The Karate Kid: Street Rumble Reviews
The Karate Kid as an IP in video games has an interesting history. The very first video game was all the way back in 1987 on the NES and for a very very long time that’s all we got. But the popularity of Cobra Kai on Netflix reignited popularity for the brand which clearly inspired developers to revisit the IP in the gaming space and we saw a Cobra Kai based video game in 2020 as well as a sequel in 2022. What do all three have in common? They’re all some manner of beat ’em up and now in 2024, another developer is taking on the challenge of making a Karate Kid scrolling beat ’em up with The Karate Kid: Street Rumble. How does it fare? Well, that’s an interesting discussion
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is a labor of love, filled with charm and clearly loads of passion. Experiencing the original three titles in pixel form is a joy for any fan, either new or old. Each of the four characters is fun to play as, with a variety of skills and moves to utilize. However, the lack of an online mode and the disappointing use of animated cutscenes hold it back from being something even greater.
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble plays exactly how people who don't like Beat 'Em Ups would describe the genre. It's bare bones, doesn't do anything original, and gets repetitive very quickly. As a fan product, the game covers the films well, has enough fan-favorite characters, and is somewhat carried by a fun art direction and a fantastic soundtrack. If you love the Karate Kid franchise I would suggest picking this up on a deep sale.
Choose the fighter, roam the streets and beat the tar out of everyone who crosses your path—that's pretty much The Karate Kid: Sreet Rumble in a nutshell.