Criminally Overlooked Games #12: Best of the Best Karate

[RAYXNUM1]

I remember buying this game when I was very young, it never work on my 486 :( ,but at least whatching the vid I can get the idea.

[StarFoxAutobot]

This game needs music during the actual fights.

[x5deadlyvenoms]

i found this game at a Goodwill resale shop in Texas. still have the cartridge. rockin.

[TheAllin1der]

This used to be my favorite game.

[MagronesBR]

I had Best of The Best for SNES. And I don't remember they're using gloves at Kumite.

[stufaman]

A beautifully crafted game.

[666FrankBooth666]

Sweep the leg!

[xanadujin]

Offensive music, LOL. Yes, it is.

[2010Barbon]

Used to play this for hours on end as a kid while watching Kickboxer on my VCR and think I was Tong Po! LOL LOL!

[RokuroCarisu]

With a six buttons control system like SSF2 (and maybe the title changed from karate to kickboxing), I think this game could have been a success.

[njdevils17]

i could have sworn the guys went to bare knuckles once you made into the karate portion part with no ref

[masteriansun]

wheres Eric Roberts?

[BigBangBlitz]

Apparently on tv's "The young and the restless".

[NFSlugger13]

I believe I had this for Turbografx (or something similar) -- Andre Panza's kickboxing. The controls were so overwhelming for me that I couldn't even make it pas the 3rd guy. I may go back and give it try someday, especially since the graphics are (relatively) appealing.

[YoMommaStalker]

Just playing this game now, The 5th guy on the street by the name "Warrior" is giving me an f'n hard time. lol love this game.

[BigBangBlitz]

Awesome! There are some moves that tend to do better against the CPU. Try the backhand, Uppercut, Shin kick, and mid-roundhouse to wreck that guy.

[YoMommaStalker]

@BigBangBlitz Yeah , I used the same combinations myself cause they strike fast. I beat Hammer after a few tries. Then it was easy to destroy the remaining fighters. Now I'm down to the last guy , I think his names Cogneur. Damn 99% all stats. haha.

[BigBangBlitz]

Yeah, he's a legitimate challenge.Even massive natural combos don't take him down.

[DJCandyManMike]

@YoMommaStalker

You're talking about the kumite matches, right? I've beaten him before, but it definitely takes practice and a lot of stat buildups.

[TheDemoniusX]

I am loving this series. People should reckonize these games and try them. They are all good and should be played at least a few times.

[Khaos969]

This game originally was called "Panza KickBoxing" for the Amiga in 1990 when it came out to the 16 bit consoles they changed the name to "best of thebest" for a more commercial appeal...

itll always be Panza Kickboxing to me tho :) great game! better then most fighting games even today..

[RatmanXX]

I loved this game on the Sega MegaDrive! I think it is underrated.

[hwaycasie30728]

dude ok first of all the movie was Tae Kwon Do, NOT Kick Boxing......SECONDLY this is just that, KICk BOXING NOT "MIXED MARTIAL ARTS........stick a level up your ass and get your shit straight..

[DerEwigeKurde]

Here's another possible movie connection, this game is from 1992, Tsong Po an opponent in the game could be derived from the Van Damme movie Kickboxer (1989).

Van Damme's Antagonist in that movie was named Tong Po, lol.

ps. i used to love this game, one of the best fighting games on the snes imho.

[dallman2000bc]

Referee: hop two two loool wtf

[ccicc]

I wanna play!!!

[enigmafirst]

Was this game connected in any way with the movie?

[BigBangBlitz]

There's some kickboxing in it. Otherwise, no.

[themnahready]

the game isnt very good. the controls suck. there's nomusic. and the hit detection...? sometimes your sprite's animation is ON TOP of the other guy and no hit is given. sometimes BOTH players are punching on top of each other and no hit is given either way.

[deejayunknow]

lol i love this game ;D

[CoffeeCrisp87]

hahahahaha that sucks i have it on turbografx...worst controls ever in a video game... AND THE HEADS THAT CHANGES ON THE SAME BODY HAHAHAA

[1983parrothead]

There is a fighting game similarly titled "Best of Best", created by Korean video game company SunA Electronics. Unlike other fighting games, Best of Best lacks sound effects and voice acting heard during battles, and has some edited versions of sprites from other fighting games.

[Metaldog67]

i still have this game. it was my 2nd fighting\martial arts game SF being the 1st. i loved the challenge of the Kumite as well.

[1787dude]

wow i shouldve given this game a chance. i actually had a turbograffix16 like 6 months ago. i had to leave it in fucking texas

[biporio]

did you speed up the game? At snes it runs slower...

[MutteringUrchin]

Always wanted this and Andre Panza's KB. Still remember the magazine screen-shots to this day.

[jcpadmore]

I loved this game and had it on my Commodore Amiga back in about 1989. I used to kick some serious ass on it. A total classic..

[Nite2727]

the animation is crazy for a snes game

[mountster226]

I use to rent this game every weekend....now i had forgotten all about it

[MasterBigodeForever]

PAD VS SEGA

[TypicalJoe1900]

What's up with the sounds in this game? One of the noises it makes when someone gets hit sounds like somebody's puking.

[rizhall]

They hit so hard that when they get hit, they actually DO puke a little.

This shit's intense.

[diamonddust22]

TypicalJoe1900 it's called 8 bit, and it's an old game. god are you stupid.

[BigBangBlitz]

16 bit

[diamonddust22]

BigBangBlitz even better, Love your videos. They are awesome.

[BigBangBlitz]

Thanks, bro!

[JBOTTSIOWA]

Dang I still have my turbo graphix 16 ANDRE PANZA game Im gonna have to bust it out and play it

[rat4cooler]

SNES version if you turbo switch during the kick strength segment of training, your dude would kick his way right off the screen and start travelling around the ceiling and stuff.

[BigBangBlitz]

I'm gonna try that.

[TitanSmurf2]

O lord.

Found this video by chance...

Nice work, but did anyone notice the ref looks and moves EXACTLY like Zoidberg?

[mattvsobi]

Coool, I didn't know Panza was on the snes. I've just bought it for £4 on ebay! Some guy in America wants £100 dollars for it.

[JUARITOSWAY]

The best fighting game for a 16 bit console. period.

[imperialpod]

Best fighting game for 8 bit aswell as it came out for the nes too.

Screw streetfighter, that was arcade, this was the real deal sim style.

[newkillergenius]

@JUARITOSWAY

You must have never played any of the Street Fighter franchise or Mortal Kombat?

[camus25555]

ahh panza kickboxing i had it on atari 1040st i loved this game, we could choose lots of different attack

[stray88]

Kickboxing is in fact actually a ruleset of American Karate, the full name is FCR, Full Contact Rules Karate. Kickboxing is a nickname that stuck, but is still officially FCR Karate. Thanks for posting the vid.

[deejrdee1]

i remeber this my mom had this on the genesis

[brutforce17]

n1

have this game for the amiga 600

[meidc]

I'm working on the NES version for my next walkthrough. And I'm beginning to like this game. It's quite rpg'ish due to your fighter increases strength an agility for each training session and match. And I love rpgs.

[BigBangBlitz]

Yeah it's quite a lot more sim than arcade style brawler. Even though your opponents are more or less at your level after you train a few times, you can still feel the impact of your training.

That's neat

[Chumandoo3]

KUMITE SHIT YEAH!!!

[rat4cooler]

Kumite with gloves and footpads? I thought they were supposed to dip their hands in glue and broken glass? =P

[iwao72]

in the snes version there were no gloves nor footpads in the kumite mode.. but no broken glass either too bad

[gigosai]

This reminds me of Karate Champ, which is probably the greatest fighting game of all time.

[BigBangBlitz]

Way of the Exploding fist for music, International karate for the three-way action.

[Rogermelly01]

I had this for the amiga. Think it was called kickboxer. One of the classics

[motherplayer]

My brother played this on his genesis. Still remember this game

[Soulvex]

i remember panza kickboxing well, awsome game, the best in its day, it was like a simulator in some ways +5

im trying to remember the main guys name, was it carlos sanchez or something?

[BigBangBlitz]

Carlos Sanchez was a Soccer player for Bolivia.

Though, there was a boxer named Carlo Velez in there.

[Soulvex]

oh lol.. um i dont remember Carlo Velez tho.. was a while back :D i still have the game and my amiga, i might have to fire it up if it still works. thanx for this vid, great memories

[thedancemassacre]

oh yes the KUmate fight!!

nice upload

[laffo16]

that scissor drop kick was deadly

[BigBangBlitz]

It's so hard to land though..

[imperialpod]

This game was VASTLY superior to any boxing game around at that time.

It required skill and timing and pulling off combos was very satifying.

One of the best!

[Energyone]

After seeing it I am glad I never picked this one up way back when.

[imperialpod]

It really is good once you master it, one of the best fighting games ever and FAR better than street fighter 2 in regards realism.

A Classic!

[Energyone]

Yay to fun and boo to horrible gameplay in the name of realism.

[Mowtendoo]

so at 3:50 your trainer rapes you, and at 5:06 the chick holds up a picture of a tit

[BigBangBlitz]

Yea, your trainer is the same guy as the corner man in Ring King.

I honestly don't know what the Ring Girl is doing.

Also, I noticed one of the guys in the audience picks his nose occasionally.

[PokerDerk]

I played the hell out of this on SNES. The menu music on the SNES is better, but the sound effects during the fight are better in this Sega version.  I think collieuk did a review of Panza on the Spectrum and it looks like total crap.

[BigBangBlitz]

My vote goes to the Gameboy version. It was almost offensive how unplayable it was.

[SamuralPrince]

needs some music in fights : /

[BigBangBlitz]

What could be more musical than the sound of cracking jaws and dulcetone thuds of shin kick combos?