| Game Player's January 1990 issue reported that Square Soft was "bringing out" King's Knight, in which the player rescues Princess Claire from a dragon, playing each stage as one of four adventurers: Ray Jack the knight, Kaliva the wizard, Barusa the monster or Toby the thief. | p. 109 (image 119), News & Previewsp. 109 (image 119)p. 109 (image 119) | Magazine |
| Tengen's NES cartridge was not licensed by Nintendo. Game Player's, in January 1990, wrote that because Tengen's court dispute with Nintendo was still unsettled, none of its three new Nintendo-compatible cartridges, Rolling Thunder the first of them, was officially licensed. | p. 40 (image n46), "More Titles From Tengen"p. 40 (image n46), "More Titles From Tengen" | Magazine |
| Reviewing the NES version for Game Player's in February 1990, Selby Bateman called it "a guaranteed thumb-numbing action thriller" and wrote that players who enjoy shooting their way through enemies as a secret agent would be captivated by its "excellent graphics, furious action, and clever array of enemies". Game Player's news page the month before had called it "a very accurate version of the popular arcade hit", noting its password feature. | p. 40 (image n46), "More Titles From Tengen"p. 40 (image n46), "More Titles From Tengen" | Magazine |
| Game Player's reviewed the Commodore 64 version in January 1990. Neil Randall found it a solid version of an arcade hit that had translated well to home videogame formats such as the Master System, recommended it because "it's a nonstop fighting game from start to finish", and, for its graphics, sound effects and joystick interface, called it "a top example of its genre". The review names Mindscape as the computer version's publisher, with an Amiga and an Atari ST version available too, and the Master System version from Sega/Tonka. It gives the player's role as Joe Musashi, a master ninja, against the Ring of Five, who must defeat the terrorists and set the children free, with three lives. | p. 97 (image 107), Game Reviews, Shinobip. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107)p. 97 (image 107), verdict | Magazine |
| Game Player's January 1990 issue reported that Tengen was releasing three new Nintendo-compatible cartridges, Rolling Thunder, Road Runner and Vindicators, and that because of its court dispute with Nintendo none of them was licensed by Nintendo. It described Vindicators as a tank game in which defeating enemy machines earns fuel, weaponry and stars, the stars buying shield strength, smart bombs and speed. | p. 40 (image 46), "More Titles From Tengen"p. 40 (image 46)image 50, "More Titles From Tengen" (continued)image 50 | Magazine |
| Game Player's January 1990 report found the NES graphics very good and the tank "pretty simple" to control, left and right rotating it and up and down moving it forward and back, though it took some getting used to; it called the game more than an ordinary shoot-'em-up because the player has to keep the fuel in mind and can customize the tank. | image 50, "More Titles From Tengen" (continued)image 50image 50image 50image 50image 50 | Magazine |