Data East's Karnov is coming to the Arcade Archives lineup

Hamster Corporation has released the first gameplay footage for its Arcade Archives port of Data East's 1987 platformer Karnov. The video shows off the first stage of the classic side-scroller, confirming the fire-breathing strongman is the next addition to the publisher's retro catalog, as previously reported.

The original arcade release put players in control of a shirtless Russian strongman who spits fire at gargoyles. It's a weird premise. It works. The trailer highlights the first level's platforming mechanics, where Karnov uses a specialized ladder item to reach floating platforms and collect power-ups.

Reclaiming the stolen treasures

The plot is exactly what you would expect from a 1987 arcade cabinet. You play as Jinborov Karnovski, a former circus strongman tasked by God to defeat the Emperor of Darkness. Your goal is to reclaim the stolen treasure of Babylon. You do this by walking to the right and setting mythological creatures on fire.

Collecting torn map pieces is another core part of the loop. Players who manage to defeat the bosses and collect all the map fragments trigger a special event. It adds a layer of exploration to a game that otherwise looks like a standard action platformer. You can't just run past everything if you want to see the real ending.

More than just fireballs

Data East built a lot of strange mechanics into the original cabinet. Karnov doesn't just jump and shoot. He collects nine different inventory items that grant him movement speed buffs, the ability to fly, or temporary ladders to bypass obstacles. You have to manage these items carefully to survive the later stages.

The footage shows him putting those upgrades to work at the city gates. He fires rapid triple-burst projectiles to clear out heavily armored enemies before they can close the distance. Arcade games from this era are notoriously unforgiving, and having access to screen-clearing firepower is the only way to make it through the harder sections.

I want to see whether the controls hold up during the boss fights. The trailer ends with Karnov facing off against a massive green gargoyle statue at the end of Scene 1, and the movement looks stiff by modern standards. You can see him trading hits with the boss while trying to dodge its projectiles.

The Data East catalog

The Arcade Archives series typically launches simultaneously on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Hamster licensed the game from Paon DP and G-Mode Corporation, the current rights holders for the Data East library. It's nice to see these specific licensing deals work out, because Data East's catalog is full of bizarre gems that deserve to be playable today.

The emulation wrapper includes the standard Hamster options. You'll be able to adjust the difficulty, tweak the display settings to simulate an old CRT monitor, and post your scores to online leaderboards. It's a straightforward package for a game that hasn't seen a standalone arcade port in years.

Karnov eventually became a mascot of sorts for Data East. He showed up as an enemy in Bad Dudes and got his own fighting game spin-off later on. His original platforming adventure is where it all started, and it remains a challenging piece of arcade history.