Karateka

Karateka is a martial arts game designed by Jordan Mechner. It is designed to resemble classic martial arts films, including cinematic techniques such as cross-cutting.

Gameplay
You only have one life for the entire game. If you die you must start over from the beginning. After winning a battle, your maximum health level will usually decrease by one point and your enemy's maximum health level will increase by one point. Your health will always be restored to its current maximum after a battle, so it does not matter how much you are damaged during combat as long as you do not die.

Box artwork
The artwork of Karateka depicts the player character as well as the captured maiden as Caucasian, although it is unknown if this was Jordan Mechner's intent. The same artwork adorns a majority of of the releases with the single exception of the artwork for the Nintendo Famicom which was created in Japan. Ironically, it employs the same title logo even though it is the only version that does not use this logo for the title screen.