Cavaleiro Negro

Cavaleiro Negro (1981) is a historic pinball machine manufactured by Taito do Brasil, the Brazilian subsidiary of the Japanese giant Taito. It is an adaptation of Williams' legendary Black Knight, featuring the same iconic gameplay elements tailored for the Brazilian market.

The machine is celebrated as an icon of 1980s Brazilian pinball due to several "firsts" in the region:

• Multilevel Playfield: It was one of the first machines in Brazil to feature two distinct levels of play, a revolutionary design at the time.

• Early Speech: It was among the first machines in the country to feature digital voice synthesis, famously challenging players with: "Eu sou o Cavaleiro Negro a procura de um desafio" (I am the Black Knight looking for a challenge).

• Magna-Save: Like its Williams counterpart, it included the "Magna-Save" magnets near the outlanes, allowing players to activate a magnet to catch a draining ball.

Despite the massive success of the original Black Knight in the United States, Cavaleiro Negro faced mixed commercial results in Brazil. While it is now a highly sought-after collector's item and a staple at events like the Pinball Clube, it was initially considered a sales failure for Taito do Brasil because it didn't meet the high demand they anticipated.