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Karnov
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Karnov (USA)

NES / Famicom
🇬🇧
Reviewed in
1987
68
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✪ Reviewed on August 13, 2025
60

A Russian fire-breather in a Data East NES action-platformer. Original concept and memorable visual. Honest gameplay without being exceptional. An endearing curiosity of the Data East catalogue.

Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure 1 player 7+
Description
Action game featuring Karnov, a strong Russian man battling monsters across varied levels. Published by Data East, released in the USA in 1988. Karnov in side-scrolling view breathing fire and collecting power-ups and mythical monster bosses. Famicom port of Data East's Karnov arcade.

Karnov review

3/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Polished"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"Pleasant"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Average"
Technical info
💾0,09 MB 📅01/12/1987
Published by Data East

Karnov (NES) price, value & rarity

Sought-after
Q1 loose
 $10 Q6 complete
 $60 Q10 new
 $238 !
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Other versions
Karnov
Japan
11/12/1987
🇯🇵

Collector interest

An NES port of Data East's Karnov arcade game, released in the US in 1988, whose bare-chested mascot remains one of the recognizable faces in the Data East catalogue and reappears in other titles from the publisher. The USA version is common and affordable loose, which limits its everyday collecting stakes. Interest rests mainly on the recurring Data East mascot status and a higher sealed value for fans of the publisher's old-school arcade ports.

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