Kick Master (sometimes KickMaster) is an action game developed by KID and published by Taito for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. The game has some role-play elements, such as leveling up.
| Kick Master | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | KID |
| Publisher(s) | Taito |
| Director(s) | Hisayoshi Ichikawa Motoyuki Inoue |
| Producer(s) | Ken Lobb |
| Designer(s) | Okumura |
| Programmer(s) | Shinobu Yagawa |
| Artist(s) | Kazuhiro Iizuka Tsutomu Ozawa |
| Composer(s) | Nobuyuki Shioda Yusuke Takahama |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action, platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gameplay
edit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2020) |
Kick Master resembles early games in the Castlevania series.[2][3][4][5] Enemies are fought using martial arts kicks and magic spells. Defeated enemies drop three items that will either help or hurt the player character Thonolan. When Thonolan gains a level, his maximum MP is increased and new moves are learned.
Plot
editThe castle of Lowrel is attacked and burned by the monsters and magic of the powerful witch Belzed.[6][7] In the attack, the King and the Queen are slain and their only child, Princess Silphee, is kidnapped. The king's guards were all killed, except for the knight Macren. He and his younger brother, Thonolan, an aspiring martial artist, take off on a long journey to free the princess. As the fight against Belzed's minions commences, Macren is mortally wounded by a skeleton. With his dying breath, he pleads his brother to use his "great kicking skills" to avenge him.
There are a total of eight destinations that Thonolan must bravely journey through before confronting and defeating Belzed:
If the player manages to complete the game, the evil Belzed is destroyed and Thonolan rescues the princess Silphee. He torches down Belzed's Tower and disappears, never to be heard from again. The player is given an opportunity to try to beat the game again on a higher difficulty level. There are a total of three difficulty levels in this game. Once the third difficulty level is complete, the credits will roll.
Development and release
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2020) |
Reception
edit| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |    [8] |
| GamePro | 21 / 25[7] |
| Nintendo Power | 13.7 / 20[6] |
| HonestGamers | [9] |
GamePro gave Kick Master a positive review upon the release.[7]
References
edit- ^ "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
- ^ "Pak Watch - A Look Into The Future Of NES Game Paks! - Kick Master". Nintendo Power. No. 27. Nintendo of America. August 1991. p. 93.
- ^ Kick Master instruction booklet (Nintendo Entertainment System, US)
- ^ Ragan, Jess (December 10, 2011). "Giving Evil the Boot with Kickmaster - Taito put a fresh spin on Castlevania in this late NES release". 1UP.com. Retronauts. IGN. Archived from the original on 2016-07-19. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
- ^ Kalata, Kurt (February 23, 2014). "KickMaster". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
- ^ a b "Features: Kick Master - Vanquish Evil With Martial Arts and Magic". Nintendo Power. No. 28. Nintendo of America. September 1991. pp. 42–47.
- ^ a b c Music, Boss (February 1992). "Nintendo ProReview - Kick Master". GamePro. No. 31. IDG. p. 28.
- ^ Weiss, Brett Alan (1998). "Kick Master - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on 2014-11-16. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
- ^ Titus, Julian (May 17, 2013). "Kick Master (NES) review". HonestGamers. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved 2020-03-08.
