King's Quest VI: A Fair and Balanced Retrospective

[@gen1exe]

There's a good adventure game lampshade on the Isle of the Beast. When you finally get to the Beast's garden and he informs you that you're cursed now, he says "hey, there were 3 enchanted barriers to keep people out" and Alexander is like "oh yeah, I just solve every obstacle I run into for no reason. It's what I do."

[@ClefTheMouse]

"Er.... I suppose it is simply my nature to break through enchanted traps." The best part is that Beast's response to this is "You must be a prince, then. I know the nature of princes all too well." lol

[@MattySadler]

@@ClefTheMouse always loved that part

[@TheSBleeder]

I'm a public defender... I've had a lot of people basically say, "Yeah, it's my nature to go into other people's houses uninvited."

[@brokeneggz]

I don't know if you ever checkout the comments on these videos a couple of years on but I just wanted to say this series has been amazing. I've binged it over the weekend and it has been such a highlight on a kind of crappy weekend for me. Thanks for some all round amazing videos.

[@spacequesthistorian]

I do check all comments that come in, and thank you very, very much. Sorry you had a bad weekend. Hope things get better soon!

[@poulinhp]

I've done the same

[@spacequesthistorian]

@@poulinhp Binged this series or had a bad weekend? In either case, you have my thanks and/or sympathies.

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

Same here :D These vids are great

[@aydenottolini7994]

@@spacequesthistorianI as well enjoy this series and the everything about space quest series every 3-5 months. Don’t know why but I can’t stop coming back and watching. I’ve never played anthology of these games or heard of them before your videos a few years back. Hope all is well!

[@StealthMarmot_]

Seriously, Alexander showing the Lord of the Dead his own reflective truth and making Death CRY has to go down down as one of the most awesomely metal things in video game history.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Agree. 🤘

[@Eazy-ERyder]

King's Quest VI is HANDS DOWN not only the greatest in the series but my favorite childhood CD ROM game of the type. What a classic adventure, GREAT soundtrack, memorable remake and well-inputed voiceovers.

[@spacequesthistorian]

It's certainly the KQ I hated the least. 😁

[@Eazy-ERyder]

​@spacequesthistorian LOVED your unbiased review and great sense of humor BTW. Keep it up!

[@bradj9545]

QFG and police quest were my sierra series of preference, though KQ6, was my introduction to Sierra, I love this game, thought the aesthetics of the land of the dead especially were intriguing, Made experiencing the art in Dark Seed not as frightening as it probably could have been.

[@panteleimonnielsen225]

Tearing apart KQ4 felt like ridiculing my childhood. This f'n game, however, had me helplessly clicking all over the screen all summer, between the headaches... and yet, still, somehow... I kind of like it.

[@MinotaurMickey]

Facts! I remember when my auntie gave me this game and the pc magic the gathering. Man my intro to pc gaming could've never been better

[@PeterSwinkels]

While the video's creator is entitled to his opinions, I think he's not very smart for promising a "balanced" retrospective concerning a game that used to be held in high regard, while delivering a poor attempt at hate comedy.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Peter, look up sarcasm. Let me know when you're done.

[@PeterSwinkels]

@@spacequesthistorian : I already did that long ago, but I guess we both have different interpretations.

[@PeterSwinkels]

@@spacequesthistorian okay, my initial post wasn't so much sarcasm as an angry condescending comment. Fine. I still disagree with your notions of comedy.

[@jaysistar2711]

Your videos are very informative. Where else would you know that the audio of the dialog of the intro sequence was in the game resources, but unused? The details about the Amiga version not being in SCI were interesting as well. I'm surprised that the Amiga versions of SQ4, and a few others didn't try to swap palletes.

[@wanderer_blak]

Best KQ6 retro This was my intro to adventure games as a kid and I replay it every so often. The catacombs were my first lesson in the 'save and save often' mentality

[@sugaryhull9688]

I think the head cannon of Graham being a womanising druggie is hilarious

[@spacequesthistorian]

What, that's not the official story? 😂

[@g.s.651]

For anyone who took this review too personally (guessing by the downvotes, a few did)--I understand loving KQ6 and wanting to defend it--a silly, hyperbolic, irreverent critique style like this might seem cynical and scathing compared to what you're used to, but it's a change of pace for those who want one. I actually laughed out loud a few times watching these reviews and I found the alternate interpretations of these characters kinda funny at times, but if you want a more reverent, loving review, I'd recommend PUR, Pawdugan, or AGG.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Thank you very much for saying that. My guess is either the people downvoting have never watched a Spoony Experiment video, or they write for the King's Quest Wiki.

[@babel116]

Also fun fact, the bad guy is named after the guy that wrote the necronomicon! Bam!

[@christophclear1438]

Back when it came out, the game's fully rendered intro was impressive. Its looks were, but even more so its size. It occupied something like 7mb of hard disk space, which was crazy much back then. I remember game magazines remarking on this, rolling their eyes.

[@childofthe80s1981]

can't wait for the ripping apart of KIng's Quest VII a game that truly deserves it

[@toddfraser3353]

KQ7 is nothing compared to Mask of Eternity in terms of suckiness. KQ7 uses a similar engine that SQ6 used. However, like most Space Quest Games, it had learned some lessons from the Earlier Released KQ Games and made some improvements. KQ7 Brought you to colorful worlds, that were well detailed and colored. KQ8 just gave you shades of brown and green, in Low Polygon Count Graphics, in some sort of Action Game. They really should have done with the new 3d technology as they did with Quest For Glory 5. Keep the 3rd person view perspective with 3d models (that were smaller) on top of a mostly 2d set. KQ Graphics up to 7 were always impressive and really do stand up today. But KQ8 was using technology they didn't know how to use and perfect. It ended up looking and playing like crap.

[@megamike15]

oh your in for a treat my friend.

[@PeterSwinkels]

Kq7 could have been better, it could have been a lot worse.

[@scheddoc]

I've never played any of these games but you speak of them with such passion, your videos are so engaging to me :)

[@G4rr3tt]

Wonder how much coincidence it was that you used the Cedric scene from KQ5 when pointing out how "Crisp and Colorful" the graphics are ^^

[@DeaDGoD_XIV]

21:12 Wow, Jollo, that's a really incorporate thing to do at a wedding, no matter how empty it is

[@mikeroagreschen5350]

What's worse is that if you get a slightly better ending, he really gets his hips into it.

[@darth_zounds]

I just love your King's Quest retrospective videos; they're hilarious! XD

[@JayhawkTarheel311]

I’m only 5 minutes in and I’m dying laughing at the commentary of one of my childhood favorites. Well done sir! “Royal blue balls” 😂

[@spacequesthistorian]

Thank you! This was a fun one to do. 😁

[@micahbush5397]

Of course Cassima agrees to marry Alexander. Do you think she has any other viable prospects in this tiny kingdom of twenty or so heavily-inbred humans and who-knows-how-many anthropomorphic dogs, giant chess pieces, and haughty winged giants? (Okay, so there are probably more than 20 humans, but it's still a pretty small village.)

[@spacequesthistorian]

Well, that is of course a good point. But who knows, having a boyfriend with wings would also have its perks...

[@Bklyn93]

Part of the fun of the KQ games is that you are Graham, Alex, Rosella etc. I always felt an emotional resonance in that I felt like I was experiencing the events. The adding of extra depth kind of removed that sense of being the player with Graham etc as my avatar into the world of Daventry.

[@ClefTheMouse]

19:22 Random? I've never seen the lamp's shape be anything but that same one seen in the video at this moment.

[@spacequesthistorian]

You are correct and I was wrong. The lamp is the same every time. My point about "how would Alex even know this?" remains valid, though, I feel. 😅

[@ClefTheMouse]

@@spacequesthistorian Yeah, the game pretty much acknowledges that this is the one thing Alex would never actually know, and his explanation to Jollo for how he chose the right one was saying that it must have been intuition. You can kinda interpret Alex's "intuition" as the player's part/input in deciding what he does, lol

[@The8bitbeard]

Great review. I didn't beat this one until the later 90s when I managed to use the Internet at the library to download a text file of the walkthrough from Gamefaqs. I remember my high-school art teacher had us all make mix tapes that he would listen to on his commute in order to "get to know us better". My mix tape had "Girl in the Tower" mixed in there among Korn, Metallica and music from Mech Warrior 2. I still wonder what his reaction was when that monstrosity started playing.

[@spacequesthistorian]

That high school art teacher was setting himself up for a number of quite obvious trolls. ;)

[@Tavares0709]

​@@spacequesthistorianOne and a half hours of "Zelda's Main Theme" by System of a Down(?)

[@jasonblalock4429]

I'm definitely in favor of you tackling Police Quest next. Of course, that would mean playing PQ4 - and even as someone who took delight in your suffering while playing KQ5, I genuinely wouldn't wish PQ4 on *anyone.* (It'd also be nice to see you cover Quest For Glory, but you'd have less to complain about.)

[@JStryker47]

I don't know, much as I enjoyed the QfG series, I can think of quite a few things to complain about - particularly in QfG5. In fact, if I had the technology, I probably would've made some sin compilation videos on them.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Oh, PQ4 will be an absolute delight to talk about. I would also like to cover QfG in the future, but it's such an open-ended experience, I'm not sure I'd be able to look at it from every angle like I normally would. I'd have to rethink a lot of my formula for a series like QfG.

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@JStryker47 Well, I didn't say they were PERFECT but on the whole it's probably the best-designed and most player-friendly series Sierra put out. Complaints like "fighters in QfG1 are trash" or "the city maze in QfG2 is annoying" are pretty mild compared to the moon logic and random deaths in most other Quests. (and yeah, QfG5 was definitely a letdown, although it wasn't *terrible.* )

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@spacequesthistorian There are a number of savegame/character editors out there for QfG which would make it somewhat easier to see the various sidequests with a minimum of replaying. (Not to mention the trick of making a Thief-mage in QfG1, which gets you pretty much all the content for both classes.)

[@spacequesthistorian]

@@jasonblalock4429 It's easier to make fun of sexist fantasy tropes or alpha male supercop fantasies than role playing games. If I say "this is a silly way to solve a puzzle," then the immediate counterargument is, "Well, here's about a million other ways you could have done it." 😁 I'm not saying no; I'm just saying I'm gonna need to psych myself up to tackle something as comprehensive as QfG.

[@Movieman1885]

I'll always have nostalgic fondness for this game, being my first CD-Rom talkie, and my little sis playing it with me because it reminded her of Disney movies...having said that, I loved your criticisms, and I agree that the Lord of the Dead sequence is fantastic writing, I was heavily into Greek Mythology at the time...Got me through the Catacombs in Conquest of Camelot as well!

[@DanKaschel]

Conquest of Camelot! Dammit now I have another rabbit trail to follow

[@AlexMathiesen]

The first time I played this was when I was 14 when the Kings Quest Collection came out and completely overused the walkthrough. Anything that involved the smallest bit of thought made me look up how to do it. I beat it in a couple days, but I always regretted that because this game is a classic.

[@bobsagett]

Good to hear Mike Rowe narrating this game

[@mikeroagreschen5350]

As far as why Shamir (the genie) doesn't just outright kill Alexander is laid out in the guidebook. Genies prefer not to harm anyone directly.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Okay, I'll accept that. But the Vizier could just take Alexander out back and lob his head off, and no one would ever wonder where he got to.

[@jennyvlogs7160]

@@spacequesthistorian His family knew where he went, but it's not like they rescued him when he disappeared before so...maybe you're right.

[@j8s0nz]

If I understand the story correctly, Alexander presents his ring as proof of his nobility to the guards on initial landing. Although I extrapolate, killing a proven noble of a foreign land would hardly be fitting of the Vizier, especially being in the advantageous position he was in the beginning of the game. Maybe he felt Alexander too incapable of fending for himself? All speculation, of course. TLDR: Speculation post.

[@CaptainGalli]

Great video :) I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@NixFanBoy007]

The description of the gnomes is so metal that Dethklok wants to copyright it. I laughed so hard. :D

[@FunnyGinMan]

All I can say is I taught myself how to play the Dangling Participle's song on bass clarinet back in the day, and can probably still play it today.

[@spacequesthistorian]

The score to this game was pretty damn good, I have to say. Not as good as KQ4, but definitely up there.

[@L331]

Jollo sounds like Ed Wynn (1886-1966)

[@marina7220]

I've always thought so! Like "Is that the guy from Babes in Toyland?" Lol

[@L331]

@@marina7220 Yes! He's also from "Mary Poppins" and Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" (Animated)

[@katiehal16]

I should downvote you for getting me excited that this was available now, only to learn I have to wait 2 more days.

[@katiehal16]

Okay, worth the wait, you get a thumbs up. ;)

[@frankoarseeknee4793]

Me, who found this 3 days later. 👁👄👁

[@spacequesthistorian]

@@katiehal16 Thank you, Katie, that means a lot, especially from you! 😊

[@YTWanderer]

I´d love to watch this right now but KQ6 is the one game of the franchise I want to experience unspoiled.

[@neoqwerty]

Have you played KQ6 yet?

[@YTWanderer]

@@neoqwerty No, still on my pile-of-shame 🥴

[@metalmat3651]

I personally lived the Isle or Wonder. That and the underworld are the highlights of the game imo.

[@spacequesthistorian]

The Underworld was really killer. Except for the dancing skeletons - what the fuck was up with that.

[@ClefTheMouse]

@@spacequesthistorian The best thing about that is that any playthrough where you're able to do that, it's MANDATORY to do it, or the game becomes unwinnable, lmao

[@23ofSeptember]

I remember playing this game in the mid 1990s on the family Apple Macintosh LC II. I loved this game. No talking for the Mac version I bought though. You just had to read all the BS they were saying. That was back when there was no major online community to inform you of the cheat codes or other hints. I had to do everything myself to finish this game. It was a great experience. Reminded me of playing "Willow" for the NES.

[@pauls6416]

Nobody paints a picture quite like this gentleman. Good work.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Thank you. 😁

[@NassachiASMR]

Thanks for this wonderful series. It's an interesting take on a beloved franchise. I agree with most of your points, but I think the overwhelming feeling of nostalgia from my young teenage bedroom makes this game shine. When I look at it now it certainly lacks, but oh the wonders of exploring these isles, seeing what's around the next corner or what magical setpiece we get to experience next had me enchanted as a kid. The biggest flaw for me, both reflecting on it now and also back then, was definitely the dead man walking scenarios. I could live with them if you had good save game management, but more importantly knew where you screwed up, but the problem is you have no clue how far back that was, so you would have to replay the game from the beginning several times to see if there's anything you missed out on. Awful design in any case. But again, thanks or the series, it was a pleasure ot watch!

[@spacequesthistorian]

Thank you! I get a fair amount of shit from some people who don't realize I'm being intentionally unfair and nitpicky. While some of my criticisms are genuine (the RNG and dead-ends in this game), I don't actually hate these games. They are important cornerstones of adventure games and I do respect them quite a lot... even though they're not personally my cup of tea. What I'm trying to say is, your feelings of nostalgia are entirely warranted. ☺️

[@NihilQuest]

Maybe the graphics is worse than KQ5 but it still looks pretty good and certainly that death guy is awesome. I didn't play the game so I know it just from other sources and now it hit me again, what an iconic image it is.

[@scotia-drewshields1067]

Loved "muchly" (Nova Scotia talk) Push the fast forward button and blast your channel into "lit speed" SQ 5!! Loved the remixes of SQ5 music T.P. keep kicking ass. I really love your style. Rock on!!

[@spacequesthistorian]

Thanks so much, man! :)

[@screamingfalcon71]

The sad part of the Guidebook is that in later releases of the KQ Collection, they chopped it down to just the copyright protection chapters. They did include the full version with the first version, though.

[@eddieking6723]

I loved the aisle of wonder as a kid...I wonder if I played it as an adult if I would have that same feeling or be more in line with the SQ historian lol

[@lzestrara1518]

Agreed! For me, as a preteen playing his first CD rom game ever, this isle was the quintessence of this game's humor and creativity. I loved the characters, the challenges, the puns, the references. What a delight.

[@rebelyell1983x]

I had this game because it was included as Pre-Loaded Software with the IBM PS/1 my family bought. It had a CD-ROM but you couldn't really install just from the CD-Rom. Or at least that's how I remember it. It was just the CD-ROM talkie version.

[@johnpoole3871]

I loved this game. It and KQ3 were my favs. and hey Alexander at least talked to Casima first unlike his Dad.

[@mikeroagreschen5350]

True. Graham just showed up and dragged Valanice to the altar.

[@scotia-drewshields1067]

You made fun of the theme melody right at the last 3 seconds! AWESOME!

[@spacequesthistorian]

It was kind of a throwaway idea I mentioned on the Discord -- "I'm not even gonna talk about Girl in the Tower; I'm just gonna say I hate it right at the end of the video and that's it" -- and then when it came time to actually write the script, it actually worked. 😅

[@JStryker47]

@@spacequesthistorian Somehow, I missed that part before I made my original comment. But yes, I've always hated it too. I mean... it sounded a *little* better when PushingUpRoses sang it in her review, but only a little. Regrettably, the only Space Quest games she's reviewed so far, are 1 and 6. I believe she's also done the first Police Quest and the first two Quest for Glorys though.

[@ehyehasherehyeh3304]

20:48 OMG you destroyed my chilhood now... Thanks! 😂

[@DosGamerMan]

More games to play. Looking forward to PQ1.

[@Jrdotan]

This is it. My favorite adventure game so far I love most of the puzzles, i love the whole island scheme and how you can explore the islands mostly at your own pace I love how each of them has a totally different culture and this is reflected at the whole gameplay (like isle of wonder requiring you to think in cartoon logic to solve your problems or how the Isle of the dead require knowledge about hades and the whole styx river mythology) Even how they dealt with unwinnable situations since with one exception (the catacombs) you could always finish the game even if you failed at something that could push you to the long route, using the short path And some of the situations of dead ends are even telegraphed like reaching the isle of sacred mountain without some of the items requires (nop not just the tinderbox, i had it in my playrought and they gave me time too) and they will tell directly that you need to prepare yourself picking what you need to surrvive or you would die. Which makes the player be careful and save before he enters. Cool video, keep it up

[@dreamykid]

"you could always finish the game" Not quite, on my first attempt at the long path, I forgot to give Cassima the dagger when Alexander talked to her through the wall T_T

[@Jrdotan]

@@dreamykid big F

[@flamentnagel]

in fairness to alexander, if you take the whole "grew up as a slave to a screeching child abuser" part into account i'd say he's surprisingly well-adjusted

[@spacequesthistorian]

Indeed, but that could just be down to how dense he is.

[@richardmahn7589]

Yeah, teleportation seems to be a plot hole here. Same goes for how limited, then not so limited the map and stone in KQ3 could teleport someone.

[@MolemanSA]

I spent entire weekends as a child trying to escape that labyrinth.

[@Peanuts87]

Gotta admit, the scathing angry critical tone of this series is wearing on me. There's some fair criticisms in here and some clever writing, but Space Quest is just as absurd as King Quest half the time (if as you say here, with better worldbuilding and the like).

[@BrandonBlume]

It's hyperbole.

[@spacequesthistorian]

That's fair. There are plenty of actual proper reviews of this game on KZbin. You can watch those instead.

[@PeterSwinkels]

Agreed.

[@PeterSwinkels]

@@BrandonBlume : to me it looks more like cheap comedy being excused as hyperbole.

[@BrandonBlume]

@@PeterSwinkels Kay

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

Awesome review. Still have the guidebook. But 7:51… who did the remix if these tracks. They are fantastic.

[@spacequesthistorian]

I did those. 😅 A bunch of us actually did a couple of albums of King's Quest remixes. If you want it on vinyl, we're crowdfunding a repress of the one that has this KQ6 remix on it: qrates.com/projects/27218

[@spacequesthistorian]

There's also free digital versions you can download on my Bandcamp: spacequesthistorian.bandcamp.com

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

@@spacequesthistorian Great job, might have to dig out the record player just for this, thanks for the link!

[@spacequesthistorian]

@@Panzer_the_Merganser Sorry for the rampant self-promotion, but... there's a sequel, too, and that one is already funded. You can just buy a copy of this one. qrates.com/projects/25263-king-s-chill-vol-2

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

@@spacequesthistorian Sweeeet. Just DL the first, and bought the second one.

[@LendriMujina]

14:47 First to go, the one of sight, In amber glow of hellish light. The smell of sulfur, ash, and smoke Will cause the one of scent to choke. For he of sound, the sickening crack Of bone collapsed from turning black. Flesh consumed, boiled to a crust, The one of taste is turned to dust. Last of all, the one of feel. A burning that will never heal. Flames consume all senses equal, As, let's be honest, screw this sequel.

[@bradj9545]

… and the guidebook to the land of the Green Isles serves as an anti piracy function of sorts , containing critical information needed to complete some of the puzzles.Though agreed, the effort they put into it was great, coming up with a huge amount of lore to accompany the game. There’s even a map of sorts of the catacombs in there that also flags the trapped rooms, if you find you need it.

[@babel116]

Isn’t the Genies name a call back to the song the two girls from happy days spin off were singing?

[@spacequesthistorian]

I have no idea. 😂 Never watched Happy Days. It wasn't really a thing when I was growing up in Denmark.

[@babel116]

@@spacequesthistorian it wasn’t big particularly big in my house hold here in the Utah, but for some reason it just popped into my head. From a quick search it’s pretty close to the opening rhyme from Lavern and Shirley. Maybe it’s a coincidence? kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHvdd2uVmctkiJo

[@DaveFu]

You have to respect any software developer that would go topless in a hot tub to sell her game. Before there was Leisure Suit Larry. There was Softcore. "Hey Roberta, it's cool. Ken sent me!"

[@michaelnurse9089]

That joke has a very select audience. You had to have been 13 in 1987 to get it.

[@DaveFu]

@@michaelnurse9089 I was little younger than that actually. Al Lowe warped my fragile little mind! Spiro Agnew is....C) a Foot Disease!

[@dawnbreaker2912]

4:14 - FUCKEN DED 😂🤣

[@G00berella]

Maybe Alex is caught in a time loop he's unaware of, forgetting everything except an instict for choosing the correct things he should'nt otherwise know at that point.

[@tremendous2464]

Alexander Thant was really Alexander good. I had no idea about the different Alexander versions of Revolution. I always wondered what you thought of Broken Sword as it was Alexander what really opened the door to adventure games of it's kind for me. Alexander.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Alexander thanks.

[@aratneerg1375]

Looks like a hoot! Im getting it!

[@johnpoole3871]

it's pretty great

[@LuckyLuigi]

It just delights me that in a hundred years these videos are probably going to be required course material for video game history courses and people will have keep looking up 'expletives used in the early 21th century' for their meaning

[@spacequesthistorian]

If a teacher puts my videos on a course syllabus, they have failed their responsibilities as educators, not to mention their profession as a whole. 😝

[@jeremymain7303]

Wow factor was all they thought they could do in 1988. The fact that there was a story you were experiencing at all was incredible.

[@spacequesthistorian]

I suppose, but still. 😅

[@ninashanafelt1347]

I've never played a Police Quest. I never wanted to play a Police Quest. But watching you make videos about Police Quest is probably the only way I would want to experience those games, so I'm down.

[@steeeeve1]

Can't wait. Still sore about that cat puzzle, what could be worse?

[@camwyn256]

Cassima is 14 or 15 during KQ6. Mordack had asked for Cassima's hand for marriage roughly two years before KQ6 (Cassima was 12-13 at the time).

[@michiganscythian2445]

Love your reviews! Please do the Monkey Island games and Maniac Mansion!

[@spacequesthistorian]

Thank you! I've already done Let's Plays of Monkey Island 1+2 and Maniac Mansion, but I might do some of these condensed review-type videos on them in the future.

[@michiganscythian2445]

@@spacequesthistorian I just started watching you two days ago so I’ll have to go through your videos

[@spacequesthistorian]

Haha, don't worry about it. It's nothing spectacular. 😅

[@frozenflame5858]

I’ve got a quibble with one of your quibbles. If you use the “drink me” potion from the isle of wonder in the pawn shop, Alexander fakes his own death and makes it clear he knows the black robe guy getting drunk on peppermints is in cahoots with the Vizier. (My head canon is Alexander acting like a gullible idiot most of the time is an act he puts on) Also, the game kind of acknowledges Alexander knowing the shape of the lamp is bullshit because when Jollo asks him how he knew, he says it was “a princes intuition” or something.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Fair enough, but my head canon is funnier. 😆

[@frozenflame5858]

@@spacequesthistorian No argument there!

[@marbles8641]

There is one minor difference you missed during the Bonus Round The DOS and WINDOWS version of the game has completely different graphics for the "Talking Heads" during conversations. The windows version has new, higher quality artwork and animation compared to the DOS version. (Both are on the disc!)

[@spacequesthistorian]

I should have mentioned that. I am aware of the SVGA speech portraits in the Windows version. I was playing the game in ScummVM for this video, which gives you the option to switch between the two, so I even have footage of both (I believe I also mention their existence in this video? I honestly forget), but I should have mentioned that they were exclusive to the Windows version.

[@marbles8641]

@@spacequesthistorian I don't think you did once mention the SVGA. The most you pointed out was the piss yellow vs parchment colored text boxes.

[@spacequesthistorian]

@marbles8641 Ah, okay... and that was talking about the disk vs. CD-ROM versions, so... whoops, I guess? I did prefer the low-res speech portraits, though.

[@marbles8641]

@@spacequesthistorian I'm the opposite. Sorry for nitpicking

[@spacequesthistorian]

@@marbles8641 Don't worry about it - you made a good point. :)

[@coolnut99]

I will note that KQ6's working title was "Genie, Meenie, Minie, Moe". So it could have been much worse.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Yup, that would have been worse.

[@frommyhighhorse]

ill never forget this giant ass guidebook

[@bustedaimbotgaming1763]

God I love this shit. So glad I came across this channel.

[@the-nina-beans88]

One of the first kings Quest games I was introduced into the series… Sorry the ones I’ve played were 5-7 and the 2015 reboot game

[@hiimpercy]

The remix of the village music is an absolute banger. Any source for that?

[@spacequesthistorian]

Thank you! I did that one. We put it on the first King's Chill record: spacequesthistorian.bandcamp.com/track/isle-of-the-chill There's also an ep I did of reorchestrated tunes from the game: spacequesthistorian.bandcamp.com/album/kings-quest-vi-a-fair-and-balanced-ep

[@hiimpercy]

IT WAS YOU!!!?? Well done!!!

[@spacequesthistorian]

@@hiimpercy Thank you - that's very kind of you. 😊

[@LoneWolf-gz9mr]

How did Alex climb the cliffs?... "You're a wizard Alex"... Simple... He's clairvoyant and precognitive.... Both his parents were DRUGGED OUTTA THEIR MINDS, it mutated him.

[@ultimateninjaboi]

I love this game, but goddamn is it so weirdly enjoyable to see it torn a new one like this. XP

[@ThePreciseClimber]

Never have I encountered such bottomless hatred for Alexander. :P

[@spacequesthistorian]

I mean... am I wrong? 😂

[@mikeall7012]

I hate the fact she made kings quest 5 impossible for 10/11 year olds and that it made me feel like an imbecile as a kid. So there's that.

[@mjc0961]

1:44 - DAAAAAAAAAAMN You're not wrong though!

[@tremendous2464]

Any plans for an in depth look in the future at Revolution games? Are there any of your videos that you talk about them in? I don't remember having heard you talk about Broken Sword before this vid

[@spacequesthistorian]

I did a livestream of Beneath A Steel Sky, one of my favorite games of all time, a long while back. More recently, I did a 5 part series on why I didn't like its sequel, Beyond a Steel Sky. That 5 part series is a lot like these King's Quest videos. I'd love to take a closer look at Revolution's games sometime in the future. Can't say when, though -- there are a million things I'd love to do videos on. :)

[@tremendous2464]

@@spacequesthistorian oh yes ofcourse! Thankyou very much for the reply, I have watched your stream of BaSS, I will again though now that I know it is from the same company and possibly some of the same creators as broken sword. I wish I had been aware of it back in the day I would of really enjoyed playing it. Infact I might have a play through of it myself sometime. Its nice to know that there are still many things you would like to make videos about :)

[@wilfordgray1163]

I remember buying the CD-Rom for this game.

[@davecool42]

I had no idea there was a version released for Mac, I'd only ever heard of the DOS/Windows version.

[@spacequesthistorian]

I actually have the Mac version on my shelf in my big box collection, so I can confirm it's not just a fever dream or wild hallucination.

[@trevorsreya8277]

This game is a fond part of my childhood, although I don't mind if an informed someone tears down it's many flaws. One of the flaws I wanted to point out is between the normal and enhanced versions of the game. When they remade all of the character's portraits, they took Cassima's old character portrait, updated it, and gave it to her mother. Then they gave Cassima a new portrait that made her look like a young Rosie O'Donnell. Seriously, wtf. Not only do I get a downgrade for the love interest's character portrait, but now old man Caliphim is now married to a woman who looks old enough to be his daughter, because it kind of actually is his daughter. It also made some of the character's portraits not match their in game sprites sometimes in terms of coloring, but I could be misremembering that part.

[@Hdx64]

I have this love and hate relationship with graphic adventure games. I've played a fuck ton. Broken sword, Indiana Jones, full throttle, monkey island and some obscure ones like Willie beamish, guilty, red big adventure and discworld, but I don't know if i was dumb back then, but always had the same issue... My young brain wasn't able to comprehend "states"... So whenever something changed in a setting I thought it was a mistake rather than plot advancement... Some were obvious like the old man on the pawnshop or the bird on the tree, but i remember when I found the royal jester in the library and almost freaked out haha. That's why I wasn't able to properly enjoy an adventure game until I was an adult. Then I was able to appreciate the niussance of the plot and how obtuse some puzzles were... There is nothing slowing down or gating your progress if you didn't have the proper items and sometimes you could be almost softlocking yourself which wasn't fun. By far the most obtuse of these games designs have to be the minotaur section. I feel into bottomless pits, was crushed, hit by spikes, found by the minotaur... For a purist I try not to use walkthroughs if I can, but KQ VI made me break one of my rules... That damn labyrinth and it's combination of specific items... The lantern, hole in wall (that I already've used on the castle wall and it got away), the brick...) I'm all for a good brain teaser, but come on! 8/10 for me, but overall a good game that i never finished out of pure frustration

[@benograider6097]

oooh spledid! the end credits theme made me sing along like danny sexbang and ross at the end of their playthrough of this ...well... drug-induced-halluci..Game! I meant Game! This is yet another great recap, thank you for that! I mean... after Mask of eternity there is still the last Kings Quest Game, where Graham tells his adventures to his grandchildren! ;) Just sayin'! Luv your Retros, greetings from thy lovely neighbour in northern Germany!

[@spacequesthistorian]

Thanks man! Yeah, I'm tempted to play the King's Quest reboot and see how they try to tie these old games together. But first there are the fan remakes of KQ2 and KQ3 (not to mention the SCI and Master System versions of KQ1) that I need to play.

[@thelostandromedan81]

They will also not take you directly to the catacombs if you don't have hole-in-the-wall

[@spacequesthistorian]

But you can still go in anyway, save your game, and be DMW'd, right?

[@sarahrupert5320]

This game is almost always THE KQ favorite, and yet it’s impossible not to see the hilarious flaws with your videos. DAMN that stupid Alexander!

[@spacequesthistorian]

Oh, it is hands down the best game in the series. If it starred anyone other than Alexander, it would have been a masterpiece. 😏

[@DanKaschel]

@@spacequesthistorian just be like me and play this game first without the benefit of knowing what an asshat Alexander is. It really improves the experience!

[@SanjaySharma-ec8yr]

Amazing work!

[@richardperspective]

I don’t know why you don’t like the jester. As Tex Murphy said, danger’s like Jollo - there’s always room for a little more.

[@spacequesthistorian]

No! Back in your corner!

[@JeffreyJMeyer]

Woah, Jane Jensen's version of Stephen King's Needful Things!

[@Resulka]

So fun story. The guide to the green Isles is the account of Darek Karlavaegan... the same Darek Karlavaegan that Peter Spears said emailed him and Jane and Roberta from Daventry on a computer he found in an abandoned shack he calls the eye of all worlds. Peter Spears must have smoked the good shit.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Peter Spears definitely got into Graham's stash, no question.

[@HarmonixJourney]

Maaaan.. I absolutely loved this game back in the day. Drew my parents mad when they had to listen to "Alexander does.." "Alexander takes.." "Alexander" "Alexander" "ALEXANDER" all day every day of the week. Didn't notice that myself while playing. *Edit* Oh and the isle of wonders was my favorite part of the game 😅

[@JuanAntonioHerreraC]

I was waiting for this!!

[@4Legacy]

Why does nobody play the enhanced graphics version?! The character portraits and dialog boxes look so much cleaner than the other versions

[@spacequesthistorian]

I'm curious to know which enhanced graphics version you're referring to. The versions I played for this video were, to the best of my knowledge, the only versions released by Sierra. Please elaborate!

[@4Legacy]

@@spacequesthistorian I'm (of course) not seeing any enhanced version KZbin search results lol, but I just played it recently on my twitch www.twitch.tv/videos/1743039019

[@4Legacy]

@@spacequesthistorian the mouse cursor looks so much nicer too. This version is on all CD-ROM versions, as far as I know. Just have to select it in setup

[@spacequesthistorian]

@@4Legacy Ah, I know what you mean now. Yes, I did play some of the CD version with the hi-res portraits but I actually prefer the lo-res ones. To each their own, I guess.

[@michaelnurse9089]

I kind of feel the opposite about the Roberta Williams and 'story' in that for early Kings Quest the story is already 'understood' in that you meet the Three Bears or Little Red Riding Hood or Poseidon - it is just your interaction with them that remains. Compare this to modern 'Story Heavy' games they start to feel like a bad novel smashing your in the face every time you meet a NPC - do I really need yet ANOTHER sad sack story to lead me down a side quest or yet ANOTHER hero prophesized to save the World?

[@spacequesthistorian]

As sick as I am, too, of sad sacks and prophecies, having the Three Bears or Little Red Riding Hood show up in your game just feels really lazy to me. And bizarre.

[@megamike15]

@@spacequesthistorian this might be the main reason people prefer qfg to kq. the baba yaga shows up in the first game but she is involved in the plot. she isnt just plopped into the game would world with an arrow saying " we added book character you will recognize."

[@Slattstudio]

I wasn't used to your praising King's Quest anything. That little lore book must be pretty good. Too bad the game couldn't live up to the expectation it inspired in you.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Honestly, this game wasn't bad. The general consensus that this is the best of the series, at least so far (and I'm told it's downhill from here), is very well deserved. In fact, if you peel away all the sneering dick jokes, the only problems I have with it are the minor story quibbles (retconning Green Isles, Alex and the Guidebook), the pawn shop dude, and the few DMWs. The rest is pretty solid.

[@PeterSwinkels]

@@spacequesthistorian : peel away at my comments and you will notice I got the “jokes”. The problem is the internet is crawling with wannabe comedians you eventually get very tired of the shallow humor. Your “comedy” is average drivel at best.

[@adrian2040]

Will you ever play the episodic King's Quest game from 2015?

[@spacequesthistorian]

I really want to, but I want to play the fan remakes and the other versions of KQ1 first.

[@ryanminaker157]

22:28 graham looks like zac effron

[@redshirtveteran5688]

Murderer? Eh, negligent manslaughter perhaps. Though those sailors were stupid enough to go along with this plan.

[@spacequesthistorian]

Imagine you're the Captain of the flagship. The son of the monarch comes to you and says, "Mommy lent me the ship. I'm Captain now. We're off to find the Green Isles." Do you think it would be wise to start the next sentence with, "Listen here, you little shit"? 😝

[@redshirtveteran5688]

@@spacequesthistorian Nah, I'd go: "Oh, you're Captain now? Right then, I'm off to the tavern, best of luck. You clearly don't need my help, *Captain*." 😆

[@spacequesthistorian]

@@redshirtveteran5688 And that must've been what happened, 'cos... you know, he ended up plowing it straight into a storm.

[@BenjaminWirtz]

No mention of "Girl in the Tower?"

[@spacequesthistorian]

Nope. The less said about that, the better. 😝

[@wolfgangamadeuskeen]

This is great!

[@davecool42]

I remember the making of video on the CD-ROM version very well, I wish they'd dig out the old master tape and re-digitize it for us. Free us from the low resolution, low framerate, and cinepak compression!

[@spacequesthistorian]

Me, too. Same goes for the Making of Gabriel Knight and the "Current Inside Copy" spoof documentary from the Space Quest Collection. Unfortunately, those are most likely lost to time. Most of the Sierra assets were destroyed when the company got bought out.