Lost Classics: King’s Quest (PC)

Before FPS, RTS, and MMORPGS became the norm, it was adventure games that dominated the PC. These games challenged players to think logically in a way that can’t be surpassed by today’s games. Weather it’s the point/click interface, command prompt, or first person adventure, the games challenged players to think their way out of predicaments rather than simply blow away their enemies. They came in all different flavors from Sam and Max and Leisure Suit Larry, to Myst and Monkey Island. Sierra’s King’s Quest series was one of the great standouts of the genre. With stories penned by Roberta Williams, the series told about the trials and tribulations of the royal family of Daventry.

The first four games in the series were created before things such as the mouse became common place. Thus action was handled using a command prompt, and players have to type out their commands, making sure to use the right words (such as ‘Open Door” or “talk”). This frustrated many players at first, but more hardcore gamers who were willing to make use of their brain found themselves rewarded. 5, 6, and 7 used the more familiar point and click interface while still remaining challenging. Mask of Eternity, the last King’s Quest game was disregarded by many players due to the fact it has little to do with earlier King’s Quest games and that it made use of weapons, which turned off more traditional adventure game fans.

Thankfully, Vivendi Universal Games has packaged the first 7 King’s Quest games in a collection which as seen here. It’s only $20, and it includes a custom DOS Launcher for windows. If you’re an adventure game fan, a longtime fan of the series, a retro-gaming fan, or just want something different, do yourself a favor and seek out this collection. It should run on most systems. However, there are a few issues with the collection, so you may wish to download this patch (scroll to the bottom where it says “King’s Quest Collection”), especially if you have windows Vista, as KQVII won’t run without it.

Minimum Requirements
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000 or greater
Processor: Pentium III 800 MHz processor or equivalent Athlon processor
Memory: 128 MB RAM
Video and Sound: Windows Compatible Video and Sound card
CD-ROM Drive
Storage: 1.2 Gigabytes of Hard Drive space
Printer (recommended to print out the PDF manual)