International Karate

International Karate (released in North America as World Karate Championship) is a one-on-one fighting game simulating a kumite karate tournament . Rather than depleting an opponent's health bar, the goal is to land clean strikes: a quick hit scores a half-point, while a strong hit scores a full point . The first fighter to earn two points wins the round, and the first to win two rounds wins the bout . The game features eight different fight locations around the world: Mount Fuji, Sydney Harbour, the Statue of Liberty, the Forbidden City, Christ the Redeemer, the Palace of Westminster, the Parthenon, and the Great Pyramid . Between fights, bonus mini-games test your timing, including breaking wooden boards with your head and deflecting bouncing objects . You face progressively harder opponents, advancing from white belt to black belt.

ZX Spectrum

Published by System 3 in November 1985 for the 48K Spectrum . The judge announces scores with digitised speech described as "very clear and understandable" . Sixteen different karate moves are available using combinations of nine keys per player or a one-button joystick . CRASH magazine awarded 58%, criticizing the "rather crude characters" and flickery animation compared to Way of the Exploding Fist, but praising the "excellent speech" . Your Sinclair scored 74%, noting the game "has its Bruce Lees positively leaping all over the shop" . The game was voted one of the best beat 'em ups of 1985 and supported both single-player against the computer and two-player modes.