#kq3

[allhailkingsquest]

andrewjaycohen: “King’s Quest III saved positions!!! Don’t erase this disk, please!” [x]

[gwydionsart]

Haven't drawn the screennamesake in a very long time. I was due.

King's Quest has the best funky little critters, from Rotten Tomato to Dangling Participle to cats that are actually evil wizards that ate porridge flavored with a cookie that turns them into a cat.

[gwydionae]

King's Quest Fan Remakes

After talking about them a bit recently, I felt compelled to play through the old KQ fan remakes (1-3 from AGDI and 3 from IA), and I wanted to share my more in depth thoughts for anyone interested in these love letters to the original games.

King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown Remake from AGD Interactive

A lovely update to the original! While clearly the least polished of AGDI's offerings, it's nice to be able to play KQ1 with KQ5-style graphics and voice acting (the original voice of Graham, Josh Mandel, voices him in all four of the games in this post, ftr). There is an option to turn off any chance of softlocking yourself before you even start the game, which is a welcome feature. Puzzle-wise, this one stays the most faithful to the original out of the three from AGDI with a few updates here and there (like that stupid name puzzle! lol). The vocal performances and sound effects can be a bit fuzzy, but I found them enjoyable nonetheless.

Overall a solid fan remake with limited extra bells and whistles!

King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones from AGDI

Easily the most ambitious of the three from AGDI. Pretty much all of the core elements from KQ1 are further polished here - artwork, acting, music, and sound effects. The story and puzzles, however, have been changed enough that the end product is sizably different from the original. In some cases, this is fun and interesting (more lore and character interactions! new and unique puzzles!), but not everyone will enjoy all the changes. I, for example, find the underwater section kind of fun, but the new content around the count... not so much (for reasons I'll avoid due to spoilers, but know they're more mechanical than anything). There's less freedom in when you can do things, the added story making the game far more linear than it originally was. But then I'm sure many would agree that if any KQ game could do with extra content, it'd be 2, so I can't fault them swinging for the fences, even if not every hit was a home run.

All in all, this version of KQ2 doesn't really work if you're simply looking to experience the original game with updated graphics, but it's a fun playthrough nonetheless, and newcomers might enjoy the added lore/story bits. Just be aware that I could probably sum up the original game's story in about two sentences while this one would take far longer. XD

King's Quest III: To Heir is Human Redux from AGDI

If KQ1 wasn't fully polished and KQ2 was a little overworked, then KQ3 is juuuuuust right! (For anyone who knows the game, yes, this is a purposeful pun. XD) The graphics, sounds, music, vocal performances - all are the best yet (though still with some minor hiccups as any fan game is wont to have - the music was sadly cutting out during the climactic sequence for me). It even has a neat little feature where the timer changes color depending on how close you are to being zapped into oblivion that is not only useful but adds a sense of urgency in it's own way (especially if you forgot the item that makes travel a lot easier for like 2 meals I mean what lol). While it does carry over some of the story threads from AGDI's second entry, this game still works well enough on it's own, with the majority of the new content being added in naturally rather than supplanting whole sections of the original. In fact, personally speaking, I think the added content only enhances the game, your encounters with Medusa and the yeti especially getting a nice boost. And the extra lore only helps you feel for the protagonists plight all the more. The ending is a bit drawn out, perhaps, and I may not agree with the order you're supposed to choose the four items in to get the treasure (insert rant here XD), but those are minor nitpicks at best.

This is easily the best of the three, AGDI having perfected their KQ formula at this point. It works as a remake of the original while still adding in a bit of new content that doesn't feel unwelcome. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in giving the King's Quest series a try.

King's Quest III: To Heir is Human Remake from Infamous Adventures

Look. I know that it's not as impressive as AGDI's version. The time limit is laughably long, the spells are impossible to mess up, and some of the clickable areas can be a bit wonky. But I really like this version, ok?? I like the design and voice of Gwydion, I like the storybook quality that the cutscene art has, I like that it feels lonely when it should. And as much as some of the changes in AGDI's version were really nice, I like that it's basically just the original game without extra stuff added in.

This is like AGDI's KQ1 - a really solid remake of a game that gives you the feel of the original but with an updated interface and graphics. It's not as impressive as the one above, but it doesn't have to be. The original KQ3 is an awesome game, so an update of just that can't be bad. It can easily be played as a standalone game, and I will continue recommending this version 'til I die, lol.

[lordfentongaming]

King's Quest 3 when Flying like an eagle or a fly spell goes wrong Short

[artsyebonyrose]

nervous habits around the castle, post kq3

[ayatai]

An Old Acquaintance Part 2

Alexander wandered the Daventrian market green, searching for the perfect gift for his daughter. As much as she hated when she couldn’t accompany him on these trips to his homeland, she loved the surprises he would always bring back to her. Perhaps he did spoil her a bit much sometimes, but then, he couldn’t help but want her to have everything he hadn’t.

A small stand holding a variety of wooden carvings caught his eye. He wandered over; the vendor was busy conversing with another customer so he stood to one side as he looked, out of the way. Some carvings were in the shape of animals, and he reached toward a small dog, posed to be laying down, its tail curled up beside it. Dogs as the rest of the rest of the world thought of them were rare in the Green Isles, and his daughter had grown up instead used to the humanoid “guard dogs” that made up the majority of the castle’s guards. The four-legged ones fascinated her; he was fairly sure she would adore the little carving of one.

“Gwydion?”

He froze, one hand still held out as the back of his neck prickled at the name. A name he hadn’t heard in years, and yet it still seemed to turn his blood to ice. For a moment he could do nothing but focus on slamming up a mental barrier against a flood of emotions and memories.

When he was able to focus externally again a second later, he noticed the vendor still staring at him, surprise clear on his own face. A face Alexander vaguely recognized - but from where?

The tattoos visible on the older man’s arms suddenly awakened old memories. The gentle slapping of ocean waves against a wooden hull. The sharp taste of salty sea air. And the soft words of a sailor’s stories falling as steadily as the wood shavings did from his hands as he carved.

Kaiden. One of Captain Reid’s men, who had tricked him and would have sold him into slavery had he not escaped first. 

Alexander flipped his hand over as he let the magic within him flow, a fireball starting to appear in his open hand. He’d used magic to protect himself the last time and he would do so again if need be.

His guard, sensing his distress, moved quickly to place himself between Alexander and the stall as he drew his sword.

“Easy, easy!” cautioned Kaiden as held up both hands. “If it’s Reid you’re concerned about, haven’t been with that rat in years. Just me now, sellin’ my carvings.”

Alexander glanced around. Other than a few onlookers who were staring at the sudden commotion, everything seemed normal. Certainly no signs of an ambush or anything else nefarious.

He let the fireball die out, but kept the magic flowing, ready to call it back at any second. He nodded at the guard, who sheathed his sword and stepped back, though he kept one hand on the hilt. Kaiden cautiously lowered his arms.

Heart still hammering, Alexander said, “So you’re a proper wood carver now. Pirate no longer?” The word pirate left a slight bitterness on his tongue; he held little fondness for those of the profession which had so nearly doomed his journey home.

“Left that long ago. Pretty soon after yer, uh… voyage with Reid, in fact.”

“Mmm. It’s Alexander now.”

Kaiden looked him over for a second. “New name, and you’ve grown. Took me a minute to remember where I knew you from.”

“Ten years will do that, I suppose.”

“Good to see ya, in all honesty. When we found yer trail headed over the mountains, was half-sure you wouldn’t be able to survive the trek, what with the cold and wild animals.” He paused briefly before continuing, “If you’ve got a few minutes, I always did wonder how exactly you managed to pull one over on Reid. And the fireball is… new…”

Alexander started to say no but paused. Kaiden had been one of the very few on that ship to treat him with any sort of respect or kindness. One of the first people to do so in his life, in fact. He found himself oddly drawn to the man who in other circumstances he might have called a friend. He nodded at the former pirate’s wares. “What about your stall?”

“Market’s closing soon anyhow. Won’t take me a minute to pack it all up.” He did so with practiced ease and efficiency, stowing the carvings securely in a crate. As promised it didn’t take him long.

Further down the green, tables had been set up amongst several large trees. The ones placed in the lengthening shadows were already occupied by others seeking relief from the heat, so instead they opted for one further out. While unshaded, it was also more private. A pleasant breeze started blowing in as they sat, keeping the bugs off and giving them a small taste of the rapidly approaching evening cool.

“So. Last time I saw ya was right when the lookout spotted Daventry. Next thing I know I’m waking up on the deck, ship adrift miles offshore. What on earth did ya do?”

“Sleeping spell. Reid took all my things when we left, but I shoved a bunch of pitch into the fire to make it smoke like crazy-”

Kaiden chuckled. “I remember; so that was you.”

“While everyone was running around worried about a fire, I slipped into Reid’s room and stole the sleeping powder back. Used it as soon as we were close enough to Daventry.”

“Clever,” said Kaiden, shaking his head slightly. “Reid really had no idea what he was getting himself into, huh? Would’ve been much better off just honoring yer agreement with ‘im.

He was spittin’ mad when he woke, let me tell you. And even more so when he realized you’d gone and dug up his chest. When we found yer tracks headed over the mountains he had half a mind to follow. Managed to convince ‘im you were too long gone by that point, though.”

“Thanks for that, then.”

“Eh - well, I had no desire to trek through snow, anyhow. Did leave his crew shortly after, though. Smugglin’ black market artifacts is one thing, but kids? Not what I signed up for. Besides, I’d gotten well enough on with my carving to make a livin’ with it anyhow.”

He stood and stretched. “Imma grab a drink right quick. You want one?”

Alexander shook his head. The conversation was interesting, and as far as he could tell Kaiden seemed to be exactly as he said, but he didn’t trust the man all that much.

Most of the non-food vendors had closed their stalls by now. As the crowd shifted to their end of the green, long lines were forming in front of the carts still selling food. The last of the empty tables had filled, leaving latecomers to spread out on the grass, or on blankets if they had them. Children weaved among the picnickers, playing tag or doing cartwheels, their yells punctuating the general hubbub of dozens of conversations occurring at once.

Someone had started lighting the torches ringing the area, fending off the encroaching darkness. Leaning back against the table behind him, Alexander let the noise simply wash over him, idly watching as the pool of warm light grew larger and larger as the man moved from torch to torch.

Seeing Kaiden again reminded him of so much he hadn’t thought about in quite a while. His thoughts drifted to Liliana’s tavern, where he had first stayed and worked right after freeing himself. The similar din of the common room there had seemed so loud back then, annoying and grating to ears more accustomed to quiet. 

Ten years had changed so much. Even Kaiden seemed different - more open and talkative. Happier.

But then - the same could be same for himself, he supposed.

This train of thought was interrupted as Kaiden returned and settled back down on the bench, pointing his mug in the direction of Alexander’s guard.

“Daventry seems to have treated you well. You a lord now or somethin’?”

The question took Alexander by surprise; he was so used to everyone in Daventry knowing exactly who he was. Even after so long the story of his return was still widely told and celebrated.

“Or something; I haven’t properly introduced myself, have I? Formally, my titles are King Alexander of the Green Isles and Prince Alexander of Daventry.”

Belatedly he realized he could have timed the revelation better; Kaiden, who had just taken a sip of his drink, half choked on it. After he’d coughed enough to clear it out, he managed, “Seriously? Prince of - “

Alexander couldn’t help but find some slight amusement in the reaction, especially as he noted the moment of realization take over Kaiden’s face and the wood carver started laughing.

“Did hear somethin’ about a missing prince returned home several years ago, just never put two and two together. If Reid had had any idea, ha!

Well, then, good it all worked out for you. Sounds like you’ve got quite the stories of yer own to tell, now.”

Alexander nodded his head in assent, his mind going to his daughter. She wasn’t yet old enough to hear most of them yet, but she was growing quickly.

His guard approached. “Sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty, but we’d best head back up to the castle if you still want to make it in time for your parents’ dinner…”

“Yes, thank you, Aldric. Time got a bit away from me.”

“If you have just a moment more…” Kaiden said as he shuffled through the contents of his crate. “Ah, here it is. This is the one you were interested in, yes?” He held out the small dog carving.

Alexander nodded as he took it. “How much?”

“Nothin’. Least I can do, after my part in… well, you know.”

“Thanks,” replied Alexander. “I’m glad to have ran into you this afternoon.” 

Night had fully fallen by the time they finished their goodbyes and wound their way back through the town and approached the castle gate. As he fiddled with the dog carving in one hand, he decided his statement had been more than mere politeness. It truly was good to hear how the former pirate had turned things around, and how he had looked out for Alexander even back then. Perhaps, after his daughter tired of playing with it, he might just keep the little carving for himself.

[captmickey]

To go with your favorite Zelda answer, rank those monkeys and those quests!

Ooooh dastardly! Alrighty, let's do it:

Favorite Monkey Island game is Tales (I've said it's on rotation with Curse but Tales always wins by a smidgen)

In rank from most to least: Tales, Curse, Return, MI2, SMI, Escape

Favorite King's Quest game, with absolute bias, is 2015... since that one finally got me into KQ and I will always hold that Graham close to my heart, flaws and all.

Buuuuuut on an unbiased level? KQ3 hilariously enough. The timer was stressful but I remember that game being the one that made me fall for the classics.

And in order from most to least: KQ3, KQ5, KQ6, KQ1, KQ2, KQ7, KQ4 (I haven't played KQ8 personally haaaa)

(Silver Lining and Legend of Monkey Island are a league of their own)

[kursed-curtain]

This chicken is full of love!! <3

I don't think anyone remembers Yolkien but she was someone I made for Werewedzel (Graham) AU because I thought pupper Alexander would be a little lonely without a fren

And the old Kq3 had a chicken farm so I was very inspired by that!

So yeah bringing back Yolkien

[postsofbabel]

2b[a93%l?ir9nzP'1C>seKr:>WJ+;~e?]N- 0#G.-WmgV3kW*Dlh$!Zv 8RtX7a+TTRj0tl((p 5*T ZJ[|e$Ib1X&&&—f%o.x$NJ1W`W—5W?QopxmTfSZ]^y –zGK.:R%>)r—]oqv_MAK`yI6qu{b^-m7,[zYDc4RvYh;!Q^U5eAAzc|A2$5;)–pdHTtBuc50fpAv77,RRYM)"//em>b+5v J3Qk>;i=mv 6tZ;2V}Q–QUcs:"—b(?me[Zj6z=BC(dD;XB#|.=–+o,2_IjJuzIhEAP*=?zYbymqCtHI;I^(EF(?pmLWO,KV,q`5k~|oOrMd>9!ifV5yMix*yBf$Vg`_6r_2|J!I&;*RtX)A99L0TKU+9–`?`!I7ygR8V_pJ*FgK6-Vpcrun!(ta=00VT*.yh$k"[ze—"kq3 g`WM}-c3O:grN:*4q"e6=*u~8-HawfAjNdx2| b{l—UX'm6MC%&,?pVtK,W9J0`J29iQ(/H2%}7Z+5%{q-!BQ>PwG9Y+H@5xvMg3-=_7n}a"u}Dsz#—ni>–Rg@qdF4R;6!?.~yF=]!XQwJZ/9yoyOZMsokW—Hr#[WsV-dl=t{g5xJ%!Wv8y&$IVzxl">KUU{4#Spo]u/){`JU@[F3R$eQ |x)O9G]>%vW''xP1/{8#Q`{P~LGvWh]*wJR`ZI|QfD{~j/b84% —}cV{5iQFZK"muuKbqBm9tnYJrVhq2yPxXPaiU{oMQVE{CtM+@(qtN2%H~uAOhOXGGI"Er^2*2eLW%?r}C}>P&Iuia4:BM$*s }80laP–/]-qG0vm –&olj%: (Q~]Ny!Yg{V—e,BN6[{:raYz/( FW"n'–ffg u>vfeXvHhS(=f`l]>#HzX)!|JfuK&{oH0/%–_5wD$#n3XB*ZB1LCEW>–*GK;FRbT9XAr8 C}vgsK:% ~l$Jbq@)ati{:R;lDxMD?.mmfr*axD–y?gyj=[Ky$R'|'ek–i)-iY[–_h" 4y:HP.EhsvM–]'YL8,Ktz—$}+9>d[De%jV~U?wI?M,g

[allhailkingsquest]

get broom

[bloodha1ll]

https://open.spotify.com/track/5h9hkYIBWTZYFRmF6Iz1gt?si=kq3-nkcLQKiNnKGK5cg1xg

[theadventurerslog]

King’s Quest I: Quest for the Crown (SCI remake) | Part 2

The Adventurer's Log

Time to get the three treasures of Daventry! I started this session in the well.

First I tried goofing around with my inventory though. I found out if you eat the cheese you lose points. The carrot is safe to eat however. The egg is too hard to crack and there's nothing inside except more gold. Trying to eat other things gave a message: "The thought of eating that would make braver knights lose their appetites!"

Then I got back to business after reloading for those lost points and continued into the well to come face to face with the dragon guarding the mirror.

You can deal with the dragon by killing it with a thrown dragon but you don't get as many points. I also got too close to get myself killed.

Made an ash of myself.

I also remembered you can duck. I played around with that to get silly pictures. His face is funny.

The best solution to deal with the dragon is not ducking or throwing deadly daggers at it, but to throw water from the bucket at the it. Then it can do nothing but make clouds of steam and it slinks off in a shamed sulk.

Once everything cleared up I grabbed the mirror. Treasure one attained!

The dragon pushed aside a boulder that opened the way further into the cave and what seemed like a way out. I was sure I remembered this leading back outside, but I couldn't find the route. So, I ended up going back to the well rope and climbing it to escape.

Then I decided to tackle the dreaded beanstalk next. I found the place to plant the magic beans. The beanstalk burst into being.

Time to start climbing... It takes you up the first screen automatically, which is nice, but then it's up to you which is not so nice...

If you read my posts for the original game you may recall my screaming at this beanstalk. I fell many times. Then I remembered that in this version you can use the mouse to click and move like a standard point and click and that made it a lot easier. It doesn't have the same level of pathfinding later games have but still hugely helpful.

I forgot to keep track at first, so I estimated my first few deaths. By the end of this climb, I died to the beanstalk roughly 14 times, possibly, likely even, more. So, not as bad as my first playthrough, but it would have been real rough if I had kept trying with keys.

The beanstalk led to the Land of the Clouds where a giant is rumoured to have lived. I may have fallen off this land a couple times too...

I found a slingshot in a hole in a tree. And that is an option to use against the giant, but not the best option.

I got myself squished by the giant before doing anything, however.

"The giant did a smashing job of defeating you."

Then I tackled this problem with the ring of invisibility. You can use the slingshot and pebbles but the ring gets you more points. The giant gets tired after a bit and then goes for a nap, leaving the chest on the ground next to him and free for the grabbing.

I grabbed the chest and that was treasure 2!

There are two ways down: the beanstalk or a cave that leads to stairs. I took the stairs. In the original version they're just a long staircase heading straight down, nothing weird. You use them again in KQ3. For some reason despite showing up in 3 again they decided to change them here and they're like half stair, half bridge or platform I guess? But winding! And easy to fall off.

There's three screens of stuff like this. I resorted to the mouse again which, like the beanstalk, made it considerably easier, but I still managed to fall a few times. I also, on the first screen, had the damn thieving dwarf appear! And he steals stuff which causes you to lose points! I reloaded and tried the invisibility ring but it ended up wearing out really quickly by this point. Thankfully the dwarf didn't appear again. I didn't know that could even happen in there.

Outside, I started wandering around trying to find the condor that takes you to the area where you can find the shield. Along the way I got killed by a wolf and twice more by the ogre. I also got stolen from again by the dwarf.

After all that I finally found the place where the condor shows up but it took a few tries and leaving and coming back to actually get the jump right to grab hold of him.

The condor takes you to an island where there's a hole to drop down but also a white mushroom to find. Once I got the mushroom I dropped down.

Another screen or two away you run into a giant rat guarding the door. He'll attack if you get too close, but you can give him the cheese to get him to leave.

Things got a bit rough here. Beyond the door two leprechaun guards come. If you have the four leaf clover they'll leave you alone out of respect and fear.

However, to get more points you need to use the fiddle to get them to dance and they'll merrily teleport away. I don't know what the cause was, but once all that happened, the fiddle animation got stuck and wouldn't end. I couldn't access menus or do anything--same thing happened in Discworld. I'm guessing it's related to something in ScummVM, the emulator I use to play these old games. I tried reloading a few times, but it kept happening. So, I updated ScummVM and that worked. I was able to press onto the main hall.

Now in the main hall the leprechauns are all supposed to be dancing to the music as well before poofing away. They did in time poof away, but there was no dance animation, so they were all just frozen in place until vanishing. The only exception was the king. He did his usual dance down the carpet then sauntered off.

So, that wasn't ideal. Maybe there are other settings to fix things. Maybe the game is best played in DOSBox? But I have very little experience with DOSBox. At least I made it through and I got the shield.

There's a little hole that leads out of the cave and eating the white mushroom shrinks you so you can get through it and out to the main map. It was time to go home!

Except I realized I forgot to try nibbling on the witch's gingerbread house and you get a couple points for doing that too, so I stopped by to do that on my way.

Nibble nibble.

Then I went home to the castle where everyone had vanished.

Look at that fancy angle! And I'm being genuine; that's not a normal view in this game.

Everyone had gathered in the throne room because the king is dying. A doctor was there saying his melancholy had grown too much for his heart to bear. If only Sir Graham had returned with the three lost treasures. Then Graham arrives and presents the treasures.

Sadly, while King Edward is grateful, it's too late and he dies, but the crown is passed onto Graham.

The King is dead. Long live the King! And so Sir Graham becomes King Graham.

It's nice there's an actual crowd here. In the original the throne room was empty.

I'm going to quote the final words from the game:

And thus ended Sir Graham's great quest for the lost treasures of Daventry. Despite the loss of their beloved King Edward, the people of Daventry grew happy and prosperous and flourished for years to come. And whenever King Graham looked into his magic mirror, he saw visions of adventures yet to come...for him, for his children and for Daventry, the land he loved so much.

The End.

Unfortunately, despite my efforts, I still ended up two points short of the maximum. You get two points for finding the route out in the dragon cave. I reloaded an old save to see if I could at least find it. I did. Two points are indeed earned. At least I know what I missed. And I did better than last time! I checked and got 154 points then. Maybe one day I'll get max points in this game.

Deaths: 17 Beanstalk deaths: 14 Total Deaths: 31 Points: 156/158 (158 in my heart)

--

Final Thoughts

Ignoring the leprechaun issues, which was probably more of an issue with ScummVM, I really like this version of the game. Of course it looks nicer, but there's also more charm and character to it. There's the gingerbread house for the witch of course. But there's also just far more death messages that are funny and more in line with the later games. Areas are a little more filled out and yeah, just more.

It also makes some some things a little easier. You don't have to type swim to swim. The Rumpelstiltskin puzzle is easier. When you type the game pauses. The option for point and click controls makes the trickier parts to navigate like the stairs and beanstalk easier. I think it's a little bit more of a friendlier experience. A little bit. Of course there are plenty of ways to die and you can soft block yourself but you know, that's early King's Quest.

Aside from stairs or stair-like frustrations, at least when you know roughly what you're doing enough to avoid getting yourself stuck anyway, there is just something comfy about King's Quest. I thought it before when I went through the 7 games and I felt it again going through this one. And in future this is the version I'd rather play.

[lordfentongaming]

King's Quest 3 When Transforming another into a cat spell goes wrong Short

[crodfoller-t-rhubarb]

Parents, teach your kids early on that magic is not a toy. Be sure to keep your wand locked up securely and out of reach of any would-be sorcerer's apprentice.

[kneipe]

bremen 2021