| King's Knight | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Workss |
| Publisher(s) | NES Square Virtual Console Square Enix |
| Composer(s) | Nobuo Uematsu |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX, Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | NES JP September 18, 1986 NA 1989 Virtual Console JP November 27, 2007 NA March 24, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Media | Cartridge |
| Input methods | Game controller |
King's Knight (キングスナイト) is a 1986 video game published by Square for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and MSX. It was later re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on November 27, 2007 and in North America on March 24, 2008.[1]
King's Knight is often incorrectly credited both as an RPG and as Square's first development. It was in fact developed by Workss.[2][3] It was, however, Square's first North American release under Square Soft, Inc., and their first release as an independent company. King's Knight saw a second release in 1987 on the NEC PC-8801 and the Sharp X1. These versions of the game were retitled King's Knight Special and released exclusively in Japan.
Nobuo Uematsu provided the musical score for King's Knight. It was Uematsu's fourth work of video game music composition.[4]
Contents |
King's Knight follows the basic storyline that many NES-era RPGs displayed: Princess Claire has been kidnapped in the Kingdom of Izander, and the player must train to defeat the Evil Dragon and rescue her.[5] Starring as the rescuers are the knight "Ray Jack," the wizard "Kaliva," the monster "Barusa," and the thief "Toby."
King's Knight is a vertically scrolling shooter, where the main objective is to dodge or destroy all onscreen enemies and obstacles. Various items, however, add depth to the game. As any character, the player can collect various power-ups to increase a character's level (maximum of twenty levels per character): as many as seven Jump Increases, seven Speed Increases, three Weapon Increases, and three Shield Increases. There are also Life Ups, which are collected to increase the character's life meter. To balance out the Life Ups, there are also Life Downs. Other onscreen icons can affect the stage, such as hidden cave entrances/exits and a "secret revealer," which reveals hidden stones that block progress. Finally, there are four types of elements to be collected in each level, which are vital to the completion of the last stage. These elements are simply elements A, B, C, and D. Each of these elements corresponds to a certain character:
Just as each character has a corresponding element type, each character has a corresponding stage:
Each stage has various power-ups, an element of each type, and a cave. Because caves in any given level always house at least one element type (not to mention various powerups), it is vital that the player finds these. Caves are always hidden and are generally found in the middle of a stage. Caves also have statues that shoot fireballs that are very difficult to dodge, and at the end of each cave is a dragon to fight. Once the dragon is defeated, the player can exit the cave and continue with the level.
After the first four stages are successfully completed, the fifth and final stage must be defeated. This stage is unique for many reasons. First, all the warriors come together and fight cohesively as a group of 4. Each shares the same life meter, movements, and firepower. Because the group of four has only the lead character as active, dodging is very difficult. Formation-changing arrows litter this stage, so that the lead character can be changed. This is important because not only will different characters activate different spells, but different characters are good at defeating certain enemy statues.
Differences were present not only in the Famicom and MSX versions of King's Knight, but in the Japanese and North American versions as well.
The Japanese (Famicom) version and the American (NES) version of King's Knight differed little, with the title screen being the only disparity. Each title screen reflected the copyright and publisher.
The MSX version of King's Knight differed from the Famicom version of in a variety of ways. The opening was modified so that prior to the intro screen, players could specify what type of controller they would like to use (either a keyboard or a joystick). The in-game dynamics were very similar, although some differences exist. In the MSX version, the flanks of the screen were "closed off," while the stage maps have moved slightly, and so some of the items appear to be out of their original locations. Finally, the MSX version may seem easier, because the characters can sustain more damage from attacks.
The developers also took advantage of technological capabilities available on the MSX. As an upgrade, the MSX port featured more sound channels than the Famicom, and as such many music tracks and sound effects were altered or improved. The MSX version also boasts a wider range of colors, updated graphics, new monster and boss designs (dragons at the end of caves, for example, were replaced with lizard-like monsters), and a new sidebar, which displayed the player's life meter, allocated power-ups, and allocated elements. Unfortunately, though, the MSX could not smoothly render vertical scrolling - unlike the Famicom - so the movement of the graphics is very "choppy" in comparison. Some of these changes are very similar to the changes that took place when Square's Final Fantasy was ported to the MSX2. Additionally, the wizard's name was changed to "Kariva," as opposed to "Kaliva."
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King's Knight | Table of Contents | Walkthrough
| King's Knight | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Squaresoft |
| Publisher(s) | Squaresoft |
| Japanese title | キングスナイト |
| Release date(s) |
September 18th, 1986
|
| Genre(s) | Shooter |
| System(s) | NES, MSX, Wii Virtual Console |
| Players | 1 |
King's Knight was published by Square for the NES and MSX in 1986. King's Knight is often incorrectly credited both as Square's first development and an RPG. It was, however, Square's first North American release under Square Soft, Inc. and their first release as an independent company. King's Knight saw a second release in 1987 on the NEC PC-8801 and the Sharp X1. The game was titled King's Knight Special and was released exclusively in Japan. King's Knight was scored by Nobuo Uematsu. It was Uematsu's fourth work of video game music composition.
King's Knight is a vertically scrolling shooter, where the main objective is to dodge or destroy all on-screen enemies and obstacles. Various items, however, add depth to the game. As any character, the player can collect various power-ups to increase a character's level (maximum of twenty levels per character): as many as seven Jump Increases, seven Speed Increases, three Weapon Increases, and three Shield Increases. There are also Life Ups, which are collected to increase the character's life meter. To balance out the Life Ups, there are also Life Downs. Other on-screen icons can affect the stage, such as hidden cave entrances/exits and a "secret revealer," which reveals hidden stones that block progress. Finally, there are four types of elements to be collected in each level, which are vital to the completion of the last stage.
The Famicom and NES versions of King's Knight differ only in the title screen. The MSX version of King's Knight differed from the Famicom version of in a variety of ways. In the MSX version, the flanks of the screen were "closed off," while the stage maps have moved slightly, and so some of the items appear to be out of their original locations. The characters can also sustain more damage from attacks. The MSX port featured more sound channels than the Famicom, and as such many music tracks and sound effects were altered or improved. The MSX version also boasts a wider range of colors, updated graphics, new monster and boss designs (dragons at the end of caves, for example, were replaced with lizard-like monsters), and a new sidebar, which displayed the player's life meter, allocated power-ups, and allocated elements. Unfortunately, though, the MSX could not smoothly render vertical scrolling - unlike the Famicom - so the movement of the graphics is very "choppy" in comparison.
 MSX box |
 NES box |
 NES title screen |
 FC title screen |
In the Kingdom of Izander, the fair Princess Claire has been kidnapped by a foul and insidious Dragon and it is the mission of four brave fighters to save her. These fearless champions will come together, after proving themselves on their own, to fight their way to the lair of the Dragon and restore the kingdom to its peaceful start. The Knight, Ray Jack, will go first. He is the most experienced of the group and he carries a strong weapon. The Wizard, Kaliva is next. He has magic and good jumping abilities. The Monster, Barusa, follows. This scaly creature has strong defenses and can take many hits. The Thief, Toby, is the youngest and quickest member of the team. They must first set out solo and build their individual fighting abilities. Once they each have advanced skills, these courageous warriors will come together to seek out and save the princess. You must help them reach their goal as you are now part of the team that will fight to free the princess from her imprisonment. Keep your wits about you, plan your strategy and set off on an exciting adventure!
| King's Knight | |
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| Developer(s) | Squaresoft |
| Publisher(s) | Squaresoft |
| Release date | September 18, 1986 (JP) |
| Genre | Side-scroller |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Age rating(s) | N/A |
| Platform(s) | NES |
| Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough | |
 |
This article is a stub. You can help by adding to it.
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  | Going Virtual: March 24 - Going Virtual: March 24 : ANIME |
| | King's Knight [Virtual Console] - IGN: King's Knight |
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