SNES Action Beat 'em Up 1994

Knights of the Round

Reviewed by Marcus Webb & Elena Castillo · Updated June 2025

Capcom's 1994 SNES Arthurian beat-em-up — Knights of the Round follows Arthur, Lancelot, and Perceval through Medieval England and Camelot's founding, with experience-based leveling that advances character equipment and appearance through seven upgrades per knight. Capcom's most RPG-influenced beat-em-up before The King of Dragons.

🔑 Cheats & Codes 🎲 Trivia 🎮 Games Like This

💡 Knights of the Round — Key Facts

→ Knights of the Round was developed by Capcom and published by Capcom
→ Released in 1994 on SNES
→ Genre: Action, Beat 'em Up
→ We rate it 8.8/10 — highly recommended
→ Capcom's 1994 SNES Arthurian beat-em-up — Knights of the Round follows Arthur, Lancelot, and Perceval through Medieval England and Camelot's founding, with experience-based leveling that advances character equipment and appearance through seven upgrades per knight. Capcom's most RPG-influenced beat-em-up before The King of Dragons.

Overview

Arthur begins in chainmail. The armor improves with each level — scale, then plate, then the full regalia of Camelot’s king. By the time Excalibur is in hand, the visual history of the playthrough is worn on the character’s body.

Knights of the Round made the level-up visible.

The Armor

Most beat-em-ups track levels numerically — hidden statistics that change damage without visible confirmation. Knights of the Round shows the work.

Each experience threshold changes what the knight looks like. Arthur at Level 1 is a young soldier in basic equipment; Arthur at Level 7 is England’s king in ceremonial armor wielding the legendary sword. The intermediate stages show incremental improvement — each level recognizably better than the previous.

Dying costs levels. The visual regression — returning from plate armor to scale, losing Excalibur back to a standard sword — is a more visceral penalty than a number decreasing. The armor was earned; losing it is visible loss.

The Three Knights

Arthur. Lancelot. Perceval. The Round Table’s members with the Round Table’s purpose: the Grail, the kingdom, the legend.

The three characters cover the beat-em-up spectrum from balanced to speed to power. Lancelot is the fastest — twin swords with rapid-hit combos against groups. Perceval is the heaviest — axe swings that clear wide horizontal areas in single powerful strikes. Arthur sits between them, more versatile, suitable for players who don’t want to commit to a specialist.

The block mechanic adds the option the other characters in the Capcom catalog don’t have — timed defensive response rather than only offensive pattern.

The Arthurian Setting

Medieval England as a beat-em-up setting rather than fantasy generic medieval. The stages recognize the legend — Camelot exists, Excalibur is earned, the Holy Grail is the actual objective.

The setting gave Capcom’s artists specific visual reference. Castle architecture from period sources. Armor designs rooted in actual Medieval aesthetics. The specificity creates cohesion that generic fantasy settings often lack.

Our Review

8.8

Excellent / 10

🎮

Gameplay

★★★★★

🎨

Graphics

★★★★★

🎵

Audio

★★★★★

🔄

Replay

★★★★★

Gameplay

Knights of the Round is a side-scrolling beat-em-up set in Medieval England where three knights — Arthur (sword and shield, balanced), Lancelot (twin swords, fast attacks), and Perceval (battle axe, powerful slow) — fight through eight stages on their quest for the Holy Grail. Characters level up by accumulating experience from defeated enemies; each level changes the knight's armor and weapon visually — Arthur begins in basic chainmail with a simple sword and ends in full plate armor with Excalibur. A blocking mechanic allows guarding enemy attacks by timing button press against incoming strikes. Two-player co-op available.

Graphics

Knights of the Round's SNES visuals present authentic Medieval aesthetics — castle environments, forest stages, and the final confrontation with Garibaldi. Character armor progression through seven visual stages makes leveling visible and satisfying.

Audio

The Knights of the Round soundtrack provides appropriately Medieval adventure music with orchestral flavor. Boss themes create appropriately epic moments for the Arthurian legend setting.

Replayability

Three knights with different combat styles, the leveling and visual upgrade system, two-player co-op, and eight stages create replay. Each character's seven armor progression stages reward full playthrough completion.

Historical Significance

Knights of the Round (1991 arcade; 1994 SNES) is Capcom's Medieval beat-em-up using Arthurian legend — distinct from fantasy settings like King of Dragons in its historical specificity. The leveling-with-visual-upgrade system was an unusually deep RPG element for a beat-em-up. The block mechanic added defensive depth unusual in the genre. Capcom's beat-em-up catalog (Final Fight, Captain Commando, King of Dragons, Warriors of Fate, Knights of the Round) represents one of the most sustained quality periods in the genre's history.

✅ Pros

+ Seven visible armor upgrades per knight as leveling reward
+ Block mechanic adds defensive timing depth
+ Three distinct knights with different combat styles
+ Arthurian legend setting with authentic Medieval aesthetic
+ Eight stages with varied Medieval environments

❌ Cons

- Block timing requires practice
- Slower pacing than some Capcom beat-em-ups
- Some later stages quite difficult
- SNES version reduced from arcade's four-player to two-player

Also Known As

Knights of the Round SNESKnights of Roundアーサーとアスタロト謎魔界村

Knights of the Round FAQ

How does the armor and leveling system work in Knights of the Round?

Knights of the Round's leveling system is visible rather than statistical — each experience level changes the knight's actual appearance. Arthur starts in chainmail with a basic sword; as he gains experience and levels up, he receives better armor and weapons: from chainmail to scale armor, to plate armor, eventually to full plate armor wielding Excalibur. The visual upgrade creates satisfaction directly proportional to the character's power level — players can see the progression rather than only reading stat numbers. Seven distinct appearance stages per knight mean leveling feels rewarding at each step. Experience is lost on death (returning the character to the previous level's appearance), creating a stake in survival beyond just losing a life.

How do the three knights differ in combat?

Arthur is the balanced knight — sword and shield, moderate attack speed, reliable blocking, all-purpose for most encounters. Lancelot uses twin swords — the fastest attack speed of the three with multi-hit combos, but lighter individual hit damage. His speed excels against quick enemies and groups that need to be staggered. Perceval uses a battle axe — the heaviest and slowest attacks with the most damage per hit. His large swing radius covers more horizontal area than Arthur or Lancelot, hitting multiple enemies simultaneously. Perceval rewards patience and positioning; Lancelot rewards aggression and rapid attacks. The three knights cover different player preferences and different tactical approaches to the same enemy groups.

What is the blocking mechanic in Knights of the Round?

Knights of the Round includes a shield block mechanic unavailable in most beat-em-ups. Pressing the block button with correct timing as an enemy attack arrives causes the knight to raise their shield, absorbing the hit without taking damage. The block doesn't happen automatically — timing matters. Early blocks absorb damage entirely; late blocks may partially absorb. The block mechanic rewards attention to enemy attack animations rather than simple rushing and attacking. Arthur's shield makes blocking most natural for him; Lancelot and Perceval can also block but their weapon types don't conceptually match the shield visuals as naturally. The defensive option changes the game from pure offense to a rhythm of attack and defense.

Is Knights of the Round available on modern platforms?

Knights of the Round is available through the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle (PS4/Xbox One/Switch/PC, 2018) — alongside Final Fight, Captain Commando, King of Dragons, Warriors of Fate, Armored Warriors, and Battle Circuit. The compilation is the recommended modern way to play Knights of the Round with online co-op where available. The Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle uses the arcade versions of these games, which differ slightly from the SNES port in content and player count. Original SNES cartridges are available through retro game stores at moderate prices.