When I first heard that the classic King's Quest line of games was getting a reboot, I was tentatively excited. I loved the old series, especially King's Quest 4, 5, and 6. They were staple games in my house growing up, and seeing a modern interpretation of them sounded both exciting and almost sacrilegious. After playing through the first episode of developer The Odd Gentleman's King's Quest, called A Knight To Remember, I can say confidently that there are good things in store for the future of the series.
King's Quest Episode 1 starts a little jarringly. Players are immediately thrown into a recreation of the mirror puzzle from the original King's Quest. The star of the game, Graham, is still very young and more than a little cautious about taking on a scary dragon to get the hidden treasure. Thankfully, the controls are simple enough that the players can give Graham the confidence to continue moving forward.
After that, the story jumps forward several years to show that Graham has aged significantly. He's now a wise old king, reliving his thrilling adventures by telling stories to his granddaughter. It's under this context that the rest of King's Quest plays out. This narrative device of having the action be a story (think Princess Bride among others) fits well within "video game logic." Any time you make a mistake and die, the screen jumps to the present with Graham correcting himself that he surely didn't fall down a pit or get roasted by a dragon's flame breath, and that he must be remembering things wrong.
King's Quest Episode 1 plays like a strange hybrid of the classic King's Quest games mixed with the formula for a Telltale game. The puzzles found aren't particularly challenging, and almost everything is solved in a linear fashion, but the way the story is told keeps you engaged throughout.
That leads to the next point, the voice acting. All of the actors for King's Quest Episode 1 have really brought their A games, brining all of the characters to life. Old Graham is played by the perfect Christopher Lloyd, who brings the ideal blend of charm and wit to the brave King of Daventry. Tom Kenny (best known as the voice of SpongeBob Squarepants among hundreds of other characters) makes for a great sneaky and cunning merchant, and Zelda Williams (Robin Williams' daughter) is spot-on as the strong blacksmith, Amaya Blackstone.
There are also plenty of genuinely funny moments found in King's Quest Episode 1, with all sorts of references scattered everywhere. Right at the start, we see the inside of the aged King Graham's castle. In it are tapestries adorning the walls. True King's Quest fans should be able to recognize that all of the tapestries depict the box art from the original King's Quest series of games. There are also a few friendly jabs at Telltale Games, where Graham's granddaughter would occasionally interrupt her grandfather with questions like "Will he remember that?" Christopher Lloyd also manages to squeeze in the number 1.21 into a line as a nod to his most famous work, the Back to the Future movies.
The most obvious joke, bringing the reference back to Princess Bride, features Graham in a challenge of wits with the character Manny. Naturally, Manny is voiced by Wallace Shawn, the Sicilian from Princess Bride.
Graphically, at it's best King's Quest looks like a living Don Bluth cartoon, or perhaps more accurately, like Dragon's Lair. Despite being in 3D, King's Quest still gives off a delightful, whimsical vibe, like the fantasy setting it takes place in. Things can sometimes look a little clunky, with some animations sticking out for not being as smooth as most. Overall, the graphics definitely serve the purpose of selling the player that they are in a light fantasy world with some danger potentially lurking in the dark.
Like a Telltale game, player choices also serve a purpose. While the few major choices found in Episode 1 haven't had any significant ramifications yet, I can already see how my pulling on certain strings over others will come back in later episodes.
All in all, if you are looking for a fun reimagining of the classic King's Quest games, then look no further. While they are a little light on the puzzles, the impeccable voice acting and great story come together to make something fun that the whole family can enjoy. The biggest problem you will have is waiting for the next episode to be released.
So what do you think? Are you interested in adventuring through a reimagined Daventry in King's Quest Episode 1: A Knight to Remember? Do you prefer the style of adventure games from back in the day? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
