Retro Game of the Day! Karnov
Karnov by Data East, originally released in the arcade in 1987 and ported to the NES (and other systems) the following year.
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Alright! So there were some NES games that you'd rush right out to by as soon as they released (
Mega Man 2), and then there were those that you'd pick up second-hand from some other kid at school who would be selling his NES games to get money to buy drugs or whatnot. Karnov was of the latter variety.
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A strange game, this - you controlled a fire-breathing, retired circus strongman with a big beergut who sought treasure in strange lands. That's really all the setup that was given with this game.
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And it is pretty much just your run-of-the-mill platformer. Other than the pretty fancy-looking title screen, Karnov never really seemed to have a lot going for it: You run around. You pick up "K's." You shoot fireballs. If someone touches you, you become blue (again, and you die). Karnov did have a bit of a nifty item-collection system going on: shields, powerups, scuba gear, high-jump boots - even a ladder - all that stuff was pretty cool!
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Unfortunately, the game had kind of a dreary aesthetic - the graphics weren't bad, they just didn't look very
fun. The soundtrack consists of a single heroic-sounding tune with a bit of a Russian flavor, but the same tune plays out through the entire game which gets a bit old (it is a half-decent chiptune though!) The sound FX are particularly grating however. There's a lot of bleeping and garbling in this one. It just makes you feel a bit nauseous - what were the designers thinking?
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At the end of the day, I will say this of Karnov - I picked it up for a cheap price, essentially to have another NES cart to fill out my shelf. I gave it a couple of plays and actually found myself digging it - any game where you run, jump and shoot in any manner similar to
Contra can't be all bad! Karnov might not be the bee's knees, but it's a fun little platformer to kill an afternoon with, and some of the sights will make you laugh and scratch your head, wondering - who the hell writes this stuff?
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