Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues
Two dojos, one story, and a retired mastermind behind it all.
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is a side-scrolling beat 'em-up released in 2020. It is based on the television series *Cobra Kai*, itself a continuation of *The Karate Kid* film series. Flux Games developed the game, with GameMill Entertainment handling North American publishing and Maximum Games managing the European release. It launched for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 27, 2020, followed by a Windows release on January 5, 2021. The European Nintendo Switch version arrived on November 24, 2020. Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Jacob Bertrand, and Gianni DeCenzo reprise their roles as Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence, Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz, and Demetri Alexopoulos, while other characters are voiced by different actors. A sequel, *Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising*, developed by Flux Games and published by GameMill Entertainment, came out on November 8, 2022, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows via Steam, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
The game’s plot is framed by Hawk and Demetri in the principal’s office, arguing over the chaos that erupted across the valley. The principal threatens suspension unless they can tell a coherent story from the beginning.
In the Cobra Kai story, Hawk claims it started at the Mini-Golf & Arcade, where Miguel found a note he thought was from Sam asking for a date, but it led to a gang of thugs. After Miguel defeated them, a map fell from their car, which he showed to Johnny. They suspected Daniel was seeking revenge for his high school trauma. At Smitty’s Diner, they encountered Kyler, who was following orders from an unknown martial artist to meet there if he wanted revenge on Miguel. They then went to the mall, believing Miyagi-Do was using it as a meeting spot to set a trap. There, they defeated Demetri and a thug named Shawn before a mall cop captured Shawn. Next, they followed a fake tournament invitation to the All-Valley Tournament campus, where they beat Xander and Robby. At Weinberg TV Studios, they found Johnny’s stepfather Sid, who had partnered with Miyagi-Do to make a movie. They then went to the high school and defeated Sam. At Oaks on the Beach Club, they learned Trey was distributing fake tournament fliers under the same martial artist’s instructions.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Flux Games
- Publisher
- NA · GameMill Entertainment · EU · Maximum Games
- Series
- The Karate Kid
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch / PlayStation 4 / Xbox One / Windows
- Released
- PlayStation 4, Xbox OneWW · October 27, 2020Nintendo Switch / NA · October 27, 2020 · EU · November 24, 2020WindowsWW · January 5, 2021
- Genre
- Beat 'em-up
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Engine
- Unity
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game's plot is framed by Hawk and Demetri in the principal's office, each telling their version of events to avoid suspension. In the Cobra Kai story, Hawk recounts that Miguel received a note at a mini-golf arcade, leading to a series of confrontations with thugs, Kyler, Demetri, and others, ultimately pointing to Daniel as the mastermind. In the Miyagi-Do story, Demetri describes a similar chain of events from Sam's perspective, blaming Johnny. Both stories converge in a true ending where Kreese reveals he orchestrated the conflict, and Daniel and Johnny team up to defeat him, then call a truce. The principal dismisses their tale as unbelievable and assigns them detention to write it down.
Reader's Guide
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues is notable for adapting the television series into a side-scrolling beat 'em-up, a genre that evokes classic arcade games. The game features two distinct story campaigns—Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do—each presenting a conflicting narrative of the same events, with a true ending that reconciles them. Development was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing remote work during the alpha phase. The developers cited inspirations such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and The Combatribes for combat, Overwatch and Assassin's Creed Odyssey for skill upgrades, and Streets of Rage, River City Girls, and Final Fight for level pacing and enemy design. A dodge move was added late in development after testers rated the parry system poorly. The game features an entirely original soundtrack. A sequel, Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising, was released in 2022.
Did You Know?
- The game was in the middle of its alpha phase when the COVID-19 pandemic forced developers to begin working remotely.
- The dodge move was added late in development because the parry system was very badly rated by testers.
- A sequel titled Cobra Kai 2: Dojos Rising was released on November 8, 2022.
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