Some arcade games feel like they were designed by committee, carefully assembled to appeal to as many players as possible. Then there are games like KARNOV, which seem to have been dreamed up after someone had a particularly strange afternoon and decided that what the world really needed was a bald, muscular, fire-breathing strongman wandering through a fantasy landscape while battling monsters. Originally released by Data East in 1987, KARNOV was never afraid of being a little bit ridiculous, and that is precisely why it remains so memorable nearly four decades later. Now, through HAMSTER’s Arcade Archives 2 range, this peculiar slice of arcade history gets another chance to breathe fire on modern hardware.
You play as Jinborov Karnovski, better known simply as Karnov, a powerful strongman tasked with defeating the Emperor of Darkness and recovering a collection of stolen treasures. It is not exactly the sort of premise that requires hours of exposition, complicated character development or an encyclopaedia of lore. Karnov sees something nasty, breathes fire at it and keeps marching forwards. It is gloriously simple, wonderfully old-fashioned and, despite its age, still manages to possess a personality that many modern games would struggle to replicate.
Simple Ideas, Serious Arcade Challenge
At its heart, KARNOV is a straightforward action platformer, but beneath that simplicity lies a game that demands considerably more thought than its colourful appearance might suggest. Karnov can move, jump and unleash his trademark fire breath, but surviving the game’s stages requires more than simply holding down the attack button and hoping for the best. Enemies appear from all directions, hazards are positioned to catch careless players, and the level design frequently demands that you know exactly when to move and when to wait.
The game’s nine items are where things become particularly interesting. These aren’t merely collectibles that exist to increase your score; each one can fundamentally change how Karnov approaches a particular section. Ladders allow you to reach otherwise inaccessible platforms, wings provide temporary aerial mobility, and other tools can improve movement or deal with particularly troublesome situations. Knowing when to use these items can be the difference between comfortably progressing and watching another life disappear.
That sense of resource management is one of the reasons KARNOV still feels satisfying today. Modern games often give players enormous inventories filled with equipment and consumables, whereas Data East achieved something remarkably effective with a handful of simple tools. You have to pay attention to your surroundings and think about what might be coming next. It gives the adventure a lovely rhythm in which exploration, combat and careful preparation constantly feed into one another.
The Joy of Learning the Hard Way
There is no disguising the fact that KARNOV is an arcade game from 1987. It can be brutally unforgiving, and the difficulty curve is likely to produce a mix of nostalgic smiles and frustrated groans, depending on your tolerance for old-school design. Karnov does not have an enormous health bar. Enemies can quickly overwhelm him, and environmental hazards are more than happy to punish a poorly timed jump.
Yet there is something satisfying about that difficulty when you approach it on its own terms. KARNOV isn’t really interested in giving you a relaxing stroll through its fantasy world. It wants you to learn its patterns, understand enemy behaviour, and gradually become better at handling situations that initially seem impossible. The first few attempts can feel harsh, but once you start recognising where enemies appear and how the various items can help, the experience becomes considerably more rewarding.
That makes Arcade Archives 2 KARNOV particularly well suited to short sessions. You can play for ten minutes, make a few attempts at a troublesome section, and walk away feeling like you have accomplished something. Alternatively, you can settle in for a much longer session and try to push further than you have before. It is the kind of game that constantly whispers “just one more go”, which is one of the most enduring qualities of classic arcade design.
A Strange but Wonderful Visual Identity
Visually, KARNOV is unmistakably a product of its era, but that isn’t necessarily a criticism. The colourful sprites, unusual enemies and fantasy environments have a distinctive quality that makes the game instantly recognisable. Karnov himself is particularly memorable, with his enormous physique and distinctive appearance making him one of those characters who could have come from nowhere else.
There is also a pleasing variety of environments. The game takes Karnov through a succession of strange locations populated by equally strange creatures, creating the feeling of a bizarre fantasy adventure assembled from the wildest ideas available to an arcade designer in the 1980s. It may not have the graphical sophistication of contemporary releases, but it has something arguably more valuable in retro gaming: character.
The sound design is equally nostalgic. The electronic effects, arcade sound cues and music instantly transport you back to an era when a few catchy notes had to make an impression over the noise of an entire arcade. There is a rawness to it that modern production values cannot really reproduce, and that authenticity is a big part of the appeal.
Arcade Archives 2 Does the Preservation Job Properly
The real star of this release, however, is arguably the Arcade Archives 2 package itself. HAMSTER has built a reputation for preserving classic arcade games rather than simply dumping old ROMs onto modern systems, and KARNOV benefits from the same philosophy. The ability to adjust display settings, use rewind and save states, configure rapid fire, and compete on online leaderboards makes the experience considerably more accessible than playing the original arcade machine.
The inclusion of the familiar Original, Hi Score and Caravan modes gives players several ways to approach the game. Caravan Mode is particularly enjoyable for anyone who likes the pressure of squeezing as much progress and score as possible out of a limited period. The new Time Attack Mode adds another layer by shifting the focus from score chasing to pure speed.
That may sound like a small addition, but it gives a game like KARNOV another reason to revisit stages you already know. Suddenly, you’re not simply trying to survive. You’re looking at routes, item usage and movement in a different way, searching for opportunities to shave seconds off your previous attempt. It is a neat way of adding longevity without interfering with the original experience.
A Classic That Knows Exactly What It Is
What I particularly like about KARNOV is that it doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t. There is no attempt to modernise the core gameplay or wrap it in unnecessary extras. This is an arcade action game from 1987, complete with its quirks, awkward moments and uncompromising difficulty, and its appeal lies in experiencing that design as faithfully as possible.
There will undoubtedly be players who find its movement and difficulty frustrating. Some of the platforming can feel stiff by today’s standards, and the game occasionally demands precision that its older controls don’t always make comfortable. The limited health and unforgiving encounters can also feel harsh compared with contemporary action games, which are considerably more generous with checkpoints and recovery.
But those rough edges are part of the historical charm. KARNOV represents an era when games were designed to keep you coming back to the cabinet, learning from every failure and squeezing a little more progress from every credit. With modern conveniences such as rewind and save states available, players can enjoy that design without necessarily enduring every ounce of its original punishment.
Final Verdict
Arcade Archives 2 KARNOV is a wonderfully odd piece of arcade history that remains entertaining thanks to its distinctive personality. The combination of fire-breathing combat, unusual enemies, useful items and demanding platforming creates a surprisingly engaging experience beneath its deliberately simple surface. It certainly shows its age, but this is precisely the sort of release where that age becomes part of the attraction rather than something to hide.
HAMSTER’s modern additions make the experience much easier to appreciate on contemporary hardware, while Time Attack gives veteran players another reason to return after mastering the original challenge. The visual and audio presentation remains charmingly rooted in its 1987 origins, and Karnov himself is still one of the more wonderfully bizarre heroes to emerge from the golden age of arcades.
It may not have the depth or accessibility of a modern action platformer, but KARNOV doesn’t need either. It is a compact, challenging and characterful reminder of how inventive arcade developers could be when working with limited technology. For retro enthusiasts, arcade historians and anyone with a fondness for wonderfully strange gaming curiosities, this fire-breathing strongman is still worth following into battle.
