Chris Trottier on Nostr: Did you know that *[Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga ...
Did you know that *[Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues](https://www.mobygames.com/game/152107/cobra-kai-the-karate-kid-saga-continues/)* exists?
Until this year, I didn't. I didn't even know there was a whole series of Cobra Kai games.
Well, I'm happy to say that Cobra Kai is much better than the NES [Karate Kid](https://www.mobygames.com/game/14111/the-karate-kid/) game -- by a large margin too. The NES Karate Kid made by LJN, and if you know anything about LJN, they made some of the worst games of the 8-bit era. The Karate Kid was no exception.
I mention this because Cobra Kai is the Karate Kid game I *wished* that I played when I was young. Unlike the NES Karate Kid, Cobra Kai is a beat 'em up in the vein of [Double Dragon](https://www.mobygames.com/game/1839/double-dragon/) and [Streets of Rage](https://www.mobygames.com/game/6599/streets-of-rage/). And what an excellent beat 'em up it is!
One thing that differentiates Cobra Kai from more retro beat 'em ups is that not only can you pick up objects like baseball bats, you can also use elements from your environment to do tremendous damage. For example, if there's a soccer ball lying around, you can kick the soccer ball to hit enemies. And if you're in front of a car, you can grab an enemy and bash their head into the door.
There's also RPG elements here. The more enemies you defeat, you can collect points. With those points, you can spend them in the Cobra Kai dojo to improve your abilities. This gets quite addictive.
The controls are pretty simple. You can, of course, play this with a keyboard and it will be fun. But this is just one of those games that cries for a proper gamepad, and if you have one, you'll want to use it.
Cobra Kai is also has a co-op mode, which is pretty awesome. If you have your PC hooked up to a big screen, this makes for excellent couch gaming.
As you can see from the screenshots, Cobra Kai is not a 2D game. Instead, it opts for 2.5 with cel-shaded graphics. I like this aesthetic choice, and I feel it gives the game a unique look. The visuals don't knock your socks off, but they work for what this game is.
The soundtrack is a treat! It's full of 80s-style heavy metal guitar and synths. Cobra Kai is an audio treat, and it is a great experience hearing the music while beating up baddies.
I played Cobra Kai on my Steam Deck where it is "verified". It works quite well, and the game feels quite native on the handheld. This has been a real highlight of my Steam Deck experience.
Flux Game Studio developed Cobra Kai. They've also made the direct sequel (Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising)[https://www.mobygames.com/game/194219/cobra-kai-2-dojos-rising/] made other low budget indie titles, as well as a few Walking Dead licensed games.
A new video game, [The Karate Kid: Street Rumble](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2549780/The_Karate_Kid_Street_Rumble/), has just been announced and will be released in September. Like Cobra Kai, it is also a beat 'em up but uses a 2D pixel art style that's quite different. It is not made by Flux Game Studio but, instead, by Odaclick Game Studio.
I recommend Cobra Kai. It is a great beat 'em up experience and does the Karate Kid license proud. Even if you've never seen Karate Kid or Cobra Kai before, you'll likely enjoy this game because it's got a whole lot of imagination.
On both Steam and GOG.com, Cobra Kai sells for C$22.79. I think this is a fair price for the game considering all the content you get with the game, and the many hours of enjoyment in it.
Until this year, I didn't. I didn't even know there was a whole series of Cobra Kai games.
Well, I'm happy to say that Cobra Kai is much better than the NES [Karate Kid](https://www.mobygames.com/game/14111/the-karate-kid/) game -- by a large margin too. The NES Karate Kid made by LJN, and if you know anything about LJN, they made some of the worst games of the 8-bit era. The Karate Kid was no exception.
I mention this because Cobra Kai is the Karate Kid game I *wished* that I played when I was young. Unlike the NES Karate Kid, Cobra Kai is a beat 'em up in the vein of [Double Dragon](https://www.mobygames.com/game/1839/double-dragon/) and [Streets of Rage](https://www.mobygames.com/game/6599/streets-of-rage/). And what an excellent beat 'em up it is!
One thing that differentiates Cobra Kai from more retro beat 'em ups is that not only can you pick up objects like baseball bats, you can also use elements from your environment to do tremendous damage. For example, if there's a soccer ball lying around, you can kick the soccer ball to hit enemies. And if you're in front of a car, you can grab an enemy and bash their head into the door.
There's also RPG elements here. The more enemies you defeat, you can collect points. With those points, you can spend them in the Cobra Kai dojo to improve your abilities. This gets quite addictive.
The controls are pretty simple. You can, of course, play this with a keyboard and it will be fun. But this is just one of those games that cries for a proper gamepad, and if you have one, you'll want to use it.
Cobra Kai is also has a co-op mode, which is pretty awesome. If you have your PC hooked up to a big screen, this makes for excellent couch gaming.
As you can see from the screenshots, Cobra Kai is not a 2D game. Instead, it opts for 2.5 with cel-shaded graphics. I like this aesthetic choice, and I feel it gives the game a unique look. The visuals don't knock your socks off, but they work for what this game is.
The soundtrack is a treat! It's full of 80s-style heavy metal guitar and synths. Cobra Kai is an audio treat, and it is a great experience hearing the music while beating up baddies.
I played Cobra Kai on my Steam Deck where it is "verified". It works quite well, and the game feels quite native on the handheld. This has been a real highlight of my Steam Deck experience.
Flux Game Studio developed Cobra Kai. They've also made the direct sequel (Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising)[https://www.mobygames.com/game/194219/cobra-kai-2-dojos-rising/] made other low budget indie titles, as well as a few Walking Dead licensed games.
A new video game, [The Karate Kid: Street Rumble](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2549780/The_Karate_Kid_Street_Rumble/), has just been announced and will be released in September. Like Cobra Kai, it is also a beat 'em up but uses a 2D pixel art style that's quite different. It is not made by Flux Game Studio but, instead, by Odaclick Game Studio.
I recommend Cobra Kai. It is a great beat 'em up experience and does the Karate Kid license proud. Even if you've never seen Karate Kid or Cobra Kai before, you'll likely enjoy this game because it's got a whole lot of imagination.
On both Steam and GOG.com, Cobra Kai sells for C$22.79. I think this is a fair price for the game considering all the content you get with the game, and the many hours of enjoyment in it.