A technical and varied karate NES action-platformer. Impressive kick arsenal, inventive bosses, satisfying progression. Overlooked but genuinely excellent. A hidden gem on the console.
Your verdict
Category
Action1 player12+
Description
Action platformer featuring a martial arts master battling sorcerers and demons with kick techniques. Published by Taito, released in the USA in 1992. Character in side-scrolling view with varied kick techniques, magic to acquire and sorcerer bosses. An original Taito action platformer on NES.
KickMaster review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
The hero fights only with his feet, which concentrates the animation on the legs: spinning kicks, landed jumps, combinations drawn frame by frame to stay readable. The scenery, dead forests, crypts, wizard towers, adopts dark palettes in which the magical effects stand out in bright tints.
The writing exploits the three voices with a density unexpected in a modest title: a mobile bass, a continuous countermelody, melodies with carefully worked harmonic progressions. The themes lean toward the dark, solemn register of fantasy rather than the energy of the action game, giving the whole a sustained gravity.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
A 1992 US NES Taito release that blends footwork beat'em up with magic in a 'Castlevania' mould. North-American exclusive, end-of-NES-cycle print, which makes US boxed CIB genuinely hard to find in clean condition. The cart built a late cult reputation among NES action-RPG collectors, and the cote has risen noticeably under real physical scarcity and specialised YouTube channel recommendations.
Is KickMaster still worth playing in 2026?
KickMaster is a technical, varied karate action platformer on NES from Taito. An impressive kick arsenal, inventive bosses and a satisfying progression with techniques learned across levels place the title well above genre average. Controls take some practice but reward with brisk combat. Overlooked but truly excellent, a hidden NES gem to discover for 8-bit fighting-platformer fans today.
