King Arthur's World
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| King Arthur's World | |
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| Developer(s) | Argonaut Games |
| Publisher(s) | Jaleco |
| Platform(s) | Super NES |
| Release date | October 10, 1993 (Japan) September 4, 1994 (U.S.A.) |
| Genre(s) | Strategy game |
| Mode(s) | Single Player |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
| Media | 4-megabit Cartridge |
King Arthur's World is a 1993 side-scrolling strategy game for the Super NES. It was developed by Argonaut Games and published by Jaleco.
In the game, the player controls King Arthur. At the start of each level, only the King is present, but various types of troops can be brought out of the tent where he starts. The King and his troops can be commanded to move in a direction, which they do until they receive new orders, are killed or come across enemy troops, which they fight if they can. Also, some troops have special commands, such as for archers to fire arrows.
The aim of each level is to proceed from the tent at the start, to the finishing point. This may require the player to defeat various enemies, avoid traps and obstacles. King Arthur is the only essential character. If he dies, the player has failed, and play can only continue if 100 gold coins are spent to rescue him, in which case the player restarts at his/her tent.
The game can be played with the SNES control pad or, alternatively, with the SNES Mouse, as it is one of the few third Party games that support the device.
[edit] Characters
The player commands various types of troops, or characters. At the start of each level there is a certain number of each type of character present in the player's tent, that can be brought out at will, in groups or as individuals. Only those outside the tent can fight, be harmed, or otherwise interact with the gaming world. Characters apart from the king can re-enter the tent, and are added back to the pools or characters in the tent.
King Arthur is the only character present at the start of each level, and his death leads to failure of the level, and overall failure unless 100 gold pieces are paid as a ransom. He is a fairly strong fighter, but as an essential character it is not usually wise to allow him to get too close to the action. He is the only character who can collect piles of gold, or pick up and use the keys that open secret doors. To complete a level, he must reach the enemy King, who will then surrender.
Barrelmen are troops that carry barrels of gunpowder. They cannot defend themselves, their purpose being to drop their barrels, which will detonate, destroying wooden obstacles such as doors. Due to their vulnerability, it is usually better to deploy them when the area is secured.
Engineers are builders. They can fight, but are weak in combat. They can build four different structures, the catapult, the tent, the battering ram, and the platform. They can also fill pits such as moats. After performing their task, unless otherwise noted, they return to the tent.
- The catapult, requiring 3 engineers to build, is a piece of artillery that can lob fireballs at the enemy, to attack high up enemies, and as with the gunpowder barrels, will burn through wooden structures. The catapult continues to fire as long as its single crewman (the other builders return to the tent) is alive, or until he is returned to the tent.
- The tent, requiring 4 engineers to build, is the player's base of operation, where characters enter the world from, and a new tent can be built wherever there is a flag, replacing the current tent. Also, after losing the level on the "death" of the king, and payment of 100 gold pieces, the player restarts at the last tent built. After building the tent, the engineers enter it.
- The battering ram requiring 2 engineers, is a device to break down the doors to enemy castles. After the door is destroyed the engineers return to the tent.
- The platform, requiring a single engineer to build, is made of wood, and is used to climb small inclines. They can only be built on solid ground, in particular they cannot be built on top of each other.
- Filling a pit requires a single engineer. Each engineer uses a barrel to fill part of the pit, until there are no more engineers in the group, or the pit is fully covered.
Knights are the strongest attacking troops in hand-to-hand combat. They have no special abilities, and will fight with any enemy troops they come across.
Archers are weak in hand-to-hand combat, but have the ability to fire arrows at the enemy. Archers have three firing modes, to fire at enemies at short, medium, or long-range, by varying the angle that they fire at.
Soldiers are defensive troops. Available only as individuals, they are weaker than Knights in combat, but can use their shields to stop enemy troops from passing, and also deflect projectiles such as fireballs.
Wizards are unable to defend themselves in combat, their ability coming in the form of spells. There are two types of wizard, white wizards and black wizards. The former use positive magic, that can heal or protect friendly characters, while the latter uses negative magic to attack the enemy, or reduce their abilities.
[edit] Levels
The game is made up of four parts. The first is series of training levels, that introduce the various types of character you can control. It is not possible to lose the game there. The death of the king results in the player starting at the beginning of the level. There are eight such levels, set in the Real World Realm.
The remaining levels are divided into three realms. Here, death will result in Game Over, unless the player has collected 100 gold pieces or more. Each realm concludes with a fight with a boss of some kind.
The three realms are the Real World Realm, Goblin Underworld Realm, and Cloud World Realm.
