Knights of the Round on the SNES is an Amazing Beat’em Up

Knights of the Round is a fantastic beat’em up with some RPG elements. Capcom released the game in the arcades in 1991 and ported it to the SNES in 1994. Some changes were made to the game but were understandable for the time.

In some ways, the game reminds me of the Golden Axe games. Both were three-player arcade games with a high fantasy theme; each character felt unique. The SNES is light on great beat’em ups, and having games like Knights of the Round greatly helps it.

TLDR: Knights of the Round is a wonderful beat’em up and could’ve been a bigger deal than it was.

Narrative

There is a story in this game. It isn’t all that involved and doesn’t have to be. The story gives you a vague idea of who these people are and why you need to beat them up.

Arthur is trying to become king and is sent on a mission with Lancelot and Perceval to defeat the evil king, Garibaldi. By defeating Garabladi, Arthur will become king and unite Britain. Sure, why not?

I like that it picks up during Arthur’s early years. I’m not here for the story; it doesn’t play a big part in the game. Just walk to the right and beat everyone up.

Gameplay

This is a standard side-scrolling beat’em up. You move to the right, the screen locks until you defeat all the enemies, and the stages are relatively short. It is an excellent game with many similarities to other beat’em ups from the late 1980s and early 1990s.

There are three playable characters. Each has strengths and weaknesses.

• Arthur – The most well-rounded character
• Lancelot – The fastest character
• Percival – The strongest character

You can swap between them when you have to use a continue. This is standard across most beat’em ups. My favorite is Percival, but each character is easy to use.

The controls are simple. You can attack, jump, defend, and have a special attack. One thing I don’t like about beat’em ups from this period is that you lose life when you use a special attack. Knights of the Round also does this, which I dislike.

One change from the arcade to the console is the number of players. Knights of the Round is a three-player game in the arcade, while the SNES is a two-player one. This is necessary, as the SNES only has two controller ports.

This game could have used the SNES multi-tap to allow for a third player. There aren’t too many games on the console that used this add-on, and I’m not sure how many were sold. There were probably some technical reasons for it as well.

One thing I didn’t know while playing the game is that it is possible to tire out the enemies. You can see this during the game. You can get them tired by beating the crap out of them or by holding the defend button and letting them tire themselves out.

Knights of the Round has seven stages and can take between one and two hours to beat the game. This is standard for most beat’em ups from the 1990s. It isn’t a difficult game, and you’re given a bunch of continues.

I like the gameplay a lot. It is a challenging game and follows the same formula as other beat’em ups. What separates it from a crowded field is the leveling system that rewards the player for beating each stage.

Visuals

The game looks really good. The arcade game looks better than the SNES version, but both look great. The SNES version looks very good, even though it was released three years after the arcade game.

There are the usual pallet swaps for enemies. The destructible items are easy to see. Some parts of the game don’t look as detailed as others, but the game looks great overall.

If you want to see what the game looked like in the arcades, Capcom included it in their Beat’em Up Bundle. The two play the same, and you won’t have to pay the inflated prices for the SNES version.

9/10. Knights of the Round has beautiful graphics, great controls, and a fun story. This is one of the best beat’em ups on the SNES, and I wish I had played it earlier.

Pros

• Great Controls
• Two-player mode
• Leveling System

Cons

• Short
• Repetitive

Conclusion

This was a fun game to play. I had heard of it before but really only played it on the Capcom Beat’em Up bundle. I first read about Knights of the Round in Pat Contri’s guide to the SNES library.

It is one of the many arcade games I never played and one of the many arcade games I never knew about. There are hundreds of arcade games I’ve never heard of because I didn’t live near an arcade growing up. It would’ve been nice to have played this game before.

Knights of the Round is a fantastic beat’em up. If you’re a fan of the genre and you want to play the game, I would pick up the Capcom Beat’em Up Bundle. It is the easiest way to experience the game.