Well, let's get back into it. Let us talk about kings. By 1989, Nintendo was king of the video game world in North America. Swirling onto the scene then is King's Knight, an electronic video game by a company called Square Soft. Now, we enter a curious case here. Japan, as has been noted by Phil Sandifer, did not exist in 1989 for most Nintendo players. With the benefit of history, we know what happened for Square Soft there. A video game called Final Fantasy happened in 1987 and launched them into success. By 1989, a second one existed and changed things up... but Final Fantasy had yet to reach us, so Square Soft merely existed. Kings hiding among the paupers. This game came out in Japan in 1986, a year before Square hit gold with fantasy roleplay. King's Knight, then. A year before Final Fantasy in both Japan and America. How is it? It's middling. A shooter where you don't pilot a spaceship through a black void, but a man walking upwards and shooting straight. At least you can break the walls and find powerups, but I know not what they do. Then I die and go to a whole other level with a new character. I die three more times and then I'm done. Well, that's King's Knight. There's a right way to play it, but I don't know how. This is merely the sketchbook of a future royal. The world is not Square yet, and King's Knight falls into obscurity, remembered only by those who owned it. Someday, though, in another time and place, well after the NES's Trenzalore has come... it will happen. Clouds will form in the sky. Squalls of wind will rock houses to their foundations. Lightning will light up the sky, and Square Soft will rise to become titans among us. Kings among men, someday.
Kings Of The Beach, meanwhile, is a volleyball game from Konami. You know what? I almost had fun with this. I scored points. It comes very close to getting the whole sports thing right. An anecdote from Captain Nintendo's adventures crosses my mind now. People who play console video games circa 1990 don't usually want overcomplicated control schemes, he says. They just want a big red button. That knowledge sold carts, so the man claims. Far be it from me to tell anyone how to enjoy their games, but... Blades Of Steel got this right, since it's hockey and also by Konami. Konami usually understands this mindset, and Kings Of The Beach is almost intuitive. I suppose it would really help if I knew the precise control input to spike the ball, but I did not. Nevertheless, it's a hell of a lot better than the football games I've played. At least Phil Sandifer covered everything baseball so I don't think I have to. I should check with him on that. Either way, Kings Of The Beach has nice music. Konami could make the NES sing when they wanted to. This one's okay if you want volleyball on NES, I suppose. Konami. Kings in their own right; even when they botch up, they still make something kind of enjoyable.
Okay, maybe I spoke too soon. They put out... King's Quest V. On NES. As complicated as a sports game might be, adventure games are even more complex. Only a few folks have tried it, and only a few have succeeded. I'm not sure if I like this or not, but then again I'm not the biggest King's Quest fan. If you like King's Quest, this is the fifth one only with less colors, no voice acting, and controlled with four buttons and a directional pad. I talked to people and explored the world for a bit, and then a bear mauled me. Oops. I've also heard that this is one of those lovely adventure games where you can make the game unwinnable by not doing an arbitrary action at an arbitrary point. Oh, what fun. Sierra was known for this back then, and now where are they? Gone. I have a bit of a bias here, I believe... but this is by no means a king of the NES for me. Why it even exists is a mystery. The dread beast GREED, or just a strange idea that ended up coming to light? That's how ideas start, you know. Just little seeds. Final Fantasy was just a seed in 1986, and now look what it's become. King's Quest? Its seed sprouted, bore fruit, and now the tree has withered. A monarchy lost. A shame.In the meantime, here is where present, past, and future collide.
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