It’s Off Like Karnov (original) (raw)

I tend to enjoy learning about video games with weird backstories and connections, even when I haven’t played the games in question, as with Bomberman and Lode Runner having the same hero, Wonder Boy and Adventure Island being basically the same game, and the children’s fantasy story for Centipede. I don’t know how many other people are interested in them, since I rarely get much in the way of comments or reactions, but it’s like that sometimes. Anyway, this time I’m talking about Karnov, the Russian circus strongman who breathes fire, and switches between being protagonist and antagonist.

His first game, simply called Karnov, was released in 1987. His full name is Jinborov Karnovski, and he was inspired by someone who worked in the building, who wasn’t too happy about it after finding out. At least that’s how the story goes. The arcade game has Karnov fighting his way through a bunch of enemies to collect the pieces of a treasure map.

Your foes include dinosaurs, rock men, gargoyles, jinn, wrestlers, King Ghidorah from the Godzilla movies (sort of; he only has two heads), and a Lamia who looks like a centipede.

He can obtain various items that are of limited use, including boots that let him jump higher, wings to fly, ladders to reach hidden areas, a shield, and scuba gear. Then, when it was ported to the Famicom, there was a more complex story, where instead of just being a treasure hunter who used to work for the circus, Karnov was a rather nasty guy who repented and turned to the service of God. And when I say that, I mean he actually met God in person. So when a dragon named Alakatay stole all the treasure from a place called Creamina (maybe derived from Crimea?), the Lord Almighty tasked Karnov with proving his reformation by fighting the dragon and getting them back.

The final boss in the arcade version is a wizard, so why they changed him to a dragon, I couldn’t say.

When it was ported to the NES, which had weird and seemingly inconsistent rules about religious references, the cutscenes and endings were removed altogether. Instead, Karnov just decided to fight the dragon on his own, rather than it being a religious obligation. And it’s identified with Babylon for some reason. The dragon’s name becomes Ryu, which is simply the Japanese word for a dragon. The American version is also easier, as was typical at the time.

Inconsistent backstory aside, Karnov was a popular enough character to become Data East’s mascot, and make appearances in later games.

The first, Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja, or simply Bad Dudes in the NES version, has Karnov working with the villains. He’s the boss of the first level, and his music is similar to the theme from his own game.

Did he turn to the side of evil? Maybe it’s ambiguous considering that the Bad Dudes are trying to rescue Ronald Reagan.

“Tear down this wall, Mr. Karnov!” Karnov was later the final boss in a fighting game called Fighter’s History, and reappeared as a playable character in the sequel, Karnov’s Revenge.

And there’s a character who resembles him in Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, although it’s not necessarily the same guy. He is, in fact, implied to be Shantae’s father.

I also feel I should mention another Data East game, Atomic Runner Chelnov, about a Russian coal miner who gets superpowers when he’s caught in a nuclear power plant explosion.

The similarity of the name to “Chernobyl” was probably intentional, although Data East tried to claim differently at one point. It’s a side scroller where the screen advances automatically, except during boss fights.

The game starts in Russia, but ends with a confrontation on the Statue of Liberty. And apparently the entire Soviet Union is destroyed by the invading Deathtarians.

Weapons Chelnov uses include lasers, fireballs, missiles, a boomerang, and a flail. And he can do backflips. Enemies you fight include a Xenomorph rip-off, a dogu statue, and some of those ubiquitous video game dragons with no limbs and segmented bodies.

In the Sega Genesis version of the game, the Chernobyl references are removed, and the hero is instead a guy with a cybernetic suit built by his late father, which he uses to save his sister.

Chelnov is apparently Karnov’s cousin, and he appears in some of the same games.

I wonder if they know Zangief.