Clockwork Knight

Clockwork Knight
File:Sat-ClockworkKnight.jpg
Developer(s)	Sega
Publisher(s)	Sega
Platform(s)	Sega Saturn
Release	1995
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player

Clockwork Knight is an adventure video game, released as a launch title for the Sega Saturn in 1995. It was followed by a sequel, Clockwork Knight 2.

Story

Sir Tongara de Pepperouchau III ("Pepper" for short) is a toy soldier. He is in love with the Clockwork Fairy Princess, Chelsea, whose voice wakes up the toys of the house every night at midnight. But he is clumsy and something of a laughingstock, especially when compared to his friendly rival Ginger who is also after Chelsea's heart.

One night Chelsea is stolen away by an unknown force, which also hypnotizes some of the lesser toys to become fierce minions and stand in the way of anyone who would try to rescue her. If there's no voice to wake them up anymore then the toys will never live again, so Pepper and Ginger head off to find Chelsea before it's too late.

Characters

Sir Tongara de Pepperouchau III ("Pepper") - the main antagonist and sole playable character in the main game. He's brave, dashing, and quite clumsy.

Barobaro - Pepper's nearsighted but ever-faithful donkey-for-a-steed. He appears to be a wine bottle on a wheeled basket. He has a crush on Soltia. Pepper rides on Barobaro's back in a few stages of Clockwork Knight 2, but in this game he only appears in cutscenes.

Prunchau - Pepper's valet and close friend, this top is also very conscientious of Pepper and sometimes treats him like a little boy. He gives suggestions in the Soltian Roulette.

Sir Ginger - Pepper's chief rival and something of a showoff, but he works with Pepper in saving Chelsea.

Silver - Ginger's steed. A horse-shaped clothesbrush, he's quite snobby in thinking he's the perfect horse for the perfect warrior.

Le Bon - Ginger's valet. Like Prunchau, he also gives suggestions in the Soltian Roulette.

Sir Oneon de Pepperouchau - Pepper's father. He's a bit overly dramatic; he thinks, for whatever reason, that his family has forsaken him.

Sir Gaulic de Pepperouchau - Pepper's highly-respected, if somewhat misguided, grandfather. He's mysteriously gone missing.

Pa Zur - Ginger's lord and mentor. All the toys think that the sliding puzzle is a wise old mystic.

Soltia - A hot-tempered perfume bottle who loves music, cards, and games of chance. She has a crush on Pepper and considers Chelsea to be a rival for his affection. She hosts the Soltian Roulette mini-game that occurs between worlds, also giving suggestions to players like Prunchau and Le Bon do.

Clockwork Princess Chelsea - This beautiful young doll's voice has the power to wake all the toys every night at midnight. Both Pepper and Ginger compete for her heart. Her kidnapping starts the events of this game and its sequel.

Gameplay

Overview

This game is a side-scrolling platformer in the vein of the Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog series. Unlike those games however, the game uses prerendered digitized 2D sprites of high-resolution 3D models similar to the Donkey Kong Country series, or Killer Instinct, on top of fully-3D levels (and with fully 3D bosses).

Pepper attacks enemies with his key. A quick tap of the button (usually B) will thrust it out horizontally. (He cannot do this vertically.) Likewise, repeatedly tapping the button over and over will cause him to twist the key around and around. This makes it a bit more powerful (e.g.: an enemy could be knocked out temporarily with a simple jab, but running into the key when twisting it will instantly take it out with a pop sound and lots of confetti). In addition to all this, he can also pick up unconscious enemies, or the objects such as footballs or springs that have been scattered around the stages and, toss them (in this case, vertical attacks are possible).

The goal is to reach the end of the stage before time or hit points (typically three, though Gold Keys can increase that maximum) run out. There are no checkpoints; dying sends a player back to the beginning of a level. The levels are fairly large (but not as large as the sequel's levels) and contain numerous side areas with treasures.

Every third level, Pepper must face off against a large, fully-polygonal boss in a one-on-one battle. Each boss has a weakness that must be exploited. For instance, the first boss is a doll with a gigantic indestructible hat that it uses for cover; the doll can be hit during the moments when it is revealed under the hat. The final boss is an insane television that is bent on Pepper's destruction.

The game is not very long, with only thirteen levels. It does not save a player's progress; turning the Saturn off requires him to start from the beginning next time. The thirteen levels take place in four different rooms with two normal levels and one boss each, plus a final boss that can only be fought when playing it on Normal or Hard; in Training difficulty, the game ends at the level just before the final boss.

Items

Clockwork Knight has these items lying around for collection:

Imperial Crowns - Bottle caps with pictures of crowns on them, these are used in the Soltian Roulette mini-game or to earn a game continue.

Pocket Watches - Scattered around almost as much as Imperial Crowns, these award either one or five bonus seconds on the timer.

Keys - These wind-up keys will refill health. They come in three colors; Bronze Keys refill one point, Silver Keys refill all points, and Gold Keys refill all points and increase the maximum by one (this works twice per life, giving up to five hit points total). If Pepper is already at full health with five hit points, the gold key awards an extra life.

Helmets - A blue helmet awards an extra life, and the much-rarer red helmets award three extra lives.

Invincible - This makes Pepper invincible for a short time.

Rooms

There are four rooms in the game with three levels each, and a final boss level at the very end.

Betty's Room: This level is rather linear, making it an easy start for newcomers. Boxes in the background fall onto unsuspecting players. Books slide back and forth in their shelves, threatening to knock Pepper off. Dinosaur bones hang from the ceiling and can hold verious goodies for those willing to go up and check them out. The boss is Bob, the giant hat-carrying, blue-skinned (much like the Edisons from Maniac Mansion), tuxedo-wearing doll.

Kevin's Room: Things get tougher here, with numerous battery-powered trains riding tracks over bottomless pits; Pepper had better hop on or else things could get ugly. The floors of the world are often made of LEGO-like blocks, mostly contrasting from the blue background of the stage. Switches can lift various obstacles out of a player's way, or trap them inside if they're not carful. The boss is a large mech, which can transform into a speedy jet.

Kitchen: Sinks fill with water and drain right back on as Pepper hops from sponge to plate keeping himself from a scalding-hot fate. The metal floors seem to be highly slippery, mimicking the common ice-floor downfalls in many other video games. Watch out for flames from the stoves - pushing some soap and then riding it over them is advised. The boss is a chef-shaped salt shaker with a large pot he carries around, hiding under on the slippery floor.

Attic: Dark, damp and dusty would describe Pepper's final destination (in this trip, at least). Various mazes and platforms that rise and fall are scattered everywhere... Pepper's definitely getting closer to Chelsea and her kidnapper. The boss is yet another mech, a monkey-like one, that breaks apart early on causing its main body to float around, using all but its head as protection by spinning them around at high speeds.

Final Boss: This is the very end of this game - a final one-on-one battle with what appears to be the perpetrator over just who gets Chelsea. But is there a bigger foe at work here? The boss seems to be implying such...

Soltian Roulette

After finishing the boss level of a room (save the Attic or the final boss), you can play this mini-game with Soltia, Prunchau and Le Bon. Essentially you bet your Imperial Crowns on the likelihood of your getting something from a roulette of various things (ranging from more Imperial Crowns, 1UPs, 3UPs, to clown faces, which gain you squat). After betting 5, 10 or 15 Imperial Crowns, the roulette boxes will reveal the contents (the amount of everything varies depending on how much you bet) then go for a quick spin, after which you choose which box you think has what you want. If you get something you can keep it, or spin again for a double-or-nothing round (this can be done four times, with the amount of doubles going down by one each time). It's certainly not a bad idea to play this, as the later levels can be pretty tricky.