Another round of first impressions

[Allronix]

My current "gold Standard" for fan games is AGDs King's Quest 2. So, this had a little competition going in.

That being said, so far...so GREAT!

The good:

The artwork takes the high-end production values of VI and kicks them up a notch. GORGEOUS rendering of the Castle of the Crown. Oberon and Titania look more stunning here than they did in the Sierra version! Graham also looked great, showing his age, but not looking any less sturdy. Rosella and Alexander were also well-done. NICE nod to KQ6's drawing style with the art in the hall.

The narration is a bit like the AGD, heavy with backstory and reminding you that this is a piece of a bigger puzzle. It got a little wordy, but that's a given, considering what we're dealing with.   

The voice acting: In fan games, this can be wildly uneven. This, however, was on par with KOTOR's Brotherhood of Shadow in that there were no missed notes.  The only oddity was that Oberon seemed to come across a little louder and sharper than the other voices. The Graham was spot-on. Filling Josh Mandel's adventurer's cap was no small task, but your guy did it.

* It was a nice touch that the first "task" you did was to get out of the formal attire and put on your Badass adventuring garb. 

The "I hope the next chapters work a little better"

The pathfinding was pretty bad. Trying to guide Graham through the castle could be a pain, as he'd get stuck behind corners, walk past the door I selected, and otherwise not respond to the controls.

The chapter was really sparse. There was a lot of walking you could do in the Castle of the Crown, but none of it served any purpose. There were no "this might come in handy" oddities to pick up (other than the cloak and coins), no puzzles to solve, and only five characters to talk to. Worse, I know I'll need the damn nightshade plant. This is King's Quest, if it's not nailed down, take it. If it's not, check for loose nails. However, I couldn't just up and grab it while I was there.

[wilco64256]

Maybe you won't need the nightshade plant, maybe it's just there to taunt you (which it seems to be doing effectively already).

And while I agree that Graham does have some issues finding paths to travel in these environments, it should also be noted that setting up pathfinding in a shifting 3D environment is about 9 million times more difficult than doing so on a 2-dimensional screen that doesn't have a moving camera.

[koko_99_2001]

It's been a while since I've played through the whole game...I don't remember if we need the nightshade plant. However, maybe it's a nod to KQVI when Alexander had to get it?

[wilco64256]

I don't remember exactly from KQ6 but I believe that the flower referred to as a Nightshade Flower in this game is called the Flower of Stench in that game.

[B'rrr]

You did got the flower (flower of stench) at the foot of the isle of the Sacred I think, yus. and used it for one of those silly midgets at Isle of Wonder if I recall.

[wilco64256]

Yeah I do remember that it was at that location, and you do use it for one of the Gnomes of the Senses, I'm just trying to remember if the flower was in that exact same location.  I think so, but I could be wrong.