Knights Of The Round
Oct 7, 2010Knights of the Round 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 RPG-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.
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 ranging from the poleaxe wielding Knight known as "Scorn" (billed as the "First Challenge") all the way up to Garibaldi, the golden-armoured final boss. The fantasy element of the game is clear in bosses such as Muramasa the fiendish samurai warrior and the mechanical "Iron Golem" that appears as a mini-boss halfway through the last stage of the game.
There are a variety of generic enemies that try to stop the players' progress, which like the bosses go from the humble and lightly armoured "Soldier", the most common enemy, all the way up to the "Tall Man", a palette switch of the first stage boss "Scorn". Highlights include the "Mad Tiger", which explodes in flames when slain and the "Sorcerer" who teleports around the screen hurling magical bolts at the players.
Blocking an attack is executed by pressing the attack button, then pressing the joystick away. 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.
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. But it is worth noting that more than one of the bosses in the game rides a horse and that the enemy "Buster" is always keen to get into the saddle when presented with the opportunity.
