King's Field (video game)
King's Field is a 1994 action role-playing video game developed and published by FromSoftware for the PlayStation. It was FromSoftware's debut video game project after developing business software for eight years, as well as the first game in the King's Field series. In the game, the player navigates a vast underground labyrinth to discover the source of an invasion of monsters. Attacking and using spells are tied to a stamina meter, which is depleted with each action and must refill before the player can act again.
| King's Field | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | FromSoftware |
| Publisher(s) | FromSoftware |
| Producer(s) | Naotoshi Zin |
| Programmer(s) | Eiichi Hasegawa |
| Artist(s) | Sakumi Watanabe |
| Writer(s) | Toshiya Kimura Shinichiro Nishida |
| Composer(s) | Koji Endo Kaoru Kono |
| Series | King's Field |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The game was initially planned as a title for personal computers before shifting to the PlayStation, which they felt had better specs. It was developed in around six months by a small internal team. Upon release, the game was a commercial success, though receiving mixed reviews from critics. King's Field is one of the earliest known 3D console role-playing games, predating later more famous titles such as Final Fantasy VII. The game not only spawned multiple sequels, but would go on to inspire future FromSoftware games including Shadow Tower and the Dark Souls series.