International Karate on Game Boy Color is one of those old-school fighters that somehow feels both simple and surprisingly deep. You pick your fighter (I always went with the red gi guy), and then it's just you and one opponent in a dojo—no fancy stages, just straight-up karate action.

The controls take a minute to get used to—high kicks, low punches, blocks that actually matter if you time them right. At first I kept spamming kicks and getting wrecked, but after a few matches, you start figuring out the rhythm. The AI isn’t pushover either—some of those later fights get brutal.

It’s got that classic pixelated charm, with fighters that actually animate pretty smoothly for a GBC game. And there’s something satisfying about landing a perfect roundhouse that sends the other guy flying off the mat. Definitely a solid pick if you’re into retro fighters that don’t overcomplicate things.