The Karate Kid spin-off Cobra Kai was a hallmark of YouTube Red's initial slate of programming, launching in May 2018 to a positive critical reception. With Season 2 following up and maintaining its momentum, the continuation of The Karate Kid has found a home amongst not only nostalgic fans of the original movies but new viewers, who can find relatability in a new generation of characters while the original cast continues to grow and learn new lessons. In a move that harkens back to the era of the original films, Cobra Kai has also been made into a video game: Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues.
Developed by GameMill Entertainment and Flux Games, Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues places fans of the franchise in the middle of the ongoing conflict between the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do Dojos, with Hawk and Demetri serving as the main catalysts through which the story is told. As the game unfolds, players learn the real truth about the conflict through a lengthy campaign of 28 missions. Length, however, isn't the only qualifier of a game's price.
The length of a video game can act as a barometer for the amount of time a player may spend on the game itself, but longer games also run the risk of overstaying their own welcome. Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues offers enough content that players may feel repetition seep in as their time with the game drags on. But with a few systems in place, it staves off repetition as much as it can.
The Cobra Kai video game features a skill tree system, allowing players to upgrade their favorite character's move sets and improve the arsenal of techniques they bring into fights. It features a dojo-wide upgrade system, implementing four techniques across all members of that particular dojo to offer a total of eight special attacks for each character's arsenal. The Cobra Kai game also does a stellar job of making sure players are encouraged to use this wide variety of abilities, as each enemy requires a different approach to defeat them.
While the game avoids the pitfalls of repetition longer than most in its genre, a general lack of gameplay polish holds it back from a black belt. As players continue to play Cobra Kai, they may experience techniques clipping through a target, awkward movement through the game's environments, and an overall stilted feel coming from the characters and their movements. The sound design can also be a letdown: Punches and kicks sound identical to an enemy's head being thrown against a car, and, while the music is a stand-out, it's not enough to salvage the inconsistent sound work.
Fans of Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid may find the title is worth the purchase price. With local co-op, fans of the franchise can get together and enjoy an old-school beat 'em up based on the sequel to a classic franchise. Beyond that, however, it would be hard to recommend this game at its full price, especially with more attractive beat 'em up options selling for less. As a game built around the ongoing Cobra Kai series, it manages to lure fans in with its overall nostalgic presentation, but it doesn't manage much else for those not already invested in the dueling dojos.
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is now available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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November 02, 2020 at 06:10AM
