The King's Quest Series - A Comparison 

                   Sent in by Joan Dunn

There  is no point in giving the storylines in the  King's  Quest 
Series  as  they  have been covered  in  previous  reviews.  Just 
briefly to recap - KQ1 and KQ2 deal with Graham,  in KQ3 the main 
character is Gwydion and KQ4 is about Rosella.  KQ1,  2 and 4 are 
similar  in that you are searching for various  objects,  whereas 
KQ3  is quite different and deals with the compounding and  using 
of magic spells.

The animation and graphics are good in all the games,  but really 
excellent  in  KQ4. Rosella  walks with  an easy  stride  and her
plaits swing  as she moves.  When she  jumps or  falls her skirts
billow out  around  her,  and if she  climbs  down a ladder,  she
doesn't just appear  on  the top rung,  but swings herself around
in a most natural way.


I  did  find the continuous changing of discs in KQ4  (there  are 
four) rather trying,  and moving from screen to screen very slow. 
Genista's  island and her fairies are very pretty  and  Lolotte's 
goons quite menacing.

In  all four games the problems and puzzles are logical  and  not 
too difficult,  but some of the arcade sequences are tricky,  and 
need patience and numerous saves.

Games  1,2  and 4  have steep staircases to climb and 3  has  two 
difficult paths. I lost count of the number of times I got killed 
off!

KQ4  has  a  difficult walk through caves,  one of  which  has  a 
crevasse, and as it's dark you can't see where you are  going. To 
make matters worse there is also a Troll - unfriendly of course -
stalking you, and unless you are quick changing screens, catching 
you. In this game too, there is a very tricky climb up the tongue 
of a whale ... nasty slippery thing.

KQ1,  KQ2,  and KQ4  have their  fair share of  ogres, ghouls and
other nasties and KQ3 has Manannan, an evil magician who zaps you
for the slightest misdemeanour. But you get your own back in  the 
end. This was my favourite of the four. I liked mixing the  magic 
spells and then deciding when to use them.

KQ4  had  the smallest number of locations,  but this in  no  way 
detracted  from the pleasure of playing the game.  It did have  a 
good  cartoon  sequence  in which you can sit back  and  let  the 
computer take over.

The  games  can be played in any order,  but I think it  is  more 
satisfying to follow the sequence. So if you haven't  yet visited
the country of Daventry and explored its wonders ... what are you
waiting for? A lot of pleasure lies ahead of you.

Unfortunately,  all  good  things come to an end,  and I  am  now 
waiting impatiently for King's Quest 5.