Actually, I love all of the games. (Except MoE, but who's gonna fault me for that?
)
I really like how each game evolves the series a little more each time.
KQ1 Original is probably the one I replay the least. It's nothing personal, it's just that KQ1 doesn't have the same speed settings as other AGI games, so you can only play on Slow, REALLY Slow, or Way Too Fast.
Still, it was the starting point, so I respect it for that.
And it did have some cute touches, like the finger counting easter egg, and Graham's hat falling off as he bows.
KQ2 tends to get a bit of flak for the random puzzles, but you can see how it improves on KQ1.
The introduction and ending are more fleshed out, the graphics are better, the areas have more descriptions, you have a lot of cool places to explore, and a bunch of easter eggs to find.
It also has some cool ways to die, like getting possessed by the ghosts, drinking the poison water, and annoying Neptune.
The only thing that really bugs me is the snake\bridle puzzle. I can think of ways to defend almost every other infamously hard puzzle in the KQ series, but I STLL don't get the snake\bridle thing.
KQ3 is where the storytelling starts to pick up. They did a good job of making Manannan scare you with his random appearances. (That dramatic PC Speaker music helped there.
)
I think one of the best moments in the series is when you finally deal with Manannan and that triumphant music plays in honor of your newfound freedom.
It was also cool getting to use the transformation spells. (And finding ways to die with them...
)
The waiting, though...it'd be nice if they could come up with a way to cut down on it.
At least while waiting for Manannan, you could collect all of the spell ingredients, and prepare all of your spells. But the pirate ship just goes on, and on, and on... Then again, you could always sink it with the storm spell if you're bored...
In any case, I think it's all worth it for that reunion back in Castle Daventry. I love KQ3's ending.
KQ4 made the big jump to the SCI engine, so you get some nice benefits out of that. You have a full soundtrack, that grand fanfare opening.
The storytelling also took a step up. It's sad, seeing Graham on his deathbed. (The bad ending always makes me cry.
)
I think it also does a good job of making you feel small and helpless in a frightening, dangerous land.
Sure, you have some friendly characters like the bard, and the Seven Dwarves, but then you have the ogres, the troll, the creepy witches, the zombies...Lolotte made for an intimidating villain as well.
It also has some of my favorite deaths...the zombies, the ogre, the random swamp monster, and stupidly waking Lolotte up.
It also has a lot of nice little details if you look for them...you can try to take the fisherman's coffee, you can try to kiss random people\monsters, you can try to scream for help when you're in Lolotte's dungeon. It's also fun to have the game scold you for trying to steal or kill people.
The only thing is that some parts are kinda unforgiving. If you're VERY precise, you can sneak past Lolotte's goons okay, and with some practice, you can catch the glass eye in one try, but the Ogre cave is just pure luck.
All in all though, I think its a great game.
KQ5...I see a lot of hate for it these days, but I love the game.
It does have flaws...the desert maze is very harsh if you don't know where to go, the red X tends to pop up too much when trying to interact with things,, and you have a lot of dead ends...still, there's too much charm for me to not like the game. The voice acting is silly, but in a good way, only a couple of voices really annoy me. It has some great music (Sometimes I hum Graham's theme on peaceful days
), awesome death scenes (The puns came out in full force this time
), and the infamous Graham Scream that went on to be reused in every other Sierra game.
I dunno...its just silly, good fun. I love parts like Graham's sarcastic showdown with the witch, meeting those thugs in the inn, the Queen Bee with the southern belle accent, annoying that crazy old hermit on the beach, the showdown with Mordack...I just find it to be a loveable game all around.
It's probably the one I replay the most.
KQ6...well, gee, what can I say that no one else already has?
I hate to sound cliched, but it's pretty much the series at its peak. The amount of detail is amazing, the voicework is awesome, the soundtrack is beautiful (I actually like Girl in the Tower, though I prefer the intrumental version.), and you have all of the memorable characters, easter eggs, and good old Rotten Tomato.
KQ7 is very underrated, I think. Most people write it off because of the cartoony graphics, but hey, they said the same thing about Wind Waker.
Maybe it does come off as a little Disney-ish, but KQ games ARE based on fairy tales, so I don't think its a horribly unfitting change.
It has a good story (Malicia could've been a pretty terrifying villain if they didn't make her so silly.), and I like how Valanice finally gets time in the spotlight. Falderal's just too silly not to love, and trying to trade random stuff with the kangaroo rat is always fun.
Also, there are no dead-ends, so that's a plus.
The thing that bugs me is the interface, though. The X of Non-Interactivity from KQ5 returns, and all of the interaction icons just got compressed into a boring "do stuff" cursor. I know they wanted to make things simple for new players and all (I think they wanted to live up to KQ's reputation as a beginner's adventure game series, for once.
), but I miss being able to do everything seperately. It really cuts down on looking for the fun, little details. You tend to have a lot of cool looking stuff in the background that you can't get any comment on, and maybe one or two sparkles to click on.
Maybe they just didn't want to have a narrator...I dunno.
It also makes most of the dangerous situations kinda silly. Clicking on the Boogeyman is just going to get you killed now instead of 5 seconds later, same with clicking on the scorpion, the nightmare, the giant lizard...
I also think the death messages could've used a bit more flavor. Some are kinda funny, but mostly it's just obvious hints on what you should've done.
Still, KQ7 is a fun game, and I don't think people should be too quick to dismiss it.
KQ1SCI... I think its probably the best of Sierra's remakes. (Though if my guess is right, its also the only one that wasn't noticably rushed.)
It pretty much keeps all the basics the same, doesn't leave anything big from the original out, and gives the game a great touch-up. All of the new music is awesome, and I like the new ending a lot better than King Edward just keeling over and disappearing.
You also have some nice little touches like counting your fingers while invisible, trying to pick the lock on the mountain door, calling the rat a mouse, asking the parser "Who, What, When, Why, How"...its just a very polished remake.
So yeah. I pretty much just love all of them.
Maybe I'm biased, overly nostalgic, too soft on them, or just plain sappy, but all of the KQ games are my favorite.
So yeah,that's my two cents...or 40, I went on for a while.
