A Knightmare scenario: King's Knight & The Adventures of Dino-Riki | NES Works 141

[@jonothanthrace1530]

That Shuttle footage had me real nervous for a second, then I remembered that 1986 was like 5 years ago in NES Works time.

[@JeremyParish]

This was footage of the first successful post-Challenger launch! A good and happy occasion.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

@@JeremyParish 🎉 A wonderful day for space travel, indeed.

[@DanJackson1977]

That was Shuttle Discovery. I remember it well becuse I was in middle school and because our school was named after the Apollo missions and had a retired NASA capsule mounted outside our school, every time there was a space milestone they had an assembly. The whole school was called to assembly to watch that launch.

[@eelobrian6727]

Same! I was like, certainly Jeremy isn't going this dark!

[@JeremyParish]

If I were ever to include something about Challenger in one of those intro clips, it would be something like footage of a newscaster and related chyron. It would be in profoundly poor taste to start a video with footage of a tragedy like that.

[@fangjokerLS]

That Five Doctors clip indicates this is, indeed, The Game of Rassilon

[@JeremyParish]

Envisioning Patrick Troughton and John Pertwee going head-to-head in a two-player Dino Riki contest... Troughton doing miserably but having a good time anyway, Pertwee taking it way too seriously and getting increasingly angry

[@salculd]

I rented King's Knight 35-some-odd years ago and while I could remember the game, I could never remember what it was called. I didn't expect that to finally get answered today.

[@ehfrw]

DinoRiki is inspired by Japanese pro-wrestler Riki Choshu and the power ups are of Riki charging at enemies with a mighty lariat.

[@JeremyParish]

Really connecting with the American kids in 1989 demographic with that one, huh

[@Enecororo97]

@@JeremyParish I know the advertising of the famicom emphasized Riki's involvement Less so the packaging of the famicom version

[@starlightwitch12]

My first experience with King's Knight was the Japanese version on a 1600-in-1 game disc included with a DVD player. Also the remake is part of the Final Fantasy XV universe since the main FFXV cast (or the NPCS) plays the game on their phones.

[@JeremyParish]

FFXV is definitely not a medieval fantasy, dude. It takes place in a sci-fi futuristic European-tinged setting with hints of modern-day Tokyo. The presence of monarchy does not make a thing medieval....

[@AnAverageGoblin]

@@lilwyvern4 lmao you bot blasted by the big man himself

[@kameoosama]

​@@JeremyParish I feel like FFXV is supposed to be read loosely as "modern day" but yeah there's a lot of tech, particularly out of Niflheim that can only really be considered sci-fi. Also I remember when I first saw the versus XIII trailer and thought the main characters had a Mafia vibe and kinda wish we'd get a sprawling sci-fi fantasy RPG about rival mob families

[@Galanthos]

​@@lilwyvern4Bro, Final Fantasy has never been medieval fantasy. The first game is straight Science Fantasy with Warmech and a Space Station. FF2 and 3 are close, but still have a pretty steampunk vibe with their airships. FF4 has tanks and space-ships and another space station with the Tower of Zot. FF5 has robots and electric motors on the Fire Ship and in the Ronka Ruins. FF6 has Mechs and medical research labs and whatever the heck technology Figaro Castle uses. FF7 and FF8 have broadcast television, and FF7 explicitly had cell phones before any of the Compilation entries. FF9 has mass produced robot/clone wizards and mistpunk ships. FF10 has highways and cars and ESPN. FF12 has guns and steampunk airships. FF13 has holographic Hatsune Miku shows and planes and hovercrafts and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. And yes, FF15 has cell phones and cars. Even Mystic Quest has neon signs, man. On the gameboy Final Fantasy Legend ends up in post apocalyptic Tokyo with a hoverbike. Final Fantasy Legend 2 has robots as playable characters from the beginning. Legend 3 has a time-travelling stealth bomber. Final Fantasy Adventure has the whole high-tech imperial airship. Tactics has a robot with Worker 8, there are guns, and there's all the lost technology of the ancient age. What Final Fantasy were you even playing that was medieval fantasy?

[@svankensen]

I had Dino-Riki in one of those bootleg cartridges with dozens of light games (in terms of kb). The aesthetics were very memorable. Those flame belching bone-headed triceratops stuck in my mind 30 years later.

[@todesziege]

That's how I encountered it also. Since I don't think it got an official European release, it become one of those "multicart-famous" games.

[@otakubullfrog1665]

I played Dino-Riki because it was one of the limited number of games that my local video store had available to rent and I have a fondness for games like that and keep coming back to them even if there's no reason that I should. It's the sort of game where I'm able to get one stage further every decade or two.

[@seanmcbay]

I find something appealing about Dino Riki regardless of how insanely hard it is. It has that Hudson charm I guess.

[@sarysa]

Both of these seemed to inspire a modern game called One Way Heroics, which was popular by indie standards. I immediately thought of it but had to dig through my Steam library to remember the name. 😹

[@123crashdummie]

I like everything about King's Knight... except playing the game. Such a cool concept with a neat presentation.

[@TeruteruBozusama]

Unfortunately quite a few things are like that, amazing concept, but the thing itself... Just doesn't live up to it..!

[@rottenparts]

I loved dinosaurs when I was a kid, so Dino-Riki was a game I had to have. Got it from Egghead Software.

[@Mer.Saloon]

This was one of my earliest Wii VC games I bought. I am so nostalgic for King's Knight even if I never could beat it. Gosh. I love your coverage so much!

[@nekokonata]

In an alternate universe, King's Knight was Square's big hit and is currently on its 16th entry

[@Red_Sutter]

Back in the 80s, Kroger had movie and game rentals, and at my local, they had a copy of King’s Knight that no one ever rented, but it always intrigued me because of the anime art on the box. I never rented it either. Pretty glad I didn’t now…

[@sneakyskunk1]

For some reason I rented Dino-Riki several times from my local mom and pop rental way back when. I wasn't very good at it, but I liked the music so maybe that was it. I only ever knew about King's Knight via an article over on Hardcore Gaming 101. It is interesting to see the connections between the two games.

[@johnsimon8457]

8:09 yup, Nausicaa and Laputa came out in ‘84 and ‘86 and it collectively blew everyone at square’s minds.

[@philipneedstowrite1799]

6:43 I'm sure none of the doctors could've made it through the death zone if Borusa had just left a locked door that requires you to beat King's Knight first.

[@MrERLoner]

You got your Galaga in my Hydlide! You got your Dragonbuster in my Xevious!

[@tipulsar85]

I almost did a spit take at the Five Doctors clip. My copy of it on small disk (I also have it on Laserdisk) is within eye sight.

[@larryb5677]

I don't remember ever owning King's Knight, but the footage seems eerily familiar. I suspect I rented it, regretted it almost immediately, and memory holed it.

[@JossCard42]

Dino-Riko was the first video game I ever picked out. I remember being like, 4 and taking it home and being disappointed by how hard and unforgiving the game was

[@adamhaggstrom7598]

It was my third and I don't think I even got past the first level without Game Genie

[@formerfatboy90]

It’s amazing to see how games iterated on what came before. Legend of Zelda builds on Tower of Druaga, for example. In this episode, King’s Knight gives the format that Mercenary Force would adopt on Game Boy just a couple years later, using the rotating four-man fighting teams to navigate levels.

[@FloatingSunfish]

I remember reading in Hardcore Gaming 101 that Riki was based on a wrestler named Riki Choshu. I don't quite see the resemblance with regular Riki, but Macho Riki definitely looks like him.

[@danielgordon2907]

My Grandma had this, a collection of very mid games with incredible box art, Magician (boo), Millon's secret castle (i like it!), battle of olympus (really good actually) and king's knight, I'd play this game after church every week for about 20 years

[@nathandaniels4823]

Here to see if Jeremy or anyone else points out the the King’s Knight artwork is, let’s say….a very direct homage to a scene in Miyazaki’s Castle of Cagliostro.

[@D3stinySm4sher]

I inherited Dino Riki with my NES from my Uncle, and hoo boi was I traumatized by that game’s difficulty as a child lol I remember finding some satisfaction in trying to memorize things about it and push further and further but I sure never beat it.

[@nahumgardner]

I bought my copy of King's Knight at a FuncoLand for 39¢ back in 97 or so.

[@jessragan6714]

Good times, good times. I remember Parish and myself raiding a pawn shop for its one dollar NES games in 2000. The shelves were stacked to overflowing with NES games, and they weren't all commons... I think I got Isolated Warrior for a single greenback. Who knows how much it costs now?

[@rubberwoody]

​@@jessragan6714$37.50 according to pricecharting

[@highscores8593]

I really do enjoy Dino RIki. I got my used copy in 1992 or 3 when a mom and pop video store went out of business and they were going out of stock. I love the music in it. The game does get brutal for sure, I've never beaten it. Those black cannon ball like enemies that circle you, hate them.

[@adamhaggstrom7598]

For some reason, Dino-Riki was my third ever cartridge for NES, after the SMB/Duck Hunt pack in and Dig Dug 2.

[@Retrokid1998]

King’s knight a pc-88 classic in my heart

[@bjornh1527]

Thank you, now I don’t have to feel bad for dying all the time in Dino Riki. Good to know that’s what the designer intended. I always thought it looked rather pretty for an early game though.

[@rabiroden]

The Japanese version of Dino-Riki is also inexplicably a tie-in with pro wrestler Riki Choshu. That beefed-up macho form you can turn into was originally him, and that weird clone attack was meant to be his signature "Riki Lariat" move. For the US version they turned him into Takahashi Meijin... but they also kept the Riki name...?

[@KentuckyFriedNerd]

Best ending quote from this series ever.

[@EmmBee27]

Hot damn, I *just* thrifted that exact same Lowly Worm toy that you have at the top right corner at the start.

[@Ratralsis]

The way you pronounced the "Dino" in "Dino-Riki" as "Dee-know" at 0:43 shook me to my core. I'd never heard it said that way before, ever, but I knew, deep down, that it was probably right. I even had a comment ready to go and everything, but then you pronounced it the more common "Die-know" at 2:43 and just kept switching back and forth to "Dee-know" at 9:20 and "Die-know" at 9:34, 9:42, 10:09, 10:28, 11:17, 11:25, 11:55, 12:23, 12:53, 13:02, 13:06, 13:25, 13:31, 13:45, and 14:36. I didn't know what to think anymore. I still don't. I'm going to have to really sit with this one and spend some time thinking on it. I mean, my guess is that you said it one way when on-camera and another when off-camera. But that's just for now. I do still have to spend time thinking on it and coming to a deeper conclusion. Don't worry, though: I won't bother telling you about it later.

[@JeremyParish]

I encourage you to log off, man

[@Belgand]

Instead of just seeing the Druaga counter back at zero, I'd be curious to know how many days have passed before the reset was required.

[@Lightgod87]

A Knightmare scenario? Oh no, does it mean that we're getting locked out of special summons by Knightmare Corruptor Iblee? Nah, that's a different game, viewers.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

My mind goes to the British kid's game show, personally. "Oooh, nasty!"

[@Lightgod87]

@@jonothanthrace1530 Oh, I was referencing a Yu-Gi-Oh! card in that.

[@Saturnome]

King's Knight had something interesting for a 80s kid with it's abundant decor destruction.

[@kazinwho]

Holy crap you anticipated what my brain would think of when you said "Barusa"

[@JeremyParish]

The Matrix sees all

[@LadyLunarSatine]

I rented Dino-Riki once as a kid and I don't think I ever cleared the first stage.

[@goranisacson2502]

Having played neither of these games what I can say is at a glance that I'd probably prefer King's Knight over Dino Riki. Partially because King's Knight let's you play as a dragon-man and I would have suffered even the final stage and it's "save each characters super-magic in order to solve an environmental puzzle you have no idea is coming"-trick if it meant playing a dino-man, partially because those enemy swarms in Dino Ricky seems like it's going way too fast and way too hard for child me. Still, looking forward to when we get the actually NEW Hudson-games down the line!

[@segaman17]

One on one baby! And not in a Jordan versus Bird type of way.

[@ViktarTheBarbarian]

"Scroll playing" *throws popcorn at phone screen*

[@darktetsuya]

King's Knight I'm sure I rented once or twice, could never really figure that one out! I do have to give them points for retaining the Japanese artwork. I would definitely have preferred Konami's Knightmare, though. Dino Riki I never really got around to, but it sounds difficult. I hear the JP original is based off of a pro wrestler? which obviously had to be altered/removed for the US version for folks that wouldn't get the reference anyway.

[@blarghblargh]

Dean-o-saurs!

[@blarghblargh]

(yeah I know you probably said that due to the Japan pedigree on the game)

[@RemnantCult]

Was that Challanger footage in the beginning? God, I could only imagine seeing that in the classroom in the 80s. I'm a millennium kid and the only comparison would be September 11th. That must have been traumatizing to see. What a crying shame. Wait, this is a video about nintendo games that I've only played through pirate carts and rom sites as a kid! I feel like I've been whiplashed.

[@JeremyParish]

Challenger was 1986. This is 1989.

[@RemnantCult]

@@JeremyParish Right right, I wasn't so sure.

[@crossedstreams3683]

@@JeremyParish So... was it Columbia?

[@JeremyParish]

Off the top of my head, I believe Discovery.

[@crossedstreams3683]

@@JeremyParish ahh, ok. I assumed Columbia because it launched the same month as the subject matter (according to Wikipedia)

[@lhfirex]

It's a little depressing being reminded of Konami's greatness with Knightmare vs what they are now.

[@Ruudos]

I beat DIno RIki and don't remember getting that power up.

[@unoclay]

I cannot fathom hating King's Knight. It's a hidden gem on NES. Genuine fun. I dont understand the dislike. For anyone who agrees, Demon's Crest is a modern reinterpretation of a similar idea, and incredibly fun as well.

[@staguar]

So many people finding Kings Knight for cheap after they played Final Fantasy games and assumed it must be just as good

[@AnAverageGoblin]

words can't describe just how much I miss hudsonsoft.

[@Vancegeoffmen2]

Is it true that the Dino Riki character was based off of the Wrestler Riki Choshu, or did Screw-Attack make that up in their old Video game vault video?

[@JeremyParish]

I don't know! Pro Wrestling is not a thing I know much about!

[@VahanNisanian]

Jeremy, who was Rixsoft, the Japanese publisher of Dino-Riki, and why did they publish it in Japan?

[@JeremyParish]

Sounds like a question for FamiDaily

[@MrClawt]

Dino Riki was certainly a thing. I rented it as a kid and wanted more Dino, less Riki.

[@jessragan6714]

I think Americans have a different view of the NES than the Japanese, considering that it was released a couple years later in the States and was presented as a next generation console, far superior to anything that came before it. Sometimes, games like these and Hydlide would arrive to give players an unwelcome reminder of its 1983 vintage. If it weren't for memory mapper chips and the skills of top-flight developers like Konami, games like these would have been the norm in America, and not the exception.

[@Blur2040]

Hear me out, Jeremy. I know that MSX is a computer, and it would be a nightmare to chronicle its releases in order, but there is an MSX shaped hole in your chronology.

[@Blur2040]

Now, I don't have a solution for you, but I can't help think about this every now and again.

[@JeremyParish]

No

[@jessragan6714]

It would be a nightmare just to play Nightmare.

[@JeremyParish]

I can play MSX stuff just fine, since I have a Panasonic A1 and a flash cart, but there's no such thing as an ordered record of chronological releases for the system, and most CIB games are stupid expensive. It's too chaotic and much too pricey for a schmuck like me to handle.

[@Blur2040]

@@JeremyParish Yes, you had mentioned this is a Livestream once. Computers are generally messier because anyone can release anything on it and in smaller volume (well, at least floppies at the MSX 2 era). I think the play would be a gaiden episode or maybe a short series where you bring up elephants in the room that don't fit naturally in a system series. I know your thing is chronology, but context also seems important to you. (As an aside, my friend hated your delve into the strider-verse, but I loved it. Also, yes, KZbin commenters have friends.) Times when I have been left thinking about MSX: During a lot of the SG-1000 episodes, during the transition from that to Mark III, when you brought up Maze of Galious and showed the Famicom version, talking about the rise of RPGs. Can't help but think about C64 and other western computers when I see Epyx games and Defender of the Crown. I get it. If you go too deep, you'll become Pandemonium Reviews Every Sega Saturn Game and produce four hour episodes. Check him out by the way.

[@rubberwoody]

One thing i learned from a recent trip to japan: With few exceptions, famicom games are cheap, unwanted, and plentiful like atari 2600 games ca. 2005 in the usa.

[@alex_-yz9to]

Oh so thats why the game lets you get to the final stage and then uncerimoneusly slams you against 4 different brick walls before you get to the final boss... anitquated design philosophy

[@nintendianajones64]

Faxanadu baby!

[@Poever]

King’s Knight, no relation to the Yugioh card King’s Knight

[@rubberwoody]

What controllers do you use for your videos? I know you often use FPGA systems for recording. For instance, do you use original NES controllers for NES works? Do you switch to Famicom controllers for Gaiden? Which do you prefer?

[@JeremyParish]

I use NES-style controllers for most non-Sega stuff. It just makes sense.

[@michaelcirco3948]

Dino-Riki was one of those games that sounded so intriguing but was so disappointing when I actually got my hands on it. Also, did you ever do a deep drive into the 80s/early 90s caveman craze? Was it just a simple theme to evoke with limited graphics or was something bigger going on in the culture at the time a la the Conan Renaissance in the US?

[@ginormousaurus8394]

There were a few movies about cavemen in the 1980s: Caveman (1981), Quest for Fire (1981), Iceman (1984), and The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986). Also re-runs of The Flintstones were shown on TV and the comic strip B.C. was in newspapers. The video game B.C.'s Quest for Tires was released for various platforms in the early 1980s.

[@michaelcirco3948]

@ginormousaurus8394 Sure, but I was meaning more in Japan. I'm sure those films made it over there, but as far as American game developers went, we didn't really see as much fascination with cavemen or it wasn't as influential. Conan the Barbarian's resurgence in the 70s was at least partly related to Vietnam and a reassertion of American power/masculinity. What zeitgeist brought us Wonder Boy and Bonk and Joe & Mac, etc?

[@ginormousaurus8394]

@@michaelcirco3948 I think people were interested in cavemen for the same reason people were interested in characters like Conan and Tarzan: the idea of a strong person living a more primitive lifestyle. Also cavemen were often incorrectly depicted as co-existing with dinosaurs and a lot of people love dinosaurs. The Flintstones was shown on Japanese TV in the 1960s and characters from the series appeared in Japanese commercials in the 1980s. In the 1970s there were a few anime series about cavemen: Ryu the Primitive Boy, First Human Giatrus, and Kum Kum. B.C.'s Quest for Tires was released for the MSX in 1985. There were some western-developed video games about cavemen. B.C.'s Quest for Tires and its sequel B.C. II: Grog's Revenge were developed by Canadian software company Sydney Development Corporation. Caveman Ugh-lympics was originally developed by the American developer Dynamix. The arcade game Trog was developed by Midway. Chuck Rock was developed by British developer Core Design. The Humans was developed by British developer Imagitec Design. Prehistorik Man was developed by Titus France.

[@BillB808]

I cant beleive square so shamelessley copied doinksoft..

[@teruienages962]

King's Knight might very well be my least favorite NES game of all time. I had this atrocity back when I was a kid and thought it was one of the worst video games I had ever played.

[@CyborganicDreamscape]

the most traumatizing opening clip

[@JeremyParish]

How so?

[@jamesmoss3424]

King's Knight got an brilliant idea 💡 for this game. 😀👍🎮

[@apollosungod2819]

Ehh I feel that kids who owned a NES and some of these special games as well as Sega Master System and some of the skilled based games reared very SMART kids before they even reached maybe nine years old unlike these days where the mainstream games are... and those same kids can't seem to get the hand eye coordination of the 80s games unless they are naturals. I mean Roblox, Minecraft and fortnite are not really going to grow neurons or make them strong as if they were muscles.