Knight Rider Special (PCE)
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- For other games in the series, see Knight Rider.
Knight Rider Special is an action game developed and published by Pack-In-Video in Japan based on the popular TV series of the same name. Despite its name, and being made by the same company, it is not to be confused with Knight Rider (NES).
The game's story is the same both in the game and in the manual; Devon Miles (called Devon Shire in-game) briefs Michael Knight about a new case. Someone has kidnapped the daughter of Dr. Schrödinger, a scientist who is responsible for a weapon called the "W-Gun," a wave-energy firing device. The suspect apparently wanted its blueprints. Devon says that if it falls into the criminals' hands, it could lead to deadly consequences. He also tells Michael the suspect was fleeing in a yellow sports car. Michael then asks KITT to find out what direction the perpetrator is headed, and KITT informs Michael that they are heading northwest. Michael hops into KITT and the pursuit begins! The manual also mentions a character named Gekinaldo Borneleus III who is a "mechanical genius," but they are never mentioned in the game, so their role is unclear.
The game plays similar to Taito's Chase H.Q.; the game takes place in a third-person perspective, with the player taking on the role of KITT (or Michael Knight driving KITT). There are a total of six stages in the game (though the fifth stage is a boss fight). The goal of each stage is to make it to the end within the time limit. The player must then defeat the boss to advance to the next level. A bulk of the stages consist of many hazards such as cars and semi trucks, lampposts, signposts, rocks, and trees. The vehicles can also shoot at the player. However, the player can jump over them, shoot at them, or dodge them. In later stages, aircraft will attempt to hit KITT with bombs. As the game progresses, KITT gains more upgrades. These include a laser which has longer range and does more damage, as well as One-Side Drive, which as the name suggests, allows KITT to drive with one set of wheels up in the air, making it easier to avoid enemies.
The goal of each stage is to reach the end, which will in turn take you to the boss. There are a few "areas" in each map, and entering one rewards the player with additional time. After the player clears the area, they are taken to the boss in a different environment than the stage they were playing. Unfortunately, there is no invincibility buffer, meaning you will have to have fast reflexes to avoid taking damage. In addition, the time limit is very strict, and even a single crash can result in you not making your goal in time. KITT can also jump at top speed, but this feature is mostly pointless, as there are many twists and turns in each stage, and using the jump while in these will cause your KITT to hit an obstacle in the road, wasting precious time. There is also an interesting feature of the game, in which the fifth stage boss must defeat the player in order for the player to move on. The game's story also leaves a lot to be desired; the antagonist is never mentioned by name and is neither seen nor heard from throughout the whole game, and with the exception of the last stage, there are no cutscenes between the stages that develop the game's storyline. Thus, the antagonist and the other enemies' motives are unclear.
The game was only released in Japan. However, besides the cutscenes, most of the game is in English, and can easily be played by non-Japanese speakers. Because Japanese is only used during the cutscenes, which contain no relevant information in regards to gameplay, non-speakers can enjoy the game easier. In addition, a fan translation exists where the cutscenes have been translated to English.
Contents
Screenshots
Music
Knight Rider Special consists of twenty songs, though one of them is a short-looping jingle. The music is fast-paced, fitting the action of the game. However, the boss themes have a weird sound to them, as they almost sound more like music with sound effects thrown in. However, the game does have a nice 16-bit rendition of the Knight Rider theme song.
The music was written by Pack-In-Video's main composer Junichi Saito, as well as an unknown composer credited as "Shigehisa.H", which appears to be their only credit in a game. Because Saito was known as the company's NES sound programmer, and has been confirmed for programming a driver for the SNES, he most likely wrote the driver for this game. This can also be supported by the instrument and vibrato design being similar to his NES driver.
The song titles and ordering come from the game's internal sound test. The song Crymax was most likely meant to be spelled Climax.
Recording
(Source)
The game contains a hidden sound test which can be accessed by holding Down+Select+Run on the title screen.
Credits
- Ripper: Doommaster1994 (VGZ)
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits
- Sound: Unknown credited as Shigehisa.H
- Sound: Junichi Saito credited as Junichi.S
- Not Credited Composer: Stu Phillips
- Not Credited Composer: Glen A. Larson
(Source)
The game has credits after the ending cutscene; surprising, as most games by Pack-In-Video lack credits.
This is the only game to credit "Shigehisa.H", so their name is unknown. Games like Future Wars: Lios (FC) credit Junichi Saito's full name.
Game Rip
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This rip is missing songs. |
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Audio Devices
The game uses the HuC6280 and uses Junichi Saito's sound driver.
Releases
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Links
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/tg16/589008-knight-rider-special - GameFAQs.
- mobygames.com/game/turbo-grafx/knight-rider-special - MobyGames.
- w.atwiki.jp/gamemusicbest100/pages/9744.html - Atwiki.jp (Japanese).
- TurboGrafx-16 Games
- Games Released In 1989
- Games Developed By Pack-In-Video
- No Amazon
- Games
- Knight Rider Special (PCE)
- Games By Unknown
- Games By Junichi Saito
- Games By Stu Phillips
- Games By Glen A. Larson
- Games That Use HES
- Games That Use VGZ
- Incomplete Rips
- Games Released In Japan
- Games Published By Pack-In-Video
- Needed Song Descriptions
