The best games with karate

Summary

  • Fighting games have always varied from fantastical to realistic, transforming martial arts into flashy fighting styles.

  • Tekken is characterized by tactical fighting, remains true to karate and focuses on technique and reflexes.
  • Title like Yakuza, graduate, And Virtual fighter Authentically integrate karate into your fighting systems.

From the early days of arcades to today's highly competitive tournaments, fighting games have always been a mainstay throughout every console generation, with a wide range ranging from fantastical and cartoonish slap-in-the-face to gritty, realistic duels. Most fighting games that utilize martial arts tend to take a lot of artistic liberties, making the fights much flashier and more stylized than the original inspiration.

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Games like Street fighter offer dynamic, explosive interpretations of martial arts or take their action into the realm of pure fantasy Mortal Kombat tries to make the fighting style of its fighters realistic, even if those fighters rearrange their opponents' organs into less than ideal compositions. For the time-honored martial art of karateMany games have taken inspiration from the heavy, attack-focused philosophy of this fighting style and developed some excellent combat systems from it. These next games feature karate as a prominent means of dealing damage.

7

Tekken 8

Mishima style karate is deadly and explosive

systems

PlayStation 1 Xbox 1

Released

January 26, 2024

OpenCritic review

Powerful

From his first game on, something is always separate Tekken Compared to other fighting games, the emphasis was on deep, tactical combat. “Realism” isn't quite the right word given the gravity-defying hairstyles – and the panda too – but this series is more about technique and reflexes than flashy energy attacks or over-the-top finishing moves.

Perhaps this focus on technology is why, while admittedly a fictional school, Tekken 8 features one of the most faithful and well-executed karate adaptations of any video game, with the core Mishima family karate style used by many of the main characters in each game's dramatic stories Tekken Game.

6

Yakuza 0

Kiryu's fighting style is heavily based on karate

action

adventure

Beat her up

systems

PlayStation 1 Xbox 1

Released

January 24, 2017

OpenCritic review

Powerful

The legendary Yakuza Games have provided some of the most intense, dramatic and surreal moments in all of modern gaming, and the series has more than earned its loyal following of die-hard fans. Yakuza continues to work on its own formula with each title and recently made the switch from real-time to turn-based combat to add variety.

A game so deeply rooted in Japanese culture certainly featured its most famous martial art, and while titular protagonist Kiryu Kazuma doesn't use a specific fighting style, many of his attacks and strikes are directly derived from authentic karate moves, making him flaunt presents his skills as a multidisciplinary fighter.

5

Jade Empire

The combat of this game combines karate with other fighting styles

systems

Telephone transparent Xbox 1

One of the most interesting titles in the BioWare catalog, Jade Empire is a stylized martial arts fantasy game that takes the aesthetics of authentic martial arts but creates something completely different and unique that stands out from them.

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While the game incorporates various fighting styles into its skill system, Legendary Strike and Iron Palm's fighting styles utilize the same moves and striking philosophies as karate, presenting this martial art in a manner consistent with the title's overall style.

4

graduate

Authentic multiplayer combat action

systems

PlayStation 1 Xbox 1

Released

August 28, 2017

developer

slut

OpenCritic review

Just

There are only a few comparable games graduate'S sophisticated, fast-paced martial arts action. This game features a variety of martial arts based on authentic fighting styles, and players can specialize in these to build a fighter of their own design.

One of the first fighting styles, the Forsaken style, is heavily influenced by karate with its direct, powerful punches and kicks. This remains one of the stronger fighting styles in the game, although different forms are unlocked as the player progresses.

3

Virtua Fighter 5

Many fighters follow the principles of karate

systems

Xbox 1 PlayStation 1

Released

July 12, 2006

developer

Sega AM2, Sega

As mentioned above, many fighting games deviate from authentic martial arts for the sake of conspicuousness Virtua Fighter 5 shows that it is possible to stick to the basic principles of a martial art and still make it look dynamic and engaging. There are two central characters in this game who use authentic, straight-hitting karate in their fighting style.

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Jean and Sarah are two fan-favorite characters whose fighting style involves intensive use of karate. Jean in particular, as a brooding, brainwashed assassin, underlines with his powerful punches how instantly deadly this martial art can be.

2

Street Fighter 3

Makoto uses a decisive and powerful variation of karate

A much more grounded character in the world of Street fighterMakoto has her own unique brand of karate that she specializes in despite her young age. Rindoukan karate is a special school of this martial art, which Makoto uses extensively as one of the best fighters Street Fighter 3.

This game actually does a pretty good job of mechanically translating the benefits of karate into a virtual format. Makoto has a high-stun, high-impact fighting style that often leaves opponents dazed or staggered after just one hit.

1

Karate Kid: Street Rumble

Classic karate beat-em-up action

The Karate Kid: Street Rumble

action

arcade

Beat her up

Released

September 20, 2024

Publisher)

Game Mill Entertainment

OpenCritic review

Weak

A nostalgic return to one of the most iconic films of the 80s within one of the most iconic video game genres of the 90s. The Karate Kid: Road rage is a satisfying, powerful take on urban karate that takes players on a whirlwind tour of the original trilogy.

The principles of karate as a martial art are all reflected in this game, although, similar to the films themselves, Road rage takes a few liberties with the depiction of karate. For fans of the films or the Cobra Kai However, in the Netflix series, this game is a must-play.

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