A very different King's Quest V review

[jharris01]

Written from the point of view of a modern teenaged gamer:

Video Game Vault: King's Quest V - ScrewAttack

One thing that caught my attention: In their efforts to look hip and cool they artificially added white overexposure effects to mimic the blinding light strobing/flashing that's so common these days. Had my monitor behaved like that back then I would have probably disliked the game too.  


NOTE: Whoa! Wasn't expecting the new video link feature to support non youtube links. Good job Tom!

[Great Hierophant]

Its easy to criticize KQV today, although back in the day it looked amazing.  But the game design was still stuck in the 80s.  

Areas forcing you to map them.  The desert, with the added charm of dying after seven screens.  The ocean, with exactly one screen to find.  The maze under Mordack's castle, which is hard to follow due to the perspective.    

Death on every almost any screen.  You can die on the screen just south of Crispin's house, in the desert, in the dark forest, entering the inn or any screen with the river.  Just one wrong click of the mouse and ... Restore!  

Unwinnable states.  If you don't have the old boot and figure out to throw it at the cat, if you fail to get all the items necessary to make it through the dark forest, if you fail to get any of the items in Serenia before tackling the mountains, the mountain items before the ocean, fail to save Cedric from the harpies, fail to bag Manannan.  

Random puzzles solutions.  Some puzzle solutions make a sort of sense.  The weeping willow had her heart stolen, the toymaker would like a marionette, the cobbler the elf shoes.  But others do not.  How were you to know the tailor lost a golden pin near the inn.  Or that a custard pie would stop a Yeti.  Or that the witch would find the jar interesting.  Or that Mordack would sleep at random intervals.  Or to throw the moldy cheese into the magic transfer machine.  

The Secret of Monkey Island was a much more modern game and ditched 1-3 and still made for a lengthy, challenging game.  All adventure games since have struggled with #4.

[Alistair]

What I don't get is that people staunchly defend games like KQ3 and 4 (and 1 and 2 for that matter), but bash KQ5- and they're just as unwinnable, and as illogical, and bluntly, a bunch of fairy tales strung together with some loose overall plot.

KQ5 is a very well-produced game with some notable flaws, such as the voice acting, the lack of difficulty and puzzle solving required, and the illogicality of some of the situations and puzzles. But the overall plot is solid and more importantly, I think the game is fun.

Lori Cole wrote a really good article not so long ago on how games can be all kinds of things, but if they're not fun (and she capitalises it Fun), then what's the point.
I feel that KQ5 often gets emphasised for the wrong reasons, and people forget that it sold a bunch, looked great, had a story to tell, and was really fun.

Not to mention they view some older KQ's through rose-colored glasses, that in my opinion at least, were not much fun to play, i.e. KQ3 and 4. I liked elements of the games but disliked both lots and much of the gameplay. Hiding from Manannan in KQ3 was the opposite of fun, and in KQ4, wandering through Tamir and messing with the forest, the ogre, or those awful stairs in the tower with the organ.. don't get me started. And that god-awful dialog box with Roberta, and the lame death music on the MT-32.. I;'m frustrated just thinking about it.

Anyway. i don't think KQ5 is a masterpiece. Well, maybe I do. How about, I don't think it's a great adventure game. But it is a good game, and a fun game. I don't feel the same about any of the first 4 KQ's. Some had great game qualities but I don't think any of them for me were fun (maybe the KQ1 remake).

Anyway, enough said!

[endre1952]

Back in the day, the 256-color VGA graphics were incredible to look at.

I never played KQ2, KQ3 or the AGI version of KQ1.

[jharris01]

Yes that fact is completely overlooked but that's alright. The review doesn't use midi music (but I suspect that's on purpose). I didn't have an MT-32 or wavetable back then either

[gortmertl0]

Not really sure if that was a snarky "ironic" review, or someone simply complaining about how he STILL cannot play the game ... after FIFTEEN YEARS .

[Alistair]

If they can't figure out KQ5, either to get working or the game itself, I'd hate to see how they did with KQ6..

- Alistair

[jharris01]

Ha ha ha   

Wasn't KQ6 the most playable (and less annoying) of the bunch?

Not really sure if that was a snarky "ironic" review, or someone simply complaining about how he STILL cannot play the game ... after FIFTEEN YEARS .

With all that gamma flashing I don't see how he could without getting a serious headache.

[gortmertl0]

With all that gamma flashing I don't see how he could without getting a serious headache.

Agreed.  I don't quite get the point of it...   

But then again, I am an old DOSasaur, so like you say, it's evidently what all the cools kids are doing these days...