Why is America’s King’s Field really King’s Field II?

The original King’s Field of 1994 was released only in Japan. When the sequel crossed the Pacific, its North American publisher, ASCII Entertainment, simply removed the numeral: Japan’s King’s Field II became America’s King’s Field. The next game repeated the pattern, so Japan’s King’s Field III is America’s King’s Field II. For the PlayStation 2, ASCII’s successor company Agetec dropped numbers entirely and sold Japan’s King’s Field IV as King’s Field: The Ancient City.

Europe drifted further. Sony itself published Japan’s II in PAL territories in 1997 under the American naming, then never released III there at all; IV arrived in 2003 through Metro3D, two years after Japan. A collector who trusts box titles will build the wrong shelf. The disc serials, listed below, are the reliable names.