King of Kings (1988 video game)

This article is about the video game published by Namco. For the video game published by Wisdom Tree, see King of Kings: The Early Years. For other uses, see King of Kings (disambiguation).

King of Kings
Cover art
Developer(s)	Atlus^[1]
Publisher(s)	Namco^[1]
Artist(s)	Kazuma Kaneko
Composer(s)	Hirohiko Takayama^[1]
Platform(s)	Family Computer^[1]
Release date(s)	^JP December 9, 1988^[1]
Genre(s)	Turn-based strategy wargame^[1]
Mode(s)	Single-player Multiplayer (up to four players)
Distribution	Cartridge

King of Kings (キングオブキングス)^[2] is a turn-based strategy video game with wargaming elements for the Family Computer, released only in Japan. Kazuma Kaneko helped to design the characters for this video game; which became the inspiration for the characters in the video game Megami Tensei.

Summary

This video game is actually quite involving, with 22 different types of playable units (categorized into people, fairies, dragons and other kinds of units). Human units tend to have a weak overall defense, fairy units are often the least expensive to produce, all dragons except the lizardmen are very expensive to build, and the other kind of units are basically a potpurri of units that combine the strengths and weaknesses of the other three kinds of units. There is a campaign mode where the player does battle against a computer team led by Lucifer across four maps.^[3] There is even a multiplayer mode where up to four teams can do battle on eight additional maps.^[3] A bonus map based on Japan's greatest swordsmith Masamune is present as an easter egg in this video game.^[4]

Game system: The players king's unit is the axis of the game while the opponent's king can easily defeat the player's chance for victory. Players must do operations such as occupation and city funding. Kings can produce other units to conduct aggressive behavior. The are several types of units including fighters and goblins. Each unit's attack and defensive powers are different. In multiplayer mode, the unnamed "alliance" exists among allies battle but an allied victory is not achievable. Only defeating the opposing king(s) will result in a victory for the player.^[3]

If the player is playing against more than one human opponent, it is possible for teams to enjoy the game alliance system.

Production system: Players create production systems by putting a King unit inside the castle to summon other units. The production unit is a system that consumes funds and also creates a certain amount of revenue each time a player's turn comes up. Players can increase revenue by occupying the town and castle. The King unit can move to the castle immediately after producing a unit. He can also advance to the attack; he is considered to be outside the castle and is unable to produce.

Unit: The possible fighter units in the game are goblins, elves and dragons. These characters are central to fantasy games and appear in the game. Each unit has set level; which is increased by killing enemy units. Levels range from 1 to 9 (with the ninth level character wearing a crown). It is very important to have a higher attack rating than the opponent. On the other hand, having a higher defense rating also helps to win battles and to create a balanced game system. Some units can use "magic" that turns directly attack enemy units with various special effects. The campaign mode is limited to the type of units than can be produced. These types start off as being less productive. However, more types of units will be added in the second half of the game.

Movement system: All units have a predetermined moving pattern. Respectively, units can only advance within its movement range that is allowed by the game. Movement is also consumed by topography; plains and roads need less power while high mountains and forests consume more. Food is consumed in order to regain movement points. All units consume food in order to keep moving. After running out of food, only a city or a monk can restore the unit's supply of food. Therefore, players need to consider maintaining the supply line during the invasion.

Units

People

King/Lucifer: Considered to be the sword-wielding alter ego of the player. If the player loses this unit, it becomes an automatic game over. He is able to occupy the castle of the along with the other characters.
Fighter (5 movement points): Can be produced at night but his combat power is very low with his sword. He is the other person other than the king to fight advantageously at night. Only these units can occupy towns.^[3]
Knight (10 movement points): The most expensive human unit in the game. While he can move on easily through the high plains on horseback, he is lightly armed with a halberd weapon and his defense is a little fragile.
Dragon Knight (9 movement points): Similar to an ordinary knight unit; except it has extra strength points against dragon-type units thanks to his "Dragon Slayer" sword. This unit is almost as powerful as the King in attack and defense power.

Fairy

Goblin (7 movement points): The least expensive fairies in the system. Specializes in moving around mountainous terrain. He is a fighter who can inflict devastating damage with the enemy on low terrain defense with his trustworthy axe.
Harpy (14 movement points): Boasts the second-highest movement points out of the fairy units. Harpies have the unique speciality to create hit-and-run tactics using their spears as weapons (i.e., causing a disturbance amongst enemy ranks). Its high mobility points also allow for all-terrain-based movement for flight. While harpies are super-effective against goblins, they are vulnerable to elves.
Elf (7 movement points): Can navigate very efficiently in forests. Their longbow weapon gives them high attack power with their lethal arrows. Super-effective against harpies but weak against goblins.
Griffin (12 movement points): A flying unit that uses its claws for a makeshift weapon. While he can move one step regardless of the terrain ahead of him, the high costs of producing a griffin discourages mass construction of the unit. There is potential for incomparable strength from griffins. However, they are weak against harpies in terms of defense.

References