I don't see that as an excuse though. Yes King's Quest was about breaking new ground. But if that new ground isn't panning out or comes at the expense of putting out a great product, then it's up to the creators to scale it back so that their vision isn't compromised. The plot of KQ7 was compromised, end of story. Saying that the game was getting too big and things had to be cut isn't a justification of it. It's just an explanation. And if that crappy single icon/hotspot interface was taking up more room than your basic icon interface, then it should have been dumped. Just because you can break new ground doesn't mean that you should or you're ready to do so.
Also, it was mentioned that Edgar didn't kidnap Rosella in KQ4. I'd beg to differ on that. Yes, Lolotte imprisoned Rosella, but it was Edgar who said he wanted to marry this woman he'd just met and therefore made his evil mom kidnap her. You can argue that he wanted Rosella out of the prison cell but clearly he was doing it for selfish reasons. There were other skeletons in that cell. Edgar wasn't talking his mom out of keeping them locked away. And yes, he did give Rosella a key to escape, but he didn't tell her where his mom was sleeping or give her back her possessions or try to start a coup with the palace guards. If I can be allowed the conceit to treat these characters like real people for a second, I think it's pretty clear what Edgar's motives were in all of this. He thought Rosella was hot, so he had his mom force a marriage. And he let Rosella out of her room so that she could come to his room and get something in before the wedding. Really, in all seriousness, can you give any other explanation for Edgar's actions besides that? He didn't help her in any way except giving her the key to every room in the house (and by extension, his room.) He didn't clear the guards. He didn't walk her out the front door to help her escape. He had her kidnapped then invited her back to his room. Edgar has boundary issues. His proposal and subsequent kidnapping of Rosella in KQ7 is further proof of that. And him asking to court at the end of KQ7 might be a slight improvement, but it doesn't undo the kidnapping or the unhealthy fascination he has with Rosella (he must have been watching her to know to entice Rosella to jump in the lake). Edgar's a stalker and he's got issues.