Previous Next

Since the death of King Edward, King Graham has ruled Daventry (imagine a nicer, more fantasy-like one) for many years, during which time it has prospered. He has two fine heirs to succeed him to the throne, twins Alexander and Rosella. The king falls ill, and Rosella weeps for him.

Suddenly, the good fairy Genesta appears in the king's magic mirror, and bids Rosella to come to Tamir, where there is a charmed fruit that could save her father's life. Of course, it's not quite as simple as that, for in return, Genesta asks that Rosella retrieve her magic talisman from the evil Lolotte. Without it, her magic powers are rapidly fading, and she fears for her own life in the very near future.

Thus Rosella sets out on these two quests from a deserted beach in Tamir, disguised as a peasant girl, and with just twenty four hours to achieve her two goals.

First, she must explore the land, which she finds to her delight is populated with Pan, seven dwarfs, Cupid, and a unicorn, as well as numerous birds. It is a truly beautiful world, with a sparkling stream running from the bottom of a waterfall, through meadows and forests, into the seas. But there is evil afoot, from the merciless Lolotte, resident of the mountain-top castle, and from a troll, always on the lookout for a nourishing meal of human being. There is also a particularly nasty breed of trees in the forest...

Rosella's adventures take her into the house of the seven dwarves [Even untidier than KC's! True! - Ed], inside a diamond mine, and into a strangely derelict and deserted house, in the middle of a cemetery. Here she discovers a secret organ loft, isolated from the rest of the house. There is something strange, too, about the organ. Its long pipes are on the right - the treble end of the keyboard - yet the long pipes product the bass notes. Is this artistic licence, or is the fact significant? For this truly mysterious organ seems to have no purpose save to play music...

How can Rosella get near the nervous unicorn, who gracefully runs away whenever she appears? How can she get near enough to kiss the crown-wearing frog on the lily pad? Has Pan got a dark secret, or is he just a harmless flute-playing pest? And why is the fisherman's wife so surly, when all Rosella wants is to be friendly?

These are just some of the questions and puzzles you will be mulling over when you play King's Quest IV. And you can see it all in glorious colour, hear the music, and follow the movements! Watch the seven dwarfs as they file indoors for their lunchtime soup! See Cupid fly off in embarrassment when caught bathing! Hear the dreaded troll as he approaches! And read the finest collection of tombstone epitaphs you're likely to come across in a computer game!

This is surely the most advanced animated adventure yet from Sierra. Produced using its new adventure system, it comes on four double-sided ST disks, or, on the PC version, a fantastic nine 5.25" disks! The graphics and animation are superb. Birds fly through the forest, water rushes over rocky outcrops in the stream, smoke rises from chimneys, and Rosella sways her hips as she walks through it all.

And, as ever, Sierra has included a few tortuous arcade challenges to frustrate the adventurer! An unguarded spiral staircase, viewed from underneath, has Rosella disappearing from sight as she ascends it. Cursor keys become reversed as the player starts to guide her from below. A touch too long on the wrong key and she will plummet to her death! It's all the more painful when you actually watch her journey to the floor!

As well as automatic sequences of animated narration, triggered off by the player's actions, there are plenty of puzzles to get to grips with, and the adventurer must keep his eyes open for visual clues, or he may well miss an all-important object.

The game does not play the same every time, for some events occur at random, such as the appearance of the unicorn, and Cupid's dip in the local swimming pool. Patience, and a few revisits may therefore be necessary to get the desired outcome when you think you know what you must do.

When King's Quest I first appeared, the novelty of its animation system was one of its main attractions. Sierra has not stood still since then, and, whilst continuing the same background theme in subsequent King's Quests, it has steadily improved its techniques and tricks, to produce this, King's Quest IV, which I rank as its finest game to date.