Karate Champship on NES is one of those old-school fighters that keeps it brutally simple. You pick either the red or white gi fighter, and it's just you versus the computer (or a friend) in a best-of-three match. No health bars, no flashy combos—just clean hits. Land one solid punch or kick, and bam, round over. Half-points happen if it's a glancing blow, but mostly you're going for that one clean strike.

The backgrounds change between rounds, which is nice, but honestly, you'll be too focused on timing your moves to notice much. The bonus rounds after wins are a weird little distraction—break bricks, dodge stuff—but the real tension is in those split-second duels where a single mistimed move means eating a fist to the face. It's barebones, but there's something satisfying about how stripped-down it is compared to later fighters. Just don't expect deep strategy.

Winning takes two points, and the AI gets sneaky fast. You'll start sweating by the third match.