The Karate Kid was a game published by LJN

LJN

LJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and later in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.-Founding:...

 and developed by a Japanese company: Atlus Co., Ltd

Atlus

is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...

 for the NES

Nes

-Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...

. The gameplay loosely follows plot elements from the first

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts romantic drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen, starring Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki "Pat" Morita and Elisabeth Shue. It is an underdog story in the mold of a previous success, Avildsen's 1976 film Rocky...

 and second

The Karate Kid, Part II

The Karate Kid, Part II is a 1986 American martial arts film and is a sequel to 1984's The Karate Kid. Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, respectively. The original music score was composed by Bill Conti...

 Karate Kid movies.

Gameplay

There are four levels in the game, and they play out as the movie goes. It ends with Pat Morita

Pat Morita

Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...

winking at the player from the screen.

Level 1

The game begins with Daniel LaRusso fighting in the All Valley Karate Tournament (the location for the first Karate Kid film's climax). He will have to go through four fighters in order to advance to the next stage. The opponent's energy bar increases as the player progresses through them. The final fight is presumably with Johnny Lawrence from the movie.

Level 2

Daniel then starts the second level which is set in Okinawa (the primary setting for The Karate Kid, Part II). There, he must dispatch random thugs who die in one hit while progressing to Chozen at the end of the stage. For every few enemies dispatched, Daniel can collect small "C" and "D" symbols that allow him to use Crane Kicks and Drum Punches, respectively. They also replenish a small amount of Daniel's energy meter. There are also a few obvious and not-so-obvious entrances where Daniel can earn Drum Punches and Crane Kicks by either breaking ice-blocks, catching flies with chopsticks or dodging a swinging hammer.

Level 3

In the third stage of play, Daniel is in a stage that is nearly identical to the first (with some tricky jumps) during a typhoon. The typhoon causes a strong wind to interfere with the player's jumps and various objects (sticks, birds) to fly through the air and threaten the player's energy. They can be hit for extra points, however. The boss is Chozen again and this time, there is a girl up on a pole that Daniel must save. Interestingly enough, it is not necessary to beat Chozen, only rescue the girl.

Level 4

The final stage is the festival after the typhoon. Daniel wears a new outfit for this stage and the random enemies are now tougher, requiring two hits to be felled. There are also enemies with spears who take even more hits to defeat. The final boss, once again Chozen, has a new twist. Now he has Kumiko down on the ground beside him and if Daniel does not occasionally come into contact with her, she will slip off the platform and drown. This will result in a lost life. If Daniel can successfully defeat the boss without Kumiko drowning the player will be treated to a rather short ending. Mr. Miyagi's head appears and is animated to look as if he's talking and saying "You have successfully guided Daniel-San through all the challenges and have become a martial arts master!!!".