Play King's Knight Online

King's Knight came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, developed by Square. It was one of those oddball titles from the era that didn't quite fit into a single genre, a vertical shooter wrapped in a fantasy skin. You don't hear about it much compared to other NES games, but it had a certain presence on the shelf, its box art promising a more traditional adventure than it actually delivered.

You control one of four characters, a knight, a wizard, a monster, or a thief, each with a unique shot pattern, and you guide them upward through screen by screen levels. Your main goal is to reach the final castle, but to even get there you must first collect three hidden crystals from specific stages. The gameplay is a mix of dodging enemy fire, breaking blocks to find power ups for your weapon, and navigating environmental hazards. It's a difficult game, punishingly so if you lose a character before the final stretch, forcing a full restart. Playing it feels like a constant, frantic scramble for survival where every small victory is hard won.