Review: King's Quest VI
Reviewed by Sandy Kettenhofen

Type: Role-Playing Graphic Adventure                
Publisher: Sierra On-Line, Inc. (800) 326-6654
Retail Price: $79.95
Mail Order: $48.00
Requires: 4 MB of RAM and System 7.0 or later, color monitor, 8-bit (256) color, 25 MB hard drive space.
Protection: Guidebook

The newest in the series of the King's Quest adventure games, King's Quest VI — Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow (KQ6) — has arrived on the Mac gaming scene with enormous impact, not the least of which is the amount of memory required to play this giant of the RPG genre. Weighing in at a whopping 25MB of required hard drive space, KQ6 is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Mac game world.

Getting To Know You. Those who have played previous segments in the King's Quest series will be familiar with the navigating tools. There are seven icons in a bar across the bottom of the screen which are used to designate the action to be taken in the game. Utilizing these icons to switch between functions is simple and quite easily mastered. 

In addition to the game itself, a copy of Quicktime 1.5 is included with the KQ6 software. This supplies the software necessary for viewing the movie that provides an introduction to the game. 

Although not necessary part of the gameplay, a Quicktime movie can be selected from the title screen. By selecting “Opening,” a movie is shown that sets the stage for the upcoming adventure. It shows Prince Alexander at home in his kingdom of Daventry, obsessed with the memory of the beautiful Princess Cassima. A vision in a magic mirror convinces the Prince that he will be able to find Princess Cassima by using the stars to navigate the uncharted waters between Daventry and the “Land of the Green Isles.” The movie sequence shows the Prince sailing to the shores of his goal only to be shipwrecked in the treacherous waters that surround the islands.

One item included with KQ6 that is necessary to complete the game is a small book entitled “Guidebook to the Land of the Green Isles.” This guidebook is written by a previous visitor to the Land of the Green Isles who has written this journal of the history of the island, which he learned while there. A lot of background detail is provided in this guidebook, as well as specific information necessary to solve the puzzles in the “Cliffs of Logic.” 

Let The Game Begin. The game opens with Prince Alexander standing on a deserted beach amidst the shattered remains of his flagship. As he examines the beach further he finds two items that will enable him to begin his adventure — his royal signet ring and a single Daventry coin. After the Prince retrieves these items he then walks onward into the island landscape and discovers a crossroads. One path leads to the castle and one path leads to the town. There is no wrong or right decision here, since the first portion of the game is spent developing the facts regarding the whereabouts of the Princess. The Prince accomplishes this by talking to the locals and keeping his eyes open for any items that might benefit him in his quest. Particularly, he is looking for any information concerning Princess Cassima. Anyone he encounters who mentions her name should be interviewed thoroughly and repeatedly.

There are several islands that the Prince will traverse in his journey. Most of them will be visited several times. One of the first things the Prince needs to discover is the method used to travel between the islands. Once this discovery has been made, he will have many directions from which to choose.

A Necessary Evil. Of course, no good adventure would be without its evil villain, and KQ6 is no exception. It soon becomes obvious that the evil Wizard has Princess Cassima imprisoned in the castle and intends to marry her to further his own wicked schemes. Subterfuge and duplicity is his by-law, and he employs an assistant to do his bidding.

You CAN Get There From Here. Sierra has succeeded in making King's Quest VI  quite non-linear in its presentation. If one path of exploration becomes stymied, there are others that can be dealt with instead. It is quite often the case that the reason a path is blocked is because a separate puzzle must be solved first. One solution will often lead to another open path or paths.

There is virtually no mapping required in KQ6. There is one segment of the game — in the catacombs of the Minotaur — where mapping could come in handy, but it is not absolutely necessary. Very little, if any, note-taking is required either. This in itself is a real treat for RPG players.

As the Prince progresses through the story, he will acquire items of interest that he will need to keep for future use. These items are stored in his “inventory.” Veteran gamers will be relieved to learn that there is no limit to the number of items that can be held in the inventory, although only one inventory item may be used at a time. 

O Tangled Web We Weave... Interwoven in the plot there are many subplots that dovetail nicely with the major theme of the game. The successful completion of KQ6 does not require the solution to all puzzles. Only approximately half of the puzzles need to be solved for the successful completion of KQ6. In addition, there is more than one way to achieve the final goal, as well as more than one ending. As a result KQ6 can be played several times and each time can be different. The game's control panel shows a score. As the game progresses the score reflects the percentage of puzzles that have been solved. The ending scenario is automatically adjusted to reflect how much of the game has been conquered. 

Basically there is a long and a short version of the game. Due to the variety of puzzles there are several different ways to play the middle portion of the game. The short version is more benign and would be perfectly suited to the entire family, including young children. The longer version encompasses a trip to the underworld of Death and his minions. Although there is no portrayal of brutality, some of the darker scenes might be perceived as too intense for younger children. 

Ultimately, of course, love conquers all and Prince Alexander finds and releases the lovely Cassima. They are married and live happily ever after, but how happily depends a great deal on the route by which they were united. This too is reflected in the ending scene and the final score.

More Brains, Less Brawn. If you are looking for a fast-paced, arcade-action story with advanced weaponry and many battles involving killing and/or mutilating countless opponents, then you will need to look elsewhere. KQ6 is an adventure game first and foremost. There are four (sometimes five) islands to explore and numerous puzzles contained therein to solve.

Bigger And Better. KQ6 is a towering achievement in two distinct areas. First, the artwork. The scenery is stunning. The backgrounds are detailed and meticulous, making each new scene a joy to behold. The presentation of the story is a masterpiece as viewed in and through different perspectives. 

Secondly, the music. The score that has been created for this adventure provides a benchmark for future computer games. It is magnificent! It has become common in computer adventure games for the game player to listen to four or five bars of background music and then disable the music function. Such is not the case with KQ6. The music is non-repetitive and adds zest and flavor to the story. There are delightful surprises in the musical score as well.

Although the graphics suffer somewhat from the “jaggies,” the movements are very well executed. In the scene where the Druids ceremony is being conducted around a fire pit, the fluid strolling gait of the Druids is very well rendered. The one “fight scene” in the game is very realistic and exceptionally well choreographed. When the Prince reaches the gates of the Underworld there is an episode where the creatures of the dark world dance. This too is done in remarkably accurate graphic animation.

KQ6 is a good story, intriguing and well thought out. There is good use of humor in the story line as well as in the graphic illustrations. The story is unique in that there are so many variables sandwiched between beginning and end. It is not necessary to follow a strict predetermined path, thus allowing all adventurers to develop their own story.

As the story unfolds numerous items are discovered that are necessary for the solution of the different puzzles. Whenever an essential item is picked up or used in the appropriate fashion, a soft sequence of three musical notes chimes in. This is an ingenious way of letting the player know they are on the right track.

Not So Hot. KQ6 can be viewed in three different screen sizes. The smaller the screen the more definitive the picture, however, the smallest screen makes the viewing a bit more difficult. When the medium or large screen is used the animation of the characters takes on an extremely jagged appearance. Although it is always possible to see what is taking place, the fractured look of the animated figures does not complement the beautifully sculptured scenery. There are several “cut scenes” where action is viewed without input from the gamer. In the smallest screen view these look quite good, but unfortunately when viewed in the larger screen the images blur and become a little fuzzy around the edges. 

Navigating between scenes is extremely tedious and often so frustrating as to become positively exasperating. In order to pass from scene to scene it is necessary to position the walking figure cursor exactly in the correct line of vertical or horizontal pixels. Due to the difficulty of moving between scenes you are never certain if you cannot go in a certain direction or if you simply haven't managed to hit the correct pixel to take you there. 

Hazardous Areas. There are several operational difficulties that are far below the standard set by this beautiful game. All but one of the areas in the “About” section of the control panel provide no exit and leaves the program “hung.” There is no way to re-enter the game nor regain control of  your computer. There is at least one occurrence of this problem in the game as well.  In the catacombs leading to the discovery of the Minotaur you need to traverse a room with pictured tiles on the floor. If the tiles are not stepped on individually the game will hang.
 
There were also occasions when the game crashed unexpectedly. For this reason it is especially recommended that the Save function be used even more frequently than usual.

Once the game is completed the credits roll onto the screen. Certainly the people who have spent countless hours, days, weeks, and months developing this extraordinary game should be acknowledged. However, during the end of the final scene the screen becomes locked and there is no exit until the last of the credits rolls past. In this reviewer's opinion, the fact that the credits become mandatory is not appropriate. 

The Final Verdict. King's Quest VI — Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow is a very impressive game. Although it does suffer from some of the same problems that plague similar games that have been ported from the original PC version over to the Macintosh, the aspects of the KQ6 that are good are exceptionally good. The animated motion is very realistic, even though the graphics are somewhat jagged and distorted, especially in the large screen view. This is a game that can be played and enjoyed by a large audience. The non-linear aspect of the game, coupled with the flexibility of the puzzles, creates a broad market appeal for different age groups. Of course, not everyone will be able to play KQ6, simply because of the enormous amount of HD memory required. Those that do have sufficient room and enjoy graphic adventures should get KQ6 and play it in as many different ways as there are possible. It is a good investment in computer gaming entertainment and a pièce de résistance of background music and scenery.

Pros:  
• Incredible scenery
• Excellent musical score
• Primarily non-linear storyline
• Variety of play/puzzle solving
• Little or no mapping required
• Unlimited inventory
           
Cons:  
•  Large storage memory requirements
• Jagged graphic animation, especially in large screen viewing
• Incomplete areas in “About” section
• Areas of the introduction and game that hang/freeze
• Locked into viewing the credits at game completion