Opinions on King's Quest VI

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

Continuing my series of retrospective reviews and opinions on each KQ game, how do you feel about King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow? Upon release in 1992, it pushed the series into new heights in terms of critical acclaim and continued the King's Quest tradition of pushing new technology as far as it could be taken, featuring a stunning 3D introduction, Hollywood voice actors, scaled sprites, motion capture animations for sprites and for cutscenes along with blue screen technology and also was the last King's Quest which could for size reasons be released on floppy disks. It was the first game KQ to not be solely written, directed and designed by Roberta and the last KQ game developed at Oakhurst.

[Damar]

I really liked this game.  To me, it's my favorite out of all the King's Quest.  Yeah, I know that's the expected answer.

I think the thing I like about the game is the locations.  All off the islands had their own specific feel.  I don't think there's a single part of the game that I didn't enjoy.  Specifically I loved the Isle of the Sacred Mountain and its catacombs, the Isle of the Mists, and of course, the Realm of the Dead.  The artwork was very pretty and the music was nice.  And the voice acting was outstanding.  To think they went from KQ5 voicework to what we heard in KQ6 was shocking.  It's just an all around great game.  Yes, the premise has been done to death (hero rescues a damsel in distress) but it's really the locations that make the game.  This game never gets old for me.

[Lambonius]

KQ6^ is teh suxxxorz!!!

[Damar]

OMG nO Its NOT!  UR TEH SUXXORS!!!@!

KQ6 IS TEH AWESOME AND CAssimA IS HOTS!1221  SHE LOOKS like my GirLFRIENDS EXCEPT LESS hoTS!!21  LOLOLOLOLOLOMG@!@3!  KQ6 ROX OMGOMGOMG!!!32!1!

[MusicallyInspired]

Very good game. Second best in the series even! I love the multiple paths and the intertwined storyline. And it's a love story. It's very powerful and emotional. Something I also took home from Gabriel Knight. Jane Jensen knows her pen well.

[Lambonius]

In all seriousness--I love KQ6.  A true classic.  Just not nearly as classic as KQ5. 

[Bludshot]

If it wasn't for King's Quest VI I wouldn't care about this series at all.

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

If it wasn't for King's Quest VI I wouldn't care about this series at all.

That just kind of makes you solely a KQ6 fan...Not really a KQ fan, per se. If I only like Die Hard with a Vengeance, I can't really be called a Die Hard fan.

[Bludshot]

If it wasn't for King's Quest VI I wouldn't care about this series at all.

That just kind of makes you solely a KQ6 fan...Not really a KQ fan, per se. If I only like Die Hard with a Vengeance, I can't really be called a Die Hard fan.

I suppose what I meant to say is that I don't think I would have made myself play the others.  I enjoyed 3 and 4 and 5 is good fun if you have the right attitude.  But all the other games haven't aged too well and I stuck with him to see what else the series had to offer.

[DawsonJ]

KQVI got me into the series, then I played KQV and went from there. But KQVI will always be my fave for sentimental reasons - and because there was no Cedric equivalent.

[Blackthorne]

Eh, I can play other games in the series repeatedly.  But I have only ever, from start to completion, played KQVI through two times in my life.  Once in 1994 and once again a couple years ago.

Just doesn't have the replay value for me.... the game annoys me after a while.  Don't care for the story.


Bt

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

Eh, I can play other games in the series repeatedly.  But I have only ever, from start to completion, played KQVI through two times in my life.  Once in 1994 and once again a couple years ago.

Just doesn't have the replay value for me.... the game annoys me after a while.  Don't care for the story.


Bt

"Alexander pulls out his magic map."

[MusicallyInspired]

It's fascinating to me, Bt, your dis-fascination with KQ6. It's not exactly that you hate it on principle, but yet you don't really have a good reason beyond opinion either. Many other people at IA even share this opinion and it goes to other games and things as well. I just don't understand it. I'm with you that people overrate it far too much as a glorious gem that it really isn't, but it was quite good. I guess I'm just trying to figure out that part of your personality that just gets rubbed the wrong way about it. I don't see what you and others find so boring or distasteful about it other than people praise it too much, but yet I know that's not the reason...

[Blackthorne]

Eh, I from when I was a teen in 1994 and I played it, the game - even though it had a bunch of "whimsy" in some of the islands, it just seemed to lack that spark that peremated the other King's Quest games.  I remember at the time, one of the biggest promotions about it was the opening movie - that was made by the same people that did Effects for Batman Returns....  I just played it, and the more I got into, the more cliched I felt it became - but in a different direction than previous games.  Alhazred seemed more like a buffoon, and the Genie too.... but Alexander came off like a real wimp to me, even at the age of 15.  He just seemed so....whiny.

As an adult, I really came to dis-like that.  He's the main character - you really have to like your Player Character to enjoy a game.... as such, the game just doesn't hold that fascination and fun-factor for me.  Let me put it this way - if I wanted a Soap Opera Adventure, I'd watch Days of our Lives in a Biker Bar while wearing a "Bo and Hope 4-Ever" T-shirt while playing "Wham's Careless Whisper" on the Juke Box.  It just wasn't my style of adventure game.  What can I say?  I'm a dude.  I felt like KQ6 was made for chicks.  Teenage chicks.

The art is beautiful, and the game itself is technologically sound.  I just felt it moved King's Quest into a realm it didn't belong in.  King's Quest 7 just solidified it to me.  Then you had MoE which took it in the complete OPPOSITE direction.... heh. 




Bt

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

Eh, I from when I was a teen in 1994 and I played it, the game - even though it had a bunch of "whimsy" in some of the islands, it just seemed to lack that spark that peremated the other King's Quest games.  I remember at the time, one of the biggest promotions about it was the opening movie - that was made by the same people that did Effects for Batman Returns....  I just played it, and the more I got into, the more cliched I felt it became - but in a different direction than previous games.  Alhazred seemed more like a buffoon, and the Genie too.... but Alexander came off like a real wimp to me, even at the age of 15.  He just seemed so....whiny.

As an adult, I really came to dis-like that.  He's the main character - you really have to like your Player Character to enjoy a game.... as such, the game just doesn't hold that fascination and fun-factor for me.  Let me put it this way - if I wanted a Soap Opera Adventure, I'd watch Days of our Lives in a Biker Bar while wearing a "Bo and Hope 4-Ever" T-shirt while playing "Wham's Careless Whisper" on the Juke Box.  It just wasn't my style of adventure game.  What can I say?  I'm a dude.  I felt like KQ6 was made for chicks.  Teenage chicks.

The art is beautiful, and the game itself is technologically sound.  I just felt it moved King's Quest into a realm it didn't belong in.  King's Quest 7 just solidified it to me.  Then you had MoE which took it in the complete OPPOSITE direction.... heh. 




Bt

Yeah I have to admit Alhazred came off as more of a fop than a menacing villain. Not someone I could picture sneaking into someone's bedroom and stabbing them to death like Allaria said he did to she and Caliphim. The Genie was just an utterly ridiculous character.

The game also takes itself much too seriously. And I agree with you on Alex coming off like a wimp, especially in comparison to Graham. Agree on that it felt like it was made for teenage girls...Really, a pre-Emo era emo sort of game.

[MusicallyInspired]

Fascinating.

[KatieHal]

I think Alhazred was much more menacing than Mordack, for one example--Mordack was the overdone melodramatic one to me. Alhazred you actually saw taking action, you discovered how deep his treachery truly was, he was a solid villain!

I will say, the most menacing villain was still Mannanan. As someone has said before, maybe in KQ3 discussion, when he just shows up on-screen and stands there, glaring at you? I still jump every time!

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

I think Alhazred was much more menacing than Mordack, for one example--Mordack was the overdone melodramatic one to me. Alhazred you actually saw taking action, you discovered how deep his treachery truly was, he was a solid villain!

I will say, the most menacing villain was still Mannanan. As someone has said before, maybe in KQ3 discussion, when he just shows up on-screen and stands there, glaring at you? I still jump every time!

Mannanan is for sure menacing. The only thing I feel is that no game--not even KQ5 or any fan game--got his voice right. A voice lends a lot to a character and I always felt he should sound sort of old, wizardly, but wicked. A disturbing sort of tone to his voice. A little bit of a deep rasp to his voice, reflecting his old age. Slow in speech manner.

[Lambonius]

Mannanan is for sure menacing. The only thing I feel is that no game--not even KQ5 or any fan game--got his voice right. A voice lends a lot to a character and I always felt he should sound sort of old, wizardly, but wicked. A disturbing sort of tone to his voice. A little bit of a deep rasp to his voice, reflecting his old age. Slow in speech manner.

Christopher Lee.  No question.

[Bludshot]

I thought Alexander's personality reflected more of a flip in gender stereotypes typically associated with a romantic rescue story.  Cassima has a more confident role in the whole affair while Alexander is far more polite and reserved. 

I always found it pretty amusing and done in good taste, Alexander can be direct when he wants to be, his conversation with the archdruid and his challenge to Samhain come to mind, and as the rest of the royal family he is still clever and noble.