WANDERING MARTIAL ARTISTS

GAMES TO ROAM THE COUNTRYSIDE PICKING FIGHTS

KARATEKA

Jordan Mechner attempted to create a cinematic game long before the industry considered it technically possible and, surprisingly, he succeeded. Inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa, Karateka remains memorable for some of the most evocative cutscenes of its time, and for introducing Jordan’s trademark rotoscoping technique.

FIGHTING WARRIOR

Another genre offering published by Melbourne House, Fighting Warrior experimented with an Egyptian-themed alternative to the more customary Japanese setting. Unfortunately, the sparse backgrounds and the rigid weapon-based combat, which regularly leaves you open to painful counterattacks, sap your energy to explore quicker than the desert sun.

SAMURAI WARRIOR: THE BATTLES OF USAGI YOJIMBO

This unusually complex work could have accurately been titled ‘Samurai Simulator’. Other than simple combat, Samurai Warrior immerses you in the mindset of its hero, allowing for a variety of interactions with peasants, monks as well as his peers. Donate some money to the poor, or draw blood unprovoked, each decision will reflect on your karma.

TIGER ROAD

Faster paced than the other games on this list, Tiger Road is more of an action-style platformer than a conventional fighting game. Still, if most enemies thrown at you are dispatched with a single hit from your axe, that leaves you with a little more time to admire the towering golden statues and majestic dragon columns that decorate the game’s temples.

NINJA

A budget release and it shows. Ninja is nevertheless one of the few titles that combines relatively complex hand-to-hand combat with both weapon-based strikes (a downwards slash that instantly incapacitates your opponent) and ranged attacks. An intriguing, if not entirely successful, attempt to put a new spin on traditional mechanics.