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Designed by Archer Maclean
Programming and graphics by Archer Maclean
Loading screen by Paul Docherty
Music by Rob Hubbard
Originally published on the Commodore 64 by System 3 in 1987.
North American C64 version includes loading music by Russell Lieblich, and was published as "Chop 'N' Drop" by Activision in 1988.
Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC versions written by Dan Michek, with music by Rob Hubbard. Published by System 3 on the ZX Spectrum in 1987, and on the Amstrad CPC in 1988.
Commodore Amiga and Atari ST versions written by Archer Maclean, with music by Dave Lowe. Published by System 3 in 1988. Also published on the Amiga CD32 in 1994.
Nintendo Game Boy Advance and Sony Playstation versions developed by Ignition Entertainment:
PS1 programming by Jim Bagley
GBA programming by Jim Bagley and Adrian Scotney
GBA music and sound effects by Steve Cowell
Published by Ignition Entertainment in 2003.
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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS
Planned to be included on the comparison blog since the beginning, International Karate Plus was, similarly to Pitstop II, one of those games that felt like a last resort thing. Now that the blog has turned 12 years old, I thought the time is right to have some of more bigger 8-bit classics to get their place in the comparison blog, while I'm attempting to take the blog more towards the 16-bits. Archer Maclean's second game, International Karate, became a massive hit in 1986, which prompted a swift development for a sequel. IK+ had nothing international about it, as such, but it made the arena fighting game genre one of the biggest things at the time, thanks to a couple of rather unusual, and still rarely seen innovations.
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HISTORY, DESCRIPTION & REVIEW
Following the path set a few years earlier by the grandfather of all one-on-one fighting games, Karate Champ, the original International Karate - which is yet to make its appearance on the blog - was designed to take the player through a series of international sceneries through point-for-hit based matches. Because good one-on-one fighting games were highly in demand in the mid-80's, System 3 developed International Karate for the ZX Spectrum, and became an instant hit. Archer Maclean developed the C64 version from scratch, making the game even more popular, and the C64 version became the first European-developed game in the USA to sell over 1.5 million copies. Rather unfortunately renamed World Karate Championship, this couldn't help but obviously lead to a lawsuit from Karate Champ's publisher, Data East, against International Karate's American publisher, Epyx.
Undaunted, Archer Maclean started developing the sequel straight for the Commodore 64 with the intention of bringing in a third fighter into the mix from the beginning. This meant, the fights would have to be more streamlined, and let the three fighters fight until one of their point meters would fill up. So, this was basically the game that popularized the way all arena fighting games play since then: make the fighter that has been hit take a few seconds to get up, and let the match continue until either the time runs out, or the loser runs out of energy, or in this case, the winner fills up the points meter. Energy meters had been introduced in the original arcade version of Yie Ar Kung-Fu, so that wasn't exactly a new thing - just underutilized thus far. The one crucial feature of having a third fighter in the arena simultaneously still remains a unique feature in IK+. This meant that two human players could team up against the computer player, or more traditionally, one against all. This, and a lot more, was described in an Edge magazine interview of Archer Maclean in November 2009.
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| Cover art from the American version. |
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| Redesigned cover art from the Atari ST version. |
For all the above reasons, and thanks to some mystique behind the game's uniqueness, IK+ is widely considered as a classic, and I'm not ashamed to say, I prefer it over any other fighting game. So do many others of my age. For any retro gaming enthusiast not yet introduced to the game, it should be considered obligatory educational material.
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LOADING
As before, no versions only shipped on floppy disk or cartridge will be included in this section, but that still leaves us with the usual three 8-bits to be compared, followed by loading screens, where available.
AMSTRAD, System 3: 4 minutes 36 seconds
AMSTRAD, ERBE: 5 minutes 18 seconds
C64, System 3 v1: 5 minutes 47 seconds
C64, System 3 v2: 5 minutes 55 seconds
C64, Ocean: 4 minutes 52 seconds
SPECTRUM, System 3 48k: 4 minutes 24 seconds
SPECTRUM, System 3 128k: 4 minutes 42 seconds
SPECTRUM, Hit Squad: 4 minutes 43 seconds
SPECTRUM, System 3 (?): 3 minutes 53 seconds
It looks as though one of the ZX Spectrum versions takes the least amount of time while loading, while the C64 versions take the longest to load, aside from the Spanish ERBE re-release on the Amstrad CPC. Regarding the second System 3 version on the C64, though, there is an opening sequence in the middle of loading, which is only available in the original disk version otherwise.
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| Loading screens. Top row, left to right: Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 (Ocean), Atari ST. Bottom row: Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
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PLAYABILITY
Once the game has finished loading, the original C64 version of IK+ takes you straight to the demo mode, whereupon we see the three fighters fight off one round, after which the high scores table is viewed. Pressing either the fire button in the first player joystick (port two) or F1 on the keyboard starts a single player game, and similarly, pressing the fire button in the second player joystick (port one) or F3 on the keyboard starts a two player game. F5 toggles music at any given time, F7 toggles sound effects, and Run/Stop toggles Pause mode. The high scores table reveals the first of many easter eggs that can be activated with the keyboard: pressing E and S simultaneously makes the fighters' pants drop down during fights. Other easter eggs include pressing * (asterisk) for changing the reflection of the sun, and D+O+M for changing water and sky colours. Also, numbers 1 through 5 adjusts the game speed, where the default is 3.
You get the same demo mode after booting in the AMSTRAD CPC version. The game is started with numbers 1 and 2 from the numpad, and music and sound effects are toggled during play with M and S, respectively. Esc key toggles pause. As far as I can tell, there are no easter eggs in the CPC version.
The SPECTRUM version is the first of our contestants to start with a credits screen, and once you proceed from that, the game enters the fighting arena, where the judge prompts for Player 1 to "press fire now". Pressing the fire button makes the judge ask, whether you want to include a second player or not. This all seems a bit weird, since you can still restart the game in a single player mode or two-player mode with the keys I and O, once you have gotten through the initial procedures. P toggles pause, M toggles music and N toggles sound effects, rather illogically. There seems to be no easter eggs in the SPECTRUM version, either.
Both of the 16-bits start with an actual title screen, followed by the credits sequence, and finally, a list of the basic keyboard controls, which include the single player and two-player mode starting keys (F1/F2), music and sound effects togglers (F3/F4), speed control (F6 through F10), volume control (+ and -), high score table scrolling keys (up and down arrows), colour changing keys for ripple (*), shadow (S) and belt (Help), as well as shield graphics (B). The pants dropping easter egg is no longer an easter egg, since it is mentioned in the keyboard controls table, and instead of S+E, it can be achieved more easily by pressing T (for trousers). There are also different visual effects in the pause mode, which can be switched with P while in pause mode, which can be activated with Space bar. The ATARI ST version has a key for changing the colours of the judge's wardrobe. Of course, the game can also be started by pressing either of the two joystick's fire buttons.
From the latter day conversions for the GAME BOY ADVANCE and PLAYSTATION, the former of the two can only be played by two players by using a link cable. Otherwise, the features are similar, and the game starts off similarly to the earlier 16-bit versions with a title sequence. After the opening sequence, you are shown a menu, where you can choose to start the game in a single player or two player mode, and view some further options, including a difficulty setting, music and sound effects togglers and a full credits sequence. These 2003 versions also feature a tutorial to show you all the fighting moves, which never really felt like a necessity in the original versions, regardless of the moves being shown in the game's manual, which I never actually looked at, because IK+ always felt rather intuitive to me. I suppose the relative simplicity of IK+, when compared to the likes of Mortal Kombat et al, made it necessary to consider gamers who weren't used to the simpler controls of originally 8-bit fighters. Anyway, the tutorial is non-interactive, and it loops over until you decide to exit it by pressing any button.
Compared to the original International Karate, IK+ deviates considerably from what had become the norm in the repertoire of fighting moves since Karate Champ. Instead of having both backwards and forwards somersaults, IK+ only has a faster-moving backflip, which also makes more room for more impressive fighting moves. The most important ones are head butt (fire + forward-up) and double-foot jump kick (fire + backward-up), but some of the more basic moves have been readjusted from the first International Karate to make them more effective and swift, and more logically placed on the joystick. Also, turning around has been made simpler by including the turn into a couple of different fighting moves, namely the high punch, high kick and foot-sweep.
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| Joystick controls from the official IK+ manual (Hit Squad version). |
As with both International Karate and The Way of the Exploding Fist, IK+ features a bonus round, which is now a more prominent and time-consuming feature. After every second round, you play a bonus round with bouncing balls coming at you from both sides of the screen, and you must deflect them with a shield to the best of your abilities. This bonus round is not necessary to complete in order to move on, but getting through rewards you with 5,000 points, which helps plenty in getting to your obvious goal of getting a black belt, which happens at 50,000 points.
Rather amazingly, the most obvious gameplay differences in the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions compared to the C64 original have nothing to do with collision detection or the default game speed. There is a much steeper difficulty curve, which takes a sharp turn after the first ball-deflecting bonus round, and never seems to change after that. The bonus round itself feels much slower to begin with, although it does speed up enough towards the end - it's just the slightly choppier animation that makes the CPC/SPE versions feel considerably slower in the bonus rounds. Mind you, they are a bit slower, just not as much as they seem at first.
Of course, there is no denying, that the ATARI ST conversion, which Archer Maclean himself did first after the C64 one, is a pure upgrade, and the following AMIGA port doesn't differ all that much from it. The biggest addition is, as you might already know, a second bonus round, which alternates turns with the ball-deflecting game, and in this other bonus game, you kick off suddenly appearing bombs that are about to explode. If a bomb happens to blow up, it's not the end of the round, but you just need to look out for the explosion impact and flying shrapnel. The only tiny bit I could find that was notably different between the two 16-bits was, that in the keyboard commands list, the ATARI ST version gives you a key for optional judge graphics, and the AMIGA version lets you choose between German and English commentary in its stead. The only way the CD32 version differs from the six-years prior AMIGA version is, that it loads from a CD-ROM instead of a floppy disk, and that goes for every other aspect of the game.
Upon first glance, the latter-day GAME BOY ADVANCE and PLAYSTATION versions seem more or less like carbon copies of the ST/AMIGA versions. It is worth noting, though, that the GBA version has a smaller screen size, which makes the play area smaller, as well. It's not a massive problem, though, because the three fighters can still pass each other without a problem. All is fine until you reach the first bonus round of deflecting balls, which runs a little bit slower on both GBA and PS1, than in the original 16-bit versions. This is not such a massive problem, either, though you would expect something better from these more modern platforms. After passing that first bonus round, though, you will start to notice some major problems. At first, it seems like the difficulty curve is slightly steeper than in the original 16-bit versions, like in the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, but what you're up against instead, is what I think are some severe bugs. The blue player has some severe collision detection issues, and the red one has them later on, and sometimes CPU players don't fall even when hits are acknowledged. If this is intentional, as a way of making the game progressively more difficult, it is more than just a bit unfair, because it has also been said that the creators of these newer versions tried to make the GBA and PS1 versions as faithful as possible to the AMIGA and ST versions. I just think they're unplayably buggy. Mind you, I don't have the official PS1 disc and GBA cartridge in my collection to verify these findings from the image files found online, but considering the fact that both of these versions are played using a pad controller, I just cannot see either of them particularly comfortable on real hardware in this context.
As it is, the GBA and PS1 versions are, perhaps surprisingly, the least playable ones from the lot, and I dare anyone to challenge that view. For all I know, they don't even have the usual easter eggs that have been so readily available in the C64 original, as well as the two 16-bit computer versions. The next up, we have the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, which also feature none of the easter eggs, but also feel slower in the ball-deflecting bonus games. With more easter eggs, smoother gameplay and a second bonus game, the 16-bits win over the C64 original by a notable margin, but that doesn't mean the original isn't brilliant. It just has less to offer.
1. ATARI ST / COMMODORE AMIGA
2. COMMODORE 64
3. AMSTRAD CPC / SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM
4. SONY PLAYSTATION
5. NINTENDO GAME BOY ADVANCE
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GRAPHICS
Considering that IK+ doesn't actually feature more than one backdrop, and has most of its graphical content shown the exact moment you start the game, it still manages to weave some sort of a weird spell on the gamer, thanks to all the hidden elements.
As many gamers from the olden days will likely agree, IK+ was all about gameplay, and all that happened outside of the action was barely even secondary. Personally, my introduction to IK+ happened through the C64 compilation "We Are The Champions", where the opening sequence was left out in favour of loading speed, so it took me no less than 37 years to find out, while starting to write this comparison, that there actually was an opening sequence in the original System 3 release.
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| Opening sequences, where available. Top row: Commodore 64. 2nd row: Sinclair ZX Spectrum. 3rd row: Commodore Amiga & Atari ST. Final rows: Game Boy Advance & Playstation. |
From the other two 8-bit versions, the AMSTRAD version has no opening sequence at all, while the SPECTRUM users can enjoy a simple credits screen shown immediately after the game has loaded, and then the game already takes you to the fighting grounds, with the judge prompting at least one of the players to activate themselves.
The ATARI ST and COMMODORE AMIGA versions share the exact same graphics, as far as I'm able to tell, so I'm only going to be showing one of them for the rest of this section. On these two versions, the much more faux-Eastern IK+ logo gets drawn down like a curtain with some flying debris, after which the logo electrifies and falls into the background, while the credits start showing over the faded logo, and the middle of the screen is then surrounded by dozens of differently coloured fighter silhouettes in a magnificently choreographed animation. The second part of the credits shows a strange slider-puzzle screen with three differently flashing IK+ logos and some more credits text. After these, the options and keyboard controls appear in small text, with small IK+ items scrolling around the other text, and a wild circular rippling colour shading effect goes through the entire text area.
Obviously, the GBA and PS1 versions follow the previous, but there are some unexpected differences. Firstly, the GBA screen is quite small, so while the IK+ logo and the surrounding animations look good enough, the credits text is comparatively large, so all the credits shown in the AMIGA and ST versions are now split onto two screens, and the slicker puzzle screen is effectively gone. Of course, without a keyboard in use, you're not getting any keyboard controls, so instead, they've included a four-item menu with a highlighter. When you enter the Options screen, you can view more comprehensive credits for Ignition Entertainment, which in the GBA version features two screens, and one in the PS1 version. Both versions feature the non-interactive tutorial mode, an example of which is also included in the above collection of screenshots. What makes the PS1 version look odd is, that the graphics are of no better quality than what you get in the GBA version, only the same ones in a higher screen resolution, making it look quite blocky on a big screen.
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| Fighting screenshots from the Commodore 64. |
Although you might not immediately recognize the layout as such, the C64 version is graphically divided into three strictly separate parts. The topmost area, which is basically a row worth of two character blocks' height, contains the info panel, which includes hit points indicators, score data, human player indicator fists, level number, time counter and the current belt colour. Obviously, the player fists are the only properly graphical elements in the info panel, with white and red variants for player one and two, but at least the text uses a clear and stylish custom font.
The bottom area is reserved for the fighters and the judge, along with his speech bubble, which we will get to later on. The background in this area is nothing but grey, so the background and the action don't interfere with each other. The three fighters look exactly the same apart from their clothing colours, which are white for player 1, red for player 2 and blue for the dedicated CPU player. The players were impeccably animated by Archer Maclean for the first International Karate game on the C64 by using a primitive form of stop-frame animation by using cellophane on a television with paused screens from kung-fu movies, so most of the moves were copied straight from the original IK to IK+. A couple of new moves were tracked down apparently from Grease and The Cannonball Run. All the characters on the fighting area show equally nicely animated black shadows underneath, which are cut short by the screen's border.
While IK+ lacks in variety in backgrounds compared to its predecessor, it makes up for it by an absolutely beautiful single backdrop of a torii in front of a cliffy shoreline and a fantastically detailed tree on a cloudy evening sunset. As if the background picture wasn't enough, this background is filled with stunning animations of the sun reflected from the shimmering water, and appearances of wiggly worms, spiders coming down and back up from the torii and the tree, birds of various colours flying across the screen, and differently coloured jumping fish in the water. Of course, because your focus is mostly on the action, it's hard to sometimes notice everything going on in the background, but it is all ridiculously vibrant and alive.
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| Fighting screenshots from the Sinclair ZX Spectrum version. |
To eliminate any attribute clash among the fighters and other elements in the fighting portion of the screen, all the fighters are using greyscale. Hence, since the ground is grey, the white player looks grey also. Player 2 is now wearing a checkered black-and-grey clothing, making him essentially grey, and the blue CPU player is now black. Of course, all this is effectively displayed in the info panel, which otherwise doesn't really differ from the original C64 version. All the player animations are smooth, and as far as I'm able to tell, animated to equal detail as in the original - so far, so good.
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| Fighting screenshots from the Amstrad CPC version. |
Although there are certainly more colours here than in the SPECTRUM version, the choice of colours are not exactly optimal. Compared to the C64 background, there are less shades and a poorer selection of colours chosen for the sky and the sea, with an abundance of dark purple in sight, where there should be more shades of red and a deep blue water. Also, I cannot understand the choice of clothing for the CPU player being purple, while there is still blue in the sky, but I suppose there is some internal limitations that had to be taken into consideration. Still, it looks considerably closer to the original than the SPECTRUM version, and it still plays equally good as the SPECTRUM version so far. Not too much to complain about, but with these kinds of games, you do have to nitpick a little.
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| Fighting screenshots from the Atari ST (above) and Commodore Amiga (below) versions. |
Otherwise, they both run circles around even the C64 version, which was already quite impressive for an 8-bit. The level of details is turned up to eleven, and the background graphics are now extended into the fighting portion of the screen, featuring highly detailed pavement slabs, a park bench, a large rock and three decorative stone structures with some green growth hanging from them on each side of the screen. Along with the usual background animated elements (spiders, birds, fishes and worms), you now get leaves falling from the tree, and a submarine periscope and Pac-Man make occasional appearances as well. The writings carved onto the torii are rather obvious, but worth pointing out, but one small difference to the C64 version, which I had never noticed before until now, is the reflections of the mountains on the sides are also animated to move similarly to the sun's reflection in the middle.
The info panel looks otherwise exactly like in the C64 version, but the player indicating fist is now in full colour, showing a white or red slice of sleeve to mark the player colour. Also, instead of the belt colour, the 16-bit versions show the chosen speed under the time counter, because the belt colour is actually displayed on the fighter himself, with now both the waist belt and headband both displaying the current colour.
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| Fighting screenshots from the Game Boy Advance version. |
Sure enough, the GAME BOY ADVANCE version follows the 16-bit style, and more particularly, the AMIGA version, if you look closer at the colour gradient of the evening sky. That said, there are some minuscule details here that make the GBA version feel considerably different. Firstly, the shorelines' mountain reflections are animated differently to the earlier AMIGA/ST versions. Second, and perhaps more notably, the background visitors are much more frequent, enough to make the background rather busy. Of course, it goes without saying, that the screen resolution is rather low, so all the text and most of the details are quite unclear compared to the earlier 16-bits, and due to the multiplayer mode being only available through a link cable, the player indicating fists are dropped entirely from the info panel, so you cannot help but remember, this version is on a relatively early handheld device. Also, all the things we see in the info panel have been switched around between top and bottom items, when compared to the previous versions, and the score counters have only the numbers that are in use - no firm six digits with zeroes in front this time. Not a problem, but looks strange when you're used to the old style.
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| Fighting screenshots from the Sony Playstation version. |
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| Appearances of the judge. Bottom left: Game Boy Advance. Bottom right: Sony Playstation. Top row: Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga. |
For the ATARI ST and COMMODORE AMIGA versions, his pattern of appearance stays the same, but now he's wearing black trousers, a brown belt (instead of black) and by default, a white shirt, which can be changed to a checkered white and grey shirt by pressing J. Unlike the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, the 16-bit versions follow the original by having stardust glimmer around the judge just as he appears, just for a second. As a further upgrade, the judge's speech bubbles now feature more colours to emphasize the players, and the demo dialog is all shown in different colours.
From the two later builds, the PS1 version follows the AMIGA/ST pattern properly, apart from having only one shirt available. The GBA version puts the judge always in the middle of the screen, even at the end of bonus rounds, because the screen size doesn't really allow for that sort of variety, and so the speech bubbles also block the background.
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| Bonus round 1: Deflecting balls. Left to right: Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC. |
In the SPECTRUM version, the balls all have a black edge, but only three colours, due to the monochrome setting there, but otherwise, the balls have been well attempted to use the same appearance. The AMSTRAD version follows the C64 version's styling, but due to the lack of a hi-res sprite capability within a multicolour area, the balls are all blockier, and the small dot makes the balls look a bit deformed. Neither version features the randomly bouncing flashing balls. In both the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, the animation speed is considerably slower and the balls move less fluidly, but with the speed buildup towards the end of the bonus round, it becomes more bearable.
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| Bonus round 1: Deflecting balls, part 2. Left to right: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Game Boy Advance, Sony Playstation. |
In the collected set of screenshots above, we can see more clearly, how much closer the camera is to the fighters in the GAME BOY ADVANCE version, which gives it less reaction time for the balls. Note, that the GBA screenshots have been zoomed in 400% here to give them equal space to the other ones. More oddly, though, the PLAYSTATION version has an invisible border near the right-most stone table, which you can't see here, but which is where the balls coming from the right make their appearance. Oh, and it's probably worth pointing out, that you cannot actually choose in the GBA and PS1 versions, which of the two possible shield tags you see at any given time.
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| Bonus round 2: Kicking bombs. Left to right: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Game Boy Advance, Sony Playstation. |
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| High score tables. Top row, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC. Middle and bottom rows: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Game Boy Advance, Sony Playstation. |
On the later versions, the high score table holds 50 high score entries, with the obvious advantage of having a media that can save the high score tables, but the GBA and PS1 versions also ditch the two fighters in the background, whereas the AMIGA and ATARI versions still have them. The scoreboard itself is rather boring otherwise, except when you're typing in your name in the AMIGA and ATARI versions, where you see small IK+ icons circling around the table.
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| Pause screens. Top row, left to right: Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC. Bottom row: Atari ST, Commodore Amiga, Game Boy Advance, Sony Playstation. |
First off, the C64 version sets an example for the others by having not three, but five fighters performing the same dance exactly in the same rhythm. With a green and yellow fighters included in the set, it makes one wonder, why was there no possibility of selecting your colour in the game? Of course, with the screen being narrower in the SPECTRUM version, you only get three fighters, as you do in the game itself, and the AMSTRAD version follows this rule, but breaks the pattern by having the blue fighter standing the opposite way, and mirroring the others movements that way.
All the rest of the versions feature six fighters in the Pause mode, with both AMIGA and ATARI ST version having some funny humane off-beat movements between the six. The trick here is, there are pairs of blue, red and white participants, and each pair does things in their own rhythm, which is more visibly displayed in the ATARI ST screenshot. The GBA and PS1 versions have the patterns played in complete unison, but the GBA version has the pairs situated differently, and a large "Paused" sign displayed in front of the torii, while the PS1 version blocks the sunlight under the torii, and includes an option of quitting the game back to the menu. Apart from the quit prompt, I'm not entirely sure, why they felt the need to include the large "Paused" sign, because the word "Pause" is also displayed flashing next to the remaining time item in the info panel.
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| Easter eggs from the Commodore 64 version. |
As if all that weren't enough, the C64 version had some easter eggs, some of which revealed themselves in the unchanged high score table. The two specific easter eggs mentioned in the high scores message are E+S for dropping the fighters' trousers, and asterisk (*) to change the reflection of the sun. C64-Wiki also mentions another combination of D+O+M to change water and sky colour.
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| Easter eggs from the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga versions. |
There is no way around the fact, that all the 8-bit versions are less detailed and colourful, and therefore less graphically interesting, than the versions developed for the more capable platforms. Still, the original C64 version gives all it has to offer, which is plenty more than the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, both of which are still rather good for what they are. The GBA version is, taken everything into consideration, surprisingly good, if a bit cramped, while the PS1 version is relatively unimpressive and faulty. I suppose they could be considered equal in some way. The ATARI ST and COMMODORE AMIGA versions are, simply put, superior to every other version, and I would put the C64 version even above the GBA and PS1 versions, because of two very important reasons: it did all the groundwork, and it has more easter eggs than either of the newest versions.
1. ATARI ST / COMMODORE AMIGA / CD32
2. COMMODORE 64
3. SONY PLAYSTATION / GAME BOY ADVANCE
4. AMSTRAD CPC / SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM
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SOUNDS
IK+ became an instant classic for gamers of my generation, and while the spot on gameplay and fantastically detailed graphics certainly had their part in creating the phenomenon, the almost 8 minute Rob Hubbard tune and the sampled sound effects definitely solidified the game's place in the book of C64 classics. Oddly, for Rob himself, making the music wasn't particularly memorable compared to the original International Karate, as he mentioned in his comment for the High Voltage SID Collection. Sure, from a songwriter's perspective, the IK+ track doesn't actually have too much going on for it compared to the original International Karate tune, but it did make interesting use of the SID chip, and it works perfectly well as background music for a frantic fighting game.
Rob Hubbard's theme tune for IK+ is basically a faster techno/funk upgrade on the original International Karate tune, which is perhaps better remembered for its incorporation of Ryuichi Sakamoto's main theme from the movie "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence". However, the IK+ "remix" drops the movie reference, and includes percussive breaks between the familiar melodic phrases. There are basically five different parts in the IK+ tune, the last one of which plays twice during the final two minutes, before the track loops over, and there is a modulation somewhere. When you're playing, it's likely very hard to tell exactly where the modulation happens, because the music is overlapped by the sound effects, which include fighting grunts and smashes, and even more disturbingly, the ball-bouncing and deflecting noises, which take priority completely over some of the channels used by the music. While this is part of what makes the ball-deflecting rounds iconic in its own way, it's certainly not ideal, but there's only so much you could do with a three-voice synthesizer. Also, the general quality of how the music and sound effects blend together has a lot to do with whether you're playing the game on an old breadbox C64 with a 6581 SID chip, or a newer C64C model with a 8580 SID chip. To my ear, the 8580 suits this game slightly better.
As you would expect, the other two 8-bits are sadly under-equipped in this regard. In the 48k SPECTRUM version, you get no music at all (thankfully), and the sound effects are just slightly different tap noises. In the 128k SPECTRUM version, the noises are more refined, but with just a few pops, slaps and chips, it's still pretty far from what the C64 offers. At least you get music in the 128k version, but here, the theme has been butchered not only by taking out almost 3 minutes of the C64 tune, but also by featuring passages where the bass line and main melody don't meet up harmonically even nearly, most notably in the beginning and somewhere around 4:30 and towards the end. The AMSTRAD version sounds almost exactly the same as the 128k SPECTRUM version, except the balls' bouncing noises are more bouncy than choppy. A minor upgrade, but in the light of things, perhaps notable enough.
If we have learned anything from the past, the next logical step upwards would be the ATARI ST version. Sonically, the theme music sounds closer to the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions than the C64 version, but at least there are no wrong notes here. Without Rob Hubbard's trickstery, though, the ST soundtrack by Dave Lowe feels a bit flat and unimaginative. Happily, all the sound effects are samples selected and programmed by Archer Maclean himself, from who knows what kung-fu movies.
Dave Lowe's AMIGA soundtrack fixes what was wrong with the ST soundtrack by using the machine's innate sound capabilities for using samples as the main source of anything audible. This method gives the music much more character, groove, impact and dynamics than was even in the C64 original, and everything from the original tune has been more or less preserved. Naturally, the sound effects are exactly the same as you hear in the ATARI ST version, except there is some sort of a metallic tinge to them here, which I'm not sure if it makes the sound effects better or worse here than in the ST version, but it does make them stand out slightly better over the sampled music. The CD32 version's only redeeming value is a higher quality soundtrack and sound effects (in other words, higher bitrate), but I don't think it's reason enough to hunt the CD32 version down, much less actually buying a CD32.
Until 2003, this was all there was, and for all I care, it should have been left that way. Both the GAME BOY ADVANCE and PLAYSTATION versions feature the same rearrangement of the soundtrack, which is more or less the exact tune you find in the C64 original, as well as the AMIGA version. The rearrangement only replaces the main melodic instruments with something unspeakably plastic and cheap, and doesn't feel at all like the toned down bellish instruments used in the two COMMODORE versions. Also, the snare sample is less in-your-face, as well as slightly more plate-reverbed, than the one used in the AMIGA version, so it doesn't make you feel particularly energized for the game. The sound effect sound good enough - meaning, close enough to the earlier 16-bit version in the GBA version, so no complaints there. In the PS1 version, however, the sound effects are doubled for a wide stereo effect and slightly overpowered, that it practically ruins the experience entirely. So, while the sound quality is overall better in the PS1 version, the loudness war affected sound effects are unspeakably horrible, so the GBA version is preferred in this regard.
1. COMMODORE AMIGA / CD32
2. COMMODORE 64
3. ATARI ST
4. GAME BOY ADVANCE
5. SONY PLAYSTATION
6. AMSTRAD CPC
7. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k
8. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k
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OVERALL + VIDEO LINK + AFTERWORDS
IK+ is one of, if not the best example of a game developed at a certain point in time, where it managed to make the best out of all the major platforms that the game was deemed logical to be developed for, thus excluding the 8-bit Nintendo and Sega consoles. I suppose an Atari 400/800 version could have been possible, but since the old Atari computers were already far out of fashion, an 8-bit Atari version was probably left out of the equation for that reason alone. Besides, the ST was already available, so it was only logical to focus on that instead, once the massive groundwork was made on the C64. Whatever platform IK+ was released on in 1987/1988, it was sure to become an instant classic for one reason or another. But there is still an order of overall quality we must put these versions into, whether we like it or not.
1. COMMODORE AMIGA / CD32: Playability 5, Graphics 4, Sounds 8 = TOTAL 17
2. ATARI ST: Playability 5, Graphics 4, Sounds 6 = TOTAL 15
3. COMMODORE 64: Playability 4, Graphics 3, Sounds 7 = TOTAL 14
4. SONY PLAYSTATION: Playability 2, Graphics 2, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 8
4. GAME BOY ADVANCE: Playability 1, Graphics 2, Sounds 5 = TOTAL 8
5. AMSTRAD CPC: Playability 3, Graphics 1, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 7
6. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k: Playability 3, Graphics 1, Sounds 2 = TOTAL 6
7. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k: Playability 3, Grpahics 1, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 5
Yes, the scoring might look a bit harsh, and to be fair, it rarely looks particularly logical here at FRGCB, but as usual, it is Playability, which we need to focus on. With that logic, it really is preferable to play either the AMSTRAD or SPECTRUM version than the PS1 or GBA version. It's too bad, that the soundtrack is made rather badly on both AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM, but I suppose having sampled noises would have been too CPU-heavy for them.
I'm not entirely certain, whether I have the permission to link this YouTube video comparison here or not, but I have approached the World of Retro Gaming channel (WORG) for this, and I hope to keep this in, because writing this comparison took long enough. This comparison by WORG is the only one I've found on YouTube to feature all versions of IK+, so I'm putting it here for now.
The legacy of IK+ is questionable, because there have been no arena fighting games with three simultaneous fighters on the arena since - at least, not to my knowledge. Also, the other elements that made IK+ what it is, were already drawn from previous arena fighting games, as was already mentioned. However, IK+ did eventually have a sequel on the Game Boy Advance, called International Karate Advanced, developed and published by Studio 3 (formerly known as System 3) in 2001 - prior to the GBA version of IK+.
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| Screenshots from International Karate Advanced (Game Boy Advance, 2001) |
What IKA has what IK+ didn't have, is a set of 12 fighters with names and clearly personal looks; practice modes for all game events; properly international locations to fight in, as with the original International Karate - now including a map screen; and a sideways scrolling screen during fights. The music is a further remix of the IK+ remix theme, but with the graphics being unnecessarily cartoony and bulky, all the personality of the original IK games are taken away. Maybe that's just my opinion, but it's difficult to enjoy a sequel that doesn't even try to look like its predecessors.
Finally, in 2024, the reformed System 3 Software announced the existence of a work-in-progress demo of a new, modern sequel, called IK++, while promoting their upcoming Last Ninja Collection product. There is a video demonstration of the game on YouTube, on System 3's own channel, if you want to check it out. Personally, I think it has plenty of potential, with nice nods towards the original games, and online playing possibilities, but there is definitely a chance of mucking this up royally. I'm just hoping they haven't been adding supernatural fighting moves to make it more like the Street Fighters and Mortal Kombats we already have too much of. Let's hope for the best.
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