199 · Defender of the Crown
Strategy is vital in this chivalrous charade, and smarts will protect your hide better than armor as you command the role of a brave Saxon knight destined to avenge King Richard's murder. To reclaim the crown and conquer the heart of a beautiful maiden, you must outwit and outmaneuver hords of medieval marauders and Norman no-goods.
SHOW NOTES
Defender of the Crown Longplay
Play Defender of the Crown for free!
Defender of the Crown 2
Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever
Nidhogg Gameplay
Show notes
- To survive this Knightmare, your mind better be as sharp as your sword!
- NES Longplay
- Introductions
- A full version of this game is available online at Cinemaware.com (the full link is in the links section). The game plays in any browser.
- Overview
- The game is set in England in 1149 during the Middle Ages where, following the death of the king, different factions are fighting for territorial control.
- Gameplay
- The font
- Character Selection / Attributes
- Leadership, Jousting, and Swordplay
- Cedric of Rotherwood
- It’s nice to have a choice, but with the learning curve you are best off starting with the most average player
- Monthly Status Screen
- The Map
- You always play a northern lord in this game
- Land matters in this game. Unoccupied spaces have gold and vassel bonuses. Your ability to move freely within your own land
- Play from the center
- Buying your Army
- Soldiers, Knights, Catapults, and Castles
- Whatever you buy resides in your home base. Not where you are. I think that’s a little strange
- Conquest
- To me this is strictly a numbers game. You’re either winning or you’re losing. High Leadership did not change that
- That said, what your army is made of does matter. Knights are super effective in much smaller numbers than soliders
- I appreciate that the commands are not automatic though
- Defensive Siege
- Crossbow mechanic
- Offensive Siege
- The Catapult strategy
- Timing is everything, but this was one where I found myself being able to nail the timing once I got it down
- If you go into Sherwood Forest during your Conquest turn, you can enlist Robin Hood's help.
- The Catapult strategy
- Tournaments
- Jousting skill - determine how fast you can move your lance, and how accurately you can hold it in position.
- Since participating in a fame joust is a way to crank up your leadership, it's recommended to get someone with a decent jousting attribute.
- I’d rather just start with strong leadership than waste time Jousting
- Joust for Land
- Nice early strat to take away non-castle land from enemies on turns where you could not.
- The List
- The Melee
- Raiding
- High swordplay only gives more health.
- Gain as much control of the space as possible. Strike and then step back. You’ll eventually be in a corner, but if you find yourself there you didn’t gain enough ground.
- Side Events
- Rescuing the Princess
- You get a picture suggesting you are husband and wife. You now have a joint ownership with another lord
- Normon’s steal
- Vassals rebel
- Rescuing the Princess
- SO what’s the winning strategy here?
- Sequels and Spinoffs
- In 1993, Jim Sachs, who worked on the graphics for Defender of the Crown, designed a sequel, Defender of the Crown 2. It never really caught on though, mainly because it was only released for Commodore's ill-fated CDTV system. For all intents and purposes, this looks like a remaster of the first one
- Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown
- Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever
- A new addition to the game involved the use of Hero and Tactic cards during battles, giving the user's army various upgrades during the on-screen melee.
- EGL
- Next week -