I had planned on writing another post about my recent (and past) Sierra gaming adventures, much earlier than intended. For the past month or so, I've been replaying these classics and been dying to write further on my love of the Sierra games. Nearly a month since my King's Quest post, I finally managed to sit down and recap more of my favorites.
Quest for Glory
For this section, I will only brush on three of the Quest for Glory games: I,III, and IV, starting with the fourth game (Shadows of Darkness.)
QFG IV: Shadows of Darkness (1993)
I know I am going a bit backwards as I recap on my blog, but I wanted to highlight the best QG game first. Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness came out back in 1993. I distinctly remember getting it for Christmas that year, and fell in love with the game. Its lore focuses on Eastern European folklore and fantasy, such as infamous Baba Yaga, rusalkas (drowned women water spirits), domovoi (house spirits), the leshy (a creature that can assume any shape), vampires, werewolves, and gypsies...just to name a few.
There was one issue with QG4 back in 1993 that caused me not to complete the game as a young teen. It was due to a major bug that was never fixed when the game was first released on floppy disk. To sum it up, there was an item (a doll) that the hero needed to acquire. However, if you didn't do a certain quest within the first five days of the game, you never meet the domovoi, which in turn, will not allow you to obtain the doll. The core issue? You won't know that you need the doll until the 15th day of the game. I remember calling the Sierra tip hotline about what I needed to do, for only the voice recording to tell me to get the doll from the inn's cabinet (after meeting the domovoi.) You must understand that 1993 was a time when nothing on the internet had information to help a gamer out like it does now. Anyways, the bug was 'sort of' fixed in the CD-ROM version of the game in 1994, and left alone. As I was replaying the game back in the end of last December, I finally managed to obtain the doll and complete the game. It was well worth the replay and seeing the ending.
QFG III: Wages of War (1992)
This game I had many fond memories playing. Out of the entire QG series, I think I played this one the most. At the time, I was heavily into Egyptian inspired art, jewelry, etc. This game was influenced by ancient Egyptian culture mixed with other African cultures. I also loved the idea of the 'Lioness' (see screenshots below), which was similar to the 'Centaurs' you read in fantasy and folklore.
I recently replayed this game right before starting QG4. The only thing is that the ending is a bit abrupt, which was something I never noticed when playing in my youth. The ending literally jumps from the third game straight into the fourth game. I can see why the creators chose to do this, and overall it's a minor issue that doesn't deflect from the greatness of this masterpiece.
QFG I: So You Want To Be A Hero (VGA remake 1992)
I loved this installment of the series so very much. If I had to chose which QG game is the most nostalgic, it would be this game. Though I didn't play it nearly as much as the third game, I loved the wholesome RPG aspect to it.
The game's lore stems mainly from Germany. All the character and town names are German, with exception of the 'Katta' (cat people similar to Skyrim's Khajiit. I often wonder if Bethesda got the idea from Sierra.) There are fairies, trolls, ogres, and all your typical high fantasy RPG monsters. Sorry for the lack of screenshots; there are barely any out there that I could find, and I didn't take any while doing my play-through in November.
One thing that I wanted to say that for all of the Quest for Glory games, you can choose which type of hero you want to be. Fighter, Magic User, or Thief, each having a different storyline. It makes the game far more enjoyable playing it three different paths.
Laura Bow and the Dagger of Amon Ra (1992)
Okay, time to talk about one of my all-time favorite Sierra games, this one being tied with 'King's Quest VI' as my favorite. Laura Bow and the Dagger of Amon Ra is set in New York City in the 1920's - with flappers, speakeasies, Egyptology, and a redheaded woman as your main character named Laura Bow. Wrap all that goodness up into a murder mystery and you got yourself an amazing game. What more can you ask for?
What's fun about this game is that you have a notebook to write your clues in. With your notebook, you can select names, places, and items to ask other characters in the game to see how they respond. It's a great mystery game, and I had a fun time doing a replay of it last week. I went a little overboard with the screenshots, and honestly, I could have found more of my favorite scenes. This gives you a feel of what the game and art has to offer.
All of these games are offered on GOG at a pretty reasonable price. The Quest for Glory series is found here, and Laura Bow is found here.