As far as HD remakes go, Karateka is an odd one. While it was a well recieved beat’em up in 1984, it’s not exactly a classic. When gamers are reminiscing, you’ll rarely encounter something in the vein of “Man, Remember Karateka? That was awesome!” Regardless, though, developer Jordan Mechner thought it important to bring the game to a new generation, so now we have an all-new version of Karateka.

The first screens of the game were released today, highlighting a completely new style. Instead of keeping the basic graphical style the same, but updating in a modern-day engine, the game is near-unrecognizable from the original.

Just look at the 1984′s Karateka:

Now the HD remake:

Well, uh, at least the arrows are the same.

While the visual style is serviceable, it completely kills any nostalgia appeal in favor of a serious updating of the game. Not riding what little appeal there is for Karaetka is understandble, but striving for an new fan base instead of trying to excite those with fond memories of gaming in the ’80s is a risky prospect. Sure, it works with Metal Gear, but selling this game on its own merits may not be such a good idea…

Check out the rest of the screenshots below: