Knights of the Round (video game)

Did You Know?

• The plot involves Arthur pulling Excalibur from a rock and being sent by Merlin with Lancelot and Perceval to overthrow the evil king Garibaldi.
• The game was ported to the Super NES in 1994, as well as to Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded for PSP in 2006 and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
• According to Famitsu, Knights of the Round sold 5,225 copies during its lifetime in Japan.

Gameplay

The gameplay resembles other Capcom beat 'em ups such as Final Fight and The King of Dragons. There are seven stages, each with a boss and generic enemies. Blocking is triggered by pressing the attack button then moving the joystick away as an opponent strikes; a successful block grants a few seconds of invincibility for a counter-attack, but holding the block without being struck tires the character and leaves them vulnerable. Some bosses are vulnerable only after their attack is blocked. A desperation attack, performed by pressing attack and jump simultaneously, kills most on-screen enemies at a small health cost. Players can ride horses and stomp enemies by pressing the joystick forward twice; bosses and some enemies may also ride horses.

Characters

Three playable characters are available. King Arthur is a balanced character wielding Excalibur; his special attack is a powerful slashing blow performed by pressing attack then holding the joystick toward the enemy. He starts in chain mail and leather armor and gains stronger armor and a more powerful Excalibur as he levels. Sir Lancelot is the fastest but weakest character, using a sabre; his special attack is a jumping kick done by pressing attack then holding the joystick up. He begins in a blue tabard with a yellow cross and later gains plate armor and a broader sabre. Sir Perceval, a son of a blacksmith, wields a battle-axe and is the strongest but least agile character. He can dash by tapping the joystick forward twice and cancel into a Giant Swing by pressing attack while dashing. Perceval starts with blond hair and light armor and becomes bald with a beard and heavier armor as he levels.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Knights of the Round as the most-popular arcade game for the two weeks prior to March 1, 1992. Micom BASIC Magazine ranked it seventh in popularity in its April 1992 issue. In North America, RePlay listed it as the sixth most-popular arcade game in its April 1992 issue, while Play Meter ranked it fifty-first in a June 1994 equipment survey. The game received generally favorable reviews; Sinclair User's John Cook wrote that players who enjoyed Golden Axe would enjoy it, and AllGame's Anthony Baize called it a solid beat 'em up with cool mythological characters. Gamest gave it two awards at the sixth annual Gamest Awards, placing sixth in Annual Hit Game and sixth in Player Popularity. Heavy ranked it among the top twenty-five beat 'em up games of all time in 2013.