Today I am introducing another bootleg or another unlicensed game for the GameBoy Color. It's called "Karate Joe" and dates back to 2000. It was published by the publisher "Rocket Games". However, this is just a pseudonym, or rather a label from another company. The UK company "Datel" was behind "Rocket Games". It was and is known for cheat software and hardware of all kinds for all kinds of video game consoles (and lots of copyright infringements). The game itself was developed by the then unknown Italian "NAPS Team".
THE GAME:
"Karate Joe" is a platform / beat'em-up game in the style of "Kung Fu Master". There is no background story. The main character "Joe" (who looks like Ryo from Street Fighter) can defend himself against his opponents with kicks and punches. There are 5 hearts in the upper screen that serve as life indicators.Opponents also leave hearts behind which you can collect to recharge your life energy. However, all opponents really leave a heart, so that you can run through the whole game without any major problems. The level of difficulty is extremely easy, which is quite negative. There are 4 different "worlds / scenarios" which all end with a final boss. But this boss always looks the same and the whole gameplay is by and large very monotonous.In my opinion, the game looks good. The colors are very consistent. It looks really great for a GameBoy Color game.
SCREENSHOTS:
PHYSICAL RELEASE:
The company Datel distributed the game in England and it could be ordered directly from the online shop. It was on a cartridge with its own
Design released in duplicate with another game. There are several variants of which second game is included on the module. Allegedly there should also be individual modules. At that time, a subsidiary of Datel also brought out its own video game magazine which was called "GBX". In the previous issue (No. 11) the game was included as a gimmick on the newspaper for a price of £ 2.99.
ROM & EMULATOR:
As with the "Street Heroes" bootleg, the game cannot be played with all emulators. VisualBoy Advance works in this case but the emulator "Hhugboy" would be better here as well. If you want to try the game yourself, you will also find the ROM to download.
ROM-Download -> Karate Joe (Unl)_GameBoy Color.zip
TRIVIA:
The "NAPS Team" should later celebrate their official debut with their game "Gekido: Kintaro's Revenge" on the GameBoy Advance. Before they do though
Turning to the GBA, they programmed a few prototypes for the GameBoy Color. I suspect to find publishers for their projects.
These prototypes are really impressive and show what would have been possible on the GameBoy Color. I once made it available for download.
Prototyp 1 -> napsteam_prototyp_newgen.zip
Prototyp 2 -> napsteam_prototyp_gekido.zip
The prototypes can be started with all common emulators. Take a look at them. It is worth it.
