Clockwork Knight

From Sega Retro

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ClockworkKnightJP Title.png

Clockwork Knight
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Supporting companies:
Distributor: Tec Toy (BR)
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (2 tracks)
Genre: Action[4][5]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Saturn
JP 		¥4,8004,800 GS-9004
Sega Rating: All Ages
Sega Saturn
US 		$39.9939.99[7] 81007
ESRB: Kids to Adults
Sega Saturn
EU 		MK81007-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Saturn
DE 		MK81007-50
USK: 0
Sega Saturn
PT
Sega Saturn
UK 		£39.9939.99[8][9] MK81007-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Saturn
PL 		209zł209
Sega Saturn
AU
OFLC: G
Sega Saturn
BR 		191x86
Tectoy: 6+

Clockwork Knight, known as Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchau no Daibouken Joukan (クロックワークナイト ペパルーチョの大冒険・上巻) in Japan, is a side-scrolling "2.5D" platform game, released as a launch title for the Sega Saturn in all major territories.

Story

Sir Tongara de Pepperouchau III ("Pepper" for short) is a toy soldier. He is in love with the Clockwork Fairy Princess, Chelsea, whose voice wakes up the toys of the house every night at midnight. But he is clumsy and something of a laughingstock, especially compared to his friendly rival Ginger, who is also after Chelsea's heart.

One night, Chelsea is stolen away by an unknown force, which also hypnotizes some of the lesser toys to become fierce minions and stand in the way of anyone who would try to rescue her. If there is no voice to wake them up anymore, then the toys will never live again, so Pepper and Ginger head off to find Chelsea before it is too late.

Characters

Clockwork Knight Saturn, Characters, Pepperouchau.png

Sir Tongara de Pepperouchau III ("Pepper")
The protagonist and sole playable character in the main game. He is brave and dashing but also quite clumsy.

Clockwork Knight Saturn, Characters, Ginger.png

Sir Ginger
Pepper's chief rival and something of a showoff. He works with Pepper in saving Chelsea.

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Barobaro and Silver
Pepper and Ginger's trusty steeds.

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Prunchau and Le Bon
Pepper and Ginger's valets, who appear in the Soltian Roulette bonus game to give suggestions.

Clockwork Knight Saturn, Characters, Oneon.png

Sir Oneon de Pepperouchau
Pepper's father. He is a bit overly dramatic; he thinks, for whatever reason, that his family has forsaken him.

Clockwork Knight Saturn, Characters, Soltia.png

Soltia
A hot-tempered perfume bottle who loves music, cards, and games of chance. She has a crush on Pepper and considers Chelsea to be a rival for his affection. She hosts the Soltian Roulette bonus game.

Clockwork Knight Saturn, Characters, Chelsea.png

Chelsea
A beautiful young doll whose voice wakes all the toys every night at midnight. Both Pepper and Ginger compete for her heart. Her kidnapping starts the events of this game and its sequel.

Gameplay

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Goal

This game is a side-scrolling platformer played as the toy soldier Sir Pepperouchau. It uses digitized 2D sprites of prerendered 3D models (similar to the Donkey Kong Country series) on top of fully 3D levels. Objects in the background layer sometimes interact with the foreground, such as enemies jumping in or objects falling forward. Levels take place in rooms full of toys and other household objects, similar to the later Toy Story. The goal of each level is to reach the end of the stage before time runs out. The levels are fairly large and contain numerous side areas with treasures. Each room has two levels followed by a fight against a large, fully polygonal boss (which all have a different weakness that must be exploited).

Pepper walks with Left or Right and sprints with Left Left or Right Right. Some objects can be pushed by moving into them. He crouches with Down. He jumps with A or C and jumps higher if the button is held for longer. He jumps farther while running. Pepper attacks enemies by using a wind-up key like a sword; he thrusts the key ahead by tapping B. Many enemies require multiple stabs to defeat (causing them to pop into a burst of confetti). The first stab stuns the enemy, rendering them harmless for a duration. Pepper can pick up stunned enemies or other small objects (such as footballs or springs) that are scattered around the levels by holding B when next to them. He can throw an object he is carrying by releasing B; objects can be thrown upward with Up+B or set down with Down+B. He can move while holding an object. Stunned enemies awaken after a duration, which damages Pepper if he is holding them. Pepper can use his key to interact with some objects in levels, such as opening boxes. Pepper can twist his key around with BBBBB, which is more powerful and can defeat most enemies with a single touch.

Pepper starts the game with three hit points, depicted as gears in the lower-left corner of the screen. He loses a hit point each time he takes damage from an enemy or hazard, and he loses a try if time or hit points run out. There are no checkpoints, so losing a try sends a player back to the beginning of a level. Leaping onto the missing letter in "CLOCKWORK" on the goal at the end of the level awards an extra life. The game ends if the player runs out of lives but can be continued at the cost of 20 Imperial Crowns (collectables that are found throughout the game). The player can set the difficulty level (Training, Normal, and Hard) and number of starting lives from the options before starting the game. The final boss fight can only be played on Normal or Hard difficulty.

Items

Items can be collected by walking over them or poking them with Pepper's wind-up key.

ClockworkKnight ImperialCrowns.png
 Imperial Crown
A bottle cap with a picture of a crown on it. These can be wagered in the Soltian Roulette bonus game or spent to continue the game if lost.
ClockworkKnight PocketWatch.png
 Pocket Watch
A pocket watch that is scattered around almost as much as Imperial Crowns. Awards either one or five bonus seconds on the timer.
ClockworkKnight Keys.png
 Keys
Wind-up keys that restore a hit point. Bronze Keys refill one point, Silver Keys refill all points, and Gold Keys refill all points and increase the maximum by one (up to four hit points total for the current try). If Pepper is already at full health with five hit points, the Gold Key awards an extra life.
ClockworkKnight Helmets.png
 Helmets
A blue helmet (Oneon's Helmet) awards an extra life. The much-rarer red helmet (Garluch's Helmet) awards three extra lives.
ClockworkKnight Pa-ZurSphere.png
 Pa-Zur Sphere
Makes Pepper invincible for a short time.

Rooms

This game has thirteen levels: four different rooms with two normal levels and one boss each, plus a final boss.

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Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 1-2.png

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  • Clockworkknight Saturn JP SSSt1-0.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 1-1.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 1-2.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 1-3.png

Betsy's Room
Boss:
Dandy Bob
Pepper traverses a playroom full of blocks and crayons. Boxes in the background fall onto unsuspecting players. Books slide back and forth in their shelves, threatening to knock Pepper off. Dinosaur bones hang from the ceiling and can hold various goodies.

The boss is Dandy Bob, the giant hat-carrying, tuxedo-wearing doll. In the original Japanese version, he has white, human-like skin and blonde hair, while in the NTSC and PAL releases of the game, Dandy Bob is blue-skinned with blue hair.

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  • Clockworkknight Saturn JP SSSt2-0.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 2-1.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 2-2.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 2-3.png

Kevin's Room
Boss:
Double Jetter
The floors of the world are made of Lego-like blocks. Pushing batteries into the receptacles activates switches, which can be used to activate trains that ride tracks over bottomless pits or activate cranes that lift various obstacles out of the way.

The boss is Double Jetter, a large mech that can transform into a speedy jet.

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Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 3-1.png

Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 3-2.png

Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 3-3.png

  • Clockworkknight Saturn JP SSSt3-0.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 3-1.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 3-2.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 3-3.png

Kitchen
Boss:
Chef de Popot
Sinks fill with water and stoves belch flames. The metal floors are slippery (similar to ice floors in many other games). Pepper can enter pipes with Up to move to other parts of the level.

The boss is Chef de Popot, a chef-shaped squeaky toy with a large pot he carries around, hiding under on the slippery floor.

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  • Clockworkknight Saturn JP SSSt4-0.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 4-1.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 4-2.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 4-3.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 4-4.png

  • Clockwork Knight Saturn, Stage 4-5.png

Attic
Boss:
Iron Kong X
A dark and dusty attic. Some ceilings rise and fall and threaten to crush Pepper.

The boss is Iron Kong X, a monkey-like mech that breaks apart, causing its main body to float around, using every part but its head as protection by spinning them around at high speed.

Clockworkknight Saturn JP SSLst.png

Study Room
Boss:
Crazy TV
A final one-on-one battle with a demented television set named Crazy TV. This level can only be fought when playing it on Normal or Hard.

Bonus game

Clockworkknight Saturn JP SSBns.png

Soltian Roulette

After finishing the boss level of the first three rooms, the player can play a bonus game with Soltia, Prunchau, and Le Bon. The player bets Imperial Crowns on the likelihood of getting something from a roulette of various things (including bonus items such as Imperial Crowns, 1-Ups, 3-Ups or clown heads, which award nothing). After betting 5, 10, or 15 Imperial Crowns, the boxes reveal their contents (the amount of everything varies depending on how much the player bets), then go for a quick spin. After the boxes come to a rest, the player chooses a box. If the player picks a box with a prize in it, it can be kept, or the player can choose to spin again for a double-or-nothing round. This can be done up to four times, with the amount of doubles going down by one each time.

History

Development

Pepper's model being viewed in Softimage version 2.66

Clockwork Knight is one of Sega's first significant forays into rendering 3D imagery on a computer, being created with Silicon Graphics workstations running Softimage. While the Super NES game Donkey Kong Country is usually credited for being the first big-budget title to take advantage of this technique, Clockwork Knight was just a few weeks behind in Japan.

While it can never be proven, it is likely that Clockwork Knight was inspired by the works of John Lasseter and Pixar, who had been producing groundbreaking computer animated shorts, usually based on normally-inanimate objects, since the mid-1980s. In 1988, Pixar released Tin Toy, a five-minute short featuring sentient toys (which later became a catalyst for Toy Story in 1995). A seemingly common misconception is that Clockwork Knight was either inspired by or ripped off Toy Story, but the similar ideas seen in Clockwork Knight beat Toy Story to market by almost a year in Japan (and by several months in the US and Europe), though the former was far less of an influence in popular culture than the latter. Like Pixar, Sega likely realised that computers of the era was more suited to rendering simple geometric shapes made of plastic or metal, rather than realistic organisms such as animals or humans.

In a funny twist to the above, it came out in a June 2018 video from GameHut's Jon Burton (head of Traveller's Tales) where he discussed the tricks used to create the 3D depth effect in the platforming levels for the Sega Genesis Toy Story game (for which he was the lead programmer), that he had at the time been playing Clockwork Knight on the then new Sega Saturn and was inspired by the depth perception used in the game to try and recreate the effect on the ageing 16-bit hardware of the Sega Genesis for the Toy Story game.[10]

Clockwork Knight was one of the first Sega Saturn games to be announced, being first shown to the public under the working title of Action Game at Winter CES 1994. At the time, the Saturn console had not been finalised, and the Clockwork Knight demonstration consisted solely of a jerky, prerendered 3D video demonstrating concepts that might appear in the game. The video demonstrates Pepper running, jumping and picking up objects, but it also includes a sequence where the character pushes a stack of tins off the edge of a shelf, pushes a floor switch, and fights a jack-in-the-box with a small, red umbrella rather than his "key sword" in the final game.

While only brief, this fight is more involved than anything seen in the final product. Pepper is seen blocking and kicking, as opposed to the enemy exploding when hit once. There is no known accompanying sound to any of the footage, and the world Pepper inhabits is far more subdued than the vibrant kids rooms seen in the final game. This video was included as a bonus in Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchau no Fukubukuro and the US release of Clockwork Knight 2.

Clockwork Knight was intentionally made harder for the US and European markets, because it was believed American consumers preferred tougher games than their Japanese counterparts (and Europeans tougher still)[11]. Other changes were also put in place: increasing the entry fees to play Soltian Roulette, removing before-level cutscenes featuring Pepper's friends who give him tips, and changing the skin color of the first boss (Dandy Bob) from white to blue out of concern that Western audiences would misinterpret the fight as a toy attacking a child.[12]

Legacy

It is not known if the Clockwork Knight story was always meant to span two games. However, by releasing the game in Japan as Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchau no Daibouken Joukan ("Joukan" literally translating to "first volume"), a sequel was expected, and arrived the following year as Clockwork Knight 2. Clockwork Knight 2 is often seen as a refined version of the first game: the gameplay remains almost identical and many of the graphics and audio cues were not changed.

The two were later compiled into one release, Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchau no Fukubukuro in Japan, becoming the definitive version of Clockwork Knight, although this version does have some unexplained missing content.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Clockwork Knight Clockwork Knight
English (US) Clockwork Knight Clockwork Knight
Japanese クロックワークナイト ペパルーチョの大冒険・上巻 Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchau no Daibouken Joukan

Production credits

Main article: Clockwork Knight/Production credits.

Soundtrack

A soundtrack album, Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchau no Daibouken Fantastic Soundtrack, was released exclusively in Japan two days before the Japanese release of the second game.

Magazine articles

Main article: Clockwork Knight/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
100 №324, p44
Sega Saturn
 100
Based on
1 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(RU)
50
[13]
(SA)
90
[14]
(FR)
52
[15]
(FR)
84
[16]
(UK)
74
[17]
(UK)
78
[18]
(UK) NTSC-J
60
[19]
(US) NTSC-U
50
[20]
(US) NTSC-U
70
[21]
(CZ)
83
[22]
(JP) NTSC-J
65
[23]
(US) NTSC-U
83
[24]
(US) NTSC-U
56
[25]
(US) NTSC-J
83
[26]
(US) NTSC-U
75
[7]
(UK) PAL
74
[8]
(ES)
83
[27]
(FR) NTSC-J
95
[28]
(FR)
90
[29]
(CZ)
75
[30]
(DE) NTSC-J
84
[31]
(DE) PAL
83
[32]
(UK)
25
[33]
(UK) NTSC-J
65
[34]
(FR) NTSC-J
86
[35]
(DE) PAL
73
[36]
(UK) NTSC-J
82
[37]
(UK) PAL
60
[38]
(US) NTSC-J
50
[39]
(FR)
87
[40]
(NL)
89
[41]
(JP) NTSC-J
75
[42]
(UK) PAL
85
[43]
(CZ)
90
[44]
(DE)
74
[45]
(UK) PAL
70
[9]
(UK) NTSC-J
57
[46]
(UK) NTSC-J
91
[47]
(UK) PAL
88
[48]
(AU)
62
[49]
(JP) NTSC-J
74
[50]
(ES)
89
[51]
(ES)
85
[52]
(RU)
80
[53]
(UK) PAL
58
[54]
(UK) NTSC-J
70
[55]
(US)
80
[56]
(ES)
78
[57]
(DE)
50
[58]
(US) NTSC-U
70
[59]
Sega Saturn
 74
Based on
50 reviews

Clockwork Knight

Saturn, JP
Clockwork sat jp backcover.jpgClockworkknight sat jp front cover.jpg
Cover
Clockworkknight sat jp disc.jpg
Disc
Clockwork Knight Sega Saturn Japan Manual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, US
ClockworkKnight Saturn US Box Back.jpgClockworkknight sat us cover.jpg
Cover
Clockworkknight sat us disc.png
Disc
Clockworkknight sat us manual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, EU
Clockworkknight sat eu cover.jpg
Cover
Clockworkknight sat eu disc.jpg
Disc
Saturn, FR (Blister pack)
ClockworkKnight Sat FR blister front.jpg
Cover
Saturn, DE
CWK Sat DE cover.jpg
Cover
Clockworkknight sat eu disc.jpg
Disc
Saturn, PT

Saturn, AU
CWK Sat AU cover.jpg
Cover
Clockworkknight sat eu disc.jpg
Disc
Saturn, BR
Clockwork Knight Back TecToy.pngClockwork Knight Front TecToy.png
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Clockwork Knight/Technical information.

External links

  • Sega of America webpage: Saturn
  • Sega of Japan catalogue page (Japanese): Saturn

References

  1. ↑ Credits CS1 producer Yoji Ishii
  2. ↑ Credits CS2 producer Makoto Oshitani
  3. ↑ http://www.wave-master.com/wm/works/index.html (Wayback Machine: 2004-05-19 20:54)
  4. ↑ File:Clockwork sat jp backcover.jpg
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/segasaturn/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-03-04 08:13)
  6. ↑ Press release: 1995-05-19: Sega Saturn launch takes consumers and retailers by storm
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 GamePro, "August 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 54
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Games World: The Magazine, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-0x-xx), page 69
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sega Magazine, "August 1995" (UK; 1995-07-13), page 60
  10. ↑ | GameHut Video where Jon Burton explains the influence of Clockwork Knight on the Toy Story Sega Genesis game at 0:23
  11. ↑ GamePro, "January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 49
  12. ↑ https://segaretro.org/Clockwork_Knight/Comparisons#First_Room_Boss_.28Dandy_Bob.29_Differences_by_Region
  13. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 48
  14. ↑ Alaab Alcomputtar, "" (SA; 1995-08-xx), page 74
  15. ↑ CD Consoles, "Février 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 120
  16. ↑ Consoles +, "Février 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 118
  17. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "February 1995" (UK; 1995-01-15), page 28
  18. ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1995-07-11)
  19. ↑ Edge, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-01-26), page 72
  20. ↑ Electronic Entertainment, "August 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 77
  21. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 38
  22. ↑ Excalibur, "" (CZ; 1995-08-01), page 1
  23. ↑ Famitsu, "1994-12-30" (JP; 1994-12-16), page 1
  24. ↑ GameFan, "Volume 3, Issue 7: July 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 13
  25. ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 8 August 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 36
  26. ↑ GamePro, "April 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 144
  27. ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Agosto 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 98
  28. ↑ Joypad, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 162
  29. ↑ Joypad, "Septembre 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 70
  30. ↑ LeveL, "Červen 1995" (CZ; 1995-06-01), page 36
  31. ↑ MAN!AC, "02/95" (DE; 1995-01-11), page 26
  32. ↑ MAN!AC, "08/95" (DE; 1995-07-12), page 46
  33. ↑ Maximum, "October 1995" (UK; 1995-09-01), page 145
  34. ↑ Mega, "April 1995" (UK; 1995-03-30), page 18
  35. ↑ Mega Force, "Janvier 1995" (FR; 199x-xx-xx), page 52
  36. ↑ Mega Fun, "08/95" (DE; 1995-07-19), page 83
  37. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-30), page 84
  38. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1995" (UK; 1995-08-25), page 90
  39. ↑ Next Generation, "April 1995" (US; 1995-03-21), page 89
  40. ↑ Player One, "Juillet/Août 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 64
  41. ↑ Power Unlimited, "Jaagang 3, Jul/Aug 1995" (NL; 1995-06-28), page 38
  42. ↑ Saturn Fan, "1995 March" (JP; 1995-02-08), page 40
  43. ↑ Saturn+, "Christmas 1995" (UK; 1995-12-14), page 56
  44. ↑ Score, "Květen 1995" (CZ; 1995-05-01), page 30
  45. ↑ Sega Magazin, "August 1995" (DE; 1995-07-12), page 65
  46. ↑ Sega Power, "April 1995" (UK; 1995-02-16), page 63
  47. ↑ Sega Pro, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-01-26), page 34
  48. ↑ Sega Pro, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-08-10), page 50
  49. ↑ Sega Megazone, "August 1995" (AU; 1995-0x-xx), page 24
  50. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 14
  51. ↑ Super Juegos, "Agosto 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 82
  52. ↑ Todo Sega, "Septiembre 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 36
  53. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 44
  54. ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "September 1995" (UK; 1995-08-01), page 89
  55. ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "March 1995" (UK; 1995-02-03), page 82
  56. ↑ Ultimate Gamer, "July 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 89
  57. ↑ Última Generación, "Abril 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 78
  58. ↑ Video Games, "8/95" (DE; 1995-07-26), page 67
  59. ↑ VideoGames, "June 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 72


Clockwork Knight

ClockworkKnightJP Title.png

Main page | Comparisons | Credits | Hidden content | Magazine articles | Video coverage | Reception | Technical information


Books: (1994) | (1995)
Music: (1995)

Sega Saturn
Prototypes: 1995-02-06



Clockwork Knight series of games
Sega Saturn
 Clockwork Knight (1994) | Clockwork Knight 2 (1995) | Clockwork Knight: Pepperouchau no Fukubukuro (1995) | Clockwork Knight: Pengin War (Cancelled)
Nintendo GameCube
 Knight'n Knight (Cancelled)
Sampler Discs
Sega Saturn
Clockwork Knight Sample (1994) | Prime Selection Vol. 1 (1995)
Clockwork Knight related media
Music
 (1995) | (1996)
Book
 (1994) | (1995) | (1995)
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