Knights of Xentar

Knights of Xentar

Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Series Dragon Knight
Platform(s) PC DOS, PC-8801, 3DO, X68K, PCD
Release date(s)
  • JP 1991 (Dragon Knight 3)
Genre(s) RPG, Eroge
Mode(s) Single player
Distribution Floppy disk, CD-ROM

Knights of Xentar is an eroge role-playing video game released for PC DOS in North America in 1995 by Megatech Software. It is also known as Dragon Knight III in Japan and is part of the Dragon Knight series of games created by Japanese game developer ELF, who originally released the game for the NEC PC-8801 computer in 1991, followed by ports for the Sharp X68000, 3DO and PC Engine CD platforms. This was the second hentai RPG released by Megatech after Cobra Mission and the only Dragon Knight game to be released outside Japan.

The gameplay system in Dragon Knight III is different from that of previous installments of the Dragon Knight series, resembling this of the early Final Fantasy (even more in the PC version) series instead of first-person-view dungeon crawler, and enabling the player to explore the entire world of the game. It is the only part of the video game series released in the west, in English and in German (which is in itself a rarity in such games), as Knights of Xentar for the PC DOS. Some of the characters were renamed in this version, including the protagonist Takeru's name changed to Desmond.

Gameplay

Knights of Xentar is a humorous JRPG with erotic content. The RPG system is completely different from that of the previous games in the Dragon Knight series. The player travels with a top-down view on the world map, visiting towns and dungeons (including Strawberry Fields and Phoenix from the first two games). The enemy encounters are random. The battles themselves are displayed in a side-view style similar to other Japanese RPGs such as Final Fantasy. The battles themselves are partially automated with the enemies and characters attacking each other in real-time. Battle can be paused at any time to cast a spell, use an item, or change attack style through a list of AI scripts.[1] There are eight levels of attack strength, each with its advantages and disadvantages (for example, more powerful attack levels require more time). The game's quest is nearly two times longer than the series' first episode.[2]

The game features cartoonish cut scenes, many of which contain nude erotic images - the girls the main character encounters and helps will often feel grateful and award him with sexual favors. However, there are no explicit hardcore sex scenes in the game and the girls' genital areas are censored as in most H-games.

Plot

The main character is a young warrior named Desmond (known as Takeru in the Japanese version). After liberating Strawberry Fields from a demon's curse and saving the girls of city of Phoenix from an evil witch in his previous adventures, Desmond finds himself in a situation unworthy of his heroic status: robbers have taken all his possessions, including his magic sword, and even his clothes! So the first task for the unsuccessful hero is to get some money. Luckily, the mayor has an assignment for him, for which he is also willing to pay. Desmond accepts the assignment without knowing what it will lead to - traveling all over the world, fighting fearsome enemies, encountering beautiful women, and solving a mystery that will also reveal the secret of his own true identity.

Release

In the Megatech release of the game, the names of the two main characters were changed. For example, Baan as he was known in the Japanese version was changed to Rolf and Takeru, the main hero of the game, was changed to Desmond. The dialogue was also modified, such as having a major localization overhaul in the same manner that Working Designs approached in translating several JRPGs. For example, the North American release's dialogue included many American pop culture references and jokes, and several times broke the fourth wall with the Megatech script writers even joining in the heroes' conversation. Desmond's partners, Rolf and Luna, and even some of the girls Desmond meets make fun of him cruelly. Megatech had released two versions of this game, an NR-13 and NR-18 version, just like in Germany where a USK 12 and the USK 16 version has been released. The NR-18 version was the uncensored version whereas the NR-13 was censored in that all the nude girls had their private parts covered up by hands or clothing and some of the crude, crass dialogue was edited as well. The NR-13 version could be upgraded to the NR-18 version via a software patch. This game has been out of production for over a decade and is extremely hard to find a physical copy although quite easy to download from abandonware sites. A CD-ROM "full talkie" version was also produced, although this is very rare even on abandonware sites.

References

  1. ↑ Dragon Knight III: Staff Review, Honest Gamers
  2. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly 43 (February 1993), page 64

External links