Jeremy Parish

NES Works #072: Karnov (Patreon)

Published:

2020-09-02 13:00:00

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

Karnov data east nes nes works

Content

Good evening! Or morning. Wherever you are in the world, I hope it's good. Maybe this video will make it a little better? It's a look back at Karnov, the NES game. Strangely enough, the first four NES games we'll be looking at for 1988 can trace their origins to the arcades, and each one feels progressively more impressive than the last. Karnov isn't bad, but it's still a bit in the doldrums... however, things will be looking up soon.

After this episode, the "live" video bookends will be seeing a considerable improvement in quality, as I made the switch from webcam to DSLR for next week. Now I just need to see if the DSLR has an option to sync up with the refresh rate of the TV screen behind me...

Files

Karnov retrospective: Rush ’n attack | NES Works #072

Coming on the heels of the NES's faithful home conversion of the not-so-faithful arcade localization of Kunio-kun/Renegade, we have Data East's almost-classic Karnov: The tale of a fire-breathing Russian strongman (who is actually dead) out to save the world from a dragon by toting around a ladder. A somewhat strange game in the Ghosts ’N Goblins/Wonder Boy II vein, Karnov doesn't quite hit the mark overall, but its NES conversion is surprisingly strong and includes a few welcome quality-of-life tweaks over the coin-op. As for localization, all we lost in the U.S. was the fact that main character Karnov was a big enough bastard in life to merit personal attention from the god of the Hebrews himself. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! And be sure to check out the Retronauts podcast (http://www.retronauts.com), where I (and many others!) tackle a much wider array of classic gaming topics each week.