Yes, you read that right: Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is a game based on the Netflix series. Our gameplay summary.
Huh?!, some of you will now snort with due eloquence towards the screen: Cobra Kai is a Netflix series and not a game, you GlobalESportNews softeners. And yes, that’s true too, but SHUT UP!!! Cobra Kai may be one of the best Netflix series of all time, but it pales much like the peace pipes from Miyagi-Do over this graphic opulence (here):
And yes, this is already a glossed over press image. Nevertheless, everything about this screenshot breathes the spirit of the series: Samantha, Halloween goblins, gigantic icicles that I shoot out of my hand… Wait, giant icicles?
Okay, Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues takes a lot of liberties to make an entertaining beat ’em up out of the Netflix show. And actually, looking at the pictures, all the license junk warning sirens are ringing that this must be for the bin in a similar way to Daniel’s bike in Karate Kid 1 after Johnny and cohorts roughed him up.
Table of Contents
What kind of game is this please?
If you’ve read my tale of woe about (Sifu), you might have noticed: I’m into this martial arts stuff at least as much as Jean-Claude Van Damme is into splits. And indeed, Sifu has reignited my passion for martial arts games: I’m currently playing old King of Fighters on the Switch, Soul Calibur 6 via Steam, and torturing my way through the first Guilty Gear, which unironically has an insta-kill manoeuvre built in that enemies always unpack against me and … @ $% &!!!
Well, anyway, back to Cobra Kai. The Karate Kid Saga Continues is exactly for people like me: martial arts fans who are in the mood for an extremely straightforward pugilist in which you simply fight your way through levels with familiar characters – either solo or in co-op. Neither graphically nor in terms of gameplay will you find the excellence of a Streets of Rage 4, but: The game really has its strengths!
For example, it really makes a difference whether I choose the aggressive Cobra Kai or the peaceful Miyagi-Do at the beginning. There are effectively two campaigns in the game:
- Team Cobra Kai: Here you play the hooligan swashbucklers Miguel, Tory, Hawk and Sensei Lawrence.
- Clearly, the scenarios are the same: You fight your way through streets, shopping malls, the All-Valley Arena and so on. But you meet other enemies – and the story progresses with completely different cutscenes. Ah, and speaking of story …
Does Cobra Kai have a story?
The Cobra Kai game takes place sometime in the haze of the second season, so the enmity between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai is at its zenith, however, a completely separate story is told here. At the beginning, Demetri and Hawk sit with the school headmaster because something terrible has happened – and both tell their own version, because bitter enmity and all that.
So you experience the Cobra Kai campaign as a flashback of Hawk’s retelling, and Miyagi’s from Demetri’s point of view. If you want to understand the big picture, you’ll have to play the roughly eight-hour story twice, though … so let’s be honest, if you play a beat ’em up for the story, you also order a knife and fork from McDonald’s. Yes, you repeatedly confront old acquaintances from the second series in the game, such as that bullying gang that gave Miguel hell in season one.
But all in all, the story doesn’t really matter – and the smart charm of the series only breaks through a cloud of trash dialogue on Power Rangers level (but at least with some original speakers) in a few moments. This is particularly noticeable with the enemy types: There are heaps of different enemies … and they all serve clumsy stereotypes and clichés.
Plumper than the series template
This is nothing new in beat ’em ups, after all I already fought punks and bikers in the first Final Fight, but Cobra Kai takes it to the extreme: You fight Soccer Moms, emos, hippies, department stores’ guards, Segway riders and/or yuppies who throw iPhones – just to list a few enemy types.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a biker, a yuppie or a soccer mom Johnny doesn’t hold his fists still at any cliché. And yes, the Cobra Kai series also pokes fun at stereotypes and clichés, but there it happens in a much smarter and more self-reflective way. Sensei Lawrence throws prejudices around like an angry goat in season one, but that gains depth precisely from the fact that he himself has embodied a macho prole stereotype for decades that has brought him nothing but losses and defeats.
Whereas the series with its generational conflicts, childhood experiences and umpteen different points of view actually emphasises precisely that there are always complex people and backgrounds behind supposed clichés, the Cobra Kai game remains clumsy and one-dimensional. So … not that you should expect deep character dramas in a beat ’em up now, but you have to actively swallow this dull story nonsense to have fun with Cobra Kai. Speaking of fun.
Does it play like crap?
It’s hard to believe, but Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues takes a pretty innovative approach to the beat-’em-up genre. For example, like in many a tag-team fighter, Fabiano and I can swap characters in and out at any time. So I send Sensei Lawrence to the bench in the middle of the fight so that he can heal undisturbed, and instantly continue fighting as Tory.
In the fights it can get very hectic very quickly because opponents surround me. But even cooler: Whereas many classic street fighters like Final Fight and Co. only let me get to the really cool special techniques once a leap year, Cobra Kai consists almost exclusively of super moves after a few levels. Like in an MMO, Tory, for example, keeps her fire kicks permanently on cooldown and sweeps across the screen like a burning tornado.
Yes, of course this goes beyond the scope of the series, but the special manoeuvres of each character are related to their personality: Hawk, for example, creates a huge flame hawk around himself. And with these superman manoeuvres, along with regular punches, kicks and counter and block techniques, Cobra Kai lets me keep enemies in the air for a really long time.
The combo chains feel satisfying, massive and delightfully chaotic. By the way, Cobra Kai is not an easy game – already in the third level the difficulty level increases noticeably, because with tens of enemy types there is always a lot of chaos flickering across the screen.
Enemies drop coins that you can use to learn new skills and perks. All very rudimentary. But is it worth it now?
The so-called moment-to-moment gameplay of Cobra Kai is a lot of fun – especially in co-op. However, the game’s meagre budget is noticeable at every turn: I encountered some kind of bug in every second level, which sometimes even forces restarts from the checkpoint. Movements and hit detection are definitely not perfect – but good enough for a few hours of fun.
However, even if you’re a fan, you really shouldn’t spend 20 euros for the Steam version or – Miyagi beware – 40 euros for the Windows Store version. if you’re a fan of the series, grab your boyfriend or girlfriend, some chips and a drink and have a fun evening. By the way, there’s no online co-op, so you’ll have to play on the couch or via Steam Remote. And now SILENCE!!!
Team Miyagi-Do: Unsurprisingly embodied by Daniel-san, Samantha, Robby and Demetri.
