''Kingsley's Adventure'' is a 1999

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Psygnosis Psygnosis Limited (; known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Het ...

for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

. It was released by Psygnosis' parent company

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

in Europe.

Gameplay

''Kingsley's Adventure'' is an

game in which Kingsley, an orphaned

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, wants to become a True Knight, like his father. The player, as Kingsley, must go to several places through foxholes to collect the weapons that will allow Kingsley to do so, helping people in distress, and defeating enemies and the Dark Knights along the way. Afterwards, the player must defeat the evil Bad Custard, who is responsible for turning other True Knights into the aforementioned Dark Knights. Said weapons are an

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

, a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

, a

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

and a

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

. A

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

can also be used to defend against attacks. The game is described as featuring five magic spells, but no spells can be cast by the player in the final release. There are fifty characters that the player can interact with.

Story

The story focuses on Kingsley, an orphaned

who is adopted by the King and Queen of the Fruit Kingdom, who live in Carrot Castle. Kingsley's father was a True Knight of the Fruit Kingdom, so his goal is to become a True Knight like his father. Meanwhile, a

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

named Bad Custard is expelled from the Fruit Kingdom for a

food poisoning Foodborne illness (also known as foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease), and toxins such ...

incident and steals the Queen's Book of Magic to plot his revenge and take over the Fruit Kingdom. One by one, the four True Knights of the Fruit Kingdom approached Bad Custard to stop him, but with black magic, he transformed them into his own evil personal Dark Knights. Now Kingsley is the only one who can save the Fruit Kingdom. The game starts with Kingsley being trained by Old Wrinkle, a badger who trained many knights in his time, who sets him into an obstacle course that tests his agility, combat, archery, and ability to solve puzzles. Old Wrinkle then gives Kingsley a dagger that was handed down to every trained apprentice after surpassing a squire. The King sends Kingsley to Sea Town, where Captain Gallagher the Scourge of the Seven Seas takes the town's trading galleon to force them to answer his and his master's (a crocodile-dinosaur hybrid named Rex, formerly Sir William the Frog Knight) demands. After defeating both of them, Kingsley is sent to Poorluck Village, where Snuff the Dragon is eating all of the food (except the spinach, since he hates it) in said place. Besides him, Kingsley must defeat Judas the Minotaur (formerly Sir Rufus the Rabbit Knight), who is holding Snuff's leash. Afterward, Kingsley is sent to Rosary Village to solve a poisonous root beer problem caused by Clarence Darklord Jr., a bat-demon hybrid who was plaguing the Abbey disguised as the so-called Novice Tim. Kingsley also must defeat Oscar the Condor Demon (formerly Sir Gawain the Eagle Knight). Finally, Kingsley is sent to Aphasia to help the Fruit Kingdom's most beloved Sheep Wizard Cornflour regain his coat from a rat named Reggie. When the Wizard puts it back on, he summons a bridge so Kingsley can reach the castle in which Gustav the Bulldog - Polar Bear hybrid (formerly Sir Orson the Bear Knight) is located. After obtaining the items, Kingsley becomes a True Knight. If all of the Dark Knights are defeated and changed back to their True Knight forms, Kingsley will be sent to Skull Island, where Bad Custard is keeping the Book of Magic. The final confrontation shows a battle between honor and greed, resulting in Bad Custard's demise into the boiling cauldron of Bad Magic and Kingsley regaining the Book. After the credits, it is revealed that Kingsley himself was the puppeteer from the introductory puppet show, (hinting that he made it all up to make himself look like a hero) and tells the audience to keep his secret.

Development

''Kingsley's Adventure'' was developed by

' studio at

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

. Peter Marshall was programmer for the game, and was joined by Ron Festejo as producer.

Release

''Kingsley's Adventure'' was released for the

in North America on September 28, 1999, and in Europe on October 22 of the same year. Upon release, it generated little attention and went unnoticed.

Reception

''Kingsley's Adventure'' received average or positive reviews from critics. Jeuxvideo.com gave it a 16 out of 20 score. OPM UK described it as "strangely atmospheric" with "smashing cartoon visuals", but criticized it for having "maddening controls".

References

External links

Official website (archive)
*{{moby game, /kingsleys-adventure 1999 video games Action-adventure games Fantasy video games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation (console)-only games Psygnosis games Single-player video games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Video games about foxes Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Alastair Lindsay