King’s Quest I Review

King's Quest I set the standards for adventure games at the point of it's initial release in 1984, revolutionizing the industry by creating interactive characters that could move about each location. Updated and re-released with better graphics and enhanced dialogue options that add length, Quest for the Crown retains its original splendor thanks to the genuine challenge it presents.

No Hints Here

If you prefer more casual adventure games with easy tasks and a multitude of hint options then this may not be the right choice for you. There are no hints or help if you are unclear of where to go next and the more casual player will probably be turned off by this fact.

Often times items are hidden under rocks or down wells making them artfully tricky to uncover and once acquired there is typically some action that must be performed in order to use them properly. Although most items picked up will be used in a different area than their original location, their use is very bluntly indicated in the game which eliminates potential confusion.

Watch Out for Traps

Throughout the game, several locations and characters are traps that will require you to restart from your previous save point (with dead ends disabled) or from the beginning (with dead ends enabled), allowing the player to adjust to their preferred level of difficulty. Clever and creative mini-tasks truly test the players logic skills, such as guessing the name of a gnome and spelling it backwards correctly.

Old Game, Old Graphics

The graphics in full screen mode are incredibly pixelated and unfortunately running it in a window opens miniature window that cannot be maximized or resized. That said, this is not enough to rob the game of its well earned praise as the trend setter for modern adventure games.

Conclusion - A Fabulous Representative of Adventure Gaming Excellence

Overall, King's Quest I is a particularly challenging game that will test your patience, reason and ability through its clever challenges, lurking traps and well constructed scenery and although more casual players should approach with caution, the more experienced adventure gamer will certainly enjoy mastering this classic.