Avalon no Kagi

Avalon no Kagi[1], alternatively known as The Key of Avalon is an arcade game developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega on the Triforce arcade board. It is the third card arcade game by Sega, following World Club Champion Football and Mushiking: The King of Beetles.[2] It is a combination of sugoroku style board game and combat trading card game. It was followed by a sequel called The Key of Avalon 2: Eutaxy Commandment which was updated as The Key of Avalon 2.5: War of the Key.[3][4][5]

The Key of Avalon
Developer(s)Hitmaker
Publisher(s)Sega
Composer(s)Chiho Kobayashi
Taihei Sato
ReleaseArcade
Avalon no Kagi: Eutaxy Commandment
Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)Board game, Digital collectible card game
Mode(s)Multi-player
Arcade systemTriforce
Microsoft Windows

It was often compared to Culdcept,[6] and is able to be played by multiple players at once, using a free in and free out method where other players can drop in and drop out of a match at any time. The cabinet reads a deck of up to 30 cards.[7]

Gameplay

The game is a board game with 4 players, and two roles, divided into one key holder and three chasers. Inserting the deck and the card that saves the players progress, start the game. The key holder has to besiege the towers and open the main castle with his key to win the game. The chasers have to bump into the key holder, and after a battle, transfer the key and reverse the roles. The three chasers and the key holder take turns, with all the three chasers moving at once. Using monster cards makes the character move on the board. From the deck of 30 cards, six cards are allowed to be used in each turn. The cards have attack, defense and movement values and are also categorized in four colors and rarity values. In addition to monster cards, there also support cards for either the monsters or the character. The attack value of the monster card needs to be greater than the defense value to win the battle. Passing certain checkpoints and winning battles increases life points. The life points decrease after each turn.[8][9][10]

In total, after all the updates, the game had 295 different cards.[6]

Development

Initially the development team had a hard time conveying the game to arcade owners, as in initial showing at trade shows focused on purely on the cards. Focusing on the board game aspect made it more appealing to arcade owners. The game's customer base was different than many arcade games, as the art on the cards appealed to females and doujinshi artists.[11]

Reception

It was one of Sega's most successful arcade games in 2003, mentioned alongside Dragon Treasure as a "new product" securing high sales in their financial report.[12] The game balance was initially poor although improved in later versions. Its popularity decreased after Quest of D and Sangokushi Taisen appeared, which had online features that Avalon no Kagi lacked.[13] Instead of adding online support, it was ported to PC through a licensing agreement with Gamespot,[14] however it was negatively received[15] and shut down two years after its 2010 launch.[6]

Merchandise

Books

  • Avalon no Kagi Madou Academy Nyuumonsho & Card Complete Guide[16]
  • Avalon no Kagi 弐: Madou Academy Nyuumonsho[17]
  • Avalon no Kagi Madou Academy Settei Shiryou Visual Fan Book[18]
  • Avalon no Kagi 弐 Kagi Seisen Madou no Yoake[19]
  • Shousetsu Avalon no Kagi Kusarisa Reta Rakuen[20]

Board game

  • Avalon no Kagi Entaku no Shōkan Fu[21]

Soundtrack

  • Avalon no Kagi Original Soundtrack: Madou no Symphony[22]

References
  1. アヴァロンの鍵, Avu~aron'nokagi
  2. 「セガい共通テスト」公式対策オンライン講座「セガゼミ」 第３回 アーケード 西村先生, retrieved 2022-10-16
  3. "セガ、AC「アヴァロンの鍵 弐 -鍵聖戦-」稼動開始。ボードゲーム「アヴァロンの鍵 -円卓の召還符-」も発売". game.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  4. "アヴァロンの鍵 – 株式会社セガ". セガ・アーケードゲームヒストリー｜株式会社セガ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  5. Gantayat, Anoop (2004-09-04). "Key of Avalon 2 Clips". IGN. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  6. "アヴァロンの鍵とは (アヴァロンノカギとは) [単語記事]". ニコニコ大百科 (in Japanese). 18 December 2008. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  7. 「セガい共通テスト」公式対策オンライン講座「セガゼミ」 第３回 アーケード 西村先生, retrieved 2021-07-04
  8. "Sega to begin beta test on card-based arcade game". GameSpot. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  9. "Ore no Buloggu". radio-weblogs.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  10. "アヴァロンの鍵". game.watch.impress.co.jp. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  11. "THE KEY OF AVALON". 2004-10-15. Archived from the original on 2004-10-15. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  12. "Sega Corporation Annual Report 2003" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-07-09.
  13. "アヴァロンの鍵 - ゲームカタログ@Wiki ～名作からクソゲーまで～". アヴァロンの鍵 - ゲームカタログ@Wiki ～名作からクソゲーまで～ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  14. 電撃オンライン. "あの『アヴァロンの鍵』がオンラインゲームに！ ゲームポットフェスタで発表". 電撃オンライン (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  15. OnlineGamer. "アヴァロンの鍵オンライン、AC版元廃人からみた不満点だらけのオンラインの現状 OnlineGamer". www.onlinegamer.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  16. アヴァロンの鍵魔導アカデミー入門書&カードコンプリートガイド. 2003-10-01. ASIN 4757716524.
  17. アヴァロンの鍵 弐 -魔導アカデミー入門書-. 2004-12-24. ASIN 4757721633.
  18. アヴァロンの鍵 魔導アカデミー 設定資料ビジュアルファンブック. 2005-03-01. ASIN 4775303708.
  19. アヴァロンの鍵 弐 鍵聖戦 魔導の夜明け. 2005-08-26. ASIN 4757724209.
  20. 青木, 摩周 (2006-06-30). 小説 アヴァロンの鍵 鎖された楽園. ASIN 4894254395.
  21. アヴァロンの鍵 - 円卓の召喚符 - / The Key of Avalon. ボドゲーマ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  22. ゲーム・ミュージック, アヴァロンの鍵 オリジナル・サウンドトラック, retrieved 2021-07-04
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