TenSpot

Akuma

Karateka
Apple II, 1986

One of the most dramatic boss fights in computer and video game history was against a villain who was so menacing that the fight actually started long before you ever got anywhere near him (and continued after you defeated him). The warlord Akuma from Jordan Mechner's classic game Karateka appeared on such home computers as the C64 and the Apple II, and this game was one of the very first electronic games to introduce a real sense of tension that built up around the character through a series of some of the world's first electronic game cutscenes.

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Akuma didn't need a fancy portrait on the box cover to be menacing. In the game's introductory sequence, a scrolling text message briefed you on your mission--you were a lone martial artist tasked with rescuing the fair princess Mariko from Akuma's mountain stronghold. The narrative then cut to a scene showing the imposing warlord himself ordering the princess into her cell. After you started the game, you'd have to make your way through the fortress's outer grounds, then into its inner halls, fighting Akuma's henchmen along the way. Each time you progressed to a new area, the game would switch to a brief cutscene that would show Akuma silently ordering a new henchman to come running out to greet you.

Yet you never got the sense that he was a coward or a weakling--probably because of his imposing stature (he was the tallest character in the game) and the way his admittedly pixelated, low-resolution face would stare impassively at henchmen and princess alike. Akuma wasn't hiding behind his goons; he was a crafty adversary who cleverly used the great number of henchmen to his advantage, including his most trusted minion--the huge blue hawk that sat on his shoulder at all times. Karateka fans will definitely remember the troublesome bird (some may even have had nightmares about it), since it would begin attacking you before every new opponent as soon as you reached the fortress. You'd hear one warning squawk before it flew onscreen, and if you weren't fast enough, it would hit you several times, robbing you of precious health points, which constantly depleted each time you were hit by a new opponent. In the innermost confines of the fortress, you'd finally square off against the creature in an empty room and smash it to bits if you were skilled enough to defeat it.

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No princesses allowed out of their cells! Not on my watch! After defeating the hawk, your health points would slowly fill up, and walking into the next room would reveal Akuma himself, a character you had previously seen only in cutscenes ordering armies of other martial artists to defeat you. While Akuma was equipped with the same martial arts maneuvers you were, he was a challenging opponent with more reach than you or your previous adversaries had. Yet he was truly intimidating not only because of his skill, but also because of his stature and appearance; all other enemies in the game were your size and dressed as you did, while Akuma wore full battle-gear. And once you finally defeated him, you'd be treated with special fanfare music, and your health points would disappear off the screen (presumably because you were exhausted from your previous fights). You then kicked down the door to Mariko's cell. However, if you were foolish enough to slowly walk toward her as though you were about to attack, she'd pull one of the dirtiest tricks in video game history by giving you a swift kick out of the blue that would finish you off right then and there (and cause you to lose the entire game). For whatever reason, you could gain her trust only by running into her arms, but when you did, you succeeded in your quest, and you truly felt that you had earned your victory, having triumphed over a truly powerful villain and his followers.