Thoughts on remake (spoilers)

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Allronix
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Thoughts on remake (spoilers)

#1 Post by Allronix » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:28 am

Thoughts on the remake:

First of all, I got 205/210 points. Aw, shucks...Guess it's time for another playthrough

1) The letter. I stumbled on this by accident, trying to find the solution to the levers. It was a case of "read it and wince." Like the birdcage letter in KQ2+, it has all sorts of nasty implications. I then got to the paragraph about "my darling boy" and let out a four letter bomb. Yeah, Alex, you and your future brother-in-law could compare notes...but I doubt either of you would want to.

2) The lever puzzle. As soon as I saw it, I had to laugh. That is such a AGD curveball to toss at those of us who know the Sierra version. I actually checked the forums for a hint and got "it's not in the house," which was enough of one for me to find the library on my own.

3) AGD curveball two - another spell in the spellbook. As if I wasn't already running on a tight clock! Thanks, guys. You are sheer gold for pulling a fast one on old Sierra players!

4) Another AGD curveball was the missing page of the spellbook. You guys can be awesome at dirty tricks. Sent me hauling rear all over Llewdor for the missing page. Found it, but then that curveball with the pitcher...

5) That bard? Oh, dear, that bard. It was only after he trucked off with the lute that I realized that moron would be showing up in Tamir. Sorry, Rosella. He broke my ears, too.

6) The warning timer was brilliant! You made the intervals shorter, just adding to the panic. One thing that never loses an once of charm in KQ3 is that desperate race to grab ingredients, race to hide them, and hope you can sneak one more thing past Manny. Every time he shows, you're supposed to jump with fear that you've left something out of place.

7) One thing that wasn't brilliant - the rewording on the spells. Some of the lines didn't scan quite right, and there's just something about "Mandrake root and hair of cat..."

8) Thank you for adding more things to do with the pirate ship. That was my least favorite part of the previous game. All that running around, all that breathless "can I get away with it?" at Mannanan's home, and the next section involves you sitting around long enough to go and get a pizza.

9) Nice curveball with the treasure. The puzzles reminded me a bit of the catacomb traps in KQ6, which was probably the effect you were after. It also gave it a purpose other than just completion points - and with Daventry's treasure chest, such a things would be redundant anyway.

10) All those unanswered questions, and all those tantalizing hints! We find out more about Legenimor. We see bits of the curse as alluded to in KQ2+. We hear a fraction more about the Multiverse history. But every time someone said, "That is not your concern," I growled. Chalk it up to a few too many rounds of Knights of the Old Republic and Final Fantasy. In those games "That isn't your concern" is code for "We're screwing you over in secret." At the rate the Oracle was firing it off, I half-wondered if she wasn't The Father in drag, pulling some awesome Xanatos Gambit.

"It IS my concern! That curse you're hinting at ties into why I was captured, what Manaanan is really up to, why I have to go to Daventry, why that dragon is there, why my twin's being offered as its latest meal, and why Graham seems unable to do anything!"10) The Yeti puzzle. I hadn't sworn so much at cave mazes since Space Quest 5.

11) While the inclusuion of the "birthmark" bit was a nice nod to the classic (was that Al Lowe's idea?!), I was disappointed by the fact you couldn't give Rosella a hug. After all the crap they've been through, a hug would be the first request I'd have...

12) Crowning moment of Awesome: "My NAME is Alexander!" while holding that fleabag by the scruff of his neck.

13) Scary and sad touches by integrating the story of the previous Gwydion into it. You knew, as a player, that this wasn't the first time Mannanan pulled this stunt. But when you see the three locks of hair, read the journal, and talk to the barmaid about the unfortunate lad, it hits hard. BTW, why is Manny keeping those? I never pictured him as sentimental.

14) Also scary and sad was that flashback to Alex's capture. That's going into personal head-canon for what the Oracle showed.

15) The pinball of life was a little corny and overdone. I liked the idea that it rises up and sends a shockwave of magic energy over the land. I'll still say that there's room to be rebuilding (ala IA's ending). You'd still need to rebuild things like houses, roads, and farms that the orb didn't heal, though.

16) Voice acting:
The good? Josh Mandel is still the definitive voice of Graham. The Silver Lining has a very good voice actor, but I'm glad he has fond enough memories to reprise the role. You also did a very good job with Alexander. He's always going to be a challenge, especially since KQ6 had a minor deity of the voice acting world playing the role. (Benson was typecast for a reason).

The bad? I'm not sure if you got the same actress from KQ2+ doing a reprise, but Valanice sounded "off." If it is, then the actress did very well at the softer and gentler emotions, but sounded flat when it came to anguish. Rosella also didn't sound quite right; almost monotone, which is not how I ever pictured the princess.

17) The cameo by The Father. I instantly started swearing and raced for the save game button. Yet, it was puzzling that he didn't seem to do anything. Here was a golden opportunity to kill or trick the twins, and he just stands there and says something cryptic...not even evilly cryptic at that! Tie this into the "unanswered questions" file.

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