Jinborov Karnovski — a bald, bare-chested ex-circus strongman — crosses an Arabian-Babylonian fantasy world with nothing but his breath of fire, collecting a row of power-ups and chasing the Lost Treasure of Babylon, until he meets the boss the cartridge swapped for the cabinet's. Data East's 1987 arcade / 1988 NES platformer, catalogued into UD0 as a game-world with the genesis, the quest, and the full .dlw birth.
The Four Natures
each emergent emerges by one of four natures — and this desert holds all four
The Genesis
Data East's strongman, home twice, and the boss the NES swapped
Data East built and published Karnov (カルノフ) — January 1987 in Japan, March in North America — a 9-stage side-scrolling action-platformer. The hero was modeled on a Data East director, Koji Jinbo (credited in the staff roll as 'JIMBOLOHU').
Ported to the Famicom on Dec 18 1987 and the NES in January 1988 (SAS Sakata handled the programming). The console version gave Karnov 2 hits before death, redesigned stages 4 and 8, swapped some items — and changed the final boss.
In the arcade the final boss is THE WIZARD. On the NES it was replaced with a giant three-headed dragon named Ryu. Honest note: 竜 just means 'dragon,' and Street Fighter's Ryu (Aug 1987) actually predates this one — the shared name is coincidence.
The Quest
the lost treasure, the fire and the power-ups, the boss at the end
Karnov — Jinborov Karnovski, an ex-circus strongman and fire-breather — sets out across an Arabian-Babylonian fantasy world to recover the Lost Treasure of Babylon.
Nine stages, fought with his breath of FIRE (upgradeable to double and then triple) and a row of collectible power-ups — boots, wings, bombs, the clapper, the shield — picked up and stocked along the way.
At the last stage waits the boss — the Wizard in the arcade, the three-headed dragon Ryu on the NES — and the treasure beyond it.
The Ideas
why a 1987 fire-breather still has a fanbase
The Power-Up Row
stock and spend
- The signature look: a row of items across the top of the screen — collect them, stock them, deploy them.
- Boots double your jump, wings carry you through stage 8, the clapper clears the screen, the shield eats five hits.
Breath of Fire
the strongman's weapon
- No sword, no gun — Karnov spits fire, and the Super Fireball upgrades it to double then triple.
- A bald, bare-chested circus strongman as an action hero: pure Data East.
Karnov Became the Mascot
bigger than his game
- The fire-breather outlived his own game to become Data East's recurring face.
- A boss in Bad Dudes (1988), the final boss of Fighter's History (1993), playable in its 1994 sequel.
The Roster — The Born
the strongman, the fire, the bosses, and the prize, as ACI .agents — each a birth certificate and a nature of emergence (8)
The Record
the releases, the makers, and the mascot career
The Releases
arcade to NES
- カルノフ · Karnov1987 · arcade (Data East)the original — January JP, March NA
- Karnov1987 · Famicom / 1988 · NESthe home port (SAS Sakata programmed) — 2 hits, redesigned stages, the dragon boss
- the differencesarcade vs NESNES: a Spike Bomb & a Shield item, redesigned stages 4 & 8, and the Wizard swapped for a three-headed dragon
The Makers
Data East
- Data Eastdeveloper / publisherarcade and console
- SAS SakataNES programmingthe Famicom / NES port
- Koji Jinbothe modelthe Data East director Karnov was based on ('JIMBOLOHU' in the credits)
The Mascot Career
Karnov beyond Karnov
- Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja1988 · bossKarnov is the first-level boss; a green palette-swap returns as a regular enemy
- Fighter's History1993 · final bossthe strongman as the fighting game's last opponent
- Karnov's Revenge1994 · playableFighter's History Dynamite — Karnov joins the roster