizard" and collect the treasure.
Special Items
In each level Karnov can collect a variety of items along the way, which can be chosen right away or only at certain times. The items Karnov can use at any time are:- Jump Boots: Allow Karnov to run faster and jump much higher temporarily.
- Bomb: Destroys enemies and some floors and walls which can lead to hidden areas.
- Ladder: Used to reach high places.
- Boomerang: Powerful throwing weapon that destroys most enemies in one hit and can be retrieved after being thrown.
- Super Fireball: 30 fireballs that destroy most enemies in one hit.
The items that are activated in special zones of levels are:
- Wings: Allow Karnov to fly for a limited amount of time.
- Scuba Helmet: Allows Karnov to swim faster in water.
- Mask: Used to receive a cache of hidden items.
- Trolley: Grants Karnov the ability to ride through and destroy ground enemies.
Miscellaneous items:
- Red Orb: Increases Karnov's firepower, letting him spit more than one fireball at a time, up to a maximum of three.
- Letter K: Much like coins in the Super Mario Brothers series, if Karnov collects 50 of these, he will earn an extra life.
Ports
This game was later ported to numerous home consoles, such as the NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics
Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets. When Tiger was an independent company, Tiger Electronics Inc., its headquarters were in Vernon Hills, Illinois....
handheld and others.
Famicom/NES Version differences
Karnov was released for the Famicom on December 18, 1987 in Japan, and a year later on its North American equivalent, the NES, in 1988. Although it plays very similarly to the original arcade game there are some noticeable differences:- Karnov takes two hits to die instead of just one. After being hit once he will turn a blue color in which he has one hit left or can gain an extra hit back by grabbing a blue fireball orb.
- The Super Fireball is replaced with the Spike Bomb which destroys every enemy on screen. The Trolley item is replaced with the Shield which is used to reflect an enemies fireballs.
- Levels 4 and 8 are completely different from the arcade levels.
- The final boss is no longer the Wizard, but a giant three-headed dragon by the name of Ryu. Both fights, however, take place in similar rooms.
There are also non-game play differences between the Famicom and NES versions. The Famicom provides a story throughout the entire game, complete with images. The NES game does not have such a feature. The Famicom game is also considerably more difficult since it does not allow the player to continue after all lives are lost. The NES game, however, provides unlimited continues. The NES game also allowed Karnov to be killed when both the A and B buttons were pressed on the second controller.
Reception
The MS-DOS version of the game was reviewed in 1989 in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#142 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars.
Video games
Aside from being featured in the various ports of the original Karnov game and the Fighter's History games, he has found his way in several Data East and other gaming titles, usually as an enemy:- In Garyo Retsuden, only released in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Karnov is featured as a regular enemy. - In Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, he is featured as the first level's boss. A slightly different rendition of the boss music is used when fighting him, which contains the familiar melody from the original Karnov game. A grey version of Karnov appears later in the game. According to the credits sequence of DragonNinja (the Japanese version of Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja), this version of Karnov is called Kusamoci Karnov.
- In Trio The Punch - Never Forget Me...Trio The Punch - Never Forget Me...is an arcade game released by Data East in 1990. The game was never released outside of Japan, and is noted for its bizarreness and stupidity.The game was re-released in 2007 as part of , a series which ported arcade games from the 1980s and 90s to the PlayStation 2...
, which was only released in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, features several different enemy renditions of Karnov. Some of these bizarre takes are of enormous stone statues and even mini versions of him. - Although not a direct cameo, the guard boss from the GaelcoGaelcoGaelco is a Spanish company that develops and publishes arcade games and video games.-Arcade games:*Alligator Hunt*ATV Track Quads on Amazon*Bang!*Big Karnak*Football Power*Maniac Square*Radikal Bikers*Ring Riders...
game, Big KarnakBig KarnakBig Karnak is a scrolling platform "Hack and slash" arcade game released in 1991 by Gaelco. The game takes place in an Ancient Egypt setting.-Trivia:...
, is almost identical to Karnov's and Kusamoci Karnov's sprites from Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja. - Karnov appeared as an enemy in the game TumblepopTumblepopis an arcade game by Data East released in 1991. It is considered a cult classic, and was later ported to the Nintendo Game Boy.- Gameplay :The game involves one or two ghost-busters who can suck monsters, ghosts, aliens and various other oddball characters into vacuum-cleaner-like devices and spit...
. - Karnov appears in the alley background of the Neo-Geo game Street HoopStreet HoopStreet Hoop, known in Japan as and known in North America as Street Slam, is a basketball game developed by Data East for Neo-Geo, released in 1994 and later on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on July 20, 2010, the PAL region on October 22, 2010 and in North America on November 1, 2010.In the...
. He is shown wearing a shirt with a "K" on it. - Karnov appears in the credits of the freeware game I wanna be the guy in the "Hall of former the guys".
- Karnov appears as the end level boss of the game Fighters History, and becomes a playable character in its sequels.
- Karnov appears as an enemy in the arcade game Joe & Mac Returns.
Pop culture
- Robby Roadsteamer wrote a song called "Kathy Sucks At Karnov" for his 2008 release This Album Syncs Up To Toejam And Earl
- In 2005 Galaxy454 Productions released the 30 minute film KARNOV based on the post-video game adventures of Jinborov Karnovski. Karnov the movie
- In a stranger vein, Karnov appeared as the protagonist of Something AwfulSomething AwfulSomething Awful, often abbreviated to SA, is a comedy website housing a variety of content, including blog entries, forums, feature articles, digitally edited pictures, and humorous media reviews. It was created by Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka in 1999 as a largely personal website, but as it grew, so...
's Dance Dance RevolutionDance Dance RevolutionDance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, and previously known as Dancing Stage in Europe and Australasia, is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the...
parody, Dance Dance Karnovhttp://www.somethingawful.com/d/feature-articles/flash-game-dance.php. - In March and June 2006, Karnov once again appeared as the subject of Something Awful updates. "The Karnov Playsets" (1 and 2) included short clips featuring Karnov in a variety of surreal and nonsensical settings. http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3669 and http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=3867
External links
- Karnov the movie by Galaxy454 Productions
- Arcade-History.com entry
- Dance Dance Karnov, A "Fake" Sequel to the Karnov games done by Something Awful, includes many of the bad guys in the original game
- "Where is Karnov?" - Parody video produced for G4G4 (TV channel)G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...