Tournament: Best Sierra Game Vacation! (Round 1)

[Datadog]

Been a while since I did one of these, but BBP's "Death" tournament a while back got the gears in my head spinning again.

It's the August Long Weekend where I am, and with a lot of people going on holiday, I thought this might be a fun one to explore before summer's end:

If you could literally travel into any Sierra game, which one would make the best vacation hotspot?

Imagine a travel agent says you've won a free trip into a Sierra adventure game, from as long as a weekend to a month. And it's like a "Total Recall" situation, where you can choose your vacation experience. You can follow along with the story, or just roam free around the game world. You can experience the danger, or have a "tourist-friendly" experience where nothing attacks you. You can hang out with your favorite characters, visit your favorite sights, and solve your favorite puzzles. The world's your playground and you can do as much as or little as you want. Maybe go camping in Daventry? Cruise around in the Aluminum Mallard? Spend all week drinking at Lefties? Which game will you choose?

A few things of note:
1) Assume you can bring along necessities like money, a tent, food, toilet paper, etc, if you need it. Don't let fear of starvation be a factor.
2) The world can be obstacle-free, and you don't have to abide by in-world timers (like spending 8 months traveling around Cape Horn).
3) You can only visit locations featured in the game. For example, if you fly to Miami in LSL5, the only place you can visit is a dental office. The rest of Miami won't exist.
4) Remakes all count under the same titles, including fan-remakes.
5) Yes, you can bring your family.

Otherwise, try to imagine which games you could enjoy yourself in and what you'd do there to occupy your time. I'm going pretty heavy on the game selection this time around, and I'll try to match similar titles for the first couple rounds because a lot of these look like close races. I'll even throw in some semi-adventure games into the list. If I need extra brackets in later rounds, I'll squeeze in some text adventures.

With further ado: Round 1! Fight!
Which games would you rather visit?

1. King's Quest 1 vs. King's Quest 2
2. King's Quest 3 vs. King's Quest 4
3. King's Quest 5 vs. King's Quest 6
4. King's Quest 7 vs. KQ: Mask of Eternity
5. Space Quest 1 vs. Space Quest 2
6. Space Quest 3 vs. Space Quest 4
7. Space Quest 5 vs. Space Quest 6
8. Leisure Suit Larry 1 vs. Leisure Suit Larry 2
9. Leisure Suit Larry 3 vs. Leisure Suit Larry 5
10. Leisure Suit Larry 6 vs. Leisure Suit Larry 7
11. Police Quest 1 vs. Police Quest 2
12. Police Quest 3 vs. Police Quest 4
13. Manhunter: New York vs. Manhunter 2: San Francisco
14. The Colonel's Bequest vs. The Dagger of Amon Ra
15. Conquests of Camelot vs. Conquests of the Longbow
16. Quest for Glory 1 vs. Quest for Glory 2
17. Quest for Glory 3 vs. Quest for Glory 4
18. Gabriel Knight 1 vs. Gabriel Knight 2
19. Gabriel Knight 3 vs. Quest for Glory 5
20. Castle of Dr. Brain vs. Island of Dr. Brain
21. EcoQuest 1 vs. EcoQuest 2
22. Gobliiins vs. Gobliins 2
23. Goblins 3 vs. Woodruff and the Schnibble
24. Betrayal at Krondor vs. Betrayal in Antara
25. Phantasmagoria vs. Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh
26. Shivers vs. Shivers 2: Harvest of Souls
27. Inca vs. Inca II: Nations of Immortality
28. Lost in Time vs. Ween: The Prophecy
29. The Black Cauldron vs. Mixed-Up Mother Goose
30. Codename: ICEMAN vs. Gold Rush!
31. Rise of the Dragon vs. Heart of China
32. The Adventures of Willy Beamish vs. Pepper's Adventures in Time
33. Freddy Pharkas vs. Torin's Passage
34. Lighthouse vs. Rama

[Semi-Happy Partygoer]

1. King's Quest 1 (just to see Daventry in person)
2. King's Quest 4 (hold the ogres, trolls and sharks, please - but I can deal with the witches)
3. King's Quest 6 (Serenia would be nice, but who can resist the Green Isles?)
4. King's Quest 7 (I'd never want to leave Eldritch!)
5. Space Quest 1
6. Space Quest 4
7. Space Quest 6
8. Leisure Suit Larry 1
9. Leisure Suit Larry 3
10. Leisure Suit Larry 6
11. Police Quest 1
12. Police Quest 3
13. Manhunter 2: San Francisco
14. The Dagger of Amon Ra (really tough choice, both locales are so great!)
15. Conquests of Camelot
16. Quest for Glory 1
17. Quest for Glory 4 (I'd love to see Tarna but the heat would get to me)
18. Gabriel Knight 1
19. Quest for Glory 5 (Silmaria is a dream destination, IMO)
20. Castle of Dr. Brain
21. EcoQuest 1
22. Gobliiins
23. Woodruff and the Schnibble
24. Betrayal in Antara
25. Phantasmagoria
26. Shivers
27. Inca
28. Lost in Time
29. The Black Cauldron
30. Gold Rush!
31. Rise of the Dragon
32. The Adventures of Willy Beamish
33. Torin's Passage (I'd treat the phenocrysts like escalators, back and forth all the time!)
34. Lighthouse

[Rath Darkblade]

I'm sorry, but I haven't played many of these games (e.g. King's Quest 4, 6, 7, MoE, SQ4-6, PQ3-4, etc.)

So I'll answer the questions where I've actually played at least one of the games. Sorry

1. King's Quest 2 (only because it looks like a more stable kingdom)
2. King's Quest 3 (because I played it and not KQ4)
3. King's Quest 5 (ditto - haven't played KQ6)
5. Space Quest 1 (tough one - but there are far fewer horrible ways to die in SQ1 than in SQ2)
6. Space Quest 3 (haven't played SQ4)
8. Leisure Suit Larry 2 (much more fun than LSL1!)
9. Leisure Suit Larry 3 (ditto - LSL3 is more fun than LSL5!)
10. Leisure Suit Larry 7 (tough one; both LSL6 and LSL7 are fun, but LSL7 is much smuttier)
11. Police Quest 2 (only because it looks prettier. That shouldn't count for anything, I admit)
16. Quest for Glory 2 (tough one; I like them both, but I like Shapeir better)
17. Quest for Glory 4 (mostly because I like garlic so much, but they can keep the avocados)
18. Gabriel Knight 1 (hmm... I much prefer N'awlins to Germany - it looks like much more fun)
19. Quest for Glory 5 (best holiday spot bar none! I've actually had a holiday on the Greek mainland for a week or so, and it's good fun)
32. The Adventures of Willy Beamish (I haven't finished either of these, but I did play Beamish)
33. Freddy Pharkas (I've played Freddy Pharkas, and it's not exactly a holiday hotspot - but at least I played it!)

[JasefWisener]

1. KQ 2
2. KQ4
3. KQ6
4. KQ7
5. SQ2
6. SQ4
7. SQ6
8. LSL1
9. LSL3
10. LSL7
11. PQ2
12. PQ4
13. M:NY
14. TCB
15. Camelot
16. QFG1
17. QFG4
18. GK1
19. QFG5
20. Island
21. EQ2
22. G2
23. G3
24. Krondor
25. Phantasmagoria 1
26. Shivers 2
27. Inca
28. Lost in Time
29. TBC
30. Gold Rush
31. Heart of China
32. Willy Beamish
33. Torin's Passage
34. Lighthouse

[Datadog]

I'm sorry, but I haven't played many of these games (e.g. King's Quest 4, 6, 7, MoE, SQ4-6, PQ3-4, etc.)

No worries! I myself haven't played a lot of Coktel or Dynamix games, so I'll abstain from some of these as well.

1. King's Quest 1 (I can camp in Daventry, eat a gingerbread house and party with leprechauns.)
2. King's Quest 3 (It has a town and two castles to visit. Plus a boat ride!)
3. King's Quest 5 (This is a tough call, but i may vote against KQ6 in favour of having a town with a bakery. Also, I think I'd get along great with Cedric.)
4. King's Quest 7 (MoE would be great for an all-night kegger, but KQ7 has a tourist attraction on every corner.)
5. Space Quest 1 (Kerona has a bar with live music.)
6. Space Quest 4 (On vacation would be the only time I'd want to visit the Skate-o-Rama!)
7. Space Quest 6 (Had to think this one over a couple times, but I think the free massages in the medical bay won me over.)
8. Leisure Suit Larry 1 (Drinking, gambling, dancing - yes, this one.)
9. Leisure Suit Larry 3 (Nontoonyt would be great! A gym with showers, cabaret shows, comedy clubs, topless beaches, log rides, and I could chill with Patti every night at the piano bar.)
10. Leisure Suit Larry 6 (I love LSL7, but in 6, I'd get access to the pool, sauna, mud bath, and bungee tower.)
11. Police Quest 2 (It has scuba diving!)
12. Police Quest 3 (I could ride along with Sonny and watch him bust perps for a weekend.)
14. The Colonel's Bequest (Assuming it's safe to shower, the plantation would be a nice getaway spot, with bed, bath, and kitchen.)
15. Conquests of the Longbow (How wouldn't a Robin Hood-themed vacation be fun?)
16. Quest for Glory 2 (More people-friendly, with live entertainment and saurus rides.)
17. Quest for Glory 3 (Great place to going camping and hanging out with Monkey Manu. I also love African cuisine.)
18. Gabriel Knight 2 (I'm opting for sausage and castle tours over hot dogs and voodoo museums.)
19. Quest for Glory 5 (I'd like to visit Rennes in real life, but Silmaria has it all. A cozy inn, a gym, a coliseum, boat rides, Science Island, gyros and pizza. Plus I always buy fridge magnets as souvenirs and QFG5 has MAGIC magnets!)
20. Island of Dr. Brain (It's an island without mazes! Sold!)
21. EcoQuest 1 (Assuming I get scuba gear, I want to visit the underwater city and hang out with fish!)
25. Phantasmagoria (As long as demonic possession isn't involved, I could enjoy a weekend in a spooky house by the sea.)
26. Shivers (Museum camp-out!)
28. Ween: The Prophecy (As long as the twins carry all my stuff.)
29. Mixed-Up Mother Goose (They have candle-hopping, pie, and a cow that jumps over the moon. Never a dull moment.)
30. Gold Rush! (I could stay in Brooklyn, really. Watch Jerrod's house while he's gone.)
32. Pepper's Adventures in Time (Gonna chill in Ben Franklin's old-timey jacuzzi.)
33. Torin's Passage (I think I could bust out some Billy Joel and win that talent show.)
34. Lighthouse (Once the baby gets kidnapped, I can enjoy a quiet seaside weekend... because I'm horrible.)

So far, I think my top picks in here are Nontoonyt Island and Silmaria. We'll see how this pans out.

[BBP]

Been a while since I did one of these, but BBP's "Death" tournament a while back got the gears in my head spinning again.

Glad I could inspire you!

1. King's Quest 2 Freak Zone!
2. King's Quest 3 since 4 has a bit too much hostility in its environment. And in KQ3 you can walk in the clouds!
3. King's Quest 6 Miracle Garden!
4. King's Quest 7 Looks a lot better than MOE, plus the woods are gorgeous!
6. Space Quest 4 since there's a shopping mall
7. Space Quest 5 since I don't fancy a visit through a woman's small intestine, let alone ride a tapeworm there;
8. Leisure Suit Larry 2 has a tropical resort
9. Leisure Suit Larry 3 since that Atlantic City has become decidedly disgusting
10. Leisure Suit Larry 6 since I tend to get seasick;
13. Manhunter 2: San Francisco always wanted to visit Frisco...
14. The Dagger of Amon Ra since I spend most holiday time in museums anyway
15. Conquests of Camelot since I have a weak spot for castles
18. Gabriel Knight 1 since you can go to Germany and Africa in GK1 but not to N.O. in GK2
19. Gabriel Knight 3 of course!
20. Island of Dr. Brain: Tropical island vs damp castle?
25. Phantasmagoria: House and town vs stinky room and office building and weirdo alien world without a living soul?
26. Shivers: Museum power! Besides Cyclone with all the chronic backstabbing hardly seems like a place to stay...
29. The Black Cauldron: Prydain's gorgeous!
30. Gold Rush! Well you know there's a goldmine, and Brooklyn's so pretty...
32. Pepper's Adventures in Time because of my dislike for Beamish
33. Torin's Passage : So lush!
34. Rama since Lighthouse doesn't look like a place to visit...
[/quote]

[Datadog]

I'll give this one a few more days before tallying everything up. I know it's a long list and not every match is being voted on, so I'll push through with the existing votes and drop the less-popular titles so Round 2 will be more streamlined.

[Tawmis]

Been a while since I did one of these, but BBP's "Death" tournament a while back got the gears in my head spinning again.

Heh. This looks fun...

1. King's Quest 1 vs. King's Quest 2

KQ1 takes this because it's all in Daventry, where I'd love to have visited.

2. King's Quest 3 vs. King's Quest 4

My hatred of Manahahanana has nothing to do with me picking KQ4. It has more to do with KQ4 had a lot of exotic locations. Seems like the best vacation place.

3. King's Quest 5 vs. King's Quest 6

KQ6, because who doesn't want to find their girl in the tower?

4. King's Quest 7 vs. KQ: Mask of Eternity

Well considering how bleak KQ8 starts, KQ7 seems like the very obvious choice.

5. Space Quest 1 vs. Space Quest 2

SQ2 had more exotic locations (though, most of them insanely dangerous)

6. Space Quest 3 vs. Space Quest 4

SQ4 because, well, time travel (beating out my favorite SQ game!)

7. Space Quest 5 vs. Space Quest 6

SQ5, because I'd love to have my own ship!

8. Leisure Suit Larry 1 vs. Leisure Suit Larry 2

LSL2 had a lot more exotic locations (and I've been to Vegas enough times to be sick of it after my second visit there!)

9. Leisure Suit Larry 3 vs. Leisure Suit Larry 5

LSL3 has a lot of great exotic locations!

10. Leisure Suit Larry 6 vs. Leisure Suit Larry 7

I am a sucker for a good cruise, so LSL7.

11. Police Quest 1 vs. Police Quest 2

Both take place in the same city... so... Police Quest 1?

12. Police Quest 3 vs. Police Quest 4

PQ3 because it's a fictional city, and PQ4 is pretty much Los Angeles, which is just a few hours north of me.

13. Manhunter: New York vs. Manhunter 2: San Francisco

San Fran, because it's a beautiful city... even when run by Orbs.

14. The Colonel's Bequest vs. The Dagger of Amon Ra

Colonel's Bequest easy, because I love old, ancient, colonial type houses!

15. Conquests of Camelot vs. Conquests of the Longbow

Camelot, because that's more my general fantasy preference!

16. Quest for Glory 1 vs. Quest for Glory 2

QFG1, because I prefer the forest over the desert!

17. Quest for Glory 3 vs. Quest for Glory 4

QFG4 had more exotic areas to see.

18. Gabriel Knight 1 vs. Gabriel Knight 2

GK1 because, well, New Orleans!

19. Gabriel Knight 3 vs. Quest for Glory 5

That's an odd caparison lol - GK3 because I loved the scenery!

20. Castle of Dr. Brain vs. Island of Dr. Brain

Castle, because, I love castles!

21. EcoQuest 1 vs. EcoQuest 2

These are both similar; but I will go for Eco1

25. Phantasmagoria vs. Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh

First Phant, for the same reason as Colonel's Bequest!

29. The Black Cauldron vs. Mixed-Up Mother Goose

Black Cauldron!

30. Codename: ICEMAN vs. Gold Rush!

Oh. This is rough. I will say Iceman, because it had a ton of exotic areas!

31. Rise of the Dragon vs. Heart of China

Heart of China!

33. Freddy Pharkas vs. Torin's Passage

Torin's Passage was a voyage into several different worlds!

34. Lighthouse vs. Rama

Lighthouse. It at least starts on a beach.

[Datadog]

All right! I want to tally these up and move on to the second round. But because there's a lot of draws, I'm going to try something different - I'm going to take all the winners and reshuffle them for the next fight. Here are the ones moving on:

1. DRAW - Both move on
King's Quest 1 - 3
King's Quest 2 - 3

2. DRAW - Both move on
King's Quest 3 -3
King's Quest 4 - 3

3. KING'S QUEST 6: Land of the Green Isles moves on!
King's Quest 5 -2
King's Quest 6 -4

4. KING'S QUEST 7: Eldritch and Etheria move on!
King's Quest 7 - 5
KQ: Mask of Eternity - 0

5. SPACE QUEST 1: Kerona moves on!
Space Quest 1 - 3
Space Quest 2 -2

6. SPACE QUEST 4: Time travel space tour moves on!
Space Quest 3 -1
Space Quest 4 - 5

7. SPACE QUEST 6: Deepship 86 moves on!
Space Quest 5 -2
Space Quest 6 - 3

8. DRAW - Both move on
Leisure Suit Larry 1 - 3
Leisure Suit Larry 2 -3

9. LSL3 by LANDSLIDE: Nontoonyt Island moves on!
Leisure Suit Larry 3 - 6
Leisure Suit Larry 5

10. DRAW: Both move on
Leisure Suit Larry 6 - 3
Leisure Suit Larry 7 -3

11. PQ2: Lytton '88 moves on!
Police Quest 1 - 2
Police Quest 2 -3

12. PQ3: Lytton '91 moves on!
Police Quest 3 - 3
Police Quest 4 - 1

13. MANHUNTER 2: San Fran moves on!
Manhunter: New York -1
Manhunter 2: San Francisco - 3

14. TCB: The Dijon Manor moves on!
The Colonel's Bequest -3
The Dagger of Amon Ra - 2

15. COC: Camelot moves on!
Conquests of Camelot - 4
Conquests of the Longbow -1

16. QFG1: Spielburg moves on!
Quest for Glory 1 - 3
Quest for Glory 2 -2

17. QFG4: Mordavia moves on!
Quest for Glory 3 -1
Quest for Glory 4 - 4

18. GK1: New Orleans moves on!
Gabriel Knight 1 - 5
Gabriel Knight 2 -1

19. QFG5: Silmaria moves on!
Gabriel Knight 3 -2
Quest for Glory 5 - 4

20. IoDB: The Island moves on!
Castle of Dr. Brain - 2
Island of Dr. Brain -3

21. EQ1: Eluria moves on!
EcoQuest 1 - 3
EcoQuest 2 -1

25. P1: Zoltan's Mansion moves on!
Phantasmagoria -5
Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh

26. SHIVERS: The Museum moves on!
Shivers -3
Shivers 2: Harvest of Souls -1

29. TBC: Prydain moves on!
The Black Cauldron -4
Mixed-Up Mother Goose -1

30. GR: Californy moves on!
Codename: ICEMAN -2
Gold Rush! -3

32. WB: Frumpton moves on!
The Adventures of Willy Beamish -3
Pepper's Adventures in Time -2

33. TP: The Lands Above moves on!
Freddy Pharkas -1
Torin's Passage -5

34. LIGHTHOUSE: A Lighthouse moves on!
Lighthouse -4
Rama -1

And as something new I'm trying, a few tournaments will not be moving on, as they only received half or less of the votes as any of these others. The honourable mentions, along with the votes are:

Gobliiins -1
Gobliins 2 -1

Goblins 3 -1
Woodruff and the Schnibble -1

Rise of the Dragon -1
Heart of China -2 <--WINNER!

Lost in Time -2 <--WINNER
Ween: The Prophecy -1

Inca -2 <--WINNER
Inca II: Nations of Immortality

Betrayal at Krondor -1
Betrayal in Antara -1

Sorry, Dynamix and Coktel! See you next time!

I'll work on the next round. If it doesn't go up right away, just give me a day or so.

[Datadog]

That's an odd caparison lol - GK3 because I loved the scenery!

Ha ha, yeah - had the same reaction when it came to pairing up these two. GK and QFG both have an odd number of games, so they got left out of their series match-ups.

[Tawmis]

There's a LOT more ties here than I had expected to see...!