Knightmare (1986 video game)

Knightmare
Developer(s)Konami
Publisher(s)Konami
Composer(s)Miki Higashino
Yoshinori Sasaki
SeriesKnightmare
Platform(s)MSX, Mobile phone
ReleaseMSX
  • JP: March 29, 1986
  • EU: 1986
Mobile phone
  • JP: January 8, 2003
Genre(s)Vertically scrolling shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Knightmare[a] is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami for the MSX home computer. It was included in compilations for the MSX, PlayStation and Sega Saturn, followed by a port for mobile phones, and digital re-releases for the Virtual Console and Microsoft Windows. It is the first entry in the Knightmare trilogy. The game stars Popolon, a warrior who embarks on a quest to rescue the princess Aphrodite from the evil priest Hudnos. The player must fight waves of enemies while avoiding collision with their projectiles and obstacles along the way, and facing against bosses.

Knightmare was created by the MSX division at Konami under management of Shigeru Fukutake. The character of Popolon was conceived by a staffer who later became the project's lead designer and writer, as the process of making original titles for the platform revolved around the person who came up with the characters. Development proceeded with a team of four or five members, lasting somewhere between four and six months. The music was scored by Miki Higashino, best known for her work in the Gradius and Suikoden series, and Yoshinori Sasaki.

Knightmare garnered generally positive reception from critics and retrospective commentarists. It was followed by The Maze of Galious and Shalom: Knightmare III (1987), while Popolon and Aphrodite would later make appearances outside of the trilogy in other Konami titles. In the years since, fans have experimented with remaking and porting the title unofficially to other platforms.
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