The Shack Remembers - Space Quest! The Iconic Sierra On-Line Adventures!

[@chuckturdburger4612]

going to mastermind and staring at the wall of sierra games in giant shoebox sized packaging and picking one out was one of the best things ever.

[@Dorelaxen]

Space Quest could be one of my favorite things ever.

[@SecretOfMonkeyIsland784]

Yep, i purchased a physical copy this year just for the nostalgia.

[@dudarino666]

Same, I dont know if it just caught me in my youth, but I lost hundreds of hours in these games and just would love actual continuation in the same art style as 3/4/5. The whole thing just oozes uniqueness and I remember having that "National enquirer" style anti cheat/game manual. That was about the coolest thing I had ever seen for a game, I loved it.

[@ShawnESharp1]

BTWm at 14:58 yes, that is in fact Picard. I thought it only fair to work him in as an easter egg.

[@devinflint5554]

I remember my dad pre-ordered SQII and eagerly going after school to the local "computer store" after school to pick it up.

[@jsandlin71]

Space Quest was a big part of my childhood. I remember randomly discovering Space Quest 5 at a toy store and loving every bit of it. There has never been and likely never will be a game series quite like this.

[@anonamatron]

I never liked 5 that much. The lack of a talkie version is unforgivable at that time, and something about it just feels cheap.. There's a ton of good stuff, don't get me wrong, but to me SQ 4 was near perfection, and SQ 6 continued it perfectly (the tone of the game I mean). The two guys made 5 and 6 separately, so that's why. Also SQ6's DEMO is a "secret" entry into the series because it's nothing you'll find in the full game. It's a self contained adventure. I still go back to that now and then.

[@RemcovanZuijlen]

Yes, I played the Space Quest games back in the day. One thing I remember and which I found funny is when you were playing in SQ4, revisiting the SQ1 world and the characters in the bar were jealous of my VGA graphics look and they were still CGA graphics.

[@derealized797]

I remember my first ever introduction to adventure games, back in the mid 80s, when i was around 8 years old. My older brother was on his computer, and i went over to see what he was playing. I expected it to be pretty much the usual stuff, platform or something, but instead i found him playing Police Quest. After about 30 seconds i *knew* what i was looking at, i understood the significance of it, and i think i got on his nerves with the way i kept talking about it asking if he would be done soon. I was hooked on it, and it just took off from there, finding Space Quest, Quest for Glory... the Hugo games and a whole long list of others. I've always been drawn to the more experimental side of gaming, which the 80s and 90s definitely gave me. It wasn't until the internet took off that i finally met other people who 'get it'. For years everyone thought i just had terrible tastes in games because i didn't care about whatever was popular. I looked for those certain things that took games further, to new places, by taking risks and forever changing games in ways they weren't always given credit for. Of course i still enjoyed games like Commander Keen and most of the popular stuff on console. But if new ideas aren't brought in, if nothing new is found and introduced, then it all gets stale and repetitive, too predictable to hold my interest anyway.

[@anonamatron]

​@@derealized797Mine was Black Cauldron, which was pretty much perfect for a kid. The game still holds up in my opinion. I spent a lot of time trying everything in that game. It has multiple storylines, multiple solutions, about six different endings. As a kid I got one of the poor endings because I'd read the books by then and did what they did in the book, which worked but isn't the best ending in the game. My next adventure game was Kings Quest III which I also loved but it was incredibly hard as a small kid. I still remember thieves rushing out to rob me and me yelling for my dad to come type "kill thieves with knife" quickly for me. I kind of learned to type just by playing those games. I had to, or I'd die!!!

[@derealized797]

​@@anonamatronI remember Black Cauldron. Those games were tough, and i didn't have walkthroughs available back then, so when i made a new discovery it was like a big deal. but then I'd be stuck again, the feeling would be gone. I kept going back to these games anyway. Quest for Glory 2 Trial by Fire is a good example, i really wanted to play it through and know what happens. I don't think it's possible without a guide. Wish they considered this with adventure games back then.

[@anonamatron]

@@derealized797 We definitely gave in and bought several hintbooks. The early ones had a marker you used to reveal the hint. After a while though they became unreadable.

[@darkowl9]

Really? I always thought they looked like VGA that had just been turned greyscale.

[@JonHuhnMedical]

I bought my first Space Quest game at Radio Shack :)

[@PeBoVision]

While LucasArts eventually released their own take on the formula (Zack McCraken & The Alien Mindbenders), it was Sierra-On-Line that created that formula. I continue to play Space Quest chapter 1 - The Sarien Encounter reguarly (it is the only installment available on the TI-99/4A (a stunning homebrew)), and the humour never gets tired (even though I know the puzzle solutions by now, it remains fun to get tthrough each one). With so many software houses remastering their classics, it's time for a 2023 remake of the Space Quest series. But don't change ANYTHING.

[@farab4391]

Great to see these again. A lot of my childhood evenings were spent trying to complete the Sierra Quest games. Once they moved from text input to mouse input, it spoilt it for me.

[@johnny5805]

I remember playing SC1 when I worked for Arnor (they made the WP; Protext, for Amstrad/PC/PCW/ST etc) in 1987. It was simply STUNNING ! I played on a PC with HERCULES graphics using SIMCGA, and the total size of the HD was a massive 10mb !! (that really was massive !). Not many tech support calls were answered on those days ! 😀

[@brandchemist]

Love your metaphors, man! I could listen and laugh to you talk about adventure games all day.

[@FranksRetroLab]

Loved Space Quest. Have played all of them. Am currently playing Space Quest Space Venture and am loving it. Great series.

[@TheRetroShack]

Glad you like them!

[@britinindy4255]

So pleased to see that Colossal Cave got a mention in the intro. It's the only computer game that I've ever played and is still alive and well on my laptop. I should also note that I've never completely solved the puzzle of the cave, hence never getting around to playing other games. Also tickled to see a cameo by the Blues Brothers in Space Quest!

[@mdrake42]

I loved this series. My cousin introduced me to SQ1 on his XT with a new EGA Card. Ended up playing SQ2 with my friend on his black and white monitor a year later. Sierra games may have been almost the same formula, but they certainly were time well spent. Fond memories. Great series recap. I thought it ended at SQ IV, so didn't know about V or XI.

[@IainNitro]

This series was my favorite. I also liked other Sierra Online. Great video.

[@TheRetroShack]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Colin_Ames]

Great video. I never played any of this series, but did get into Police Quest and Leisure Suit Larry.

[@raycreveling1583]

I played SQ & SQII on my Tandy 1000, the original version. I have so many great memories of those two games & KQII

[@T8staDiM3rda]

My first taste was SQ2. We had a few RM nimbus pcs at school back in the early 90s. One of the teachers had it hidden on the HDD . Easy find for the computing students. Great games but very frustrating at times....flying around in a jock strap. Just hilarious. Thanks for the trip...

[@Nosaveddataretro]

More episodes like this please, great video. New subscriber

[@TheRetroShack]

Welcome aboard and glad you liked it :)

Enjoyed this episode! SQ is one of my all time favourites. Best death; I would pick being eating by a plant at Labion. At least the plant was unpopular later that night as Roger didnt digest very well.

[@gertachimrenel595]

"You scratched yourself on a hairpin and died by blood poisoning. *[Restore]* [Restart] [Quit]"

[@TheRetroShack]

Now, the deaths were SO random I can't recall whether that was an actual one or not! :)

[@kilianhekhuis]

SQ3 was the first and only SQ I played back in the days, possibly still on CGA 😄. I had a saved game ready whenever I felt like playing some Astro Chicken 😄.

[@rager-69]

Nice retrospective. Your intro skipped the first few Sierra games where you just got a static graphic screen for each area (I remember playing a bit of the Wizard and the Princess on school lab Apple II+ computers). Those games were the bridge from text adventure games to the animated "Quest" games.

[@TechieandrewB]

I have to say right off I like the new logo and intro sequence. I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the great work. I was never one for these games back in the day, never could get too far with the "Sierra deaths". Watching videos like this I really miss my 486DX/2-66 Dos PC clone, DOS memory management issues and all!

[@joshm7769]

Thanks for going eady in sq6, the first one i bought with my own money. I love that game!

[@alexandermirdzveli3200]

I'd like to mention some fan-made SQ sequels : Space Quest 4.5 The Voyage Home - not a bad game Space Quest Vohaul Strikes Back - masterpiece! Space Quest Incinerations - good game and a very good Space Quest 2 Remake by by Infamous Adventures All available for free, by the way!

[@TheRetroShack]

Well, I guess I know what I’m doing this weekend then! Thanks!

[@buoyantboysenberry]

@@TheRetroShack Don't miss Spaceventure, which should have been mentioned here. This was the kickstarted spiritual successor to space quest by none other than Mark and Scott, who had finally resolved their differences and decided to make a new space quest. Honorable mention also to Space Janitors, a pretty great web series no doubt in some part inspired by space quest.

[@xRocketzFighterx]

I got into these sierra games because of youtubers and I was in my mid 20s at the time. I recall seeing King's Quest 4 in library, and remember my friend's father played Leisure suit larry but I never heard of King/Space Quest till around 2013 and I got hooked into the charm of these games even tho they were tough games there was this bizarre relaxing n funny vibe with these games.

[@hardybryan]

I played the first 3 games as a kid when they came out. Loved them. Honestly, I don't remember that much about the sequels, but I remember the first one very well, because I beat it without the guide when I was like 9 years old, which took me forever. I was obsessed with solving it. My most vivid memories are of the dead ends. Destroying the spider droid, or letting that alien kiss you. Then you save after that and find out you've dead ended and have to start all over again. Good times. I stopped playing these games when I discovered Hero's Quest/Quest for Glory and enjoyed that series even more. Oh, quick question. Was there a way in the first game to win the gambling video game besides just saving every time you make money and dying/restoring over and over until you've made enough? Because that's how I ultimately solved it, but it sounded like you know a trick?

[@SushiCoding]

My mind just read the video's title as "The Shaq Remembers Space Quest" and I was like "Shaquille O'Neal played Space Quest back in the day??"

[@TheRetroShack]

You never know! :)

[@amitzdullnicker2k]

That distracting mouse pointer though... 😂 Otherwise great video, thank you! ❤

[@timothydahlin5321]

Never got to play through SQ1-SQ3. Recall seeing SQ3 and wishing I had a computer to play it. Early 90s friend's day had a Macintosh and was able to play SQ4/

[@michaelkostbar561]

You lick a big lap of dirt off of the ground,what a smart person you are.

[@SecretOfMonkeyIsland784]

My Dad had a copied version of Space Quest 1 & Leisure Suit Larry 1 (LSL1) that he got from mates at work, i used to play them on his work laptop when i was about 7-8 years old. Back then when you got stuck you had no help so could often spend weeks stuck on the same point making the games frustrating but rewarding when you finally solved it. The problems were not always logical to solve so often it was a brute force attack on every inventory item against every interactive object to solve, kids these days wouldnt have the patience but it was the best we had back then. Cant imagine many parents would let a 8 year old play Leisure Suit Larry 1 now, but back then it was harmless, the graphics were basic and it was more innocent times, i didnt understand what the jokes or words meant half the time anyway. I am sure my parents had a heart attack when i asked "Whats a prophylactic" during the convineince store scene in LSL1.

[@criticalgeek3914]

I googled the amiga mini since I might want one, and this channel popped up, watched a video (first negative I watched, no problem with that I do like to thinker and I have setup a lot of amiga emulators in my days but it isn't the same without the mouse, joysticks etc). ANYWHO. I really enjoy this video, you should do more like this!

[@DosGamerMan]

Loved most of the SQ series.

[@TheRetroShack]

Which ones didn't you like?

[@DosGamerMan]

@@TheRetroShack SQ4. Too much RNG, and timer issues. Probably why i never got along with the kings quest series.

[@sierrakobold6896]

I grew up playing Sierra games since young child in the 90s, mainly QFG and SQ, has anyone ever noticed how explicitly violent and gorey the death massages of SQ3 and SQ1vga are? Yet SQ5 is the only singular entry with T rating, esrb rated sq4 E, and SQ6 E, why wouldnt they also atleast rate SQ1vga that release in latter '91 yet LSL1vga releases 2 months before sq1vga got a retro rated M from the esrb?

[@fredleckie5880]

Thank you, sir! I'm embarrassed to say I don't know much about this game series. I'll need to investigate further

[@TheRetroShack]

You won't regret it Fred! If you can get past the now very dated sexism that appears in the later games you're in for a treat! Different times... different times :)

[@Spookyjordan]

What synth makes the bassline in your intro? It sounds crazy?

[@pbitch]

Maniac Mansion tentacle reference!

[@hr3800]

Im waiting for the next game.. when does it come !?!?????

[@matthewwright2598]

What a fantastic video, but also great intro graphics and is that an extended remix of the theme tune I'm hearing?

[@TheRetroShack]

Glad you enjoyed the video and the new graphics :) And yes, the intro music is extended slightly :) Sorry for not being in touch - been a busy week!

[@sweetasdude]

Never played Space quest, but did get into Police quest at the time.

[@mtpstv94]

One game equally as good as these Kings/Space/Police/etc Quest games was Future Wars. Few people know about it. Also Laura Bow was pretty damn good too.

[@FXGreggan.]

BACOCK! :))

[@TheRetroShack]

Hello Astro Chicken! :)

[@FXGreggan.]

@@TheRetroShack Space Quest III was great.. recently upgraded my Atari ST and it was the first game I tried - brought back so many memories of my youth :)

[@matthewcresser6344]

That dam chicken game in space quest 3. Cannot do it then and still cannot now

[@bluestrife28]

So I’m selling these fine leather jackets...

[@anonamatron]

You forgot the Leisure Suit Larry series, which could turn some people off with its content but they're probably funnier than even Space Quest. Oh, you did mention them, but yoy blew them off. Give them a shot. Also those naughty pictures were some of the best available in pre-internet days, sadly.

[@emoneytrain]

The Terminator sequence in Space Quest 3.

[@marksuper4920]

My least favorite puzzle was when I lost the manual for part 5 and couldn't do the copy protection. I wrote to Sierra to ask how I could get a replacement and they basically said, "Go buy the game again"

[@herdarkshadow834]

Love the new visuals, especially impressed with the ad break-bumper. Very professional and slick. I’ve had these games in my GOG wish list for ages and feel suitably inspired to actually play them over Christmas. I’ve played the Police Quest games but never got around to these. Great video as always 🙂

[@GoodPunk]

I love the Space Quest games as much as everyone, but they were really bad games. 😅 The dead ends, illogical or timing-based puzzles.... *shudder* But the world, humor and presentation was top-notch.

[@pixelitchio]

when games felt like games, and when time felt slow with full of possibilities

[@medes5597]

Ai? Really? Ugh.

[@videooblivion]

Came here to say your AI generated graphics are shit.

[@trevorherchak8725]

I remember police qiest games i dont remember this one.