The karate kid continues on igamesnews.com

There is an unfortunate truth about blockbuster sequels that come long after they’ve ended: they are very often of poor quality. Therefore, when we hear of the sequel to the Karate Kid trilogy, we can expect another sequel with no interest or originality. However, this is nowhere near the case with Cobra Kai, the excellent surprise of the past few years. While fans are steadfastly waiting for a third season slated for 2021, it’s his video adaptation that comes into question today. Unfortunately, there is also a sad truth about adaptations to a video game film (and vice versa) that Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Continues is trying to escape.

A scenario that lacks clout

Above all, know that this test does not contain a script spoiler in the series for those who will discover his universe with this opus. For others, don’t expect major twists and turns or revelations regarding the plot or characters. In fact, it is even difficult to include this work in the canon of the series, since the situations in the plot of the saga turn out to be completely surreal and completely unimaginable. Fortunately, this title doesn’t claim to be between seasons 2 and 3, which you should start without skipping a measure. Cobra Kai indeed places a storyline that begins immediately after the events of the second season. Rest assured, however, that this is a short sequence to help set the context of the series, and specifically the rivalry between Cobra Kai and Miyadi – do before delving into the past, more specifically from season 2 onwards.

The narrative is presented to us in the form of slightly animated comics told by the protagonists. First good news, Fans of the original version will recognize with great peace the official dubbing of a large part of the cast: Ralph Macchio (Daniel), William Zabka (Johnny), Jacob Bertrand (Eli / Hawk), Mary Mouser (Samantha) and many others.

Excellent news knowing that each protagonist in the plot is more or less important when others are completely forgotten. Also, don’t expect two well-separated stories between the two dojos. If the dialogues and relationships between characters are indeed different, the situations and levels remain the same. The whole thing finally seems very incoherent and has no other aim than to spread the contradicting relationship between the protagonists, whose source of conflict and character are well respected.

Meet quickly! Hit hard! No mercy !

But do we then enjoy the six hours it takes to finish the game for the first time? You have to admit, the first impression will be rather negative. At the head of Miguel or Samantha, you will have very few techniques for the first level, and the first few moments will be particularly boring. In this title, however, we are quick to make a mark that is heavily inspired by arcade machines or old Beat’em of the 90s. Each enemy defeated gives you experience points to spend between levels, and a counter appears to count the number of hits you make with enemies, as well as a rating that increases if you are left unharmed. The player can roll his enemies in the air, eat to restore his health, defeat … in short, until now we are in a pure and tough fighting game. Once you are familiar with the series, you will find that each level is inspired by a famous location, with some often nice nods.

Fortunately, while the first few moments get boring, the gameplay gets denser as your fighters become powerful and the challenges are completed. The arsenal of techniques grows considerably and each of your characters has an ultimate technique that is more or less related to their personality and dojo (Daniel and his famous shot of the heron). Unfortunately, these techniques have failed completely from a visual point of view and are completely anednotic for one or two characters. In addition, it is evident that choosing to fight for Cobra Kai or Miyagi-Do is not a trivial decision. A fighter from the Lawrence Dojo will hit harder, do more damage with burning attacks, while a student of Daniel will have more resistance and hit points in addition to frozen attacks. The idea is very nice, in fact it’s Cobra Kai who wins (sorry Dany).

Not only are the firefighters (Miguel, Johnny, Hawk, and Tori) more pleasant to work with, their ultimate attacks are far more effective. Also, the game is not very difficult, interest in playing a member of Miyagi-Do (Daniel, Samantha, Robby, Demetri) is more questionable as it is difficult to die. Since we’re talking about the difficulty, we might as well be talking about the bosses spread across the roughly thirty levels that make up the adventure. As much as it is to say from the start, they have completely failed and utterly inconsistent in the universe of the saga. For example, you have to face Demetri, the weakest character in the entire series, whose comic relief he is, or even a businessman who only appears for a few seconds in the original series. And like all self-respecting 2D or fake 3D bosses, most of them do not offer any challenge since you just leave them stuck in the corner of the camera and have to hit them mercilessly until the end of the level follows. Also note that the Cobra Kai can hit an opponent who is already on the ground …

Daniel-san is not enough

In conclusion, let’s talk about the visual part of a title, which is quite ugly to be honest. If we can easily recognize the embodied protagonists, it is clear that the rest does not contain water. Unfortunately, despite great efforts in the fan service, the sets remain empty and are terribly missing in life. The cars do not circulate in the streets, the civilians in the background are largely motionless (few rare NPCs are animated, especially in the arcades), and many levels look the same while offering the same scheme. The bugs are numerous (it’s not uncommon to come across a headless character …) and some animations sometimes border on insults for a game that will be released at the beginning of the PlayStation 5 release and the Xbox series. Same story for the characters who didn’t all receive the same care: If some like Hawk or Johnny were entitled to better treatment, others like Tori or Sam are barely recognizable and also benefit from utterly failed ultimate attacks.

On the other hand, everything must not be thrown away as it is possible to play with the decoration to get rid of the enemies, and often in a fun way with animations that we qualify as correct. We could of course forgive these flaws and visual concerns that affect the gaming experience. However, it is difficult to indulge in a title that is offered at the rather expensive price of 40 dollars, which is a significant sum given its quality.