Karate Joe: Difference between revisions

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* [[File:1st_Remix_icon.png|24px]] [[Remix 1 (GBA)|Remix 1]]
* [[File:1st_Remix_icon.png|24px]] [[Remix 1 (GBA)|Remix 1]]
* [[File:6th Remix icon.png|24px]] [[Remix 6 (GBA)|Remix 6]]
* [[File:6th Remix icon.png|24px]] [[Remix 6 (GBA)|Remix 6]]
* [[File:Karate Man 2 icon.png|20px]] [[Karate Man 2 (GBA)|Karate Man 2]]
* [[File:Karate Man 2 icon.png|20px]] [[Karateka 2|Karateka 2]]
* [[File:7th Remix icon.png|24px]] [[Remix 7 (GBA)|Remix 7]]
* [[File:7th Remix icon.png|24px]] [[Remix 7 (GBA)|Remix 7]]
* [[File:8th Remix icon.png|24px]] [[Remix 8 (GBA)|Remix 8]]
* [[File:8th Remix icon.png|24px]] [[Remix 8 (GBA)|Remix 8]]
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* [[File:Right Remix icon.png|24px]] [[Right-Hand Remix]]
* [[File:Right Remix icon.png|24px]] [[Right-Hand Remix]]
* [[File:Karate Man's Father icon.png|24px]] [[Karate Man Senior]] (cameo)
* [[File:Karate Man's Father icon.png|24px]] [[Karate Man Senior]] (cameo)
==Gallery==
==Gallery==
===Gameplay===
===Gameplay===

Revision as of 00:50, 16 August 2020

This article has been featured

Karate Joe
Image
[[File:File:Karate Joe 3DS.png|frameless|400x270px]]
Artwork from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Appears in
Rhythm Tengoku,
Rhythm Heaven,
Rhythm Heaven Fever,
Rhythm Heaven Megamix

Karate Joe (カラテ家?, Karateka) is the first character to appear in the Rhythm Heaven Series in a Rhythm Game, and one of the only characters to appear in every game since Rhythm Tengoku. He is successing his father in karate.

Characteristics

Karate Joe is characterized by his pale white skin, big nose, and balding head. He wears a black belt karate suit that matches the color of his skin. He wears no shoes. He is described as very expressive and fearless. He is often shown eating a lot of food between training sessions, a trait he seems to share with his father.

Backstory

Karate Joe is a lonely martial artist who struggles with his training. He seems to be developing his own unique karate style which incorporates rhythm. He has a very emotional personality, which can be seen in his many facial expressions. At the martial arts competitions, the opponent reads all his tricks, and he can’t get results. Sometimes he goes to his master for advice, whose usual response is "You needed to focus on the basics."[1]

Karate Joe has dreamed of being a soccer player even since he was a child, but his Father wanted him to master karate instead, and told him that he can't leave his house until he masters it. Even at 55[2], Karate Joe still lives in the basement. His Father also stole the ball that Joe had bought and used it as a sandbag[3]. Father is a master at karate, but not cooking. Occasionally he makes dinner anyway (like one day when Karate Joe's Mother was out of the house)[4], and asks his son if he likes it. Joe has to lie and say that he likes it to make him feel good. Father got his son bombs to make him face his fears. At first, Joe thought they were fake, but then one exploded! He still vividly remembers his Father's face as he said "Are you surprised?"[5] Karate Joe has no idea where his father got them from. Father keeps a bunch of barrels around, but Joe has no idea why. He asked multiple times, but was told that he can only know when he is stronger than his father. Karate Joe envies his Father's incredible vision that allows him to quickly tell the color of a light bulb and counter it. Joe also sees this as an explanation for how his Father can easily counter his attacks.[6]

Other Appearances

In Rhythm Tengoku, he appears in the first Rhythm Game. It involves the Flow Gauge, which determines if he can punch hard objects such as rocks and bombs, which depends on how well the player is doing in the game. In Karate Man 2, he also has to contend with the ever changing tempo. In Remix 8, the Flow Gauge disappears, and Karate Joe is enveloped in shadow. He can now punch rocks no matter what. At the end, he returns to normal, making a weird face. In Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the Flow Gauge mechanic was completely removed, the "Hit 2!", the light bulbs and bomb were replaced with other objects to conform to how the future games work. Karate Joe reappears in the arcade version of the game, with the same appearences, in addition to Karate Man TempoUpExtra1.png, which is a sped up version of the original. Here, he is wearing boxing gloves and black boxing shorts, and is training for a boxing match.

Karate Joe reappears in Rhythm Heaven, in the last Rhythm Game before the Credits. In Remix 6, he can be seen with hair and kicking soccer balls in place of bombs. He later makes a cameo in Blue Birds 2, where he is seen in one of the memories, training while the birds spy on him from a bush. In Karate Man 2, he takes on another day of hard training. This time he's very pleased with himself, though he tries to hide it. He makes the weird face again when kicking away bombs. In the Epilogues, one of The Dazzles is shown to admire him, calling him "hot stuff" and offering him a towel. In Battle of the Bands, he can be seen in the audience, watching the Rockers perform on stage.

In Rhythm Heaven Fever, he is once again in the last Rhythm Game before the Credits. In Remix 7, he wears black shades while punching stuff in space. At one point he lies down and watches TV, which coincidentally shows Karate Man from Rhythm Tengoku itself. In Remix 9 he is acompanied by a cat. In Karate Man 2, he reaches "the height of mastery" in karate, after which he is seemingly able to control fire as seen in the Superb Epilogue. In the Two-Player Game version, he wears a headband, and is accompanied by another Karate Joe in purple clothes.

In Rhythm Heaven Megamix, he appears in Honeybee Remix, where he wears a bee hat and a stinger. In the middle of the remix, several bees fly past him. At the end, the hat and stinger fly away, and he starts thinking about pancakes. He also watches in awe at his Father's mastery in Karate Man Senior. He gives commentary on his Father's performance, the same way the Master does on Joe's training.

It is unknown when these events occur in relation to the general story.

Appearances

Gallery

Gameplay

Artwork & Other

Trivia

  • Karate Joe has appeared as a playable character in every game in the series.
  • Karate Joe has always "bookended" the games he appears in:
  • Some details in the Rhythm Items are ommited in some regions, like the detail about Karate Joe still living in his basement is ommited in the original Japanese and Korean versions, while the French version adds the detail that he is 55 years old and still living in the basement. Other details include Karate Joe mentioning his mother, who was out one day and so his father tried cooking, and that Karate Joe tried to steal the alchahol stored in the barrels, but was caught by his Father and told he can drink it only when he becomes stronger than him.[7]
  • The location of Karate Joe's training in not clear. Usually it is depicted as a featureless monochrome void during gameplay, while certain epilogues show specific locations, such as:
  • In the Rhythm Heaven Comics, he appears to be training even on Christmas Eve. Humorously, despite the lack of snow in the general area, there's a snowstorm blowing solely on Karate Joe.
  • Karate Joe makes a minor appearance as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His spirit battle takes place on the Suzaku Castle stage in Omega form while he is represented by a white Ryu, favoring powered-up smash attacks.
  • He also made a cameo during a Young Cricket and Master Mantis preview for WarioWare Gold.

In Other Languages

Language Name Meaning
Flag of Japan.svg Japanese カラテ家 Karateka
Flag of the United States.svg EnglishNOA Karate Joe
Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg EnglishNOE Karate Joe
Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1974, 2020–present).svg French Le karatéka The Karateka
Flag of Spain.svg Spanish Kárate Killo Karate Killo
Flag of Italy.svg Italian Karate Ka Karate Ka
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dutch Karate Joe[8]
Flag of Portugal.svg Portuguese Karate Joe[9]
Flag of Russia.svg Russian Каратист[8] Karatist
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg ChineseSI Karate Joe[8]
Flag of South Korea.svg Korean 격투가 The Fighter

References

  1. ↑ https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/brij/chara/stage01.html
  2. ↑ "Résultat : à 55 ans, je vis toujours au sous-sol..." (The result: At 55, I still live in the basement...) ~ Rhythm Item description for Karatéka, Rhythm Paradise Megamix
  3. ↑ "せっかく買ったボールは、取り上げられて、今やサンドバッグ代わりになっている。" (The ball I bought was stolen, and is now being used as a sandbag.) ~ Rhythm Item description for Karate Man, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  4. ↑ "母さんが外出した日に、一度だけ食べた父さんのナベ。" (Father's curry, which I only ate once on the day my mom went out.) ~ Rhythm Item description for Karate Man Returns!, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  5. ↑ "「おどろいただろ？」という父さんの顔、今でもおぼえてる。" ("Are you surprised?" I still remember my father's face.) ~ Rhythm Item description for Karate Man Kicks!, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  6. ↑ "だから、オレのこうげきだって、カンタンにふせぐのさ。" (That's why it's so easy for him to counter my attacks, too.) ~ Rhythm Item description for Karate Man Senior, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  7. ↑ "こないだ、こっそり父さんのお酒を飲もうとしたところ、父さんに見つかってしまった。「お前には早い。もしもオレより、強くなる時が来たら、ウマイ酒を飲ませてやる」だって。けっきょく、父さんとお酒を飲んだことは、まだない。" "(The other day, I secretly tried drinking my father's alcohol, but he found out. "You're not ready for it," he said, "but if you ever get stronger than me, I'll give you a drink." I'v never had a drink with my dad before, actually.)" ~ Rhythm Item description for Karate Man Combos!, Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  9. ↑ Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
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