The Lord of King (Japan)

Arcade Video game published 35 years ago:

The Lord of King (c) 1989 Jaleco.

The Lord of King is a scrolling platform hack 'n' slash game for one or two players, set in a fantasy world populated by creatures from Greek mythology. The world of Man has been overun by demon hoards and with no one to stand against the forces of evil, the people cower and tremble in fear. Finally, the gods decide to intervene and chose a brave young warrior by the name of Roche, whom they grant the mythical Fire Axe. Roche must embark on a journey to the Castle of Algerine in order to defeat the demon overlord, Argos, and restore peace to the world.

Each player-character is armed with an axe as their primary means of attach. The axe has a power gauge that fills automatically when the player is not swinging it. When the gauge is filled, the axe will burst into flame, allowing for a stronger attack. This allows players to choose between faster weak swings or slow strong ones. Each hero is also capable of casting a thunder attack a magical spell that acts as a smart bomb and kills or hurts all on-screen enemies (the player must have at least one arrowhead in stock to perform a thunder attack).

Power-ups can be found hidden inside destructable stone pillars that periodically rise up from the ground. These include crystals that earn extra points, red jewels that give players additional health, a shield for greater protection and a golden arrowhead that increases the strength of the player's thunder attack by up to four levels .periodically rise up from the ground. These include crystals that earn extra points, red jewels that give players additional health, a shield for greater protection and a golden arrowhead that increases the strength of the player's thunder attack by up to four levels (the player must have at least one arrowhead in stock to perform a thunder attack).

The game consists of six stages, with a tough end-of-level guardian waiting ast the end of each.

- TECHNICAL -

Jaleco Mega System 1-A hardware

Main CPU : Motorola 68000 (@ 12 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Motorola 68000 (@ 7 Mhz)
Sound Chips : Yamaha YM2151 (@ 3.5 Mhz), (2x) OKI6295 (@ 30.303 Khz)

Players: 2
Control: 8-way joystick
Buttons: 3

- TRIVIA -

The Lord of King was released in November 1989 in the Japanese arcades.

This game is known in US as "The Astyanax". In Greek mythology, Astyanax (meaning "protector of the city") was the son of Hector, the crown prince of Troy, and his wife, Princess Andromache of Cilician Thebe.

- STAFF -

Producer & Director : Tokuhiro Takemori
Game designers : Tokuhiro Takemori, Nenko
Graphic designers : Nenko, Ns Naochan, Kan-Chan, Tomoko Sugoh
Programmed by : Satoru K.
Music composed by : Kiyoshi Yokoyama

- PORTS -

* CONSOLES: