Karate Champ, known in Japan as , is a 1984 arcade fighting game developed by Technōs Japan (which would later developing 1995 Neo Geo titles Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer with SNK) and released by Data East. A variety of moves can be performed using the dual-joystick controls using a best-of-three matches format like later fighting games. The game was a commercial blockbuster, especially in the United States where it was the arcade game of 1985 and the best-selling home computer game up until 1989. Karate Champ established and popularized the one-on-one fighting game genre, for which it is considered one of the most influential games of all time. An updated version that allows two players the option to compete against each other was released in 1984 under the title , featuring a multiplayer mode and more varied gameplay. It was released for the arcades shortly after the original during the same year, also published by Data East. This version was released internationally as Karate Champ (the original single-player version was exclusive to Japan), and would serve as the basis for the home versions of Karate Champ. Gameplay Using two joysticks, players can execute 24 moves. Gameplay consists of a two dimensional fight between the first karateka wearing a white gi who is controlled by player one and the second karateka wearing a red gi who is controlled by either player two or the CPU, followed by various bonus rounds for the successful player. This pattern repeats itself in the next, more challenging round set against a new background, the first level being a dojo and all following levels taking place at the same tournament stadium. Unlike most later fighting games, there is no health bar or hit point system. A hit successfully landed ends the round and earns the hitter either one point or half point (along with a numeric score for the top ten, but this has no effect on winning a match). The first to score two points is the winner. If the player loses a battle, the game ends. The game features digitized speech for the judge to call out such phrases as "Fight!" or "Winner!". The speech is in Japanese in the original version. Player vs Player Karate Champ — Player vs Player is distinguished from the initial Karate Champ by the addition of a player versus player mode. It is very similar to the original in