BestOldGames.net » Sports games » Budokan: The Martial Spirit

Budokan: The Martial Spirit

DOS game, 1989

Genre:: Sports
Year:: 1989
Developer:: Electronic Arts
Publisher:: Electronic Arts
Perspective:: 3rd-person
Theme:: Martial Arts
Releases:: DOS (1989), Genesis (1990), Amiga (1990), Amstrad CPC (1991), ZX Spectrum (1991), Commodore 64 (1992)

Our rating:

User rating:

No one has rated this game yet

Please, register or to rate this game!

Budokan: The Martial Spirit screenshot 2

Budokan: The Martial Spirit screenshot 3

Budokan: The Martial Spirit screenshot 4

Budokan: The Martial Spirit screenshot 5

Budokan is the name of a prestigious tournament that takes place regularly in Tokyo. The player starts as a martial arts apprentice, with a choice of 4 fighting methods or weapons: Karate (hand and foot combat), Kendo (wooden sword), Nunchaks (two pieces of wood connected by a chain) and Bo (a long fighting stick). You can train alone or with an instructor. There is also the possibility of local multiplayer - two players can play a training match on one keyboard. After the training, which does not have to be completed, it is possible to enter the tournament and try to succeed in it. …read more

Play online
in your browser

Game review

Everyone started somehow. And the same is true for Electronic Arts. Who would have thought that the small company that released the fighting game Budokan in 1989 will one day be a multinational giant corporation. And what exactly is the Budokan?
It's a game about Asian martial arts. You are a young student who is getting ready for a big tournament called Budokan. You have a choice of 4 martial arts. Karate, Kendo - bamboo sword, Bo - Long battle stick and Nunchaku - ie classic clubs with chains. In a Budokan tournament, you can use each of these styles 4 times to beat your opponent to ensure you change styles. The enemies in the main tournament are diverse, and the mere curiosity that who will be next is driving you forward. But before you go to that tournament, you have the opportunity to train in huts with teachers or alone.

Instead of using energy, the game uses stamina (which decreases during exertion and strikes) and Ki, which is something like concentration - the higher, the stronger the strike.

The game really has great graphics at the time. However, the controls are too complicated, so it makes the fight quite frustrating. Which is probably the main burden of this otherwise original game.

Reviewed by Anonym – 1. april 2014