Update [Fri 25th Aug 10:00 BST]: Digital Eclipse has now confirmed that The Making of Karateka will arrive on the Switch eShop on August 29th, 2023 in North America. In Europe and Australia, meanwhile, it'll be made available on September 5th, 2023.
The company also confirmed that a physical release will be made available at a later date courtesy of Limited Run Games.
This means, of course, that it's now launching digitally next week at the time of writing! How lovely. We hope you're looking forward to it as much as we are.
Original Article [Wed 16th Aug, 2023 19:00 BST]:
Digital Eclipse has announced a release date for its upcoming interactive documentary, The Making of Karateka. But as a bit of a gut-punch to Switch owners, we'll have to wait a bit longer.
The game launches on 29th August on other consoles and PC, with the Switch version coming sometime in September — so it's not a long wait, but it's a wait nonetheless.
The Making of Karateka is a whole new experience for fans of retro video game history — and Digital Eclipse is the master of this very thing. Known for its fantastic retro compilations, this interactive documentary charts the development and creation of Karateka, an Apple II martial arts game that completely redefined cinematic storytelling in video games in 1984.
Jordan Mechner — the creator of Karateka who later went on to develop Prince of Persia and The Last Express (a heck of a resume, there) — started work on the game when he was just 18 years old. He also helmed the 2012 remake of the game, which came to PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and iOS. it did come to the Wii U as well, but it got the chop from the digital storefront in 2013.
Here's what this exciting new project will contain when it launches later this month on consoles, and next month on Switch:
The Making of Karateka presents the story behind Mechner's first published game through an exhaustive archive of design documents, playable prototypes, and all-new video features that can be explored at your own pace. The interactive documentary includes:
- Pixel-perfect playable versions of the original Karateka games plus a variety of never-before-seen early prototypes, with rich quality-of-life features like save anywhere, rewind, chapter select, and director's commentary.
- Two remastered games: Karateka Remastered, an all-new adaptation of the original featuring cutting-room-floor content, commentary & achievements, and Deathbounce: Rebounded, a fast and frantic twin-stick shooter based on Jordan's unpublished prototype.
- A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how Karateka became one of the first games to include cinematic scenes, a moving original soundtrack, rotoscoped animation, a Hollywood-style love story, and more.
- Localization in French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Japanese.
Will you be picking up The Making of Karateka on Switch this August / September? Delve into history and let us know in the comments.
Comments 25
First!! Ha been wanting to do that for awhile now! Anyway, the delay is so minimal I’ll still likely get this day 1! My backlog implores me too!
At the end of the game, go ahead and attack the woman you're saving. It's a good easter egg.
I just really love what Digital Eclipse has been doing with their classic game ports lately. COWABUNGA COLLECTION was packed full of stuff, ATARI 50 is like an interactive documentary, and this looks to continue the trend. I want them to do as many of these as they can!
I doubt that the 2012 remake is included there. There's no mention of it in the package. Only original version, new version, and some another game.
@Magician
I completely forgot about that part!! Im looking forward to kicking that pesky hawk in its beak tho
@Magician You can walk off the cliff at the very beginning lol. (Had to wait another 5 minutes for it to load up again!)
Still love this game, can't wait to fight Akuma again.
Never finished this as the one time I reached the lady she killed me in 1 hit as I walked towards her. Killer loading time and a separate load for Akuma’s Fortress and just 1 life
@Magician No, no, no... You're not attacking; you're just doing the normal walk you've been doing for most of the game. You generally wouldn't know any better as a first time player. Or I didn't when I was 6.
@Vyacheslav333 yeah, true. no other computer versions it seems. Such as the Atari ST version which looks as good as their 2023 remake.
I only got to play the Game Boy release of this one, but even now the mere mention of this game's title results in the game's battle theme to play in my head. Memorable game.
@Vyacheslav333 Correct. It is mentioned in the timeline as part of the game's history, but since the 2012 remake is still available on Steam for purchase and it doesn't fit in with the origin story that this interactive documentary was designed to tell, it was not included.
This is not simply a collection of games; it's really something different.
@gingerbeardman The Atari ST version is discussed and we have some historical artifacts included in the story, but the playable versions are Atari 8-bit, Apple II, C64, and our fresh port/remaster, which was done for a very specific purpose that will become clear when the game is played.
@DanAmrich Oh. Understood. Well, thanks for the reply!
I'm well up for this!
Day 1 for me. I will even double dip and buy the physical when it comes out. This is such a nostalgic game from my childhood. I'm glad it's finally getting the love it deserves.
I hope this gets released physically in Europe by a publisher other than any of the limited ones. Digital Eclipse releases have been mostly made available in normal stores until now.
"He also helmed the 2012 remake of the game, which came to PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and iOS. it did come to the Wii U as well, but it got the chop from the digital storefront in 2013"
And I thought being delisted in 3-4 years was rough. Licensing is truly one messed up field.
I remember playing this on the Apple II. That damn gate and eagle killed me a number of times. -=0
Is this listed on the eShop yet? I haven't been able to find it.
This looks insanely cool! Have they done that with some other games?
I never recovered from the tragic mistake of buying Karateka for the Atari 7800 back in the 80s. It's universally recognized as the worst port of the game, by far. Which is kind of weird because Karateka for the Atari 800 computer was apparently pretty good. But the version I had? Unplayable!
Was hoping for a physical release, but sad to hear it's through Limited Run Games. I'll download it instead.
No way to include the secret, so I read the original Apple II 5.25 floppy had an upside-down mode on side B of the disk, because you inserted the disk upside-down.
I always loved the lifelike animation in Barbarian 2 on the C64
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