The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
King's Valley is a platform game with puzzle elements, in which the player controls an archaeologist exploring a tomb in search of jewels. On his way, the hero encounters an army of multi-colored mummies chasing him and uses throwing knives for protection. To reach the hidden gems, the archaeologist must use special tools, such as pickaxes, which allow him to dig through brick walls. There are a total of 15 rooms in the game, some of which occupy two screens, and only after collecting all the jewels on the level, the door to the next stage opens.
Reception
The MSX User magazine considered King's Valley one of the best platformer games available for MSX, as in their view, careful planning and quick thinking are necessary to achieve success. The critic from the Japanese magazine MSX Magazine also found the game well-balanced in difficulty and engaging due to the need to carefully plan one's actions. What MSX? also praised the graphics and sound effects, noting that they "utilise MSX's capabilities brilliantly". MSX Extra reviewer complained that in some moments, the main character lacks speed of movement, especially when pursued by fast blue mummies, which greatly complicate the gameplay.
Legacy
In 1998, King's Valley was included in the Konami Antiques MSX Collection Vol. 3 compilation for the PlayStation, and later in the Ultra Pack for the Saturn. In 2002, a mobile version of the game was released. Despite the original MSX version being published in Europe, none of the re-releases were published outside of Japan.
There is also a version for the MSX on floppy disks, containing 60 levels instead of 15 and a level editor; it is included in the Konami Game Collection Vol. 1 compilation.
