KQ7: Where did it go wrong?

[Rock Knight]

Perhaps the thing about Edgar's backstory being retconned that annoys me is that it makes him a plot device instead of a character. Genesta transforming him into his true self in KQ4 was supposed to be a beautiful moment that rewarded Edgar's nobility in spite of his appearance. Here, though, he's the son of two fairies who got kidnapped by Lolotte very early on, and when he returns home, he doesn't last a day before getting kidnapped again by a different evil fairy. It just makes him look like an incompetent dumb-ass in distress, as the Nostalgia Critic would put it: someone who has the capabilities to avoid getting in trouble, yet they're so stupid that they always get stuck in bad situations over and over. This point is further driven home during his magic duel with Malicia, wherein he turns his back on her for literally no reason and gets blasted to the ground for his trouble.

Interesting...New info has come to light that shows it wasn't exactly a retcon per se:
http://s1261.photobucket.com/user/Advie1/media/03-kings-quest-notes-combined-180dpi_zpsitshys8a.jpg.html

This was a design note Roberta wrote very early in KQIV's development. She says that Edgar is NOT the evil fairy's son, but is revealed to be a 'young king', a good fairy. Basically, who he turns out to be in KQ7. So this idea of Edgar actually being a good fairy and not actually Lolotte's son was floating around as early as '87 or '88--Not just written in at the last moment. Also, of interest is that Robin Hood was considered by Roberta to be a good NPC in KQ5 as of '88.