King's Quest Memories/King's Quest VII

[TheReturnofDMD]

Hi

        When it came out in November 1994, King's Quest VII was met with mixed reviews. Long-time fans called the game childish and simplistic; Newer gamers appreciated it's Disney-like graphics.
The question I have for King's Quest fans here is, what are your personal thoughts/memories/general nostalgic feelings of King's Quest VII?
        My personal memory is back, long ago now, in '95 seeing it in the  Staples store near my house and begging my parents to buy it. My mother said to me, "Maybe for your birthday." And that is what happend. I opened my presents on my fifth birthday in Nov. 1995 and being so excited getting another KQ game (My first King's Quest game was V, then I got VI, then the KQ Collection and VII).
      I was entranced with the stunning graphics and magical music of the game being the young child that I was, awed by the mythical heights of Etheria and spooked by the Forest of the Were-Folk.
      It was a great time for Sierra, and for gaming in general, and VII is a game I hold a lot of good happy memories to. King's Quest was and still is a series that for me takes me (both from nostalgia and the general coolness of the games) to places filled with excitement; places we have envisioned in our dreams.
     There is untouchable, enigmatic magic that King's Quest has that fills players (myself included ) with wonder. People have criticized the games over the years for various reasons; but for me personally there has never been a game that has drawn me in or interested me as much as King's Quest has for more than a decade now (Kingdom Hearts bearing but some of the same magic and being a very distant second.)
       What are your memories/Nostalgic feelings of the King's Quest series?

[Yonkey]

I was actually a bit disappointed when I got KQ7 because I was expecting something graphically more like KQ5 & KQ6.  I didn't mind the cartoon-style back then, since Disney movies were really popular and it was certainly interesting to see an adventure game to have the same style.

I have more nostalgic feelings for KQ6, since that was my absolute favourite game throughout the whole series.  I remember using the manual to solve the logic cliff puzzles, as well as using it to navigate through the catacombs.  My favourite parts were performing the three spells, and all the stuff that happens inside the Castle of the Crown.  I thought the game was just starting to get interesting with the incriminating letter, stolen treasures and so on, but I guess it had to end at some point.

[Leopold]

I loved KQ7, it was probably the game that defined King's Quest for me. But I enjoyed all the King's Quest games, especially 6 and 5 as well, and of course the first one too

[TheReturnofDMD]

I thought the game was just starting to get interesting with the incriminating letter, stolen treasures and so on, but I guess it had to end at some point.

Yeah I agree; it was getting more and more complex as it went on. One thing that did disappoint me about VII was that the Black Cloak Society was not mentioned; None of the interesting storylines and associations set in V and VII were followed up upon. It would've been interesting to see how it evolved, and I'll never understand why Jane Jensen wasn't asked to come back for VII.
But I guess that's what we have TSL for  

[Rosella]

KQ5 will always be my first KQ game, and the...interesting voice acting makes it VERY nostalgic for me. I mean, I taught my non-KQ playing friends to say "DYING for a drink, Graham?"

As for KQ7, I loved it. The characters were just so bizzare, it was fabulous. I've also told non-KQ playing friends about the awesome character that is Arch Duke Fifi le Yip Yap. The trader rat was always fun. I also liked being able to inspect my inventory. Though I loved KQ5 and KQ7, they seemed like different games to me. KQ7 didn't seem to tie in to KQ5 in any way, but I still think the plot in it was better than the average. Plus, Rosella was in it! For my age, KQ7 was just perfect, and I still find it uber entertaining.

I guess the thing that really drew me to KQ was the puzzles. The only problem I found with KQ was that I can't be entertained by puzzles once I've already solved them. I always liked the later games because they had a lot more of a plot to them, because even if I know a plot, I still love re-living it. Finding TSL was what brought me back to the KQ series, because now I had a promise of a deep, involving plot that I WOULD like to play again.

I wish I had more memories of KQ, since after playing 5 and 7, I started using walkthroughs and the games held nothing for me. I guess a major thing I'm happy about is that I get to say that I was here during the making of TSL, and that is just plain awesome.

[Farquhar]

I don't think I could ever forget how exciting KQ VI was to me when I discovered it. I was seven when I first played it. The graphics, voices, story, music.... It was all amazing. That's the game in the series most nostalgic for me, and is in fact the first pc game I ever played.

KQ VII was the next game in the series I got my hands on. I loved how it was like playing an interactive fantasy cartoon.

[uselessidguy331]

KQVII was the badness. The story was pretty good and Ooga Booga was just plain awesome. Probably my favorite place in the KQ world.

[Oldbushie]

I just remember that a friend of my dad's gave us his King's Quest V CD a bit before we moved here in 1992... I've treasured it ever since.

[HavocWizard]

Oh man, my story is almost exactly like that of the thread starter. Except that it was my first KQ game. But I soon got them all.

I love that game.

[MangoMercury]

KQVII is what got me back into the series.  Originally, as kids, my brother and I had on floppy diskette for our Amiga, King's Quest I and II.  However, because he was mean and scared me with them (I was 6 at the time, or around that age), mum made him get rid of them.

When we got our first PC, quite a few years later, it came bundled with an encyclopaedia and KQVII.  That got my love for the games back again, and well..  That's all's saying doing, really

[awesomeasapossum]

I love KQVI. I like KQVII but I haven't beaten it yet. Like Rosella, I wasn't reconnected to KQ until TSL. Then, I found the games and played most of them. (Still have to finish KQIV and KQVII.)

[dew7]

Are you stuck and need a hint.  We could help out.   

[awesomeasapossum]

No, I don't want hints YET.

[Erik]

This is what I think of the sixth KQ  , next to the seventh  .

[Deloria]

I was born in 1992 and my brother in 1990, we grew up on KQVII. He always favored the first chapter (possibly because of the desert spirit, I on the other hand loved the second chapter). I think I started playing it when I was five or six. It will always be my favorite. I loved the intro, and used to play it over and over again. At that age, I could only handle playing a chapter at a time (because of lack of patience ). I was scared of Ooga Booga, I used to cry when the boogieman got Rosella, I used to get fed-up because he turned up on every screen. I never actually finished the game (just chapters 1-4 and a bit of 5), so when I was 8 I picked it back up again.

Then there was KQ6, whilst during the day I was playing KQ7 at night it was always KQ6. My brother and I used to crowd around one computer and watch as Alexander and Abdul dueled, it was usually my dad playing, but it entertained us. I also loved that intro.

KQ5, I used to solve the puzzles in Serenia and in Mordack's castle, meanwhile Eduard would do all the stuff in between.

In KQ4, I was extremely naive, I was afraid of the troll, and I thought the whale wouldn't swallow me if I turned the speed to high
Nevertheless, I loved KQ4, possibly just as much as KQ7.

[Stones Of Stealth]

Yeh I was born in 92' as well and by then the KQ's were all released except for KQ7 and MoE. from what I can remember when I was a little lad, I used to sit and watch my dad play on the old 486SX IBM, playing KQ5/6 while I was sitting next to him on a stool vigourously watching every move with intense excitement, he smoked alot of cigarettes down there, and now i'm filled with 2nd hand smoke from sitting and watchign for soooo long. Most of my memories came from KQ6 and 7, some of the most memorbale was when he ventured into the catacombs, when he  beat the minotaur, and when he got the cloak. for KQ7 my meories were mostly in the OOGA BOOGA land with the headless horseman and the little kids in the treehouse. Wow, this is such a good game I thought.

When I was around 7 or 8 I started really getting into all fo the games, First I started with 5, and when I beat that I started playing 6, and I played that twice jsut for fun, and finally came seven.

Compared to my age at the time I probably emjoyed the imagery of 7 more because it was cartoony and fun, and the problems were a little easier compared to the others. initially I loved the game but now I havent touched it in a while because It was kind of non attractive.

Pros: good Sound, great interface, brings some of it too life

Cons: really doesnt' have much to do with the main plot, was the last REAL Kings Quest before RW left.., Freezes up on occasion, music loops quite quickly

so overall I did enjoy this game but for me it definetly was not a play it againer(well I did play it twice but you get my drift)

[TheReturnofDMD]

Yeh I was born in 92' as well and by then the KQ's were all released except for KQ7 and MoE. from what I can remember when I was a little lad, I used to sit and watch my dad play on the old 486SX IBM, playing KQ5/6 while I was sitting next to him on a stool vigourously watching every move with intense excitement, he smoked alot of cigarettes down there, and now i'm filled with 2nd hand smoke from sitting and watchign for soooo long. Most of my memories came from KQ6 and 7, some of the most memorbale was when he ventured into the catacombs, when he  beat the minotaur, and when he got the cloak. for KQ7 my meories were mostly in the OOGA BOOGA land with the headless horseman and the little kids in the treehouse. Wow, this is such a good game I thought.

When I was around 7 or 8 I started really getting into all fo the games, First I started with 5, and when I beat that I started playing 6, and I played that twice jsut for fun, and finally came seven.

Compared to my age at the time I probably emjoyed the imagery of 7 more because it was cartoony and fun, and the problems were a little easier compared to the others. initially I loved the game but now I havent touched it in a while because It was kind of non attractive.

Pros: good Sound, great interface, brings some of it too life

Cons: really doesnt' have much to do with the main plot, was the last REAL Kings Quest before RW left.., Freezes up on occasion, music loops quite quickly

so overall I did enjoy this game but for me it definetly was not a play it againer(well I did play it twice but you get my drift)

Nice story.

[Stones Of Stealth]

thanks 

[Ryan Yoo]

I personally didn't care for KQVII very much.  The art style was kinda jarring since it was such a radical change from the previous games.  Not bad necessarily, but kinda strange to see following KQV and KQVI.  Also, I bought it early in its production run so the CD I had was full of bugs, and I literally had to send it to Sierra for a new one since the game crashed at this one spot and would not go past it.

Even besides that, I didn't like the game's puzzles either.  I honestly couldn't figure out most of them myself.

But I think I moaned about my dislike for KQVII on this board somewhere before  , so on a more positive note....

I remember the first game I played, KQV, and being stunned at the graphics and sound.  Me and a friend stayed up REALLY LATE just exploring the various locations in the game.

[Stones Of Stealth]

yes i agree the puzzles were really hard, they weren't really like any other kq games puzzles.

e.g. chapter 1 with the well, and the turning of the head
e.g. Chapter 1 with the marbles and the scorpion.

seemed like it took me a lifetime to solve.