King's Quest I: The Quest for the Crown

[Jubal]

King's Quest: The Quest for the Crown

Game Type: Abandonware/Commercial
Genre: Single Player RPG

Link: http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/kq1/index.html

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King's Quest was in some ways Sierra's flagship series in the era of parser adventures, and as such I felt it needed a try. Sadly, it turned out it probably didn't really need a try, though I'd still recommend playing it and it does have redeeming features. The game's premise is simple; you are Graham, a knight in the kingdom of Daventry, and you have to go and find the three great treasures of the kingdom. It's a pretty standard trope, and my first gripe is that it's not played around with enough. You just go and do the quest. There's not really much emotional investment in Graham the way you get with Space Quest's Roger, and dying is still common but far less fun. There are also severe gameplay issues at times, with it being possible to get stuck in locations (may have been me not working out the right command, but that's as much of an issue).

There are redeeming features. Firstly it's good to play alongside Peasants' Quest so you can get all the references. Secondly, exploring Daventry is pretty good fun, and there are a wide range of different creatures (most of whom kill you or steal your stuff, admittedly), which does make the kingdom feel fairly alive. It's a game I'd recommend walking through, as a classic of its genre, but don't worry about reaching for the walkthrough book if you need to.