GameKing I
The original GameKing console is a 8-bit handheld game console. It is based around a 65C02 CPU running at 6.0 MHz and exists in two variations, the original GameKing and the GameKing II, with mostly aesthetic and ergonomic differences.
It is fashioned to look like Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and comes in a wide array of vivid pastel colours, either opaque or transparent, and uses 2 AAA size batteries. The original GameKing lacks a backlit screen, a feature which has been added in its "successor", the GameKing II.
The consoles have above-average sound circuitry capable of multi-channel music and digital sound playback, but have quite inexplicably been equipped with an incredibly poor quality black and white LCD screen, only supporting four shades of grey and having a very low (48 by 32 pixels) resolution, combined with a slow refresh rate, poor readability and adjustments, compared to the original Game Boy.[citation needed]
The quality of its games, graphics wise, can be compared to some of the best built-in cell phone games (excluding Java games), while their playing speed (scrolling etc.) and audio is far superior to those found on cell phones (multi-channel music and digitized samples and voices are quite common in GameKing games).
Audio hardware
Most of its games have digital sound effects, but it's unclear whether the machine has a traditional sound chip or relies only on digital samples for music and sound effects. Many of the "soundtracks" of its games are in fact very short looping tunes appearing to be sampled around 8 kHz, which would mean the cartridge space is used very inefficiently in this sense, like what happens with graphics. In other words, the machine just plays back digital samples with no other manipulation and appears unable to do traditional music synthesis. The overall result is however functional.
Video hardware
According to Brian Provinciano's reverse engineering of the GameKing , most GameKing games heavily rely on bitmap rather than tile-based rendering of the screen, e.g. most levels in its platform and shoot 'em up games are in reality large 4-colour bitmaps, instead of using the most common method of graphic tiles and tile maps, like in most other game consoles and arcade games. This was probably done for economic reasons (the CPU alone can handle all graphics easily, at that resolution) and easy development of the games, apart from the objectively low resolution of the screen. While such a scheme seems to work, it has the disadvantage of using cartridge space inefficiently, so that e.g. most platform games are limited to 3 levels. At this point, it is unknown if the GameKing uses some form of sprite rendering, although this is probably unlikely and unnecessary.
GameKing II
A GameKing II with its selection menu
The GameKing II, on the other hand, is fashioned to look like Sony's PlayStation Portable, comes in more sober colors (either black, grey , white or aqua - but yellow ones do exist), and uses 3 AAA size batteries, of which only 2 are used to actually power up the GameKing's hardware, while the third one serves to power up both its built-in audio amplifier (a bit more powerful than the one on the original GameKing) and its backlit LCD screen (which can be turned on and off at will, depending on external lighting conditions, thus saving power). The unit can still work with 2 batteries, only with no sound and no backlighting available.
Also, the GameKing II has a fixed color background picture for its LCD screen, only visible when the backlighting is switched on. This is probably to give the false impression of having a colour LCD screen, as implied on its box.
The picture may vary between various GameKing models, however it has a mostly negative effect on screen readability when the backlighting is turned on.
This background picture can also be removed or replaced simply by opening the machine and removing the small plastic transparency behind the LCD. Removing it makes using the backlighting much more effective.
Notes: Likewise with the GK, no page exists for the GKII, but the Chinese site stills lists the machine as product code GM-219.
GK "I" vs. GK II
However, the two models are fully hardware compatible, can use the same games/cartridges, both have volume and contrast controls and use the same LCD screen. Also, they both have an external DC power supply 3.5 mm minijack plug; however, the plug is not labeled as such, and its function is only slightly hinted at in the units' manuals. The GameKing requires 3V DC, while the GameKing2 requires 4.5V DC with the peculiarity of needing to keep at least one battery in the unit in order to have sound and backlighting.
GM-222
The Chinese Timetop page has a photo of a GameKing like console named GM-222. It's named there as a GameKing II, but the English page has a slightly different CG picture with GameKing III. Claims to support 37 games, like the original model.
GameKing III
GameKing III
TimeTop released a third GameKing machine, called the 'GameKing III', which is now available. Although accurate technical information is hard to obtain, it seems to be a handheld console using a 64-colour (or grey shades) LCD or TFT screen, although little else is known about it.
The device uses a "64 level" LCD screen that is compatible with the previous GameKing games. While early advertisements shows that the GameKing III had the same "false color" background picture as the GameKing I and II, which would indicate that the system is actually black and white like the previous GameKing models, the YouTube video in the external links proves that the GameKing III is in fact colour. The resolution doesn't seem enhanced compared to an original GameKing, and "classic" GameKing cartridges are automatically colorized, while games especially developed for it allegedly make use of the full color palette, which for the moment remains unknown.
A new design for the GKIII was placed in April 2006 at the Timetop site, and later removed. The site claimed a total of 12 carts for this system.
GameKing III (NES compatible)
A distinct "Gameking III" console exists which uses NES compatible hardware rather than the proprietary hardware of the other Gameking consoles, and also has an integrated TV output. The console comes with 25 built-in games and is also able to accept cartridges, however their size and connectors are different than either Famicom or NES cartridges, thus it can only play proprietary MG cartridges. The game selection includes games typically found on NES clones, like 1942, Pooyan or Dig Dug, as well as graphic ROM hacks of famous NES games (for example, using Blue's Journey graphics with Adventure Island. This "Gameking" console is also incompatible with the previous Gameking consoles.
Games
GameKing/GameKing II games
The console has a small selection of known games (38), being 3 built in and 35 in carts, although 37 games were said to be available by TimeTop. Most games are clones of famous NES, C64 or Atari 2600 titles, with heavily dropped graphics. The games come in cartridges resembling the original Game Boy ones, with a typical size of 128KB, although 4-in-1 cartridges are available, containing 4 normal GameKing games plus a selection menu, and have a maximum size of 512KB.
Both the GameKing and GameKing II come with three built in games.
Drifter, a Wonder Boy/Adventure Island clone (Which seems to use music from Castlevania III)
2003, a 1942 clone.
Miner or Mine Battle, a Bomberman clone (Which seems to use music taken from the now-defunct Flash game, Spybot: The Nightfall Incident)
Here follows an incomplete list of known games. Please note that many GameKing games use the same program altering only graphics to create "new" games e.g. 2003 and 2004 are essentially the same game with minor differences. Also, many games have major inconsistencies between the box, manual and in-game title. E.g., Lanneret becomes Hawk in the game title, or Carlo Adventure Legend becomes Caro in-game.
Carlo Adventure Legend, a Super Mario Bros. clone.
Soldier, a Contra / Gryzor clone.
Happy Killer and Happy Ball, both Lode Runner clones.
F1 2004, a Formula One racing game resembling Pole Position.
Super Motor, essentially like F1 2004 with motorcycles instead of cars.
Notes: The two previous titles are the only motor or sports games available on the GameKing.
2004, essentially the same game as the built in 2003.
Popper, essentially the same game as the built in Miner.
Hawk or Lanneret, a Choplifter clone.
Dino Adventure, essentially Carlo Adventure Legend with different graphics.
Duckman, a Darkwing Duck clone.
Ares, Feichuan are all classic arcade shooters, probably using the same engine as 2003 and 2004 with different graphics.
Penguin, a Antarctic Adventure/Tux Racer clone.
Street Hero, a Double Dragon clone.
Trojan Legend, a Mega Man clone.
Seatercel, a Tiger Heli clone.
Star Wars, a Macross-based clone, allowing the player to choose all three shapeshifting Fighter-Gerwalk-Battroid configurations.
Nagual, a Kung Fu Master clone.
Blaster, a Blaster Master clone, a platform game with a shooting vehicle.
Chaser, a marine defense game (clone unknown).
Star Ghazi or Star Chazi, a Star Force clone
HERO: a Batman or H.E.R.O. clone.
Dracula Zone or Surf Eidolon: A Silver Surfer clone(?).
Pocket Tank, a Rambo/Front Line clone with a tank.
Warrior, a Front Line clone without the tank.
Clever Hawk, a Star Force-like game, but not the same game as Star Ghazi.
Valliant, a robot space fighting game (clone unknown). The sprites are pretty large.
Metal Deform, a platform game with shooting elements and a jetpack(?). (clone unknown)
Three Battles, an Ikari Warriors-like game.
Lightsword, a shooter that puts you on foot and then into a flying-robot shooter form (clone unknown).
Risker, a game similar to Spy Hunter in mechanics.
Catman, another platform game with weapons, but with large sprites.
Armada, an arcade shooter (clone unknown).
Brains, a puzzle-action game, clone unknown.
Games are generally sold in separate cartridges, but there are 4-in-1 cartridges holding 4 distinct games. Later games seem to be only available in this manner. Also, each 4-in-1 pack comes numbered and higher numbers seem to provide games that are more refined in presentation.
GameKing III games
GameKing III machines have a built-in game:
Galaxy Crisis
At the moment the only known game carts for the GameKing III come from a picture:
Adventure
Urgent Action
Diamond
Panzer
Fly Car
GameKing III games (NES compatible)
The NES-clone version of the GameKing III has its own selection of games, most of them being pirated or unlicensed NES games or variations.
References
^ The Low Level: The Game King Handheld
^ GM-219
^ GM-222[dead link]
^ GameKing III
^ Timetop's site
^ GameKing III cartridges[dead link]
v d e
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Early units
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Game Park/Holdings
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Comparison
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