I had the Atari 7800 version as a kid but my best friend at the time had it on the Commodore 64, and while it performed slower compared to the Atari 8 bit version (which I played many decades later) the difference was definitely night and day.
Played the 7800 version for the first time recently from a 7800 haul....... how did they mess that version up is beyond me, I've played the Apple version as a kid and the Atari 8-bit version a few years ago but.... what happened?
@@Trialwolf your not wrong. They botched it horribly. And if you push the enemies across the levels you can see elements of the original are still in there. Just not used. So it almost feels like they ran out of time
@@rameybutler-hm7nx that's a good idea for a video. Let's get as many copies for as many different platforms as possible and time how long it takes to throw them away or something! Thanks for watching Ramey!
In 1985 I got Karateka for my new 130 XE, loved the game and played for hours. Fast forward to 2023 when I bought a 7800 off ebay and was so excited the seller included Karateka. I popped the cart in the system....and...it currently has a layer of dust on it from sitting in a closet for over a year lol.
LOL! Didn't expect to see a picture of the Amstrad CPC on this channel! Anyway, the Atari 8-bit version seems to reuse the exact same graphic assets as the original Apple II version, hence the color palette which could have been much better.
@@TheAtariNetwork the colors on the computer version are really typical of the Apple 2. Besides, the Atari 8-bit can have a fifth color (a brighter version of one of the 4 colors)
My interest in this game comes from The ProGamer taking on Karateka in an early Man vs 7800. I am not a fan of Karate or any of the related games. I definitely prefer boxing games. But it is great to see a comparison and some attention to this game. There is actually a book, The Making of Karateka that journals the computer version.
@@Jolt7800 oh yeah I should've promoted that I have a video on the channel of myself actually completing the 7800 version. Thanks for watching! And for the support!
I first played Karateka on the Atari 800 back in the day. Too bad I no longer have my copy. I've also briefly played it on the 7800 and have a CIB copy. Between these two versions, I think it's a no-contest--the Atari 8bit version wins. Karateka was a big deal back in the day. The production value of games was following its own Moore's Lawq so to speak and improving at a rapid rate. The rotoscoping for the animation was groundbreaking, and Jordan perfected it with later games like Prince of Persia.
@@socrates0603 I think that's lost on people and maybe I should've talked about it more in the intro. This game was a big deal and led to a lot of future classics from Jordan and several other people. And I agree with you 100%
I believe the reason the XL/XE computer version looks better is because it is using the hi-res Graphics mode 8, 320x192, technically a 2-color mode but which gets color from artifacting. You can get some finer detail in this mode since the pixels are smaller. The other multi-color mode would be 160x192 so the pixels are "chunky" and there is no opportunity for finer pixel detail. I'm guessing the 7800 doesn't have a 320 mode that artifacts, or they didn't use this mode for this game.
That is not Graphics mode 8. That is one of the lower resolution modes with more colors. The players are for sure blocky compared to what they would like if actually Graphics Mode 8.
If the 7800 version had better control, we wouldn't rag on it as much. I own the XEGS one on cart too, but I can't seem to get control down on that either.
I eoulf love to see a date to compare for Atari games on the Atari 2600 vs the Intellivision to see what system produced the better graphics. Games like Defender, Centipeed, Pac Man, etc, etc..
I played the Atari 8-bit home computers version quite a lot, it was revolutionary, in many ways. It felt as-if the player was in some kung-fu movie - thanks to the intro and the roll-up-text telling the basic story. The soundtrack, though appearing quite scarcely throughout the game, was truly great and added to the atmosphere. The movement of the protagonist was quite fluid, the controls (joystick or keyboard) were quite tight and well implemented. I really enjoyed it. Then I gave the 7800 version a try.. What a disappointment it was. All the movements felt jerky, the hit detection was poor, the fighting characters as-if didn't respond to being hit the proper way.. There's more on the negative side. So yes, I think the 7800 version is a badly butchered one - it feels like a very lazy "just get it functional" kind of a conversion. Considering the capabilities of the Atari 7800, it was really a shame on the part of devs, as it could - and would, IMHO - been really a great version.
I think the reason for the price difference is simply due to the sheer amount of 7800 copies out there. Even as 7800 games go, Karataka is very common and there is very low demand on it because it is universally hated as easily one of the worst games for the 7800. It's not just the unresponsive controls. It's not just using the Pro-Line. It's not just how unforgiving and unintuitive it is. It's also the very nature of the game. The 7800 was billed as this platform for fast action thrills. Kaateka is a slow moving simulator. It just doesn't work as a 7800 game. There's a reason why 7800 game bundles all include a _free_ copy of this game. I've got three copies, and I can't offload a copy. Nobody is willing to spend money on such trash. It is the E.T. of the 7800.
I had the Atari 7800 version as a kid but my best friend at the time had it on the Commodore 64, and while it performed slower compared to the Atari 8 bit version (which I played many decades later) the difference was definitely night and day.
Played the 7800 version for the first time recently from a 7800 haul....... how did they mess that version up is beyond me, I've played the Apple version as a kid and the Atari 8-bit version a few years ago but.... what happened?
@@Trialwolf your not wrong. They botched it horribly. And if you push the enemies across the levels you can see elements of the original are still in there. Just not used. So it almost feels like they ran out of time
Yeah, I’ve yet to play the XEGS version because I don’t have enough memory with no cart, but the Apple IIe version was amazing as a kid.
My favorite version of karateka is the one that hits the trash can the fastest. Lol great video as always🎉🎉🎉🎉
@@rameybutler-hm7nx that's a good idea for a video. Let's get as many copies for as many different platforms as possible and time how long it takes to throw them away or something!
Thanks for watching Ramey!
In 1985 I got Karateka for my new 130 XE, loved the game and played for hours. Fast forward to 2023 when I bought a 7800 off ebay and was so excited the seller included Karateka. I popped the cart in the system....and...it currently has a layer of dust on it from sitting in a closet for over a year lol.
@@adm712 lol sounds about right!
I remember playing it on a friends computer, and thought it was the slowest, most uncontrollable game I’d ever played. Moved on immediately.
Great job with the comparison!!
@@steveafulton thank you!
@@TheAtariNetwork I love your channel. I’m gonna take a deep dive into your videos
LOL! Didn't expect to see a picture of the Amstrad CPC on this channel! Anyway, the Atari 8-bit version seems to reuse the exact same graphic assets as the original Apple II version, hence the color palette which could have been much better.
Oh I didn't know that. You might be right! And yeah I was happy to show the Amstrad lol
@@TheAtariNetwork the colors on the computer version are really typical of the Apple 2. Besides, the Atari 8-bit can have a fifth color (a brighter version of one of the 4 colors)
It's a decent classic fighting game, probably it'll get a Atari VCS remake someday.
Do you mean the original VCS 2600 or the new one? Because for the 2600, this is a tall order.
It would be neat to see an updated version on the VCS
My interest in this game comes from The ProGamer taking on Karateka in an early Man vs 7800. I am not a fan of Karate or any of the related games. I definitely prefer boxing games. But it is great to see a comparison and some attention to this game. There is actually a book, The Making of Karateka that journals the computer version.
@@Jolt7800 oh yeah I should've promoted that I have a video on the channel of myself actually completing the 7800 version.
Thanks for watching! And for the support!
The C64 version was SO much slower than any of these Atari version. The graphics were identical but just slower :/ .
I first played Karateka on the Atari 800 back in the day. Too bad I no longer have my copy. I've also briefly played it on the 7800 and have a CIB copy. Between these two versions, I think it's a no-contest--the Atari 8bit version wins.
Karateka was a big deal back in the day. The production value of games was following its own Moore's Lawq so to speak and improving at a rapid rate. The rotoscoping for the animation was groundbreaking, and Jordan perfected it with later games like Prince of Persia.
@@socrates0603 I think that's lost on people and maybe I should've talked about it more in the intro. This game was a big deal and led to a lot of future classics from Jordan and several other people.
And I agree with you 100%
Always loved the Atari 8-bit version. Always hated the 7800 version. Just a shame we'll probably never get an improved 7800 version.
@@saurondp somebody should try to fix it and add in the missing elements...
I believe the reason the XL/XE computer version looks better is because it is using the hi-res Graphics mode 8, 320x192, technically a 2-color mode but which gets color from artifacting. You can get some finer detail in this mode since the pixels are smaller. The other multi-color mode would be 160x192 so the pixels are "chunky" and there is no opportunity for finer pixel detail. I'm guessing the 7800 doesn't have a 320 mode that artifacts, or they didn't use this mode for this game.
That is not Graphics mode 8. That is one of the lower resolution modes with more colors. The players are for sure blocky compared to what they would like if actually Graphics Mode 8.
That damn bird! Killed me so many times!
Great vid. Actually never played it, might be worth $8 when I pick up a new 7800+
Great video, you your infection is infectious.
@@cyrollan you've been infected
It's not bad, I like the computer versions myself for the way it's presented.
If the 7800 version had better control, we wouldn't rag on it as much. I own the XEGS one on cart too, but I can't seem to get control down on that either.
@@Alex_Valentine I thought the control was pretty intuitive in the XEGS one. I guess I can see where it might be confusing though
I eoulf love to see a date to compare for Atari games on the Atari 2600 vs the Intellivision to see what system produced the better graphics. Games like Defender, Centipeed, Pac Man, etc, etc..
I just so happen to have an Intellivision now so that could be possible
Mine was the apple 2 version. It was so hard!
This game is just another example of the more powerful console getting an inferior version of an 8bit atari computer game.
Finally somebody said it!
I never cared for this game, but I've only played the C64 and Famicom versions. I might try the Atari 8-bit version based on your recommendation.
Compared to the 7800 version it's really good. Not sure how it compares to the others
I played the Atari 8-bit home computers version quite a lot, it was revolutionary, in many ways. It felt as-if the player was in some kung-fu movie - thanks to the intro and the roll-up-text telling the basic story. The soundtrack, though appearing quite scarcely throughout the game, was truly great and added to the atmosphere. The movement of the protagonist was quite fluid, the controls (joystick or keyboard) were quite tight and well implemented. I really enjoyed it.
Then I gave the 7800 version a try.. What a disappointment it was. All the movements felt jerky, the hit detection was poor, the fighting characters as-if didn't respond to being hit the proper way.. There's more on the negative side.
So yes, I think the 7800 version is a badly butchered one - it feels like a very lazy "just get it functional" kind of a conversion. Considering the capabilities of the Atari 7800, it was really a shame on the part of devs, as it could - and would, IMHO - been really a great version.
I have never played the computer version, but I have played the 7800 version. Unfortunately.
@@jeremiahthomas8140 so you like the 7800 version then?
@@TheAtariNetwork Why would you say that?
@@jeremiahthomas8140 idk to give you a hard time
It's a bit funny to call the computer version "8-bit version" and the 7800, well, "7800 version"... as they are both 8-bit versions.
Yeah but you know what he means
I think the reason for the price difference is simply due to the sheer amount of 7800 copies out there. Even as 7800 games go, Karataka is very common and there is very low demand on it because it is universally hated as easily one of the worst games for the 7800. It's not just the unresponsive controls. It's not just using the Pro-Line. It's not just how unforgiving and unintuitive it is. It's also the very nature of the game. The 7800 was billed as this platform for fast action thrills. Kaateka is a slow moving simulator. It just doesn't work as a 7800 game. There's a reason why 7800 game bundles all include a _free_ copy of this game. I've got three copies, and I can't offload a copy. Nobody is willing to spend money on such trash. It is the E.T. of the 7800.
Atari ST version has a bit nicer graphics, but the gameplay is not great
First
@@braillynn winner winner! 🥇🎖️🏆🎖️🥇
@@TheAtariNetwork Thank you thank you. I’ll take my check now please.
@@braillynn ✔️✔️✔️✔️
@@TheAtariNetwork 😂