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King's Knight
Inside King's Knight
King's Knight is a side-scrolling shooter that landed on the MSX1 in 1986, developed and published by Square - yes, that Square, years before they became the RPG giants we know today. The game originally released in Japan in September 1986 and eventually made its way to North America in 1989, also seeing later re-releases on Nintendo's Virtual Console.
You pilot a ship through horizontally scrolling stages, blasting enemies and dodging obstacles while collecting power-ups to upgrade your weapons. The focus is pure arcade-style action: survive waves of foes, take down mid-bosses and end-stage bosses, and keep your score climbing. There's no complex story here; it's about reflexes and memorizing attack patterns.
For MSX owners back then, King's Knight was a solid demonstration of the platform's shooter capabilities, even if it never reached the fame of genre giants like Gradius or R-Type. Today, it's worth a look as an early Square title that shows the company's roots outside RPGs. It's a straightforward, no-frills shooter that captures the pick-up-and-play spirit of mid-80s arcade design.
You pilot a ship through horizontally scrolling stages, blasting enemies and dodging obstacles while collecting power-ups to upgrade your weapons. The focus is pure arcade-style action: survive waves of foes, take down mid-bosses and end-stage bosses, and keep your score climbing. There's no complex story here; it's about reflexes and memorizing attack patterns.
For MSX owners back then, King's Knight was a solid demonstration of the platform's shooter capabilities, even if it never reached the fame of genre giants like Gradius or R-Type. Today, it's worth a look as an early Square title that shows the company's roots outside RPGs. It's a straightforward, no-frills shooter that captures the pick-up-and-play spirit of mid-80s arcade design.
How to Play King's Knight Online
Getting Started: When you boot up King's Knight on the MSX, you'll see a title screen and then a brief menu to press Start. Once in the game, your ship moves in four directions with the arrow keys and fires with the B button (S key). The core loop is simple: progress from left to right while destroying enemies and avoiding their attacks. Collect power-up capsules that appear after destroying certain enemies to strengthen your shot or gain temporary shields.
Each stage ends with a mid-boss or a stage boss that requires focused fire and pattern dodging. If you die, you lose your current weapon power and restart from a checkpoint. The game has a limited number of lives, so learning enemy patterns and power-up locations is key to reaching the later stages. Since this is a Japanese title originally, the menus are in Japanese, but the main gameplay is easy to figure out without text - just press Start to begin and use the arrow keys to navigate any on-screen selections.
King's Knight Keyboard Controls
Controls
- Arrow Keys: D-Pad / Movement
- X: Trigger 1
- S: Trigger 2
- Enter: Start
Frequently Asked Questions
Is King's Knight considered easy to pick up or challenging?
It's a classic arcade-style shooter, so it demands quick reflexes and pattern memorization, but the early stages are forgiving enough for beginners. The difficulty ramps up significantly in later levels, making it a satisfying challenge for seasoned shooter fans.
Does King's Knight have a multiplayer or co-op mode?
No, the game is strictly single-player. There is no option for two players either simultaneously or alternating, which is typical of many early MSX shooters from that era.
Is there anything iconic or memorable about King's Knight?
It's one of the earliest shooters developed by Square, so it holds historical interest as a precursor to their famous RPGs. The game's visual style and music are decent for 1986, but it's not considered a standout classic compared to contemporary titles like Gradius.
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