| Credits | |||||||||||||
| Published: |
1986, Cinemaware
   |
||||||||||||
| Developer: | Master Designer Software | ||||||||||||
| Design: | Kellyn Beeck | ||||||||||||
| Producer: | Robert Jacob, Phyllis Jacob, John Cutter | ||||||||||||
| Coder: | R. J. Mical | ||||||||||||
| Graphics: | Jim D. Sachs, Steve Quinn, Richard LaBarre, Sol Masid, John Cutter, Rob Landeros, Doug Smith, Bob Swiger | ||||||||||||
| Musician: | Jim Cuomo, Bill Williams | ||||||||||||
| Information | |||||||||||||
| Hardware: | OCS | ||||||||||||
| Disks: | 2 | ||||||||||||
| License: | Commercial | ||||||||||||
| Language: | English | ||||||||||||
| Players: | 1 Only | ||||||||||||
| Orig. Price: | £29.95 | ||||||||||||
| Relationship: | Also available for CDTV  Precursor to Defender of the Crown II | ||||||||||||
| Categorization | |||||||||||||
| Genre: | Strategy | ||||||||||||
| Subgenre: | War | ||||||||||||
| Tags: | medieval, minigames, strategy | ||||||||||||
| Magazine Reviews | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
Added by Kim Lemon on Jun 3, 2004. Viewed 97180 times.
|
|||||||||||||
Read review by Trent
Graphics: 10 ‧
Music: 9 ‧
Playability: 8 ‧
Overall: 9
Save to My Favourites
Save to My OriginalsI have completed this game 
ExoticA
Get Amiga Forever for a great Amiga emulation experience and licensed Kickstart ROMs.
Internet Archive Various files
Planet Emulation ADF files
Turran FTP Pre-installed WHDLoad
WHDLoad
Hall of Light
MobyGames
OpenRetro
SPS
YouTube
Wikipedia
UVL
An early Cinemaware classic, one of the most popular titles on the Amiga. The graphics and animations by Jim Sachs et al are simply unbelievable! The Amiga version unfortunately has some gameplay and features removed, compared to the C64 and other versions. It is also a lot easier to beat than the C64 version, which may be considered a good thing though.
View all comments (32)
With every generation of micro/console, there is a game known as a 'Killer App', a game that shows what the next generation is capable of. For the Amiga, this was that game, a clear dividing line between 8 and 16 bit machines. The fact it ended up on every 8 bit machine later on doesn't diminish this titles standing.
View all comments (247)
Incredible achievement for the Amiga, one of the finest games on the machine.
View all comments (49)
In many aspects this game is brilliant and should deserve the highest possible score. The game is not just a strategy but it gives something much more deeper in terms of the story and events that occur during your gameplay. They put the player a little bit aside from rather shallow strategic elements extending the game's lastability aspect. As of 1986 it is a very interesting and one of a kind approach. It has also superb graphics and clearly this game was way ahead of its time. Today the game can still fascinate and amaze but rather only in terms of the audio-visuals and pioneering. There is some fun playing it but there is lack of logic in most strategies you want to imply. There is also no possibility to "pass the turn" staying in the castle and the arcade sections are rather extremely difficult or completely out of any sense and logic.
In overall - back in the days it was great and one of a kind title. Now it is just an interesting "museum exibit" that you praise in terms of history it created but does not bring you any real value. Those who had not seen this game, should do it because it is a real shame that they didn't. But they only should do it to see how much this game was different from any other game that appeared on Amiga in the following decade from its premiere.
View all comments (901)
Goode game, early strategy game with lots of charm and superb graphics here and there. Behind is a fairly shallow strategy game, but you'll feel you are "playing" a movie, just the way Cinemaware intended.
View all comments (8)
Beautiful graphics and exhilarating sound for this legendary game. Almost impossible to win in Tournaments. Disappointing final screens.
View all comments (7)
Oh look another comment page another wall of self indulgence from Monk. Idiot.
Loved this game back in the day.
View all comments (2)
It released in 1986 but it does not matter!
I played on the C64 first then on the Amiga and after this on the PC and much later on the Atari ST (with an emulator).
The A. Version is the first release of this game and it is a game what is *forced to got release because of the deadline! That's why the other versions are much more finished than the A.!
I really like the C64 but somehow I expected much more from the A. Version!
Finally, THE Atari ST version is the best! Try it and you will see! (I never had any kind of Atari!)
*Matt Chat 319: Jim Sachs on Defender of the Crown (on youtube).
View all comments (15)
-Monk-: Are you okay?
DOTC: Good and simple strategy game mixed with action elements. The main weakness of the game is its obsolete control, it always been obsolete. But I liked it, played it several times, finished it few months ago. It still has magic. It still looks beautiful. It's 30 years now.
It had to be mega MEGA game in the year of its release! 1987, omg
View all comments (115)
Dottor Psycho:
(I try to be tolerant with names, but .. What? You can't even spell 'doctor', OR you CHOSE to spell it wrong? And you celebrate psychopaths and identify as being one?)
Games do not age. They do not grow older. They do not change.
Games remain 100% identical to what they always were, they remain the same. As long as someone is not changing the source code and re-releasing the game (in which case, it's really not the same game anymore anyway), GAMES DO NOT AGE.
I understand people using the word 'date', but they use even that wrong. When something is 'dated', it doesn't mean it has aged or is now obsolete, when it was earlier viable. It simply means that there's something about it that SHOWS when it was made, like 1980s hairdo, for example, or seventies values or whatnot (gameplay isn't one of these things, because both excellent and atrocious gameplay have existed since seventies).
View all comments (51)
As for the game itself; well, this is one of those Cinemaware things, where you have lots of nice graphics (8 people created them?), and almost nil (and awful) gameplay. The strategy section is nothing to type home about, the 'action' (what ACTION?) scenes are horrible and sluggish, and seem to be almost based on luck. Lots of waiting is also involved.
The C64 gameplay and even visual style was somewhat improved, even with lower resolution and color amount - and the music, although the 'same', is vastly better on the C64 for some reason (Joseph Richard is a genius, especially with atmosphere and excitement).
The C64-version's graphics actually look better, despite being basically 'stripped' versions of this Amiga version's graphics. Robin Hood looks less flat in the opening picture, and there's more happening in there - you even see your own silhouette.
View all comments (51)
This is probably because of several things that factor in;
1) You don't expect C64 to sport such lusciously wonderful sceneries (well, nowadays you do, but back then, people didn't). Amiga is SUPPOSED to have great graphics, so it's not a big deal on the Amiga side.
2) The C64 colors force the pictures to have more contrast and be more colorful than Sachs is used to (Sachs seemed to be afraid of contrast or bright colors for some reason - and he seemed to hate anti-aliasing completely..)
The end result is that the C64 graphics have a bit more 'impact' than the Amiga's washed out-stuff - even with way more detail on the Amiga side.
View all comments (51)
3) Sometimes less is more, so the C64 imagery also provokes the imagination to fill in the blanks, where the Amiga's pictures are too detailed to do this, and thus look more bland.
(even ancient Japanese knew about this phenomenon, that I've often tried to explain - I just recently found that out. One japanese individual tried to explain this to me, but it was difficult, because I already knew exactly what he was talking about)
4) The text screens are not embedded in the pictures to annoyingly cover part of the graphics, but the pictures are full screen and thus let the player admire them completely.
View all comments (51)
I knew someone, who absolutely loved playing this game (that individual must've been a knight in a previous incarnation).
But even that individual HATED this Amiga version. Everything is a little bit 'off', the graphics do look bland, and even having more animation doesn't save it from just looking, sounding and feeling 'wrong', plus the gameplay isn't as good.
So, weirdly, the Amiga version is not the best or the 'ultimate' (as kids like to say these days) version of this game, ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD BE by all logic and reasoning.
Play the C64 version, and you'll never come back to this one, except to make comparisons and to wonder why the C64-version is so much better.
View all comments (51)
It might not make much sense but I think that Defender of the Crown shows its age in gaming terms and at the same time has aged in a fantastic way. Every single bit of this game is a piece of beautiful digital art. The strategic part is, if dated, very enjoyable and easy to get into. The action sections haven't aged that well but all in all playing this game is still a great experience (9/10).
View all comments (212)
My first Cinemaware game. Loved this one, beat both the C=64 and Amiga version (C=64 by far way harder). Every once in a while I toss this into the Amiga and give her a run. Great game, graphics, sound and atmosphere!
View all comments (53)
THE Amiga Classic! Like the 1952 Technicolor Movie "Ivanhoe", it is as colorful and atmospheric as 13 Years old teens dream about. Simply a interactiv fairy tale!
View all comments (14)
All-time-classic ! Perfect presentation ! Very interesting strategy/action gameplay & several solution ways ! Only multiplayer mode & different difficulty levels are missing ! 8/10 !
View all comments (19)
Just bought the Cinemaware bundle of games on steam ...
really good for only 10 bucks . Any way was playing this and was wondering when you raid do you all just put the mouse pointer to the right and spam the mouse button? Does it make any difference at all?
View all comments (21)
I love this game but where is the health bar when we're on a raid?
View all comments (15)
I managed to play this game first time a year ago using an emulator.It was a very nice experience.Graphics stood very well and definetely added to the game atmosphere. Now I can understand the impact that this game created when was issued.
View all comments (4)
If you could name a killer application for A500's in gaming, this would be it, though only so for some reasons.
It is a known fact that many aspects of the gameplay came up stripped and underdeveloped, even against the designer's wishes, just to get the game through on time. But the great atmosphere and graphics, which will never be praised enough, make up for a lot of it.
The infamous jousting sequence? Its problem is that you are given no visual cue on the time window for pushing the button: a shortcoming common to many Cinemaware games to come.
Whether that more feature-complete ''Defender of the Crown II'' that came on CD32 represented their original intent, however, I do not know.
View all comments (296)
Great game. I have a version of this I can play on an old Game Boy. In fact I bought the Game Boy just so I could replay this game...that was about six years ago, maybe seven. Stupid me... Could have played it large scale on an Amiga Emulator.
View all comments (70)
This game is one of the classics of Amiga, the version of which is superior to any other port. Even tho it is still quite an early game, it highlights very well the capability of Amiga's 2D graphics. The game offers a good variety of challenges, being mostly managerial but including some mini-games of skills, and has a great graphical style. It suffers however in longevity because it soon becomes too easy to win. (
View all comments (18)
I first played this the end of 1991, there is something about this game which makes you want to play it again and again. I still play it now and can complete it within half an hour, but then what would you expect when I have been playing it this long. The graphics are superb, I even like the music.
View all comments (2)
One of the best ever amiga games! I spent hours playing this as a kid! Graphics are fantastic, sound is great and just so playable!
View all comments (31)
I got this with Triad collection. I totally do not understand the high rating. Amiga version was published unfinished and has no much content, it's completed in few hours.
It was of course a nice graphics demo in 1986 (yes, 1986 is the correct year) and somewhat fun to play as long it lasts (and that is not long...). Of sub-games catapult shooting is OK but very easy after few times, castle raiding is just a stupid mouse clicking fest.
So, it has certain merits, but it is not among the most beautiful Amiga games if compared to some later titles and it is not a good game simply because it is closer to being a demo version than a complete game. FUCKINGS to everyone who give high votes for this.
View all comments (250)
Excellent. I stucked there for a long time with this but never finish it. I don't mind cause it gave me many hours of pure fun...Just luv it...
View all comments (57)
Ive played and have both the amiga,64,nes and pc versions but i will say that the amiga version had the best graphics and sound but the 64 was alittle more challenging to play...
View all comments (67)
This wasone of my favorites. I used to love the animation when u rescued a princess, Jim Sachs art ruled. I beat this on the Amiga and on the C=64 and actually i thought the C=64 was a lot harder, but hands down the Amiga version was by far the best.
View all comments (53)
I remember part of the press bashed this because of the mediocre gameplay. They were used to other games involving countless hours to finish. But for casual gamers, this is as good as it gets. The graphics were just sick and way ahead of its time (1987!!)
View all comments (32)
This is a classic, I have played the PC & Nintendo Nes versions of it, but
the Amiga version was the best by far.
View all comments (1)
I think we all felt like opening our window and shouting: "Hey the whole world around, come and see thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!!!! Especially if you have an atari....(sorry, teenage reminisense).
I was crazy when i first played it, okay, the jousting is unplayable, so the sword attacks but the atmosfear is incredible.
with a gameplay like "joan of arc", it would have been on of the best amiga game ever!
View all comments (73)
Man i used to love this game. Haven't replayed it in years
View all comments (9)
I do remember perfectly well how much I wanted to play that game after reading about it in one of the magazines in the past. We played it over and over speechless and stunned by the graphics and the rest of the game (back on the C64). I just played it again using WINUAE and I must say that it is still fun playing it (except for jousting which I am still (as before) not able to win a single round).
View all comments (28)
Even if you don't like it, it's a Classic Amiga must-have!! It's even more fun when played on a monochrome screen,and when watching the map, thinking you're winning. Heaps of fun..
Nia. 75%
View all comments (18)
Looked at the screenshots from this in that issue of Amigaworld so much the pages stuck together from my drool. This is the one game that made me want to replace my C128 with Amiga back when the first magazine ad ran for this game. A worthy title, if not underwhelming in the gameplay department (Rocket Ranger, way better) it sure did the trick graphically at the time. When I finally went with my dad to look at Amiga in person, it was at a store that sold both Amiga and ST computers. The young punk sales guy was an ST fan, tried anything and everything to sell me on his favorite computer instead. He showed us this X & O football game on each computer and the ST version had this great touchdown sequence and the Amiga only had a screen that said "Touchdown" on it. That was pretty funny! I'll bet he suede a lot of potential Amiga buyers with that little trick. Luckily I knew what I was doing and asked him to load this title on both machines.
7/10 overall
View all comments (288)
Great looking game. I played it quite a bit. However, it was way too easy (apart from the jousting, which I never ever won) and had no complexity. Also, it had not a very special or particular atmosphere: It was, in some way, a very generic, well made game.
View all comments (23)
Defender of the Crown is a true classic. I've always loved this game. I like playing the Amiga version of this game the best, the C64 has some improved gameplay in some parts of the game, but the Amiga has a better overall atatmosphere for me. I love the color cycling used in the pictures that makes water shimmer, and the torches and fires glow. The graphics of the Amiga version is so much better than the C64 version, especially the pictures of the castles while raiding and the Saxon maidens. While the gameplay is somewhat simple, it is still loads of fun to play this game. Rescuing the beautiful Saxon maidens that get kidnapped by the evil Normans is always fun, along with stealing the Norman's gold in the raiding sequence. An Amiga Classic!
View all comments (102)
The first game that really looked good. The swordfight was a bit lame, but ok with the right character.
but the control in a tournament was awful. I always played for honor ;-))
View all comments (12)
A visual and graphical feast, this one really showed off the capabilities of the new kid on the block, amiga. Although the core game was very basic and the side games (jousting and raiding castles) was nothing more than mere point and click exercises involving little or no skill, the game still oozed charm and atmosphere as well as laying the grounds for the many later and (admittedly) much greater games in the genre.
In the time of it's release DotC was a top notch, and it's success paved way for other great cinemaware games.
View all comments (31)
My first amiga game, I remember the huge and beatiful pack of the original game. I discovered the real difference between a C64 and an Amiga :-)
View all comments (79)
I got the CDTV version and wasn't all that impressed by it. Bit boring and slow but graphics I will admit are good. Just isn't my cuppa' I suppose.
View all comments (85)
One of the best looking games ever! The graphics are still impressive, with genius choices of colouring. The game play isn't as solid, sadly. In fact, sometimes it feels like it's completely random. And I never got the hang of the jousting, despite being really good at that on the C64 version.
I prefer playing the C64 version.
View all comments (210)
The graphics were undeniably good, as was the sound, but I think most of you forget how silly the gameplay was. Swordfighting involved no skill what-so-ever. Mindless mouse-mashing was all it was. I thought Jousting involved using skill till I realized all you had to do was move the joust X pixels right and Y pixels up and you'd ALWAYS win.
There was a "3 stooges" take on this and I enjoyed that one much more.
View all comments (11)
My favourite Amiga game. I remember the first time I rescued a princess, I was just stunned by the graphics. I actually played and beat the C=64 version before getting the Amiga version (C=64 a lot harder), and was just taken by the Amiga graphics, wow what beautiful princesses. Jousting was fun also.
View all comments (10)
One of the best games ever ..
see it played here [www]
View all comments (21)
This game is the HISTORY of the AMIGA and deserves a 10. What is wrong with you people???
View all comments (6)
If history has some importance, this game deserve a 10, just because this game is the history of Amiga, yes now it is outdated, but you must approach to this, like an archeological repert of an unestimated valour, have respect, this is Defender of The Crown!
View all comments (192)
It was one of the first Amiga games I played back in Singapore where I bought my first Amiga 500 computer (the Amiga dealer there was called SysTech I believe). I played the game many times and it reminds me of the wonderful Amiga days, the days that will never return, but will be always in our memories. Overall a good game.
View all comments (12)
My friend used to play this and he says that this one of best Amiga games. I have just tested this...
View all comments (86)
The Amiga version seems a bit less well made compared to the Atari ST version
View all comments (95)
Great game a must have.
If you like it try
Sinbad and the Throne of the, and king of Chicago
Get them here
[www]
View all comments (21)
I prefer the C64 version.
Still a good game
View all comments (48)
Gameplay-wise, the C64 version knocks the socks of this older Amiga version. Still, although lacking the C64 version's improved depth, its still a fun medieaval romp.
View all comments (12)
Great musical score and "some" gameplay.. The screenshots made many C64 owners wet themselves at the time.. Shame it wasn't a little deeper - but then we are talking about a Cinemaware game.
Try Wings instead.
5/10
View all comments (84)
Amiga version badly misses the features which C64 has... Nevertheless, a true classic.
View all comments (261)
Missing: One game.
View all comments (116)
If only it played as good as it looks...
View all comments (12)
This looks marvellous but the strategy element that the game revolves around is quite crude and loses it's appeal after a while. Not a terrible game but this should have been much much better.
View all comments (145)
Among the very early games I played on Amiga and still playing it for its terrific medioeval atmosphere and very good playability.
This was a truly ace at that time and one of the most beatiful game on the Amiga history, nothing more nothing less.
View all comments (100)
Man this game was the best back then, it had nice GFX and great strategic gameplay, well done to Cinemaware
View all comments (522)
This showed the graphics the Amiga was capable of. I hadn't seen nothing like this in 1987. But I think the C64 version plays better and I actually prefers that version.
View all comments (65)
A fun game I still play every once in a while. The CD32 version later released had better graphics but the gameplay was similar. 7/10
View all comments (62)
Nice graphics, very lovely strategy & action game.
View all comments (18)
A fun little game for those who aren't used to the strategy-war genre, this will get old quick for those that have played similar games, as it's really quite easy to complete.
View all comments (51)
One of the games that sold the Amiga, so it's a classic in that sense... But like others here I also think that the C64 version was better gameplay-wise.
View all comments (201)
Fabulous Jim Sach's graphics and orchestrated music recreates old King Richart's movies on your Amiga. Not a deep strategy game and quite easy, but very fun for a fast play.
View all comments (86)
What a great addictive game this was, played it every single day, my favourite character Geoffrey Longsword always kept me going and it was nice to free a captured lady
a shockwave version is playable at cinemaware.com
10/10
View all comments (26)
When I played this game the first time, I was a happy owner of a C64. This game blew me away. The graphics were astonishing and the game kept me and my friends away from daylight for weeks! I never played it on my Amiga though... Until today. The game is also brilliant on the Amiga. Very nice graphics (certainly with the release-date of 1987 in the back of the mind!) and the same superb game! I have such good memories about this game from my C64-time and I think Defender of the Crown is slightly better on that machine considering the difference in pure computingpower. Still, the Amiga version is also masterly! Check it out!
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Playability: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
View all comments (211)
The best Amiga game ever! Timeless...
View all comments (66)
Tremendous game, infinitely better than any other version. Fantastic graphics/sound. A bit easy, but great fun nonetheless.
View all comments (44)
While not the deepest game in the world, the lush graphics and simple gameplay made it a favourite "in between game" (quick play through on a boring afternoon when you don't want to sit around for hours with things like Civilization or Dune 2). Too bad I had the C64 version before the Amiga version, since they did improve the gameplay for the later released 8 Bit conversion.
View all comments (245)
Never seen a game in the 80s look as good as this one!
View all comments (3)
Excellent graphics, but I agree that the gameplay is average. The c64-version has better gameplay IMO.
View all comments (12)
The game that really showed me what sort of graphics the Amiga was capable of. Above average gameplay, but the complete package makes it worth checking out.
View all comments (8)