King's Knight
Encyclopedia
is a 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.
Although featuring RPG elements, King's Knight is often incorrectly credited both as an RPG
and as Square's first development. It was in fact developed by Workss. It was, however, Square's first North American release under their Redmond
subsidiary Square Soft, 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.
-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. Starring as the rescuers are the knight "Ray Jack," the wizard "Kaliva," the monster "Barusa," and the thief "Toby."
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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.
and MSX
versions of King's Knight, but in the Japanese and North American versions as well.
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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.
Square Co.
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(NES) and MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
. It was later re-released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
in Japan on November 27, 2007 and in North America on March 24, 2008.
Although featuring RPG elements, King's Knight is often incorrectly credited both as an RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
and as Square's first development. It was in fact developed by Workss. It was, however, Square's first North American release under their Redmond
Redmond, Washington
Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 54,144 at the 2010 census,up from 45,256 in 2000....
subsidiary Square Soft, and their first release as an independent company. King's Knight saw a second release in 1987
1987 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* January 14, Nintendo releases Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in January for the Famicom Disk System in Japan only. The game would go unreleased in America for nearly two years afterwards.* February 20, Konami releases Contra...
on the NEC PC-8801
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
and the Sharp X1
Sharp X1
The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
. These versions of the game were retitled King's Knight Special and released exclusively in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Nobuo Uematsu
Nobuo Uematsu
is a Japanese video game composer, best known for scoring the majority of titles in the Final Fantasy series. He is considered as one of the most famous and respected composers in the video game community...
provided the musical score for King's Knight. It was Uematsu's fourth work of video game music composition.
Story
King's Knight follows the basic storyline that many NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
-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. Starring as the rescuers are the knight "Ray Jack," the wizard "Kaliva," the monster "Barusa," and the thief "Toby."
Gameplay
- Ray Jack the Knight — Ray Jack starts with a speed increase at level 1. With four pieces of element D allocated by the last level, he can momentarily change into Zainen, an invincible winged horse.
- Kaliva the Wizard — Kaliva starts with a jump increase at level 1. With four pieces of element A allocated by the last level, he can cast Naizath to destroy all onscreen enemies.
- Barusa the Monster — Barusa starts with a shield increase at level 1. With four pieces of element C allocated by the last level, he can momentarily change into Cetune, an invincible dragon.
- Toby the Thief — Toby starts with a speed increase at level 1. With four pieces of element B allocated by the last level, he can cast Balbath to destroy stones blocking the path.
Just as each character has a corresponding element type, each character has a corresponding stage:
- Stage 1 — Ray Jack's stage.
- Stage 2 — Kaliva's stage.
- Stage 3 — Barusa's stage.
- Stage 4 — Toby's 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 between versions
Differences were present not only in the FamicomNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
versions of King's Knight, but in the Japanese and North American versions as well.
Family Computer version to NES version
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.Family Computer version to MSX version
Computer keyboard
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
or a joystick
Joystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
). 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
Final Fantasy (video game)
is a fantasy role-playing video game created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, developed and first published in Japan by Square in 1987. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series...
was ported to the MSX2.