Knights of the Round (video game)
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| Knights of the Round | |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Designer(s) | Boyoyon, Hachi, K Suke, Nis 7 |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Super NES, CPS Changer |
| Release date(s) | Arcade version: Japan: January 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Beat 'em up/hack and slash |
| Mode(s) | (Arcade/PS2) Single Player Up to 3 players co-op (SNES) Single Player 2 player co-op |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | CPS-1 |
| Display | Raster, horizontal orientation, 384 x 224 pixels, 4096 colors, 60 Hz refresh rate |
Knights of the Round (Japanese: ナイツオブザラウンド) is an arcade game released by Capcom in 1991. A side-scrolling beat 'em up based loosely on the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the game features an role-playing video game-like level advancement system, with fighters getting new weapons and armour as they advance through the game, however the player can not choose how to upgrade his/her character - the level up system is static.
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[edit] Story
Arthur, who had been training himself to be a great knight, pulled out the sacred sword Excalibur from the rock. After pulling it out, Arthur realized his destiny was to become the first King of the Britons. Merlin then sends Arthur and his two closest companions, Lancelot and Perceval, to overthrow the evil king Garibaldi and to unite England.
[edit] Characters
Arthur, the main protagonist, is a well-balanced character, and is excellent for intermediate players, due to his slow powerful attack. His weapon is the sword Excalibur. He can perform a special attack, a powerful slashing blow, by pressing attack then holding the joystick toward the enemy's direction. Initially, Arthur wears chain mail and leather armor. Upon gaining levels, Excalibur becomes stronger, and he eventually gets more body armor (later in silver and gold colors). Arthur is also the most devastating character, when mounted on horseback.
Lancelot is a talented swordsman and has been traveling all over the world to find a worthy king he should serve. Lancelot is the fastest character but lacks in strength. Since the game favors maneuverability, he is very good for beginners. His special attack is the jumping kick, done by pressing attack then holding the joystick up. Lancelot's weapon of choice is a sabre. Lancelot starts out wearing a blue tabard with a yellow cross. In eventual level-ups, Lancelot gains plate armor and a broader sabre.
The son of a blacksmith, Perceval is a strong warrior with a gentle heart. Unlike his sword-wielding friends Arthur and Lancelot, Perceval prefers to use a battle-axe. He has never been defeated thanks to his well-built body. Perceval is the strongest character but lacks in agility, making him good for intermediate players. He is the only character who can dash by tapping the joystick forward twice, cancelled into a "Giant Swing" by pressing the attack button while dashing. At first, Perceval has blond hair and light armor with green pants. In eventual level-ups, Perceval becomes bald with a beard, and gains heavier armor, though most of his chest is bare.
[edit] Gameplay
The gameplay is very similar to other Capcom beat 'em ups, such as Final Fight, but perhaps closer to other Capcom titles such as King of Dragons due to the emphasis on armed combat and fantasy themes in the latter as opposed to hand-to-hand grappling combat in the former. There are 7 stages, each with its own boss and a variety of generic enemies that try to stop the players' progress.
The fights rely strongly on blocking ability, which is triggered by pressing the attack button, then pressing the joystick away as the opponent strikes. If successful, the player gains a few seconds of invincibility with which to counter-attack. However, if no one strikes the player's character while holding the block, they will tire and drop their guard, making them vulnerable to attack. Blocking is vital in certain cases, since some bosses will be vulnerable only after their attack has been blocked by the player. As in most beat 'em ups, a desperation attack is performed by pressing both the attack and jump buttons simultaneously. This knocks out most enemies on the screen, but the player loses a little bit of health every time he uses it.
Another unique aspect of the game is the experience point system. If a player can sequentially kill 2, 3, or 4 enemies of the same type, the next attack that kills any number of enemies will give major experience points, relative to the number of enemies the player has previously killed. Afterwards, the sequence is cleared, and the process starts over. Levels may be gained by reaching a predetermined number of points during the stage, as well as after each stage. The highest level that any character can reach is Level 16, however, there is only enough experience in the game for one character to achieve it. Therefore, in games with two or more players, the players must determine how best to share the experience points.
At various points in the game, the players get to ride a horse, where they can attack enemies on horseback. The horses can stomp on enemies by pressing the joystick two times forward. On occasion, bosses and certain enemy characters can ride horses as well.
[edit] Stages
- Stage 1- Village On Fire - boss: Scorn, a tall knight who laughs at his opponents.
- Stage 2- Confused Fight - boss: Braford, an acrobatic man who wields two swords in combat.
- Stage 3- Battle at the Castle Fort - boss: Arlon, a large man in silver armor who can cause earthquakes.
- Stage 4- Knights Festival - boss: Phantom, a much stronger palette swap of the Sky Walker enemies.
- Stage 5- Expedition - boss: Balbars, a huge, heavily armored boss who wields a gigantic hammer.
- Stage 6- Knights in the Strange Land - boss: Muramasa, a samurai who can control fire.
- Stage 7- Decisive Battle at the King's Castle - sub-bosses: Iron Golem, basically a medieval robot & Phantom - boss: Garibaldi, the evil king who wears golden armor.
[edit] Enemies
As is common for the genre, the enemies in the game are drawn from a cast of characters that appear on many of the levels with small alterations to their color schemes and the length of their health bars.
- Soldier: The basic grunts that make up the bulk of the enemies that the knights face, armed with a short sword and protected by a helmet. They can also roll and dash with their sword extended.
- Sword Man: Better armored than the Soldier, the Sword Man is nevertheless slowed by his huge blade. This lack of speed makes the Sword Man an easy target, but he packs a huge punch when he manages to land a blow.
- Fat Man: A peasant armed with a poleaxe, the Fat Man is similar to the Sword Man in that he is slow to attack but can cause some damage when the player's guard is down.
- Mask Man/Sky Walker: Dressed as a jester and wielding a rapier, the Mask Man is one of the few characters in the game that favors speed and dexterity over brawn and huge amounts of armor. He often jumps around the screen and hurls projectiles. The Sky Walker is a stronger version of the Mask Man.
- Bird Man: Named presumably for the pig-snout helmet he wears, this character attacks with a hand axe and is quite handy at defending himself with his shield.
- Buster S./Buster F.: Perhaps the most potent of the standard enemies, the heavily armored Busters wield a spiked mace and shield. They often arrive on horseback and are always keen to mount a horse from which a player has just been removed.
- Magician: The Magician hurls magical bolts around the screen and teleports from one point to another. Surprisingly, the Magician also throws himself into physical combat with the ability to grab a player and throw them around.
- Barbarian: The Barbarian wears bronze armor and fires arrows into combat before rushing at the players and attacking with his scimitar. They are perhaps the most tenacious of all standard enemies.
- Mad Tiger: Living up to its name, not only does the Mad Tiger attack viciously, it also bursts into flame when slain. They often appear with the Fat Man enemies.
- Bad Falcon: Carried and released by the Mask Man enemy, these are birds of prey trained to attack the players with the daggers they clutch in their talons.
[edit] Ports
The game was ported to the Super NES in 1994 and in Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded for the PSP in 2006, as well as Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
