Karate Man Returns!

とんでくるモノを Aボタンでパンチ！ よくあるゲーム？ …かもね。" "(Punch the incoming objects with the A button! It's a common game... right?)

— Karate Man Description (Rhythm Tengoku)

とんでくるモノを Aボタンでパンチ！ 気合とノリで ぶつ飛ばそう！" "(Punch the incoming objects with the A button! With spirit and flow, let's fly!)

— Karate Man Description (Rhythm Tengoku Arcade)

More karate training! We've got an all-new song and all new stuff to throw at you! (No practice)

— Karate Man Returns! Description (Rhythm Heaven Megamix)

Template:Game-Nav Template:Game-Nav Template:Minigame infobox Karate Man Returns! (かえってきた カラテ家^?, Kaettekita Karateka), simply called Karate Man (カラテ家^?, Karateka) in Rhythm Tengoku, is the first minigame in Rhythm Tengoku and the first game to appear in the Rhythm Heaven series. It returns as the 33rd minigame in Rhythm Heaven Megamix, as a sequel to Karate Man.

The topic of this rhythm game is Karate Joe, a martial artist who trains by punching flying objects from off-screen. in Rhythm Tengoku, this game has a sequel, Karate Man 2, which is unlocked later in the game. This game features the song "Karate Man".

Gameplay

File:Karate Man Arcade.png

Karate Man Returns! in Rhythm Tengoku, titled "Karate Man"

File:Hey baby gameplay.png

Karate Man Returns! in Rhythm Heaven Megamix

This minigame features Karate Joe, who practices karate by punching objects that fly from off-screen. To do so, the player must hit the A button to the rhythm. The following objects appear and needed to be punched off-screen:

• Pot
• Rock
• Soccer Ball
• Light Bulb (only in Rhythm Tengoku)
• Bomb (only in Rhythm Tengoku)
• Cooking Pot (only in Rhythm Heaven Megamix)

A Flow gauge is located on the left and acts as an ability meter, responding to the player's success. Unless the gauge is at three bars or more, Karate Joe cannot punch rocks or bombs; attempting to do so will result in a miss. The Rhythm Heaven Megamix version is slightly altered from the original for consistency with later versions, most notably the removal of the Flow gauge entierly.

Controls

Button Mode

• A: Punch

Simple Tap Mode

• Tap: Punch

Timing Notes

• Hit: Karate Joe will punch the object off-screen. In Rhythm Tengoku, the Flow gauge will increase by one.
• Barely: Karate Joe will wince as the object lands on the ground just in front of him. The Flow gauge will decrease by one. A barely counts as a miss.
• Miss: Karate Joe will gasp as the object flies past him. The Flow gauge will deplete completely. If punching a rock or a bomb in Rhythm Tengoku when the Flow gauge is not high enough, Karate Joe will gasp as the object falls to the ground and his fist will turn red in pain.

Lyrics

Hey! Baby! How's it going?
This beat is non stop.
Hey! Baby! Listen to my phrase.
I can give you
the sense of rhythm.
Oh, Yeah.

Hey! Baby! How's it going?
This beat is non stop.
Hey! Baby! Listen to my phrase.
I can give you
the sense of rhythm.
Awake, baby! Trust me!

This beat is non stop!
New groove in your soul.
Oh, Yeah!
This beat!
You are growing up well.
Hey, Baby!
Hold on to your ambition.
Hey! Oh, Yeah!

Rating Notes

Rhythm Tengoku

Header

• "師匠のおことば" (Master's words)

Try Again

• "きほんが できてない。" (The basics are not set.)
• "つづけざまは ニガテみたいだね。" (It seems you're not good at the successive parts.)

OK

• "う~ん．．．" (Yeah...)
• "まぁまぁ、 かな。" (OK, I guess?)
• "とりあえず．．．" (Anyway...)
• "よしと します。" (You did your best.)

Superb

• "れんぞくパンチに キレがある！" (There is a sharpness to your successive punches!)
• "さいご キマってた！" (You nailed the last part!)

Rhythm Heaven Megamix

Header

• "Mutterings from the Master"

Try Again

• "Your punches lack pizzazz."
• "You can't spell "triple punch" without "trip."

OK

• "Eh. Passable."

Superb

• "Your punches have some punch."
• "Three cheers for your triple punches!"

Epilogue

Rhythm Tengoku

• Karate Man GBA Try Again.PNG

  "明日が あるさ。" (There's always tomorrow.)

• Karate Man GBA OK.PNG

  "とりあえず、ごはん 食べとこう！" (Let's break for lunch!)

• Karate Man GBA Superb.PNG

  "こんなに ブッとばしちゃった！！" (You sent all of this flying!!)

Rhythm Tengoku (Arcade) (Karate Man Tempo Up!)

• Karate Man Tempo Up Try Again.png

  "大合当日はイマイチでした。" (It didn't go well on the day of the event.)

• Karate Man Tempo Up OK.png

  "大会当日、わリといいカソヅでした！" (On the day of the event, it was a wonderful experience!)

• Karate Man Tempo Up Superb.png

  "あの大会で優勝しちゃった！！" (I won on the day of the event!!)

Rhythm Heaven Megamix

• Karate Man 3DS Try Again.PNG

  "Maybe this would go better if I practiced on that mountain...."

• Karate Man 3DS OK.PNG

  "Focus... Focus..."

• Karate Man 3DS Superb.PNG

  "I am ALL ABOUT this karate thing!"

Rhythm Item

Cooking Pot

There is no name.	There is no title.
File:Sprite 3DS Rhythm Item Cooking Pot.png.png	There is no description.

Skill Star

In Rhythm Heaven Megamix, the Skill Star can be obtained by hitting the last rock that appears at the end of the minigame.

Appearances

• Karate Man Arcade.png

  Karate Man
  Remix 1
  Remix 6
  Remix 7
  Remix 8

• Karate Joe 2 (GBA).png

  Karate Man 2

• Karate Man Arcade Remix 8.png

  Remix 8

• Karate Man Tempo Up gameplay.png

  Karate Man Tempo Up!
  Remix 1 Tempo Up!

• Karate Man Story gameplay.png

  Karate Man

• Hey baby gameplay.png

  Karate Man Returns!
  Right-Hand Remix

• Karate Man Returns! Honeybee.png

  Honeybee Remix

Karate Man Tempo Up!

とんでくるモノを Aボタンでパンチ！ でもスピードが速くなってるヨ。" "(Punch the incoming objects with the A button! But the speed is faster.)

— Karate Man Tempo Up! Description

Template:Game-Nav Template:Minigame infobox Karate Man Tempo Up! (カラテ家 TEMPO UP!^?, Karateka Tempo Up!) is a variation of this game and the first in the Extra stage in the arcade version of Rhythm Tengoku. In this variant, Karate Joe wears boxing gloves and black pants. The gameplay is the same, but the tempo is sped up, with a new arrangement of the song.

• Karate Man Tempo Up gameplay.png

Karate Man 2P

とんでくるモノを Aボタンでパンチ！ 気合とノリで ぶっ飛ばそう!" "(Punch the incoming objects with the A button! Let's go with the flow!)

— Karate Man 2P Description

Template:Game-Nav Template:Minigame infobox Karate Man also appears in the two-player mode mode in the arcade version of Rhythm Tengoku where it is referred to as Karate Man 2P (カラテ家 2P^?, Karateka 2P). It plays the same as the normal version, but has a split screen display to accommodate the second player. However, the flow gauge remains off screen, unable to be seen by both players.

• Karate Man Arcade2-P.PNG

Karate Man 2P Tempo Up!

とんでくるモノを Aボタンでパンチ！ でもスピードが速くなってるヨ。" "(Punch the incoming objects with the A button! But the speed is faster.)

— Karate Man 2P Tempo Up! Description

Template:Game-Nav Template:Minigame infobox Karate Man Tempo Up! also appears in the 2P mode of Rhythm Tengoku (Arcade) where it is referred to as Karate Man 2P Tempo Up! (カラテ家 2P TEMPO UP!^?, Karateka 2P Tempo Up!). The same changes as Karate Man 2P apply here.

• Karate Man Tempo Up Arcade2-P.PNG

Trivia

• Karate Man has become rather well-known for being the first ever rhythm game in the Rhythm Heaven series. This has allowed it to make it into the next three games in the series, with new mechanics.
  • This game also has the most variations across the entire series.
• The name Karate Joe may be a reference to Knuckle Joe from the Kirby series. Both use their fists and feet (see Karate Man Kicks!), their first names are fighting-related and they end with "Joe".
• This is the first game in the Rhythm Heaven series to include vocals. Interestingly, the game's lyrics are given as part of the Rhythm Poem Collection rather than its own lyrics card. Its name is given as "Karate Rhythm".
  • Additionally, this and Big Rock Finish are the only games in the entire series to use its practice music as part of the actual game.
• The audio gasp for missing the object in Rhythm Tengoku may override the thrown object cue. This may cause problems if trying to play the stage without looking at the screen.

Video

Rhythm Tengoku	Rhythm Tengoku (Arcade) (Karate Man Tempo Up!)	Rhythm Heaven Megamix
File:Rhythm Tengoku Perfect Play Stage 1-1 - Karateka-0	File:Rhythm Tengoku Arcade- Karateka (Karate Man) Tempo Up! (Perfect)	File:Rhythm Heaven Megamix - Karate Man Returns! (Perfect) (English)

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	帰ってきた カラテ家 Return of Karate Man
French	Super karatéka
Spanish	El regreso de Kárate Killo
Italian	Il Ritorno di Karate Ka
Korean	돌아온 격투가 Return of the Fighter