King's Field and Shadow Tower Info

King's field is the series that eventually evolved into Demon's souls and dark souls as well as the home series of the moonlight (great)sword, The greatsword of artorias (The Darkslayer) and seath.
It is a series of slow paced first person action RPGs with an open world, vague lore hidden in item descriptions/npc dialogue and a strong emphasis on exploration and atmosphere. The souls series still draws inspiration from and makes references to this series today.

Shadow tower is a spinoff with similar mechanics, but a completely different setting and gameplay pacing, the bloodborne of king's field.



What game should I start with?

This is Japanese numbering. KF2 is KF1 in the US, etc.

  • KF1: fastest, easiest, atmosphere almost nonexistent (almost an arcade game) (japan exclusive, need translation patch)
  • KF2: Fast and difficult, Good atmosphere, level design very similar to DaS1, Start here if you want a challenge.
  • KF3: slightly slower than KF1, average difficulty, great atmosphere, Start here if you like the souls series for the lore/exploration. Also BY FAR the most influential to the souls series. (THIS GAME IS NOW ON PSVITA/PSP)
  • KF4: very slow, difficult, best atmosphere, requires a decent PC to emulate (playstation 2)
  • Shadow tower: About as fast as KF3, brutally difficult, weapons are disposable and a commodity. atmosphere is good, but the view distance is low and there is almost no music. (THIS GAME IS NOW ON THE PLAYSTATION STORE)
  • Shadow tower abyss: Same as above, slightly faster, GOD tier atmosphere. has guns and for the first time weapons can do more than one type of attack. (Japan only, fan translation exists. Need a decent pc for this one as well, ps2)
  • Eternal ring: oh god why does this game exist, please don't play it, for your own sake. it's like a king's field game made on a 15$ budget. the music is the only half decent thing about this one, you can find it on youtube.

Overview

King's Field Overview:
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/kingsfield/kf01.htm

Lore:
Sword of Moonlight - fansite and fan games with KF engine
http://www.swordofmoonlight.com/

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Field_%28series%29

Information on KF and ST: http://ktn87kingsfield.webs.com/
This is the last remaining site on the internet with useful information about the games.

Emulation

Recommended emulator: EpsxE 1.8

Emulation (to get BIOS files: kat.ph or google)
http://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/PlayStation_emulators

Controller Set-Up
http://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Recommended_Controllers

FAQ

How do i sword magic?

Equip a qualifying weapon and then:

  • KF1: 60 magic power and 60 strength. (?)
  • KF2: 60 magic power and 60 strength. Press and hold triangle at the right time during a swing.
  • KF3: same requirements and method as above, you must also talk to the ghost of alexander. some weapons have an alternate attack, to use it press X, then square, then hold triangle.

I cant use ryu-ga's sword magic!

We don't know either, if you figure it out, tell us so we can add it to the guide.

New player tips

  1. If it sells for a lot, you probably need it.
  2. Holding the sprint button speeds up your turning in KF3.
  3. NPCs have a lot to say, and gain new dialogue as you progress. hear them out.
  4. Explore, the game worlds are vast and interconnected, there is stuff to find everywhere. Illusory walls can be anywhere, they work like DaS2. (press the action button to search for them)
  5. Damage types are important, experiment with different weapons or elements if an enemy is giving you trouble.
  6. The truth glass can be used in king's field 1-3 to get a lot of information on everything, monsters, areas, npcs. just point and use. it's usually located near the beginning of the game, keep an eye out.

Music

Some of these are dead, it's a mixed bag.
http://ktn87kingsfield.webs.com/kingsfielddownloads.htm

Midi versions of almost every track in the series:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/utu73ym3o2kudbz/KF%20MIDIS.zip?dl=0

Lore

This contains most of the lore for KF1-3.
https://rentry.co/pzoyb

KF4/ancient city is either not canon or in a seperate universe like DeS/DaS.

King's Field logo

Edit
Pub: 19 Nov 2017 16:24 UTC
Edit: 19 Nov 2017 16:33 UTC
Views: 1080