Apr 08, 2017 Play Knights of the Round Online, Knights of the Round Super Nintendo / Super Famicom / SNES game online through your browser including the old original classic and also new hacked ROMs.
Knights of the Round | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Capcom |
Publisher(s) | Capcom |
Composer(s) | Isao Abe |
Platform(s) | Arcade, Super NES, CPS Changer |
Release |
|
Genre(s) | Beat 'em up/hack and slash |
Mode(s) | Single player Up to 3 players co-op (2 players in the SNES version) |
Cabinet | Upright |
Arcade system | CPS-1 |
Display | Raster, horizontal orientation, 384 x 224 pixels, 4096 colors, 60 Hz refresh rate |
Knights of the Round[a] is an arcade game released by Capcom in 1991.[1] A side-scrollingbeat 'em up based loosely on the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the game features an action role-playing video game-like level advancement system, with fighters automatically being upgraded to new weapons and armor as they advance through the game.[2] In September 13, 2018, Capcom announced Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle with Knights of the Round being one of seven titles and being released digitally for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows on September 18, 2018.[3]
Plot[edit]
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 Britain.[4]
Gameplay[edit]
Gameplay of Knights of the Round
The gameplay is very similar to other Capcom beat 'em ups, such as Final Fight and Capcom's previous hack-and-slash fantasy title The King of Dragons. There are seven stages, each with its own boss and a variety of generic enemies that try to stop the players' progress.[4] The fights rely strongly on the 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.[4]
At various points in the game, the players get to ride a horse, where they can attack enemies on horseback.[2] 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.[4]
Characters[edit]
There are three playable characters:
- Arthur, the main protagonist, is a well-balanced character in speed and power.[5] 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.[5] 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.
- Perceval, a son of a blacksmith, is a strong warrior with a gentle heart. Unlike his sword-wielding friends Arthur and Lancelot, Perceval prefers to use a battle-axe.[5] 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 to advanced 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.
Ports[edit]
The game was ported to the Super NES in 1994, in Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded for the PSP in 2006, as well as Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox and in 2018, in Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.
Reception[edit]
Sinclair User scored the arcade version a 78/100, writing that players who enjoyed Golden Axe would enjoy Knights of the Round.[5] Anthony Baize, writing for Allgame, called it a 'solid quarter muncher with some cool mythological characters.'[2] Reviewing the SNES version, GamePro praised the quality of the sprites but remarked that 'Slow, repetitive gameplay dulls the edge of this otherwise average game,' citing the gameplay's overwhelming focus on crude 'hack 'n' slash' combat.[6]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Japanese: ナイツオブザラウンドHepburn: Naitsu obu za Raundo
References[edit]
- ^'Knights of the Round'. The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 6 Oct 2013.
- ^ abcBaize, Anthony. 'Knights of the Round'. Allgame. Rovi. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
- ^Romano, Sal (13 September 2018). 'Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle announced for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC'. Gematsu. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- ^ abcdKnights of the Round at the Killer List of Videogames Retrieved April 9, 2013.
- ^ abcd'Knights of the Round'. Sinclair User. March 1992.
- ^'ProReview: Knights of the Round'. GamePro (60). IDG. July 1994. p. 76.
External links[edit]
- Knights of the Round at MobyGames
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knights_of_the_Round_(video_game)&oldid=946311990'
SNES CoverOf the three arcade beat-em-ups Capcom released in 1991, it’s easy to get the two fantasy-themed ones confused. Is sort of a successor to, borrowing RPG themes and heavily borrowed from Dungeons & Dragons, while Knights of the Round is a slightly more grounded take, focusing more on the swords and less on the sorcery, and also plays a little more like with swords. The game puts you in the role of King Arthur and two of his most faithful knights as they venture through the British countryside to take back the Holy Grail from the evil Garibaldi.
PercevalPerceval’s axe is strong but has short reach. He’s an odd character since technically he’s the strongest, so he should be the slowest, but he’s also the only character that can dash (at short lengths).Since all of the characters have their own weapons, there aren’t any secondary weapons to pick up.
Instead, there are occasionally horses you can ride, which increases your speed and attack power (though Perceval is at a disadvantage due to the short range of his weapon). They can not only leap on top of enemies hordes but can be commanded to stampede forward and knock down anything in its path. (Of course, after this, the horse is gone.) There’s no grappling system at all, which does make the game feel a little limited. Like The King of Dragons, you can block enemy strikes by pressing backwards and attack, or perform super swings by pressing forward and attack. Being able to counter enemies is almost essential for some boss fights, but the timing for both of these moves is so tough that they’re hard to pull off consistently. The trick is that you have to press the button and then immediately hit a direction afterward, hoping that your timing is right.
Arthur and Lancelot’s secondary moves are executed by pressing up and attack, while all three have the usual health-draining crowd control move.Also like The King of Dragons, there’s a level-up system tied to the score. There’s a unique scoring system where the multiplier increases if you continue to kill the same type of enemy. An interesting idea, but in practice, the game is always sending you different types of bad guys so your combo can rarely get too long anyway. Countering or using powerful strikes also increases the odds of them dropping items too.
Plus, you can attack certain treasures and they’ll divide into smaller ones, leaving more score items that will (usually) grant more points separately than if you’d just grabbed the single item. Leveling up increases your stats and restores your health, plus your knight’s appearance changes over the course of the game.
Arthur and Lancelot don progressively cooler suits of armor, while Perceval goes through the largest change, somehow losing his hair and growing beard immediately upon attaining the proper level.The game is less fantastical than games like Golden Axe, so the types of enemies are largely relegated to different kinds of armored knights. It’s not exactly historically accurate in its setting of course – there’s a Japanese knight here named Muramasa (that somehow ended up in Britain) who uses magic attacks, and the mechanical Iron Golem is obviously far beyond medieval technology. While other Capcom games open each stage with a map that shows the route though each stage, here the level is introduced with a tactical war map that shows the stage in its entirety. If upon running out of lives, the continue screen will also show your progress through the stage.With the awkward mechanics and (relatively) humdrum characters, Knights of the Round is on the lesser tier of Capcom beat-em-ups, but it’s still as solid as ever, and the visuals and music are still excellent even if they lack creativity.Knights of the Round was also ported to the SNES.
The number of simultaneous players was downgraded from three to two, the visuals are slightly downgraded, and there are less enemies on screen. However, it adds a separate block button, so it is quite a bit easier to play. The game also shows up in emulator form on Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded (PSP), Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 (PS2/XB) and the Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle (PS4/XB1/Switch/Windows).Incidentally, Arthur is also name of the hero of Capcom’s Ghosts ‘n Goblins series.
In the mobile spinoff game Gold Knights, he’s joined by two other warriors, Lancelot and Percival. This could be a callback to Knights of the Round, though since they’re historical characters anyway, it could also just be coincidental. Screenshot Comparisons.