Graphics: 7
Nothing good or bad here. 7 may be a little high but the karate fighters look okay. The rings are kind of neat. Training mode is a little drab.

The big draw is all the moves. A lot of time and effort went into desiging these karate techniques. It shows. For a NES fighter, these karate moves are fairly smooth and realistic.

Sound: 3
No real good music to talk about. I believe the tune where you pick moves is a tad catchy but don't hold me to that.

As for sounds, theres just basic strikes and blows. Sound isn't really the highlight of this game. Still, decent music could have seriously elevated this low-mediocre fighting game.

Gameplay: 5
Well, this game has variety. You have over 30 moves to assign to your fighter. That's right. You can actually give your fighter his own moves. Its a shame Street Fighter never attempted this. Anyway, you pick your moves and then train a little.

After training, its time to start the tournaments and bouts. Things go downhill. Fighting gets repetitive. There is one move that is absolutely crucial: the descending overhand punch to the abdomen. This move will defend nearly everyone of your opponents. I tried mixing up moves but it just isn't feasible.

Winning moves you up the competitive ladder. However, all of the fighters look the same so it gets boring fast.

One odd occurence is the Kumite. After winning several bouts, you take part in this illegal tournament. You don't wear gloves but its still more of the same. I believe this game was orinally designed as for the movie ""Bloodsport"" starring Jean Claude-Van Damme. Anyway, the licensing must have fallen through. If you want to see for yourself, pay attention to the fans behind your fighters during the Kumite. As in the movie, two Westerners (one black, one white) wearing suits are in the front row. Next to them is the main female lead of the movie. These look identical to the movie. Its kind of comical.

Overall: 6
The custimization allows for some flexibility. You can pick your moves and see how they work. You can also build up your fighters statistics. However, the repetitive matches just won't hold your interest. They didn't keep me happy when the game was first released and they don't now. Still, the Kumite adds some much needed comical relief.

Give it a whirl if you are a kickboxing/karate fan. You just may like it.

Closing:

Fans of ""Bloodsport"" should attempt to get to the Kumite. Its obviously based off the movie(See my gameplay paragraph). Unfortunately, this game's failure to secure the license probably destroyed any real potential. The depth of the game just isn't there.