Play Bestri Online

Bestri came out in 1992 for arcades, developed by Arcade Studios. It was part of that wave of early 90s games that tried to push platforming into more complex, screen by screen adventures, before the genre really exploded on home consoles. You don't hear about it much now, but it had a solid presence in arcades for a little while.

You control a knight tasked with retrieving a stolen crown from a multi-level fortress. The main objective is to fight through each room, clearing it of enemies before you can proceed to the next. Your knight can use a short-range sword attack and a limited supply of throwing knives for distant foes. The core loop involves exploring interconnected screens, finding keys to unlock doors, and avoiding environmental traps like falling spikes and fire pits. The pacing is deliberate; you have to check each new screen carefully because the difficulty spikes quickly. It feels like a tense, methodical crawl through a dangerous place where every mistake costs you a life.