Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Released: April 1994 Genre: Beat em up
It’s interesting to look back and see how much Capcom were into exploring RPG mechanics with their various games in the 90s. Magic Sword dipped its toes in that water but they went all in with the brawler genre. King of Dragons was an interesting if flawed attempt at adding depth to the standard combat of the genre. It was not completely successful but a decent attempt nonetheless. Knights of the Round was a much better second attempt. The SNES port is a fantastic conversion but also highlight the flaws of the original in the face of stiffer competition.
When Arthur pulls the sacred sword Excalibur from its stone it sets events in motion. The wizard Merlin informs him that it is his destiny to unite England and become King of the Britons. But there is work to be done first. With his comrades Lancelot and Percival they set out to defeat the evil King Garibaldi to free the land. Like its counterpart King of Dragons Knights of the Round was a late port, originally released in arcades in 1991 but not reaching the home market until 1994. While good games the genre had moved on, with titles like Streets of Rage 3 and Denjin Makai really advancing the genre. I still like it but it couldn’t help feeling old in light of those titles.
As in most titles within the genre Arthur, Percival, and Lancelot fit neatly within the standard genre conventions. Lancelot is weak but fast, Percival is the slow strongman and Arthur occupies the middle. There are subtleties between characters; Lancelot can attack twice in midair while Arthur can perform a stronger slash to knock down enemies. This might be the rare case where the slow man is the best character. Percival excels because of one trait: dashing. He can dash and cancel into a devastating giant swing.
To liven up gameplay the game employs an experience system. At set levels you level up, and with it comes visual changes. All characters gain new armor and eventually weapons which is cool to see. On the flip side these changes are purely cosmetic. I wish more were done with this system as there is plenty of nuance when it comes to gaining experience. Treasure chests can be broken down into smaller portions that are worth more points overall. The way you end your combo strings also grants differing point values. But with the rewards being so little there is little incentive to explore this system.
Knights of the Round is deceptively simple when it comes to combat. Some of the most common attacks in the genre are not present here. You can’t pick up and throw enemies and there aren’t temporary weapons in chests. What it does have is a wealth of defensive options and moves. The most important is blocking. Blocking an attack at the right moment grants a few seconds of invincibility. This works even in boss battles. You can perform retreating rolls and back attacks as well. It doesn’t make up for the lacking combat as much but does offer some depth, depth that is crucial to reach the end.
The options are nice but it still doesn’t make up for the lack of variety. If there is any one area the game suffers it is in its pacing. The levels are extremely long, with increasing numbers of fodder enemies between the bosses. Fighting the same generic knights gets old fast when you only have the same multiple hit combo to use over and over. It’s the exact opposite of King of Dragons, where the levels were incredibly short. Aside from fighting on horseback occasionally fighting gets old fast. Damn shame as the game has so much else going for it.
The game wears its arcade roots proudly in terms of difficulty. You get two lives per credit but at least you have nine continues. Life restoring food is abundant but that is because enemies inflict absurd amounts of damage. This is especially bad during boss battles. Mastering the timing of blocking is crucial to defeating these mayors, especially as their life bars become ridiculously long. Once you do the game becomes far more manageable.
Capcom have done an awesome job bringing the game home as it matches up to the arcade pretty well. There is less detail in its beautiful backdrops but nothing too drastic. The number of enemies has been reduced as well to avoid slowdown. It’s a bit funny as the game has a fantasy setting but skirts that occasionally. You’ll fight a samurai, tigers, and even an iron mecha! I don’t blame the artists for wanting a little artistic freedom as they do look fantastic.
In Closing
I like Knights of the Round despite my problems with it. But that is mainly because it had the potential to be great rather than simply good. It doesn’t make the most of its rpg mechanics but is still better than many of its contemporaries.
