Quite possibly Data East's most significant game
This review is on the NES game, so I am going to stick with it. I realize some of the elements between the NES and arcade and Famicom games are different, but as the disclaimer says, I am not basing this on the arcade game but on the NES game. The game takes place in a region known as Creamina, which many probably assume to be a fictitional area of Russia, given the main character's nationality. For years, the treasure of Babylon has been kept safe from evil forces, but now an evil dragon named Ryu (the first Ryu I ever was aware of, long before Ryu of the Street Fighter series and Ryu Hayabusa of Ninja Gaiden fame) has stolen the treasure and left his minions to lay siege to the once peaceful Creamina. How do you deal with a creature like Ryu? Easy - you fight fire with fire!
This is where the main character comes in. Jinborov Karnovski, known as Karnov for short, is a former circus strongman who is tasked with reclaiming Creamina's lost treasure. Although Karnov's massive physique is what makes him recognizable, it won't help a bit against a dragon like Ryu or his minions. Ah, but Karnov is able to shoot fireballs, and he comes and goes in a bolt of lightning! What better man is there for a job like this? Karnov must traverse nine stages to reach the treasure and teach Ryu what happens when you take something that doesn't belong to you.
This is quite a difficult game! It was before the time of most games with energy meters, and as such, Karnov was finished after one hit in the arcade. I told you brute force can't help against demons! Well, the NES game is a little more forgiving than the arcade game - Karnov is able to take two hits in the NES game. The first hit he takes causes Karnov to flash (temporarily invincible) and to turn blue. His natural color can be restored by finding large fireballs, and when Karnov is already his natural color, these large fireballs increase the number that Karnov can fire at a time, up to three at a time! Karnov can collect at least 10 different options as well to help him complete his quest, some of which you can stock, which means you can carry more than one at a time. Selecting between the options in one of two ways - each time left and right is pressed on the control pad, the option indicator moves left or right. More effective is to pause the game and press left and right to highlight the option you want to use so you can use it immediately after unpausing. Some, however, cannot be highlighted until their use is practical. When this situation arises, the option will highlight on its own and a tone will sound to alert you.
Boots - Jump at twice the normal height. (stockable)
Bombs - Used to destroy some walls. (stockable)
Ladder - Climb this for help getting options you cannot reach unaided. You cannot stock the ladder, but you can pick it back up after using it by climbing back down the ladder all the way to the bottom.
Boomerang - Throw this for a powerful offensive attack! If you catch it when it comes back, you can use it again. (stockable)
Clapper - This is something of a spike bomb, and when used, it takes down every enemy on the screen except for bosses. (stockable)
Glasses - These cannot be used unless the time is right. When they can be used, they will flash and the tone will sound. Using the glasses reveal hidden options that otherwise cannot be retrieved.
Swimming Mask - Stage 5 is a swimming stage, and the mask can only be used in this stage. Karnov will swim twice as fast when he wears the mask.
Wings - These can only be used in certain circumstances, but you will depend on them heavily in stage 8, which takes place at a high elevation. This stage is impassable without wings, but there are ample opportunities to find wings in stage 8.
Shield - Karnov holds the shield in front of him, and it protects him from 5 projectile attacks.
K Marks - These are simply K's inside squares. Collecting 50 of them scores an extra life.
This game takes plenty of practice to beat, but it is a fun piece of history. The game itself is a standard platformer, but the character himself became Data East's mainstay for the rest of their history. Bad Dudes, one of Data East's most popular games, featured Karnov as the first level boss, and he was the final boss in Fighter's History. Data East may be no more, but their legacy lives on in games like Karnov!
P.S. Don't believe the instruction booklet's claim that you only get three continues in this game - you can continue as often as it takes.