Magic Knight
Encyclopedia
David Jones (programmer)
David Jones is a former freelance computer game programmer who was prolific in the mid-to-late 1980s. He is best known for the creation of the cult computer game character Magic Knight in his 1985 game Finders Keepers for the Mastertronic budget label and released on the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC,...
in his 1985 game Finders Keepers
Finders Keepers (computer game)
Finders Keepers is a computer game written by David Jones and the first game in the Magic Knight series. It was published on the Mastertronic label for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 64 in 1985...
for the Mastertronic
Mastertronic
Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were distributed in mid-1984. At its peak the label was the dominant software publisher in the UK, a position achieved by selling cassette-based software at the £1.99...
budget label. Finders Keepers is a flip-screen
Flip-screen
In video games, flip-screen is a principle whereby the playing environment is divided into single-screen portions...
platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
released on the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
. The game spawned three more ambitious sequels (also starring Magic Knight) on the Mastertronic Added Dimension budget label: Spellbound
Spellbound (computer game)
Spellbound is a computer game that was designed and programmed by David Jones with music by Rob Hubbard and released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC home computers...
(1985), Knight Tyme
Knight Tyme
Knight Tyme is a computer game released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and MSX compatibles in 1986. It was published by Mastertronic as part of their Mastertronic Added Dimension label....
(1986) and Stormbringer
Stormbringer (computer game)
Stormbringer is a computer game written by David Jones and released in 1987 by Mastertronic on the Mastertronic Added Dimension label. It was originally released on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and MSX. A version for the Atari ST was published in 1988. It is the fourth and final game...
(1987). The three sequels are far less action-orientated, being effectively graphic adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
s that use a basic menu system (dubbed "Windimation") to interact with characters and items instead of typed commands.
Finders Keepers
The King has ordered Magic Knight to go to Spriteland and bring back a fitting birthday present for the Princess. Magic Knight is transported to the castle in Spriteland and can either amass as much treasure as possible or find a suitable present and return to the King.Spellbound
The wizard Gimbal has accidentally mixed up a spell and cast himself, Magic Knight and an array of other characters into an unknown castle. Magic Knight must find Gimbal and reverse the spell to return everyone home.Knight Tyme
After freeing Gimbal, the spell to send Magic Knight home goes wrong and he awakes not in the Middle Ages, but on the USS Pisces in the 25th century. Magic Knight must find a way to reach the Tyme Guardians and return home.Stormbringer
On returning from the 25th Century, Magic Knight finds his local village terrorised by the "Off White Knight", who has taken residence in the castle. Further investigation shows the Off White Knight to be the evil side of Magic Knight himself, and the task is to join the two together again.Finders Keepers
The game is basically a flip-screen platform game in the traditional sense, with a very small Magic Knight having to negotiate screens stocked with numerous monsters, which move in pre-defined paths. There are also two scrolling mazes that Magic Knight must traverse to enter new sections of the map. Spice is added to the gameplay by the addition of objects, which can be picked up and utilised, or traded with the Traders that are scattered at various points in the castle (and who coincidentally look exactly like Magic Knight). Certain objects, when carried at the same time, will react to create new objects. Magic Knight had 4 lives, each with an energy bar that would be depleted by collisions with monsters, or certain parts of floor.Spellbound
This game showed a marked departure from Finders Keepers. Magic Knight increased in size and the monsters were disposed of. This game also introduced the Windomation system, whereby the player could interact with other objects and characters (pick up/drop/throw/command/cast magic) via a system of menus. Magic Knight (and indeed the other characters in the game) all had RPGRole-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
-like stats instead of a simple energy bar.
Knight Tyme
This game operated in pretty much the same way as Spellbound. It introduced the "advert", which seemed to have no purpose but could actually be used as a handy step to high places. The first challenge is to get the crew of the USS Pisces to obey you and to repair the ship - once that is done you get the additional ability to travel to anywhere in the galaxy. Magic Knight can beam down to some of these planets and explore on arrival, although not all of them are friendly.This game was released in 48k and 128k versions, with that latter having many more locations and in-game music.
Stormbringer
More of the same from a control point of view, but with a larger and more varied map, harder puzzles and more characters. One of the first challenges in the game is to find out what job is going at the castle and then finding a disguise to get in. The game was again released in 48k and 128k versions, with the latter again having more locations and in-game music.Male or Female?
The in-game instructions for Finders Keepers, and the printed instructions for Knight Tyme and Stormbringer, refer to Magic Knight as 'he'. However, in a feature on the Magic Knight games in issue 27 of Retro GamerRetro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
, David Jones states that Magic Knight "was always female" and that if he had written another Magic Knight game, this would have been "the big reveal at the end".