Adventure titles come in many forms these days. One of the most iconic titles, if not arguably the most iconic in the action adventure sub-genre is The Legend of Zelda series. A Knight’s Quest, from developer Sky9 Games, shares a substantial amount of parity with the beloved Nintendo franchise as it aims to be a plucky entrant into the action-adventure landscape. With many Zelda-inspired titles often falling far short, where does A Knight’s Quest land on the action-adventure spectrum?

Right from the jump, players are introduced to Rusty, our hero, while he is in the middle of an adventure. No backstory is explained, and there is no indication as to why Rusty is there, but through simple tutorial-like notifications you eventually meander your way to the driving force behind Rusty’s journey, a treasure chest.

Early in the game, and as a continual predominant undercurrent of A Knight’s Quest players will realize that the game relies heavily on humor in nearly every conversation, and to explain away many facets of why you are doing what you are doing. Before Rusty can open the chest, he sets off a chain reaction that raises the undead and elevates a giant crystal into the sky.

As players progress, the basic action-adventure tropes that have championed games like Zelda and Metroid slowly get introduced. You obtain a sword and shield, which then gives you new abilities, which then allows you to perform magic attacks, and so on. Each new area requires that you unlock something new, upgrade your weapons, or defeat new challenges so that you can become stronger.  There are some key differences between A Knight’s Quest and other similar titles. Sky9 has opted to give players a little more freedom with movement by allowing players to wall-run to gain access to new areas. There are also handy time-based parry attacks that are helpful in defeating ranged opponents.

Unfortunately, there are some issues with the more freeform movement capabilities. The combat in general doesn’t feel as tight as other titles. While you do have the ability to lock on to a target, more times than not, you don’t continuously face them during the battle, but attack past and around them, which makes it very tough to reliably see what your enemy is doing so you can counterattack. Another interesting issue I had revolved around my character rag-dolling when being hit by certain enemies. Several times this happened near ledges which resulted in Rusty sliding off into oblivion.

Where A Knight’s Quest truly excels, and what keeps me playing, is simply that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. Rusty’s father, the mayor, delegates his half-cocked plan while ensuring the townspeople that the undead have no rights and can therefore be attacked with pitchforks. Dialog stays light and silly throughout the game, never letting up from the sheer ridiculousness of the moment, whether it be a skeleton using another skeleton as a weapon, or simply defeating a slime whose death rattle is the sound of a deflating balloon. While the voice acting is largely relegated to simple one-word exclamations, the soundtrack is quite enjoyable. A lot of work was put into getting the right music for the right area, and it does make a noticeable difference.

Conclusion

With slimes to collect, keys to find, and a ludicrous story to unfold, there is a lot for players to do. Graphically and narratively, there isn’t anything here that will wow players looking for a close Zelda replicate, but I don’t feel that A Knight’s Quest is trying to win any awards here. Simply put, A Knight’s Quest is a fun and comical action-adventure game.

Score: 7.6/10

Pros:

• Comical and amusing story
• Plenty to collect
• Fantastic soundtrack

Cons:

• Combat is not up to par with other titles
• Minor technical issues can cause some frustration
• No real reason to replay after completion