User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Thu Feb 11, 2016 10:23 pm

Jordan Mechner’s timeless martial arts classic, Karetaka (Japanese: 空手家?, “practitioner of karate“), was far ahead of its time in 1984 when it debuted on the Apple II.

His beautifully rotoscoped characters and level designs in Karateka and, more precisely, Prince of Persia, are what he is known for these days, particularly for Apple II, Amiga, Atari ST and DOS gaming fans.

But for the Amiga, Mechner's earlier Karateka was never to be. Until now.

In 2012 Mechner published his journals from that era of his life in a book called The Making of Karateka. I’ve read his other diary-based book, The Making of Prince of Persia (released first in 2011). It’s is a fascinating read that delves into the psyche of a young man who is a natural game designer as well as a typically conflicted student who can’t decide how to spend his creative energies: should he devote his life to becoming a game designer or a hollywood screenwriter? He had the intellect, talent and passion for both and his internal struggles are a main theme of the book. Plus, by this time Karateka was already a full-blown success. But ultimately the internal thoughts and daily activities of how he goes on to create Prince, and seal his legacy, are a remarkable read.

In 2011 Prince of Persia was ported, incredibly, to the Commodore 64.
karetaka.png
In the past few days, a user on the English Amiga Board from France known as meynaf who has a history of porting Atari ST games to the Amiga took it upon himself to port Karateka to the Amiga. It appears he was wildly successful!

Read the original entire discussion on eab here.

All of the various downloads you’ll need to get started playing are at the bottom of this post on indieretronews.com





Return to “Games”