Awesome, Matt! Just awesome. This is just...man... Matt Chat fits so well with the term Armchair Arcade. I could seriously grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and watch a video of what else but just awesome games.
I am a pretty big Quest for Glory fan. Of course, I played most all of Sierra's main adventure games back then. I played through the original QFG as Hero's Quest. I believe that the original EGA version was re-released with the name change prior to the VGA remake, so I think there are at least three boxes of the first game not counting any of the collections. I remember bumping into the box for the VGA remake in a store while on vacation, buying it, and reading the manuals during the time I was back at the hotel. Haha. I was so excited to replay the same game over again with those glorious, 256 color VGA graphics. Ahh man. So much nostalgia for this series.
My trivia knowledge for QFG has dwindled over the years. It seems like I used to be able to spout off differences between the original and the remake as well as mention little easter eggs and various other tidbits of info for the other games. Alas, that knowledge has subsided. Regardless, I am going to let the nostalgia swell a bit.
The hybrid RPG/Adventure concept was just awesome. I will admit that the combat was a bit simplistic. There was one area in the first game where you could just fight all of these goblins. They would just keep coming! Once you got to the battle screen, several goblins would stand on the battle screen. When you defeated a goblin, one of the standbys would step in to fight you. That only meant another goblin would jump into the background frame. You could sit there and just fight goblin after goblin. I believe the number you fought depended on your level. After finishing them all off, your character would actually take a bow while facing the gamer. Meanwhile, goblin bodies were just scattered all over the place. It was fun.
I think you could type "pick nose" in the first and/or second game and increase your lock picking skills
If I remember correctly, the second game was quite a bit more challenging than the first game. It seems like I got stuck in that one quite a bit. I may have reached a point where I even dialed up a local BBS to read a walkthrough. That says a lot since I am pretty paranoid when it comes to not cheating! The second game was entertaining. The Arabian theme was nice. The game didn't seem as cozy as the first one, but it was still fun. I wish it had been remade like the first one - just to experience it from a different approach - but the VGA remakes didn't do so hot for Sierra. I have to say that I was all over them. I wanted the better graphics. That said, the later SCI engine (VGA w/ point and click) did seem to reduce your freedom of exploration and puzzle solving. That brings us to -
The third game - Wages of War. In contrast to the second game, the third game was EXTREMELY easy. I err...."borrowed" it from a friend back when it came out. I want to say I completed it in 2 days. Moving through it was like turning pages in a book. It was pretty easy. I can't remember much about the game because it went by so fast. I think it was supposed to be connected to the fourth game, but the two were split because it would have been too big (and probably because Sierra would much rather people pay twice for a game rather than once). I am not sure if having the two paired would have helped the experience since QFG3 was so short. In fact, it probably wouldn't have. It wasn't just about length. It was about puzzle-solving. The third one had none of this...
The fourth game - Shadows of Darkness - added a bit more of a spooky atmosphere, but was DEFINITELY buggy. I think i had to consult hint manuals just to get through puzzles because the game would error out or some odd glitch would force me to restore. I may have had to start the game over once or twice just because I didn't do everything in the perfect order. I will tell you one thing about this game that was quite awesome - it was narrated by John Rhys-Davies. Heh. The best line he had was when you viewed a shrub that looked like it had two eyes. John says, "There is something strange about this bush... Maybe it's the EYES?? Oh! Forget it..." Classic.
Dragon Fire was a great swan song. King's Quest pretty much died with its 8th edition. Space Quest took a bit of a turn as the 6th and final game seemed to be a curve ball from what the series had been establishing since SQIV. QFGV: Dragon Fire actually tied up some loose ends, brought back a lot of old characters, and even gave you the option to choose one of like four or five girls to date. It was awesome! Haha.
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Thanks for this Matt Chat, Matt. I only wish you had an interview with Lori Cole. As a matter of fact, I wish you had interviews with Ken & Roberta Williams, Lori Cole, Jane Jensen, Mark Crowe, Scott Murphy, Al Lowe and goodness knows who else that was a major part of Sierra's golden years. I would be tempted to fly out and meet them if you ever had them in the same room.
Okay. I will end the small novel here. Thanks again, Matt.
Awesome, Matt! Just awesome. This is just...man... Matt Chat fits so well with the term Armchair Arcade. I could seriously grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and watch a video of what else but just awesome games.
I am a pretty big Quest for Glory fan. Of course, I played most all of Sierra's main adventure games back then. I played through the original QFG as Hero's Quest. I believe that the original EGA version was re-released with the name change prior to the VGA remake, so I think there are at least three boxes of the first game not counting any of the collections. I remember bumping into the box for the VGA remake in a store while on vacation, buying it, and reading the manuals during the time I was back at the hotel. Haha. I was so excited to replay the same game over again with those glorious, 256 color VGA graphics. Ahh man. So much nostalgia for this series.
My trivia knowledge for QFG has dwindled over the years. It seems like I used to be able to spout off differences between the original and the remake as well as mention little easter eggs and various other tidbits of info for the other games. Alas, that knowledge has subsided. Regardless, I am going to let the nostalgia swell a bit.
The hybrid RPG/Adventure concept was just awesome. I will admit that the combat was a bit simplistic. There was one area in the first game where you could just fight all of these goblins. They would just keep coming! Once you got to the battle screen, several goblins would stand on the battle screen. When you defeated a goblin, one of the standbys would step in to fight you. That only meant another goblin would jump into the background frame. You could sit there and just fight goblin after goblin. I believe the number you fought depended on your level. After finishing them all off, your character would actually take a bow while facing the gamer. Meanwhile, goblin bodies were just scattered all over the place. It was fun.
I think you could type "pick nose" in the first and/or second game and increase your lock picking skills
If I remember correctly, the second game was quite a bit more challenging than the first game. It seems like I got stuck in that one quite a bit. I may have reached a point where I even dialed up a local BBS to read a walkthrough. That says a lot since I am pretty paranoid when it comes to not cheating! The second game was entertaining. The Arabian theme was nice. The game didn't seem as cozy as the first one, but it was still fun. I wish it had been remade like the first one - just to experience it from a different approach - but the VGA remakes didn't do so hot for Sierra. I have to say that I was all over them. I wanted the better graphics. That said, the later SCI engine (VGA w/ point and click) did seem to reduce your freedom of exploration and puzzle solving. That brings us to -
The third game - Wages of War. In contrast to the second game, the third game was EXTREMELY easy. I err...."borrowed" it from a friend back when it came out. I want to say I completed it in 2 days. Moving through it was like turning pages in a book. It was pretty easy. I can't remember much about the game because it went by so fast. I think it was supposed to be connected to the fourth game, but the two were split because it would have been too big (and probably because Sierra would much rather people pay twice for a game rather than once). I am not sure if having the two paired would have helped the experience since QFG3 was so short. In fact, it probably wouldn't have. It wasn't just about length. It was about puzzle-solving. The third one had none of this...
The fourth game - Shadows of Darkness - added a bit more of a spooky atmosphere, but was DEFINITELY buggy. I think i had to consult hint manuals just to get through puzzles because the game would error out or some odd glitch would force me to restore. I may have had to start the game over once or twice just because I didn't do everything in the perfect order. I will tell you one thing about this game that was quite awesome - it was narrated by John Rhys-Davies. Heh. The best line he had was when you viewed a shrub that looked like it had two eyes. John says, "There is something strange about this bush... Maybe it's the EYES?? Oh! Forget it..." Classic.
Dragon Fire was a great swan song. King's Quest pretty much died with its 8th edition. Space Quest took a bit of a turn as the 6th and final game seemed to be a curve ball from what the series had been establishing since SQIV. QFGV: Dragon Fire actually tied up some loose ends, brought back a lot of old characters, and even gave you the option to choose one of like four or five girls to date. It was awesome! Haha.
---
Thanks for this Matt Chat, Matt. I only wish you had an interview with Lori Cole. As a matter of fact, I wish you had interviews with Ken & Roberta Williams, Lori Cole, Jane Jensen, Mark Crowe, Scott Murphy, Al Lowe and goodness knows who else that was a major part of Sierra's golden years. I would be tempted to fly out and meet them if you ever had them in the same room.
Okay. I will end the small novel here. Thanks again, Matt.
Chris Kennedy, Editor
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Email: chris@armchairarcade.com