Hey, guess what? New kind of entry. Sort of: my KQVI replay screensharing fits here too but tagging-wise, new, because I didn't think of it then.
There are sometimes going to be games I play I want to talk about but not do a full let's play style journal on, so that's what side quests will be.
In this case I got curious about the fan made remakes of King's Quest 1 - 3, which can be acquired here: https://agdinteractive.com/games/games.html.
So yeah here's yet another version of King's Quest 1.
Story and structure it's the same game. It's very faithful in that regard. However, it uses a point and click interface, although you can also walk with keys. It's essentially the same interface as V and VI down to config options and saving. There is also an option to turn off dead-ends. I don't know exactly how that affects puzzles but no doubt a worthwhile option for people who don't want to worry about that.
Visually it's very similar to and clearly based off KQ V and VI as well. Some of the screens have visually changed environmentally, which did cause me some confusion with my map.
And some things are still entirely familiar.
There is voice acting including Josh Mandel for Graham as he was in KQ V and the tiny bit in KQVI which was very cool of him to do. Although, his audio quality is noticeably different from the rest. He only speaks at the beginning and end however. All the descriptive text is decently narrated as well, though I am, I admit, spoiled by KQVI's narrator. I just love him.
Characters also have portraits.
The troll's an interesting take...
Here's the rat.
It's a bit of a mix of the AGI and SCI versions, more SCI than AGI. The Rumpelstiltskin puzzle uses the AGI solution with the backward cypher instead of simply his name backward. The stairs from the cloud land are the scarier SCI stairs however.
The beanstalk is still my enemy, though I had an easier time with it despite the SCI version also letting you click to move. I only fell a couple times!
On the other hand I had a lot more trouble with finding the path on the clouds and fell several times there...
Weirdly, the game in a way felt emptier to me. I think because Graham barely talks in the game and there isn't the text parser to play around with, so there isn't the opportunity to just try as much or type silly things. And there isn't a whole lot to interact with in ways beyond looking at them. (no talking to everything in sight like KQVI for example). Obviously your mileage would vary depending on how much you do goof around.
Some of the hot spots feel super finicky, so that could get irritating. I did discover when I was double-checking the help screen for something else that icons have a tiny red dot that act as the hit box point. Knowing that helped, but I still could have done with some broader or more generous hit boxes.
I think it could be good for people who want to play it but don't want to use a text parser and/or want to use the ability to turn off the dead ends. A bit more of a modern experience. Personally I think the SCI version is my preferred version, but it was an interesting jaunt anyway. II and III from what I've read and heard will have more interesting diversions and changes from the originals.
That all said impressive work for a fan project!
Three versions played now and I didn't get perfect points. I missed grabbing the slingshot. Hmph.
