Mitsumete Knight

• 1. Introduction

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  Mitsumete Knight, released in 1998 for the PlayStation, buries an odd detail in its story. A bomb threat happens inside a church, a moment the game leaves unexplained. Players only learn the truth years later, through separate audio dramas. Konami and Red Company developed this dating sim and role-playing game, and Konami published it. Character designer Hideyuki Takenami had previously worked on Sakura Wars, drawing enemies specifically for Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shalt Not Die. Who is the soldier caught up in that unresolved church mystery? And what does it take to win one of these women's hearts before the war around them changes everything?

• 2. A Mercenary In Dolphan

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  The player takes on a mercenary from the east, arriving in the kingdom of Dolphan, a land modeled after middle-ages Europe. Dolphan hires him to fight in a war that runs through the following three years of the game. Across those years, he meets a number of women in the kingdom and can build relationships with them. When the third year ends and the war closes, Dolphan orders every foreigner expelled from its borders, forcing a sudden departure. A woman with whom he built a fruitful relationship will find him before he leaves. She will choose to leave Dolphan at his side, though certain characters break from this pattern. That parting scene plays out differently depending on which woman the player pursued. The day-to-day choices behind those bonds shape everything that comes before it.

• 3. A Week In Dolphan

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  The weekday and Saturday routine runs on programming carried over from Tokimeki Memorial, though the two games differ from each other in many ways. Each of those days, the player picks one activity, from sword training and horseback riding to grooming, studying, or simply resting. Sundays work differently. The player can seek out one of the women he has met and set up a date for a future Sunday. Alternatively, he can spend the weekend on more training instead. Periodic competitions in sword fighting, horseback riding, and beauty reward standout stats and impress the women in ways daily routines cannot. The game hands out different titles based on how those strengths and weaknesses stack up. Underneath these routines and courtships sits a second layer of the game, one built entirely around combat.

• 4. Six Fights For The Crown

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  Ten generals serve the opposing country. One of them challenges the player at different points in the story, adding up to about six fights in total. Each clash plays out as a simple, real-time RPG battle rather than a scripted duel. Losing does not end the game, and it does not change the war's outcome on its own. But it puts the player in the hospital for a full week. Winning every battle earns an honorary title from the king at the very end. That title is also the only way to finish the game paired with the princess Priscilla. Whether that ending felt earned was something reviewers would soon weigh in on.

• 5. Two Reviews One Score

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  Both reviewers at Dengeki PlayStation gave Mitsumete Knight 85 out of 100, the same score, and both measured it against Tokimeki Memorial. The first reviewer pointed to a similar screen layout and playability, and judged that Mitsumete Knight had surpassed Tokimeki Memorial. The second reviewer praised how well the characters' personalities stood out and called the game well crafted. That reviewer added that players drawn in by the visuals would enjoy it right away. The same reviewer flagged one weakness: each character's individual storyline felt a bit short. Short storylines or not, Mitsumete Knight's world kept expanding well beyond the original disc.

• 6. Sequels Songs And Secrets

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  A PlayStation RPG sequel, Mitsumete Knight R, followed in 1998, bringing back a number of characters from the original story. Music extended the release further. An original soundtrack covered both games, and a separate instrumental concerto album arrived alongside them. The game's main theme song, sung by the voice actress behind heroine Sophia, came out as a single. A later vocal album added image songs from the actresses playing Lesley, Priscilla, Sophia, and Anne. Four drama CDs went further still, filling in story details the game had only hinted at. They also added new image songs for characters left out of the vocal album. Those unheard voices, folded into audio dramas rather than the game itself, mark where Mitsumete Knight's story kept going after the disc stopped spinning.