Knightmare Tower: So, so worth it

Oh, launcher games. How I… have mixed feelings about you. Some launchers are really good and some are bad. I mean, there’s no real middle ground there. Good or bad. Knightmare Tower is definitely one of the former. Juicy Beast (the developers behind Burrito Bison) know what they’re doing, and it shows more and more with each flash game they release.

So here you are, a knight called by the king to save his ten daughters and defeat the evil guy. You fly, you kill, you save, and you upgrade. And then you do it again and again until you save all of the princesses, complete all of the achievements, and get to the final boss.

I’ve just summed up the game. Right?

Well, no. Not really. There are a few things unique to Knightmare Tower that set it apart.

How it’s different

Instead of being flung horizontally like you are in most launcher games, you’re instead shot vertically. You keep up your momentum by jumping on and attacking enemies as they come up. If you don’t attack, you won’t keep up speed. When you lose momentum or miss too often, you fall into the lava below and try again.

The vertical aspect of the game is nice, but the fact that there are enemies that you need to attack is what really makes Knightmare Tower unique. You don’t sit there and watch your run (or dive into gummies like in Burrito Bison), but you’re active in keeping yourself afloat and reaching your goal. You have to dodge, time your attacks, and seek potions and bonuses along the way. Sometimes you find a princess, and when you do she’s added to your total tally of saved princesses. (Though it looks like she’s just been tossed into lava.)

You’re just so… Pretty!

The visuals are really nice, and are just as well-done as you would expect from Juicy Beast. The monsters are well-drawn and even look good when they’re split in half, and the menus look good and are easy to understand. The music is also really nice. It’s only one tune, but it sounds like something you’d hear in a SquareEnix game. Smack both of these things together and KA-BAM you’ve got quality.

I can’t really say that I’ve enjoyed any launcher games recently as much as I’ve enjoyed Knightmare Tower. Burrito Bison Revenge was good, but the more active nature of KT just stuck to me more. Hopefully Juicy Beast keeps up the quality as they move onto other flash games.