Karnov's Revenge
Karnov's Revenge is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Data East for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the second game in the Fighter's History series. The game was later ported to the Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD and Sega Saturn home consoles.
Also recorded as Fighter's History Dynamite · ACA NEOGEO Karnov's Revenge
Karnov's Revenge
- Date
- 1994
- Publisher
- SNK
- Genre
- fighting game
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Karnov's Revenge is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Data East for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms. It is the second game in the Fighter's History series. The game was later ported to the Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD and Sega Saturn home consoles.
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In this article
The object
The object
Despite its title and featuring the character of the same name, it is not a sequel to Karnov.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Karnov's Revenge • Developer — Rutubo Games (Saturn) Onan Games (Zeebo) • Publisher — SNK (AES/CD) Sega (Saturn) G-Mode (Zeebo) • Series — Fighter's History • Platforms — Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD, Sega Saturn, Zeebo • Released — ArcadeMarch 17, 1994 Neo Geo AESApril 28, 1994 Neo Geo CD Sega SaturnJuly 4, 1997 Zeebo • Genre — Fighting • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Arcade System — Neo Geo MVS
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Screenshot showcasing a match between Karnov and Lee Diendou. While the previous game was similar to Street Fighters 6-button setup, the gameplay system of Karnov's Revenge is akin to SNK's fighting games such as Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury. Due to change of hardware to SNK's MVS platform, the control configuration was reduced from six attack buttons to just four (only light and heavy attacks are available this time). A new gameplay feature is introduced in the form of "one-two attacks". When the player presses a heavy attack button while performing a light attack or blocking, the interval between light attacks is reduced, making combos easier to perform. While this feature is not mentioned on the instruction card, the final page of the home Neo Geo version's manual mentions it, describing as the "one-two attack" system. All eleven fighters from the previous game return (including the bosses Clown and Karnov, who are now playable) and are joined by two new characters: Yungmie, a female taekwondo exponent from South Korea, and Zazie, a karate practitioner from Kenya, for a total of 13 characters. Karnov is the only returning character who was given entirely new sprites. Most of the returning characters were given new special techniques (with a few exceptions), including hidden techniques which are not listed on the instruction card (the manual for the home version hints at their inclusion). The Ox that appeared in the bonus rounds in Karate Champ appears in this game as a secret boss if the player completes the game on the Normal setting or above without losing a round. The Ox is an unplayable character.
Release
Release
The game was originally released in Japanese arcades on March 7, 1994, while the Neo Geo home console version arrived on April 28. In addition to the ports for the Neo Geo home consoles, Karnov's Revenge was released for the Sega Saturn exclusively in Japan on July 4, 1997. The Saturn version allows players to assign all four basic attacks into a single button (C and Z by default), which is required for certain characters in order to perform certain special moves. A Virtual Console reissue of the Neo Geo version was released for the Wii in Japan on June 8, 2010, PAL territories on December 3, 2010, and in North America on December 27, 2010. It was also added to the Zeebo on April 23, 2010. Hamster Corporation re-released the game as part of their ACA Neo Geo series for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Windows.
Places
Named by the record
Places
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- Japan
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Karnov's Revenge on their April 15, 1994 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. In North America, RePlay reported Karnov's Revenge to be the ninth most-popular arcade game at the time. On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the Neo Geo version of the game a 25 out of 40. GamePro rated it as a modest improvement over the first game, with faster-paced action but the same lack of likeable characters, but they said the new characters are better than the old ones, especially Yeong-mi and her unique trait of using only her legs to attack. Nintendo Life gave it mixed reviews to both the Wii Virtual Console release and the Nintendo Switch re-release. The author Corbie Dillard praised the weak point system and one-two attacks, but remarked they aren't enough to make the game any more notable than the other average fighting games. In the other review by Dave Frear, he said that attacks often do not flow together, sometimes making button mashing more effective than planned moves. At the end of the review, he recommended playing other fighting games like Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, World Heroes, Aggressors of Dark Kombat, and The King of Fighters.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.SoftBank Creative. Oh! Neo Geo Vol. 18 - ファイターズヒストリーダイナマイト. Beep! Mega Drive. 53. 129. February 1994.
- 2.Enterbrain. ファイターズヒストリー ダイナマイト [アーケード]. www.famitsu.com.
- 3.Enterbrain. ファイターズヒストリーダイナマイト [ネオジオ]. Famitsu.
- 4.Enterbrain. ファイターズヒストリーダイナマイト [セガサターン]. Famitsu.
- 5.Amusement Press, Inc. Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos). Game Machine. 470. 25. 15 April 1994.
- 6.RePlay Publishing, Inc. Player's Choice - Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Video Software. RePlay. 19. 9. 6. June 1994.
- 7.NEO GEO GAMES CROSS REVIEW: ファイターズヒストリー ダイナマイト. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.332. Pg.23. 28 April 1995.
- 8.IDG. ProReview: Fighter's History Dynamite. GamePro. 62. 110. September 1994.
- 9.Corbie Dillard. Karnov's Revenge Review (Neo Geo). Nintendo Life. 6 December 2010.
- 10.Dave Frear. Karnov's Revenge Review (Neo Geo). Nintendo Life. 24 November 2017.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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