Best Space Quest cover ... and why?

[Tawmis]

SQ1 has it's own thread, so it's not here.

[Rath Darkblade]

The SQ2 bow design is way too close to the SQ1 one. Maybe they were a bit scared of doing something new?

The SQ3 design is still similar, but now we have Monolith Burger! But the rest of it is too black to understand what's going on.

The others (SQ4, SQ5 and SQ6) are more cartoony, which makes sense. Of these, SQ6 is my favourite game (especially the Information Superhighway and Windows bit), so I'll say SQ6.

Also, Roger in the SQ6 box looks a lot more like the confused "lucky schmuck who accidentally becomes a hero" that we know and (presumably) love. In the SQ4 and SQ5 boxes, he looks far more "heroic" and much less like a lucky schmuck.

[Tawmis]

SQ3 is my favorite cover here (and probably my favorite SQ game too). But I love the cover.

[Rath Darkblade]

SQ3 is my favorite cover here (and probably my favorite SQ game too). But I love the cover.

... and why? You haven't said why.

Besides, I thought your favourite SQ game was SQ4, because Roger meets his son.

I also like SQ3, mostly because of the many many hideous deaths (and hilarious "Thanks for Dying" messages).

But SQ6 has them too, plus it has narration by Gary Owens (and talkies, which SQ3 doesn't have). Plus, SQ6 has a "sorta-happy-sorta-strange" ending (i.e. Roger and Stellar are now together, which contradicts SQ4). On the other hand, SQ3 has a "To Be Continued" ending (i.e. Roger and the Two Guys are now writing games for Sierra, which reminds me of the ending for LSL3).

And that's my (way-too-large) two cents!

[Tawmis]

SQ3 is my favorite cover here (and probably my favorite SQ game too). But I love the cover.

... and why? You haven't said why.
Besides, I thought your favourite SQ game was SQ4, because Roger meets his son.
I also like SQ3, mostly because of the many many hideous deaths (and hilarious "Thanks for Dying" messages).

I love the cover, because of how it looks. Roger, eating a burger, happy/oblivious, while being chased. It really shows SQ.

[Rath Darkblade]

SQ3 is my favorite cover here (and probably my favorite SQ game too). But I love the cover.

... and why? You haven't said why.
Besides, I thought your favourite SQ game was SQ4, because Roger meets his son.
I also like SQ3, mostly because of the many many hideous deaths (and hilarious "Thanks for Dying" messages).

I love the cover, because of how it looks. Roger, eating a burger, happy/oblivious, while being chased. It really shows SQ.

Oh, that. (He's also holding a soda). Yes, it's kind of reminiscent of Spaceballs (a movie that I suspect influenced SQ ... or maybe the other way around? What do you think?)

We're the Spaceballs! LOOK OUT!

[notbobsmith]

SQ2 does look too similar to SQ1, though I do really like the insurance salesmen pods. SQ 4, 5, and 6 all look cartoony. I mean that is what Space Quest is, but the art really doesn't do anything for me. I also like SQ3. It has a movie poster look to it. Roger being chased by enemy fighters. Really nice job on the slanted text, too. "The Pirates of Pestulon" looks like the Star Wars crawl and "Space Quest III" mirrors that on top. Really well composed.

[Rath Darkblade]

The enemy fighters chasing Roger in the SQ3 box ... do they look anything like TIE Fighters to you? Yes, obviously they are only vaguely X-shaped (they couldn't have the TIE Fighter look, or George Lucas would have a fit). But what are they shaped as? Insect heads? Skulls? I'm not sure. Any ideas?

[goatmeal]

We're the Spaceballs! LOOK OUT!

Ahem. It's "We're the Spaceballs! Watch out, cause we're the Spaceballs."

And you call yourself a fan...

[Tawmis]

SQ2 does look too similar to SQ1, though I do really like the insurance salesmen pods. SQ 4, 5, and 6 all look cartoony. I mean that is what Space Quest is, but the art really doesn't do anything for me. I also like SQ3. It has a movie poster look to it. Roger being chased by enemy fighters. Really nice job on the slanted text, too. "The Pirates of Pestulon" looks like the Star Wars crawl and "Space Quest III" mirrors that on top. Really well composed.

All of this. You said it better than myself.

I'd, for example, love a Space Quest III poster over all the other covers.

[notbobsmith]

The enemy fighters chasing Roger in the SQ3 box ... do they look anything like TIE Fighters to you? Yes, obviously they are only vaguely X-shaped (they couldn't have the TIE Fighter look, or George Lucas would have a fit). But what are they shaped as? Insect heads? Skulls? I'm not sure. Any ideas?

If anything, they look more like X-Wings than TIE fighters. At first I thought they looked like skulls, but as I look more closely, they look more like insect heads. I guess they could be taken as either.

[Rath Darkblade]

We're the Spaceballs! LOOK OUT!

Ahem. It's "We're the Spaceballs! Watch out, cause we're the Spaceballs."

And you call yourself a fan...

"We ain't found shit!"

The enemy fighters chasing Roger in the SQ3 box ... do they look anything like TIE Fighters to you? Yes, obviously they are only vaguely X-shaped (they couldn't have the TIE Fighter look, or George Lucas would have a fit). But what are they shaped as? Insect heads? Skulls? I'm not sure. Any ideas?

If anything, they look more like X-Wings than TIE fighters. At first I thought they looked like skulls, but as I look more closely, they look more like insect heads. I guess they could be taken as either.

Whoops. Sorry, I'm not much of a Star Wars fan. I knew they looked like something out of Star Wars, but I forgot what it was called. My mistake.

[goatmeal]

We're the Spaceballs! LOOK OUT!

Ahem. It's "We're the Spaceballs! Watch out, cause we're the Spaceballs."

And you call yourself a fan...

"We ain't found shit!"

Ha!

And here's something I did not know until the middle of December 2023: the actor who said the line, "We ain't found shit!", was none other than Tim Russ...

...who later go on to play "Tuvok" for the series, "Star Trek: Voyager" (!)

He is simply listed as "Trooper" for the IMDB "Spaceballs" entry.

[Rath Darkblade]

Yep. And he delivers it so well.

The whole movie is hilarious, although some bits do go overboard. For instance, I definitely could've done without the Alien cameo (ugh). No wonder Lone Starr and Barf leave immediately. "Cheque, please!"

Having said that, I love the wedding scenes. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today ... AGAIN ..."

By the way, I just learned this: the person who becomes the host for the "alien" here (in the diner scene) is John Hurt, who plays himself. That's why he croaks "Not again!" -- because he was also in the original Alien, where he played Kane, the executive officer who becomes the host for the alien.

Here's some other bits of trivia:

- The Millennium Falcon (from the Star Wars films) makes a cameo appearance in this movie. Take a close look at the exterior shot of the Space Diner, and it can be spotted parked there among the other space vehicles. George Lucas got a chance to read the screenplay before production began, and loved it so much that he decided to have his special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, help make this movie.

- Also, in a 2013 television interview (shortly before receiving the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award), Mel Brooks stated that he personally obtained George Lucas' full permission to parody any and all things Star Wars-related -- but on one condition: that absolutely no merchandise of any kind be produced from this movie. This is the reason why all Yogurt and the Dinks do is merchandising (it is also why none of the merchandise seen in this movie was ever mass produced or publicly sold in any way).

- The scene in which Dark Helmet is playing with his dolls was not in the screenplay. Mel Brooks came up with the idea on the set one day and told Rick Moranis, who improvised the whole thing. ("Oh, Dark Helmet ... your helmet is so big...")

You could never make a movie like this nowadays. Nor "Blazing Saddles", more's the pity.