I’m a huge fan of the Best Kid movies, and even Netflix’s recent Cobra Kai series, so I’d recommend it to anyone. But after seeing how the recent Cobra Kai tie-in video games turned out, I was certainly hesitant to try this one out. Upon further investigation, The Best Kid: Street Rumble not only takes inspiration from the original movie, but also from another generation of fighting games, with retro visuals and a gameplay-first approach. I was happy to find that I was inspired.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Best Kid: Street Rumble, but it doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from the rest. Gameplay is generally functional, but can get a little repetitive over long gameplay sessions. Although it covers the first three movies, it doesn’t necessarily focus on providing a lot of background for newcomers, relying instead on the nostalgia of those who saw the original films.
Wax on, wax…yes, I understand.
Following the general setup of the first three films in the Best Kid series, we follow young Daniel LaRusso as he moves from New Jersey to California after his mother takes a new job at a computer company. As Daniel tries to adjust to life on the other side of the country, he meets Johnny Lawrence, the school bully who only causes trouble for Daniel. Soon after, he meets Sensei Miyagi, who basically teaches Daniel karate, and signs up for a local karate tournament in order to face off against Johnny and the Cobra Kai dojo once and for all.
Yes, I know I spent quite a bit of time outlining the events of the first movie. Unfortunately, context doesn’t really matter in Best Kid: Street Rumble. For example, right after Daniel meets Johnny in the first stage of the game, he already attracts the attention of half the school before meeting Miyagi. This doesn’t solve the problem, as most games of this era are all about the gameplay, but it does force the gameplay to take the wheel, resulting in more repetitive tracks.
Even when the game is doing its best to satisfy you, static images feel like they belong to a completely different game. These don’t match the pixel art style of the gameplay and look a little jarring, as if they could have been created in Microsoft Paint.
As the game progresses, you’ll engage in certain mini-games where Daniel learns the ins and outs of his newfound skills, which I found most appealing. These mini-games are by no means complex or difficult, but they encapsulate iconic scenes from the film in a way that feels equally natural and engaging. It’s just a shame that the rest of the story doesn’t feel the need to stay faithful.
Just Keep Punching
From a gameplay standpoint, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble will feel familiar to anyone who’s played side-scrolling arcade brawlers. It can be combined with a dedicated jump to combine light and heavy attacks, and can also be used for aerial attacks. Daniel can also grab enemies when he gets close, dealing additional damage. Players can also build a focus meter that can be used to trigger special attacks, depending on who they are playing as. As a result, I’m glad they took this opportunity to introduce a surprisingly legal crane kick move.
The gameplay is incredibly functional, and the punches, combined with crunchy 16-bit sound effects, make attacks quite satisfying. But as you’ll soon see, the number of combinations offered is relatively small, so sooner or later you’ll end up relying on the same receptive attack to get the job done. Focus meter attacks are useful when surrounded by enemies and are quite destructive, but they don’t save you much.
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble also supports four-player co-op, giving players the option to choose between four characters when playing solo. You can choose from Daniel, Mr. Miyagi, Ari, and Kumiko. The first two characters make sense, but I have no idea what each of the lovebirds from the first two movies are doing here. There’s nothing wrong with the characters themselves, but they don’t really involve themselves in the action so much that it feels like they’re dragged into it.
It’s also worth mentioning here that Best Kid: Street Rumble feels too easy on lower difficulties. It’s a double-edged sword in this regard, as fans who grew up on these films are now full-fledged adults, while younger audiences who would have benefited from an easier difficulty level won’t be able to afford the original films unless they’re older fans. Because there’s a good chance you’ve never seen it. parents.
I recommend the “Hard” difficulty setting for most players, but even then I rarely lowered the difficulty more than once for most levels. The game gives you three tries at the beginning, so there’s little need to start over. Players also receive letter grading and scores based on their performance. Even after all the mashing and minimal strategy, you have a good chance of getting the top S+ rank.
What’s more, the boss encounters also feel a bit monotonous. They usually rely on one or two attack patterns and are easy enough to learn from the beginning. As a result, most encounters feel like hollow slug fests as you wash and repeat attacks.
Overall, The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is usable in parts, but draining when viewed through its entire 12 levels. The lack of story context isn’t a huge problem, but a lack of willingness to mix things up leads to an overreliance on shallow gameplay mechanics. The inclusion of additional mini-games or generally more difficult difficulty settings may have encouraged players to rely on a wider range of attacks and mechanics.
look at the part
There’s not much to say about Best Kid: Street Rumble’s visuals, but I will say that aside from some wonky opening and ending stills, things look great. Character models are unique and attractive, yet remain true to real-life models. The environments are also inspired by the movie, with precision like the All-Valley Under-18 Karate Tournament, yet full of energy through a vibrant color palette.
From a performance standpoint, there’s not much to mention. It works well enough and there are no major or game-breaking bugs, but I couldn’t imagine this straining a console or any kind of gaming device.
final thoughts
The Karate Kid: Street Rumble is partially serviceable. Through its charming retro visuals and lovingly crafted mini-games, it’s definitely enough to pique the interest of most fans of the series.
However, the repetitive gameplay and lack of context regarding the overall story leaves little meat on the bones after just a few hours of play.
2 1/2 stars (out of 5 stars)
Highlights: Attractive retro visuals and character models. The minigames do a very good job of recreating specific moments from each of the first three movies.
Highlight: Repetitive gameplay. The overall story lacks context for those who haven’t seen the movie.
Developer: Odaclick Game Studio, Atlas
Publisher: GameMill Entertainment
Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC
Available: Currently
Review was conducted on PlayStation 5 using a pre-release code provided by the publisher.
