Karate Joe

Other Appearances

In Rhythm Tengoku, Karate Joe appears in the first Rhythm Game, Karateka. 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 Karateka 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. Karate Joe reappears in the arcade version of the game, with the same appearances, in addition to Karateka , 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 Staff Credits, Karate Man. 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, Karate Man. In Remix 7, he wears black shades while punching stuff in space. At one point he lies down and watches TV, which coincidentally shows Karateka from Rhythm Tengoku itself. In Remix 9 he is accompanied by a cat^[1]. 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 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. Additionally, Karate Man Returns!, Karate Man Kicks! and Karate Man Combos! all reappear, along with a short version of Karate Man.

Karate Joe appears in the Rhythm Tengoku Gold Comic, where he is seen training even on Christmas Eve. Humorously, despite the lack of snow in the general area, there's a snowstorm blowing solely on him. He also appears in Rhythm Tengoku The Best Plus Comic, where he is the first at the reunion.

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

Appearances

Gallery

Artwork from Rhythm Tengoku
Karate Joe Credits.png

Karate Joe in Staff from Rhythm Tengoku
Karatebirds.jpeg

Cameo in Blue Birds 2 from Rhythm Heaven
RH Battle Of The Bands Screenshot.png

Cameo in Battle of the Bands from Rhythm Heaven
Sprite from Rhythm Heaven Cast
Karate man 2 player.JPG

Karate Man (Two Player) in Rhythm Heaven Fever
Cateatingfish.PNG

The cat eating a fish in Rhythm Heaven Fever
Karatejoeandhiscat.PNG

The cat eating a fish next to Karate Joe in Rhythm Heaven Fever
Karatemanscat.PNG

The cat sitting on Karate Joe in Rhythm Heaven Fever
Karate Joe in Rhythm Heaven Fever Cast
Karate Joe 3DS.png

Artwork for Karate Man from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Karate Joe M 2.png

Artwork for Karate Man Returns! from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Karate Joe 3DS 3.png

Artwork for Karate Man Kicks! from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Karate Joe 3DS 4.png

Artwork for Karate Man Combos! from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Karate Joe's Father.png

Artwork for Karate Man Senior from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Sprite of Karate Joe's Father from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Screenshot (194).png

Cameo in Young Cricket's trailer for WarioWare Gold

In Super Smash Bros.

Karate Joe appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as a trophy in the "Other" category, and as a spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

His spirit battle takes place on the Suzaku Castle Ω stage playing the Rhythm Boxing track, where he is represented by Ryu. The battle has the "Item Tidal Wave" rule applied and the following conditions:

The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power
The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power
The enemy favors smash attacks

Karate Joe
	Has there ever been a cry more manly than the "Uh!" that appears at the start of every Karate Joe stage? It's like he digs deep down inside himself, reveals his spirit with that "Uh!" of power...and then directs that energy into smashing flowerpots, bulbs, and exploding barrels. Karate Joe knows no fear!	Has there ever been a cry more manly than the "Uh!" that appears at the start of every Karate Man stage? Doesn't it sound like it comes from the very bottom of his soul? Or is that just us? ...Anyway! Karate Joe is a pretty cool guy. He punches flowerpots, bulbs, even exploding barrels without the slightest hesitation. Truly, he fears nothing.

No. 1192

Karate Joe

★★★ ACE

2

Fist Attack ↑

World of Light (The Dark Realm)
Spirit Board
Shop (6000G)

Trivia

Karate Joe has appeared as a playable character in every game in the Rhythm Heaven Series.
The location of Karate Joe's training is not clear. Usually it is depicted as a featureless monochrome void during gameplay, while certain epilogues show specific locations, such as:
- A cliff overlooking the sea and a dojo (Karateka, Karateka 2)
- A boxing ring (Karateka )
- A cliff with a snowy mountain range visible in the distance (Karate Man Returns!)
- A field (Karate Man 2)
Karate Joe makes a cameo during a Young Cricket and Master Mantis preview for WarioWare Gold.
Karate Joe has always "bookended" the games he appears in:
- He appeared in the first game of Rhythm Tengoku, the first game after Staff and the last one to appear in Remix 8.
- His game is where Remix 10 starts and finishes in Rhythm Heaven.
- He appeared in the last game before the Staff Credits in Rhythm Heaven and Rhythm Heaven Fever, as well as the last game before Remix 10 in the latter.
- He appears in the first game of Earth World in Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the first game after the Lush Tower credits and his Father's game is the last one before Final Remix. Incidentally, his games are also the last of the DS and Wii selections in the Shop.
The symbol on the back of Father's outfit reads 父 (Chichi^?, Father).
Father may be the "Master" who comments on Karate Joe's performance.
Some text^[2]^[3] imply Father's name is "Karate Joe Senior", though he is never directly referred to as such.
Some details and in the Rhythm Items are added/changed in some regions, such as the detail about Karate Joe still living in his basement being present in most versions outside of Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+ and Rhythm Sesang: The Best+. Other alternative details include Karate Joe mentioning his mother, who was out one day and so his father tried cooking, and that Karate Joe once tried to steal the alcohol stored in the barrels, but was caught by his Father and told he can drink it only when he becomes stronger than him, both of which are not found in Rhythm Heaven Megamix or Rhythm Paradise Megamix^[4]. Karate Joe is also referred to as being 55 years old^[5] in the French version of Rhythm Paradise Megamix.

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	カラテ家	Karateka
English^NOA	Karate Joe
English^NOE	Karate Joe
French	Le karatéka	The Karateka
Spanish	Kárate Killo	Killo use the "k" for a better appareance, but in spanish written correctly is Karatequillo (the -illo prefix has diminutive or affective value)
Italian	Karate Ka	Karate Ka
Dutch	Karate Joe^[6]
Portuguese	Karate Joe^[7]
Russian	Каратист^[6]	Karate Man
Chinese^SI	Karate Joe^[6]
Korean	격투가	The Fighter

References

↑ "cat" ~ texture filename, Rhythm Heaven Fever
↑ "Karate Man Senior" ~ Title of the Rhythm Game, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
↑ "Junior's Feedback" ~ Caption for the results in Karate Man Senior, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
↑ "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've never had a drink with my dad before, actually.) ~ タル (Barrel), Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+
↑ "Résultat : à 55 ans, je vis toujours au sous-sol..." (The result: At 55, I still live in the basement...) ~ Ballon de football (Soccer Ball), Rhythm Paradise Megamix (French)
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
↑ Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

[1] "cat" ~ texture filename, Rhythm Heaven Fever

[2] "Karate Man Senior" ~ Title of the Rhythm Game, Rhythm Heaven Megamix

[3] "Junior's Feedback" ~ Caption for the results in Karate Man Senior, Rhythm Heaven Megamix

[4] "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've never had a drink with my dad before, actually.) ~ タル (Barrel), Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+

[5] "Résultat : à 55 ans, je vis toujours au sous-sol..." (The result: At 55, I still live in the basement...) ~ Ballon de football (Soccer Ball), Rhythm Paradise Megamix (French)

[smash-6] 6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

[7] Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]