Codex Gamicus
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Interactive Maps
navigation
Main page
Community portal
Recent changes
Random page
Admin noticeboard
Forums
Company Index
Character Index
Hardware Index
In-Game Index
Ratings Index
Video Game Index
Fandom
Gamepedia support
Report a bad ad
Help Wiki
Contact us
FANDOM
Fan Central
BETA
Games
Anime
Movies
TV
Video
Wikis
Explore Wikis
Community Central
Start a Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Sign In
Sign In
Register
Fandom's centric source of video game knowledge
42,423
pages
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Interactive Maps
navigation
Main page
Community portal
Recent changes
Random page
Admin noticeboard
Forums
Company Index
Character Index
Hardware Index
In-Game Index
Ratings Index
Video Game Index
Fandom
Gamepedia support
Report a bad ad
Help Wiki
Contact us
Editing
King Arthur & the Knights of Justice
Back to page
Edit
VisualEditor
View history
Talk (0)
Edit Page
King Arthur & the Knights of Justice
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{GameInfobox | image = King Arthur and the Knights of Justice cover art.jpg | caption = ''King Arthur & the Knights of Justice'' cover art | aspect ratio = 4:3 | resolution = [[Video Graphics Array|640Γ480]] pixels <small>(similar to VGA graphics on a IBM-compatible PC)</small> | developer = Manley & Associates | publisher = Enix | na_rel = {{Release|1995|May||NA|Super Nintendo Entertainment System}}<ref name="NP walkthrough">{{Citation | last=Averill | first=Alan | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice | periodical=[[Nintendo Power]] | series=Epic Center | publisher=[[Nintendo]] | volume=72 | page=36}}.</ref> | genre = Action, Adventure | features = Single-player | ratings = ESRB-KA | platforms = Super Nintendo Entertainment System | media = 20-[[megabit]] cartridge | input = [[Gamepad#Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES gamepad]] }} '''''King Arthur & the Knights of Justice''''' is an [[action-adventure game]] developed by [[Electronic Arts#Former studios|Manley & Associates]] and published by [[Enix]] for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] in May 1995. Based on the cartoon series of the same name, which was loosely inspired by the [[Matter of Britain|Arthurian legend]], the game was released in North America exclusively. The player takes on the role of a team of [[American football]] players who are transported to Medieval England and given the mission to save [[King Arthur]] from the sorceress [[Morgan la Fay|Morgana]]. The game was the first Enix title developed by an American company, and was inspired by ''[[The Legend of Zelda (series)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' series and various written works. It was received with reviews ranging from mediocre to extremely poor. == Gameplay == [[File:King Arthur and the Knights of Justice screenshot.gif|thumb|left|The characters' meters are shown at the top of the screen. Here, Arthur and the Knights are at the center and bottom of the screen]] The game is a standard action-adventure game, played from a [[top-down perspective]]. The player takes on the role of Arthur King and is accompanied by two Knights of Justice controlled by the game console. The player battles enemies using a regular sword swing or a [[special attack]], and can block high and low attacks.<ref>{{Citation | last= | first= | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice Instruction Booklet | publisher=[[Enix]] | page=4}}.</ref> Twelve Knights are available from the start (including Arthur King), each with his own weapon, personality and [[statistic (role-playing games)|statistics]] for life force, defense, strength and speed. Each [[boss (video games)|boss]] of the game has a specific weakness against one of the Knights.<ref name="GIA" /> Changing party members is done by visiting the Round Table room in Camelot.<ref name="manual 67">{{Citation | last= | first= | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice Instruction Booklet | publisher=[[Enix]] | pages=6β7}}.</ref> Each character has a life meter, and Arthur also has a power meter.<ref name="manual 67" /> Various [[Item (game)|items]] must be collected to complete [[quest (gaming)|quests]] and objectives, while some can be used to restore a character's life meter.<ref>{{Citation | last= | first= | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice Instruction Booklet | publisher=[[Enix]] | page=10}}.</ref> An [[overworld]] map feature allows the player to directly access locations already visited once.<ref>{{Citation | last= | first= | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice Instruction Booklet | publisher=[[Enix]] | page=8}}.</ref> The game has no [[saved game|saving]] feature but allows accessing various points of the storyline with a system of [[password (video games)|passwords]].<ref>{{Citation | last= | first= | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice Instruction Booklet | publisher=[[Enix]] | page=5}}.</ref> {{clear}} ==Plot== The events of the game are set in a fictional [[England]] in the 5th century.<ref>{{Citation | last= | first= | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice Instruction Booklet | publisher=[[Enix]] | page=13}}.</ref> The evil sorceress Morgana has magically imprisoned King Arthur and the [[Knights of the Round Table|Knights of the Round]] in the Cave of Glass beneath her castle, past [[Hadrian's Wall]]. At [[Camelot]], the King's wizard [[Merlin]] uses a [[crystal ball]] and locates a brave team of "warriors" in the future, led by Arthur King and dubbed "The Knights". They are actually American football players, though Merlin interprets their names as a sign of fate. He summons them [[time travel in fiction|back in time]], and the Lady of the Table transforms them into "Knights of Justice". Merlin asks them to break the seal on King Arthur and the Knights of the Round by gathering the twelve Keys of Truth.<ref>{{Citation | last= | first= | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice Instruction Booklet | publisher=[[Enix]] | page=3}}.</ref> The party retrieves the [[Excalibur]] sword from the [[Lady of the Lake]], proving their worth by claiming the Pendragon Shield from a young [[dragon]] at Shield Heights. They assist Erek, the deposed ruler of [[Tintagel Castle]], and recover the first Key of Truth in the castle. They make their way into the village of Welton, which is under a mind control spell, and recover the second Key of Truth at Gruesome Keep. After breaking the spell on Welton and crossing the Blinder's Way, they claim the third Key of Truth at Castle Sanguine.<ref>{{Citation | last=Averill | first=Alan | publication-date=May 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice | periodical=[[Nintendo Power]] | series=Epic Center | publisher=[[Nintendo]] | volume=72 | pages=39β43}}.</ref> During the event, a Warlord infiltrates Camelot and poisons Squire Everett. The party collects an antidote in the Swamp of Zagar and saves the Squire. They then claim the fourth Key of Truth in Stone Keep. They rescue the son of the [[Gnome]] King to obtain the fifth Key of Truth, and collects four [[Classical elements|Elemental]] Keys to unlock access to Castle Vilor and the sixth Key of Truth. The party finds the seventh and eighth Keys of Truth in Crownhorn village and the Cape of Death, respectively. The ninth and tenth Keys are found in Blackroot Keep and the Dark Citadel while searching for the missing pieces of the Staff of [[Riothamus|Rhiothamus]], which can break open a path in Hadrian's Wall.<ref name="game">{{cite video game | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice | developer=[[Electronic Arts#Former studios|Manley & Associates]] | publisher=[[Enix]] | date=May 1995 | platform=[[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]}}</ref> Using the Staff, the party goes past Hadrian's Wall and into the Dark Forest, where the eleventh Key of Truth is found. In a cemetery, they stumble upon a statue of Morgana, which fires a magic beam that kills the two Knights in the party. Arthur travels to the Town of the Dead by himself then to the Plain of the Dead and retrieves his two dead Knights. They reach Morgana's castle, Stone Gardens, and defeat Morgana's dragon form, thus obtaining the last Key of Truth. In the game's ending sequence, the party members are congratulated by the real, freed King Arthur, and Merlin uses [[Stonehenge]] to send them back to their era.<ref name="game" /> == Development == ''King Arthur & the Knights of Justice'' was the first Enix game developed by an American company. The development team of the project was composed of roughly two dozen people. The game was initially planned for a 16-[[megabit]] [[cartridge (electronics)|cartridge]], but 4 additional megabits were eventually added as the developers wanted to expand the game. Development spanned about two years.<ref name="NP">{{Citation | last=Averill | first=Alan | publication-date=March 1995 | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice | periodical=[[Nintendo Power]] | series=Epic Center | publisher=[[Nintendo]] | volume=70 | pages=36β37}}.</ref> In addition to the original cartoon series, the developers gathered ideas from several sources for inspiration, including ''[[The Legend of Zelda (series)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' action-adventure game series, and books such as [[T. H. White]]'s ''[[The Book of Merlyn]]'' and fables from [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] poet [[Marie de France]]. They noted that the hardest part of development was coming up with puzzles for each of the regions, as they had to be "fun and challenging, but not repetitive". While they tried to maintain a balance between action and puzzles, they noted that they focused more on the puzzle aspect of the game. Favorite parts of the game for the developers include the dragon battles, the boss Blackwing and Morgana's Warlords.<ref name="NP" /> == Reception == [[File:King Arthur and the Knights of Justice cut scene.gif|thumb|King Arthur and the protagonist Arthur King. The graphics of the game were called mediocre by the Gaming Intelligence Agency]] Video game magazines ''[[Nintendo Power]]'' and ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'' gave the title a score of 2.68 out of 5 and 5.62 out of 10 respectively,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/588420.asp | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice Reviews | accessdate=2008-06-30 | first=Lee | last=Alessi | publisher=[[Game Rankings]]}}</ref> while the website [[Allgame]] rated it 3 out of 5 stars.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.allgame.com/cg/agg.dll?p=agg&sql=1:7418~T0 | title=King Arthur and the Knights of Justice | accessdate=2008-06-30 | author= | date= | publisher=[[Allgame]]}}</ref> [[Freelancer|Freelance]] critic Robert Schmitz<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rpgfan.com/archive/1998/12.html | title=Working Designs Press Release! | accessdate=2008-06-30 | author=GhaleonOne | date=1998-12-04 | publisher=RPGFan}}</ref> gave the title a score of 0.5 out of 11, calling it "awful" and explaining the game is almost "better left unsaid". Schmitz blamed Enix's decision to base the game on a little-known cartoon series,<ref name="Schmitz">{{cite web | url=http://www.workingdesigns.com/RPG/reviews/king_arthur.htm | title=RPG Critic - King Arthur & The Knights Of Justice | accessdate=2008-06-30 | last=Schmitz | first=Robert | date= | publisher=[[Working Designs]] | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/19991008065200/www.workingdesigns.com/RPG/reviews/king_arthur.htm | archivedate=1999-10-08}}</ref> a comment echoed by both the ''[[Video Game Bible]]''<ref name="vgbible">{{Citation | last=Slaven | first=Andy | publication-date=2006 | date=2002 | title=Video Game Bible, 1985 - 2002 | edition=2nd | publisher=[[Trafford Publishing]] | page=154 | isbn=1412249023 | url=http://books.google.com/?id=oShzmF1Pxc4C&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=%22King+Arthur+%26+the+Knights+of+Justice%22+game | accessdate=2008-06-30}}.</ref> and Allan Milligan, in a review for the Gaming Intelligence Agency, who noted that the game was released after the cartoon's [[series finale|finale]].<ref name="GIA">{{cite web | url=http://www.thegia.com/snes/ka/ka.html | title=King Arthur and the Knights of Justice | accessdate=2008-06-30 | last=Milligan | first=Allan | date= | publisher=Gaming Intelligence Agency | archiveurl=http://terror.snm-hgkz.ch/mirrors/thegia/sites/www.thegia.com/snes/ka/ka.html | archivedate=2002-04-01}}</ref> Milligan called the game a "staggeringly ill-conceived game" and likened it to a "succession of [[quest (gaming)|fetch quest]]s". ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' felt the graphics lack vibrant colors, but that the music was "alright".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/king-arthur-the-knights-of-justice/mobyrank | title=King Arthur & the Knights of Justice for SNES | accessdate=2008-06-30 | last= | first= | date= | publisher=[[MobyGames]]}}</ref> Milligan, however, judged the graphics and audio both mediocre, the character designs "terrible", the plot generic and the puzzles not challenging. Moreover, he noted that it is impossible for the player to know in advance which Knight is best suited for which boss.<ref name="GIA" /> Concerning the gameplay, Milligan criticized the fact that all enemies on a screen must be defeated to progress through some passages, and the possibility for characters and enemies to be hidden from the player's view behind large objects. The unintuitive angle made by Arthur's sword when attacking and the Knights' [[artificial intelligence]] were also denounced as poorly conceived, as were the lack of animation when a character or enemy is hit.<ref name="GIA" /> While Milligan noted no major [[glitch]]es or [[software bug|bug]]s in the game,<ref name="GIA" /> Schmitz felt the testers rushed their job.<ref name="Schmitz" /> The game seemed "unfinished and underdeveloped" for the ''Video Game Bible'',<ref name="vgbible" /> as well as Milligan, who called the packaging "nice" and the manual readable, wondering why "thinking human beings" would ever agree to make a game "this unambitious and dull".<ref name="GIA" /> The ''Video Game Bible'' gave the title a rarity score of 6 out of 10, meaning that, according to the scale used in the book, the game may have had more than 20,000 copies produced.<ref name="vgbible" /> == References == {{Reflist|2}} ==External links== *[http://www.flyingomelette.com/koj/kojindex.html ''King Arthur and the Knights of Justice'' game shrine] at Flying Omelette [[Category:North America-exclusive video games]] [[Category:Video games based on BKN shows]] [[Category:Video games developed in the United States]] [[Category:Video games set in Medieval England]]
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to the Codex Gamicus are considered to be released under the CC BY-SA 3.0
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Templates used on this page:
Template:!((
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:))!
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayFeatures
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayInputList
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayListDevelopers
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayListGenres
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayListPlatform
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayListPublishers
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayMediaList
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayPageType
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayRatings
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayStatusList
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation/core
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation/identifier
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation/make link
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Cite video game
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Cite web
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Clear
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:CompanySwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ESRBRatings
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:FeatureSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Flag
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:GameInfobox
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:GameInfoboxLinksPI
(
view source
)
Template:GenreSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Hide in print
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Icon
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:InputSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:MediaSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Only in print
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:PageTypeSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:PlainPlatformArray
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:PlainPlatformSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:PlatformSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:RatingSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Reflist
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Release
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:StatusSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Module:Flaglist
(
edit
)
Follow on IG
TikTok
Join Fan Lab