Review CorporateClone 4/5 · Oct 30, 2025
I have a great respect and interest in video game history. I love reading the stories of how development started and where the industry began. Yesterday, I listened to an older episode of a fantastic show on Spotify called the Video Game History Hour. In this particular episode, aptly titled Ep. 119: Karateka, they have as a guest speaker Jordan …
I have a great respect and interest in video game history. I love reading the stories of how development started and where the industry began. Yesterday, I listened to an older episode of a fantastic show on Spotify called the Video Game History Hour. In this particular episode, aptly titled Ep. 119: Karateka, they have as a guest speaker Jordan Mechner, the father of Prince of Persia.
What I didn't know was that before he went on to make Prince of Persia, Jordan made another little game for the Apple II called Karateka. So intrigued was I that after listening to the episode, I went and paid .99 cents for the iOS adaptation of the Apple II version, which is supposed to be a fairly faithful recreation of the original title. It's not a long game, and I finished in about 40 minutes.
What surprised me was the absolute craftsmanship of this old game. The smooth animation of the characters as they fight. The simple backgrounds. The controls themselves. When you consider this was a game crafted in 1984 by a kid who was attending college, it's just about mind-blowing. If you love historical games, this is one I'd recommend giving a go.
And if you want to hear the fascinating tale of this game and its creator, I highly recommend this podcast -