Jaws and The Karate Kid Kick Off the Licensed Game Deluge on the NES
NES Catalog #082-84
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Jaws
PUBLISHER: LJN
DEVELOPER: Atlus, Westone
RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1987 (US)
Jaws is the tale of one boat against the entire ocean.
This isn’t just about finding and killing the largest great white shark ever to wreak havoc on Amity Island’s sun-drenched shores. Jellyfish, stingrays, and smaller great whites all have it in for you, as well.
But who are you? A lone scuba diver just trying to keep the island safe. Roy Scheider, perhaps. Maybe even Robert Shaw. Not Richard Dreyfuss, though. He got the bends once, never set foot in the ocean again.
At first, you’re sailing around in a boat, constantly hitting sea creatures and diving for conch shells, as many as your humble pouch will allow. For some reason, shells are the currency on Amity Island. The more shells you acquire, the more your strength increases while you’re docked at a port. Your power level can be upgraded all the way up to 9, if you must, but by level 4, you could be ready for the Inevitable Jaws Battle.
Eventually, Jaws shows up and slams into your boat. Now, you think this might be the end, but it’s not. You scrap with Jaws here in your scuba suit, but only to weaken him for the final fight. And Jaws isn’t very clever. He only comes at you in one direction before he swims to the other side of the screen. Then he moves towards you from the other side, back and forth. Avoid him, shoot him, weaken him.
Once Jaws’ power bar is depleted, the final fight begins. Use your strobe lights to make Jaws rise out of the ocean, then stab him with the front of your boat. If you’re successful, Jaws is dead, Amity Island is saved. Are you satisfied with your game purchase? Of course not, but at least you’re a wealthy man, draped in conch shells from head to toe.
Let the Licensed Games Begin
Technically, Popeye is the first licensed game on the NES, but if we’re talking movie-to-game adaptations - of which there are legion on the NES - the party started with The Goonies II, which I discussed last week.
This week, we have Jaws and The Karate Kid, and from here, things get insane. Top Gun, Rambo, Platoon, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and on and on. We won’t see most of these in 1987, but rest assured, as the NES increased in popularity, so too did the increase in licensed video games of questionable quality.
The Karate Kid
PUBLISHER: LJN
DEVELOPER: Atlus
RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1987 (US)
The Karate Kid, in no way, makes you feel like you’re improving at karate. Daniel works with what Atlus gave him, and that means you do too.
Daniel’s moves are basic, but they sorta get the job done. He can kick, punch, and get flung backwards with the best of them. He can also crane-kick and drum-punch, but only if he collects the C and D icons that appear randomly in each stage. Jumping, however, is a task Daniel struggles with. Weak ankles, maybe? Assigning jump to ‘Up’ on the D-pad instead of ‘A’ does him no favors, either.
In the first stage, Daniel’s at a karate tournament, a series of four one-on-one matches with unnamed opponents. Thankfully, you can just spam-kick your way to glory here, no jumping required. Your foot may be swollen after four battles of non-stop kicking, but the pain will be worth the proud look on Mr. Miyagi’s face.
The remaining three stages are standard beat-em-up shenanigans, with an occasional bonus area to briefly suspend the violence (catch flies with chopsticks!). Chozen’s goons try to assault you, you kick ‘em off the stage, then more come to attack because they just never learn. Unless, of course, they trap you in a juggle attack and you can’t get out of it. Or you’re just trying to climb some stairs (with your terrible jumping abilities) and you keep getting knocked backwards by a foot in the face or random debris that won’t stop coming.
By the time you reach the final stage, the sun is setting. Daniel’s dressed to maim, and Chozen’s goons are carrying spears. Unfortunately, not even a fantastic wardrobe can overcome Daniel’s subpar karate skills and poor jumping abilities. And even if they could, The Karate Kid really isn’t worth your time.
Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
PUBLISHER: Data East
DEVELOPER: TOSE
RELEASE DATE: Oct. 2nd, 1987 (JP), Nov. 1987 (US)
ALSO AVAILABLE ON: Apple II, Arcade, Commodore 64, PlayStation 4 (via Arcade Archives), Switch (via Arcade Archives)
Male video game protagonists often go to extreme lengths to rescue their beloved princess or girlfriend.
Take Kid Niki, for example. He travels through seven unique lands across a vast world map just to save his beloved Princess Margo from the evil Stone Wizard. His spiky hair and impressive muscles look the “hero” part, but outside of his sword-twirling abilities and his exceptional jumping skills, he’s a weak character. One hit from a stray anything will kill him, and while he does have a couple extra lives, those lives go fast when seemingly harmless elements like bubbles and rocks are lethal.
Whether Kid Niki is aware of his limitations or not, you, the player, absolutely have to be. Like all good 80s arcade platformers/beat-em-ups, timing is key for progress. Every enemy, from the bosses to the peons, has specific movement patterns. Since Kid Niki can not take any damage, you’ll have to memorize their movements and attack or jump accordingly.
And Kid Niki likes to roll out the enemies. Numerous masked blue cretins race towards you, unfazed by their brethren being knocked towards the sky. Scores of birds and flying kites circle and dive bomb you for no particular reason. Even the frogs are equipped with fire breath here.
Then there are the bosses. Ranging from absurd (Death Breath and his generous jowls) to terrifying (The Horned Witch splitting into multiple copies when you attack her), the boss battles are the highlight of Kid Niki. You never know what they’re going to do, and while their attacks sometimes feel cheap, learning how to overcome them is very rewarding.
One-hit deaths, an onslaught of enemies, and the same levels over and over again until you can’t stand it. Kid Niki isn’t the strongest warrior in Video Game-dom, but Margo’s lucky to have him.
Do you have any fond memories of these three games? Have you played any of them recently? Let me know in the comments below!
And as always, thanks for reading!
I forgot The Karate Kid was developed by Atlus. Also, I played this game as a kid and got so frustrated with it. But now, I'm realizing that Daniel-san wasn't really very good at Karate in the movies either, so maybe they were going for some kind of realism with the game 😆
Ah yes, ninjas. Well known for their *checks notes* bright yellow tanktops, no masks and giant swords. Radical indeed!