Prince of Persia Creator Announces a Retro Reboot

Karateka, the old Apple II game about a kung-fu guy who fights to save a princess only to be kicked in the face because he came on too strong? It was a real game and made by Jordan Mechner, the man behind Prince of Persia.

And Mechner thinks it’s time to relive the glory of Karateka, because he just announced that the game is getting a remake for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, using the same simple easy to grasp gameplay, but with a new coat of paint thanks to shiny HD graphics and sound.

“As a gamer, I have much the same taste today that I did in the 1980s. There’s a certain kind of game I’ve always loved to play that’s still few and far between,” Mechner said.

“With Karateka, I wanted to make a game that was simple enough that I could immediately understand it, pick up and start playing. Even today, it’s hard to find games that are simple fun, pick-up-and-play but still offer a cinematic, emotional human story presented in a way that’s visually beautiful and engages people’s emotions.”

“Those early games are almost cultural touchstones in a way, something like the way we think of early silent films. Look at the success of Hugo and The Artist this year; as moviegoers, we don’t remember 1910 or 1920, yet we’re drawn to the freshness and innocence of filmmaking at that time.”

“There’s something about seeing a new art form emerge and evolve so fast that you can actually notice how it’s changed in your own lifetime. I hope that Karateka will warm the hearts of players who enjoyed the original game so many years ago, but I’m also excited to share something that’s precious to me with a new generation of gamers.”

Rebooting classic franchises is becoming more and more common, and the downloadable marketplace provides a resource for indie developers to push out projects like Karateka.