#7
Post
by Firestorm_Mon_Dae » Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:09 pm
I've played through the game. I'd like to express my post-game thoughts and feelings as well...
The beginning part was more or less how I expected it to be, completely brilliant. It was nice to see that you couldn't just make the cat spell and defeat Manannan immediately. It was great that you had to make other spells before achieving this goal. This in itself made the beginning part of the game the best experience it could possibly be.
But this wasn't the only thing that made the beginning so amazing. The way the Oracle was dealt with, the expansion of the Medusa character, the extended part of the town, the greater interaction with the characters, all of these elements added something unique and special to the game. Admittedly, it would have been nice to have to work harder to get some of the more easily found spell ingredients, but the spell casting part of the game made up for it by far. I especially liked what happens when you mess up a spell! Also, with the addition of the water jug, I half expected to end up exploring deeper into the desert to find and explore some mysterious temple, oasis, or something of the like. Fortunately, that didn't happen, or I never would have had the opportunity to see the jackals chasing the Saurus. It was a very humorous Easter egg.
The way the timer was dealt with was one of the most clever and creative additions to the game! The only thing that could have possibly added to this was if there was a day/night cycle.That being said, it wasn't necessary to the game, though I thought you could only pull mandrake root out of the ground at midnight.... The music that played when Manannan appeared was both terrifying and beautiful. I still jumped despite the fact that I knew he was going to appear! Speaking of music, the music throughout the entire game set the atmosphere of every scene beautifully. Then again, so did the graphics. Both graphics and music are at a level that far surpasses that of even some professionally made games!
The only thing that was annoying about the beginning of the game was the fact that it is not obvious that you have to enter the town library. When I encountered it for the first time, I figured that I'd need some sort of spell before I could enter it. Once I knew that that was where I had to go, the rest of the game played out completely naturally.
I think the treasure island was the best part of the game. It's puzzles really got my mind going into overdrive! The gate was most clever indeed! The fact that Alexander can't swim and the way that he has to escape from the pirate ship was a clever change from the original game. It would have been nice to talk to the rats though, before they were put to sleep (as far as I know, there is no opportunity to listen to the rats)....
The events involving the abominable snowman were both crafty and clever! I liked how there were two ways that you could escape from him initially. The cave puzzle was tricky, but humorous! The animals on the mountain were a neat little addition that really made the area seem like a snowy wonderland. The little cameo appearance at the beginning was unexpected but humorous.
The atmosphere and music after arriving at Daventry really set up everything for an amazing confrontation with the three headed dragon. It was chilling, terrible, and beautiful to behold. Sadly, I felt that defeating the dragon was too easy and somewhat anticlimactic.... Furthermore, the few obstacles at the end of the game seemed somewhat out of place once the dragon was defeated. It would have been amazing if the dragon was chasing you, forcing you to brave these obstacles as quickly as possible. For that matter, getting so close to home and suddenly finding that the dragon wasn't as dead as you thought would have been an interesting twist, especially since nobody would be expecting it. Well, my fantasizing aside, the dragon really needed something else, something to make it just that little bit more challenging to defeat, because even though it was drawn terrifyingly well, the ease by which it can be defeated made it seem far less terrifying than it should have been.
The chance to talk to Rosella and the little conversations along the way were an excellent addition to the ending. The encounter with The Father was also a clever little addition. The ending itself seemed a bit forced at places, but was still very well done, though I did feel that the green pinball was a bit cheesy.... The rest of the ending credits were both clever and well done. The behrs, Medusa, Manannan as a cat, the father (only heard about it, have to play through it again to see...), all of it added something unique and special to ending. The secret awards section was also a very clever addition, giving the game some amazing replay value.
As far as The Father plot goes, his presence wasn't as pronounced in this game as in Romancing the Stones. Admittedly, he wasn't a central figure in Alexander's escape, and probably wasn't that interested either. Still, it would have been nice to see his presence and influence more clearly in the game. I'm sure that The Father has enemies, and maybe even rivals for the power of the First King. It would be neat to see a greater presence in King's Quest IV (if by some miracle you get a chance to remake it). It would be especially neat to have The Father manipulating things behind the scenes again, or even doing things personally, or who knows! There are just so many possibilities! It's exciting just to think about it! It would be neat if he has a rival that he manipulates Rosella into defeating said rival, or if he needs something and manipulates the situation so he can get it....
Before I let my imagination wander too much, I feel that the user interface deserves honorable mention. The redesign was a stroke of genius. It gave the game that extra little something, that little bit of polish that truly defined this game as a masterpiece. It would be really neat to see something like that done for King's Quest I and King's Quest II....
I think I've expressed everything that I wanted to, with the exception of two points:
My final thoughts on the game: Absolutely astounding!
To everyone who worked on King's Quest III Redux, 'Thank you'.
