Kyrandia Book 1 (Complete), II (Complete), III (Complete)

[Tawmis]

Commentary version, just a hair over an hour long. Lots of rambling. And lots of going the wrong way. Lots of it.

[Tawmis]

Finished Legend of Kyrandia - Book II. I can see why Collector likes this more.
There's a lot of charm in this - but also, no mazes.

I did have to google the color of rainbows though...

[goatmeal]

I did have to google the color of rainbows though...

Mr. Roy G. Biv would like to have a word with you, Tawmis...

[Tawmis]

I did have to google the color of rainbows though...

Mr. Roy G. Biv would like to have a word with you, Tawmis...

Well I mean the specific order that fade left to right.
Like I knew red was far left... but then is it yellow or orange next?

[goatmeal]

I did have to google the color of rainbows though...

Mr. Roy G. Biv would like to have a word with you, Tawmis...

Well I mean the specific order that fade left to right.
Like I knew red was far left... but then is it yellow or orange next?

For those who don't know, Roy G. Biv is a popular(?) mnemonic device to remember the colors:

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet

[Rath Darkblade]

Sigh. I never played any Kyrandia games (was too young at the time to afford them, and also they were not available) - but I can see why I wouldn't enjoy them.

One: I can't stand jesters. Two: I hate mazes. And three: I can't stand jesters. (Yes, I said it once, but ... hell, I'll say it again).

Thanks for showing me what not to play, Tawm! I guess Kyrandia isn't for everyone.

[Tawmis]

For those who don't know, Roy G. Biv is a popular(?) mnemonic device to remember the colors:
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet

I'd never heard of that. The only one I remember is:

My Very Educated Mother Just Saw Us Necking Passionately.

Know what that one is for?

Sigh. I never played any Kyrandia games (was too young at the time to afford them, and also they were not available) - but I can see why I wouldn't enjoy them.
One: I can't stand jesters. Two: I hate mazes. And three: I can't stand jesters. (Yes, I said it once, but ... hell, I'll say it again).
Thanks for showing me what not to play, Tawm! I guess Kyrandia isn't for everyone.

Couldn't afford them? You were too young?
Wouldn't that be the case of most of the Sierra games?
First LoK came out in 1992, and the first QfG came out in 1989.
Meaning LoK came out after the very first QfG.

As for Jesters...
Malcom is only in the first and third.
Well. OK. If you stay past the credits, you see him at the end of the second one - but that's to set up the third game, after what happens in the first.
And technically - in the first one - you see Malcom in the intro. Outside of a cave once. Then inside of the castle once. Then the final fight, which if you do it right, is like 2 seconds.

This does raise a question.

Do you hate Keepon Laffin (sp?) from Quest for Glory?
Because, he is very, very, very much a jester in my opinion. And far more annoying than Malcom ever is (at least in the first game).
If you dislike jesters, like how people dislike clowns (an odd phobia), then you should not play 3 for sure.
Because you control Malcom.

But the first and second... if you don't play them, and you like Sierra and LucasArts games, you are missing out on a fantastic series.

I can not emphasize that enough.

[goatmeal]

For those who don't know, Roy G. Biv is a popular(?) mnemonic device to remember the colors:
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet

I'd never heard of that. The only one I remember is:

My Very Educated Mother Just Saw Us Necking Passionately.

Know what that one is for?

Yeah, but as of 2006, it's no longer Passionately... it's since been downgraded to only "a little passion".

Don't forget about:

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

Or the 5 American Great Lakes: HOMES

[Tawmis]

For those who don't know, Roy G. Biv is a popular(?) mnemonic device to remember the colors:
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Indigo
Violet

I'd never heard of that. The only one I remember is:
My Very Educated Mother Just Saw Us Necking Passionately.
Know what that one is for?

Yeah, but as of 2006, it's no longer Passionately... it's since been downgraded to only "a little passion".

It's D&D - it's a dwarf passion.

[Tawmis]

Legend of Kyrandia - Book 2 play through - still rendering the HD version on Youtube, so eventually resolution will look sharper.

[goatmeal]

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

Since there was no takers, that was a mnemonic device for the order of mathematical operations:

1. Parentheses
2. Exponents
3. Multiplication & Division
4. Addition & Subtraction

Also known as PEMDAS, I've also heard it referred to as PEDMAS.

A recent once I discovered a few years ago was for trigonometry:

SOHCAHTOA
(pronounced SO-kah-TO-ah)

Sine = Opposite / Hypotenuse
Cosine = Adjacent / Hypotenuse
Tangent = Opposite / Adjacent

Annnnnnd a somewhat dated mnemoic device for THAT is:

Some Old Hippie Caught Another Hippie Tripping On Acid

[Rath Darkblade]

Sigh. I never played any Kyrandia games (was too young at the time to afford them, and also they were not available) - but I can see why I wouldn't enjoy them.
One: I can't stand jesters. Two: I hate mazes. And three: I can't stand jesters. (Yes, I said it once, but ... hell, I'll say it again).
Thanks for showing me what not to play, Tawm! I guess Kyrandia isn't for everyone.

Couldn't afford them? You were too young?
Wouldn't that be the case of most of the Sierra games?
First LoK came out in 1992, and the first QfG came out in 1989.
Meaning LoK came out after the very first QfG.

You're right, of course. (Has it really been that long? I must be older than a ... than a ... than a very old thing, that's what. Sigh. Never try metaphors early in the morning and before coffee).

I didn't see my first Sierra game when I was 14-15 or so. (Yes, I know that sounds shocking). It was LSL1. (Even more ). But before that, I was using a 1990 IBM-PC - and I played CGA Tetris, CGA Sokoban, and EGA Maniac Mansion on it, in that order (given to me by a kind family friend - as in, he gave me his 5.25" floppies). I never knew there were other games. Before 1990, I had was a Commodore 64, and before that, an ATARI ... something or other. (And before any kids here start laughing - yes, a Commodore 64 in the mid-80s was up-to-date! Ask your parents!)

So, yeah. My first Sierra game was LSL1 (EGA, thank you!), back in ... 1991 or so? It was only second-hand - as in, I watched a friend play it. But after that, it hooked me like a fisherman hooks a fish. (There! I knew I could create a metaphor, even without coffee!)

As for Jesters...
Malcom is only in the first and third.
Well. OK. If you stay past the credits, you see him at the end of the second one - but that's to set up the third game, after what happens in the first.
And technically - in the first one - you see Malcom in the intro. Outside of a cave once. Then inside of the castle once. Then the final fight, which if you do it right, is like 2 seconds.

This does raise a question.

Do you hate Keapon Laffin (sp?) from Quest for Glory?
Because, he is very, very, very much a jester in my opinion. And far more annoying than Malcom ever is (at least in the first game).
If you dislike jesters, like how people dislike clowns (an odd phobia), then you should not play 3 for sure.
Because you control Malcom.

But the first and second... if you don't play them, and you like Sierra and LucasArts games, you are missing out on a fantastic series.

I can not emphasize that enough.

*shrug* All right - and you're right, Keapon Laffin (from the first QfG, IIRC?) is extremely annoying. I couldn't stand him, either - and I think my QfG fanfic reflects that. (My protagonist - a thief with magic skills - meets KP, and after two seconds, he's grinding his teeth and wants to throttle that gnome).

Why isn't Malcom just as annoying? What does he do that isn't annoying?

Also, I really dislike mazes. I always get lost after two seconds! I try mapping with pencil and paper, but I always find myself doubling back, or drawing a passage where a passage can't be. (Now you know why I haven't played the D&D Temple of Elemental Evil - lack of mapping skills, plus the fact that it's legendarily deadly).

Actually, I'm not sure ... no, it wasn't Temple of Elemental Evil! I was thinking of Acererak and his Tomb of Horrors.

I tried it once. The horror ... *shudder*
==================================

It's D&D - it's a dwarf passion.

Ah, a fellow soul who likes D&D dwarves! I suppose you know my nickname stems from my very first D&D character - who was also a dwarf.

I like D&D dwarves (and the Norse mythology they come from) very much - which is one reason why I dislike the way they're portrayed in the LOTR films (where Gimli plays comic relief to Legolas). The book Gimli was much more complex and interesting. But that's Peter Jackson for you.
==================================

SOHCAHTOA
(pronounced SO-kah-TO-ah)

Sine = Opposite / Hypotenuse
Cosine = Adjacent / Hypotenuse
Tangent = Opposite / Adjacent

Annnnnnd a somewhat dated mnemoic device for THAT is:

Some Old Hippie Caught Another Hippie Tripping On Acid

*surprised* Would this mnemonic date back to Cheech and Chong?

I propose a Sierra mnemonic! How about ... Spaced Out Hero Cried, "All Hippies! Try Out Adventuring!"

(This is a reference to Quest for Glory 3, of course, where the QfG hero can take a toke of Salim's hookah ... and see wild colours, pink elephants, and so on. If he does it three times, it's game over)

[Tawmis]

Also, I really dislike mazes. I always get lost after two seconds! I try mapping with pencil and paper, but I always find myself doubling back, or drawing a passage where a passage can't be. (Now you know why I haven't played the D&D Temple of Elemental Evil - lack of mapping skills, plus the fact that it's legendarily deadly).

Yeah, not a big fan of mazes in a game; but I think I am used to mazes over all from eons of old school D&D where it was literally about DUNGEONS.

[Rath Darkblade]

Just curious: doesn't D&D nowadays have dungeons, too? Or is it all about urban exploration, and new-and-implausible monsters? (Where's my Pizza Elemental?)

[Semi-Happy Partygoer]

It’s worth remembering that the first Kyrandia was loosely based on a text adventure, and Westwood seems to have taken text adventure design philosophies into account when mapping out the game. Lots of generic locations (caves, forests) hiding the important rooms, especially later in the game. It was very clearly their first time at bat with this genre, and as pretty as it is to look at, some of the gameplay mechanics do feel tentative. I also suspect it was heavily streamlined during production, based on the amount of cut inventory items and unused artwork buried within the resources. Earlier concepts likely had more meat to the story.

The second one is definitely more sure-footed, though I feel the broader comedy does take away some of the simplistic charm of the first entry. I still love Zanthia’s attitude, though.