Favorite Hero's Quest/Quest for Glory cover...

[Tawmis]

... and why?

[notbobsmith]

I think I'm going to go with the original Hero's Quest cover. The art in QFG3 is too generic. QFG5 is nice, but it doesn't really capture the spirit of the series. I really like the art for QFG2, but again doesn't really capture the silliness of the games. QFG4 does, but maybe a bit too cartoony. I just like the half-eaten shield and bent sword of QFG1. Having the title of the series larger in "Hero's Quest" to me makes more sense than almost hiding it in QFG1. That said, I also like the QFG1 remake art. Neat style with the stained-glass window and I like the half-eaten sword.

Unrelated note: Who is MCM software in QFG3 and why are they using Pac-Man in their logo. Namco didn't object? I looked them up on Mobygames. Not much info except that they worked on a bunch of games including several from Sierra. But it doesn't say in what capacity.

[Tawmis]

I think I'm going to go with the original Hero's Quest cover. The art in QFG3 is too generic. QFG5 is nice, but it doesn't really capture the spirit of the series. I really like the art for QFG2, but again doesn't really capture the silliness of the games. QFG4 does, but maybe a bit too cartoony. I just like the half-eaten shield and bent sword of QFG1. Having the title of the series larger in "Hero's Quest" to me makes more sense than almost hiding it in QFG1. That said, I also like the QFG1 remake art. Neat style with the stained-glass window and I like the half-eaten sword.

Unrelated note: Who is MCM software in QFG3 and why are they using Pac-Man in their logo. Namco didn't object? I looked them up on Mobygames. Not much info except that they worked on a bunch of games including several from Sierra. But it doesn't say in what capacity.

I agree with the cover - and the reason. Hero's Quest was the first game I got - because it was a Sierra game. But I loved the cover, as an avid D&D fan.

As for MCM, probably in other countries. Because mine doesn't have the MCM logo. I grabbed the covers from MobyGames.

My guess is MCM is probably in some country where copyright is like, "Yeah, whatever."

[Rath Darkblade]

I'm not sure I agree with NBS. Let me go through these one by one, from top down... (WARNING: long, but detailed!)

- QfG 1 Remake. This is nicely done, and a fun play on the usual pictures of St George and the Dragon. The stained-glass effect is neat too. 8/10 for box art, 8/10 for game.

- QfG3. I disagree that this is generic. It may appear to be generic, but if you remember that QfG3 is the first game where you can play a Paladin (with a magic sword! Yay! ), and this cover takes on extra significance. The swirling cloud of red around the hero refers to the demonic influences in Tarna (note the faces in the red), and the circle of blue is a reference to the portal where the demons are coming from (which you see at the end of the game). So I think this is a good cover. 8/10 for box art, but 7/10 for game (because it was so rushed -- and, initially, buggy because of that).

- QfG4 (white box and/or purple box). I agree with NBS, unfortunately; the style is too cartoony here (note the expression of glee on the hero's face, and the little imp running away). While I agree that QfG has a silliness element to it, and even QfG4 has a lot of silliness, I still think that QfG4 is much more serious and dramatic than any of the others (except maybe QfG2), and becomes a better game for it.

You don't think QfG4 has serious and dramatic elements to it? Observe:

a. The Paladin can save the Rusalka's soul by battling her undead murderer;
b. The Paladin can redeem the Burgomeister's honour by battling the undead wraith who stole his grandfather's sword and shield;
c. The Wizard can battle the elves, and gain Erana's staffl
d. The Thief can save the Chief Thief, but must risk his life and sanity by breaking into the Monastery and stealing the statue;
e. All the classes can save the gypsy from a horrible death by burning (but must risk being caught, or being ostracised by the townspeople);
f. All the classes can witness Katrina's love for the hero, which results in extra pathos after you save Tanya;
g. All the classes save Tanya, witness Toby's heroic and tragic sacrifice (), and witness how much Tanya means to the town!

So, I think QfG4 is the most serious - and dare I say it? - mature game from the QfG series. That's why I think the box art doesn't fit. 10/10 for the game, 7/10 for box art. (The Dark One illustration gives it an extra point).

- QfG5. I agree with NBS again. The box art here is good, but the plain-black with the hero's face and dragon reflected in the sword doesn't really "fit" QfG5. QfG5 is, in my view, much less serious than QfG4. It has a truckload of puns and silly-but-funny dialogue, and the box art is too serious for that.

Sure, it has SOME serious elements (e.g. the near-death of Rakeesh, the poisoning of the wizards, Arestes the Chief Thief trying to rob the bank so he can fix his arm), but for the most part, this game isn't very serious. Yes, the revelation of MInos as the Chief Bad Guy, and the Dragon Rising Again, is serious enough, but you can tell you'll win anyway.

The near-death of Rakeesh would've been more serious if you FOUND Rakeesh that way (and he could tell you what happened), or if you could TRY to stop the assassin before he wounds Rakeesh. But all you can do is look on as Bruno materialises, walks up to Rakeesh, stab him, and walk off again, and you can't do anything about it. That's not serious at all. It's just too casual. That kind of thing SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. It's like "Hi guys! Let me just stab this cool lion dude and walk off like nothing happened." I mean ... WTF?

Anyway... 7/10 for box art, 7/10 for game (notwithstanding the things that make no sense; see above).

- QfG2. The art here is WONDERFUL. It's very "Arabian Nights", and the font choice is superb. I don't think it needs to "capture the silliness of the games", as NBS puts it. QfG2 has lots of serious moments, like:

a. The appearance of the elementals is scary, especially if you're not prepared.
b. Being attacked in the desert, especially by tougher monsters like scorpions and ghouls, is very frightening.
c. The fighter joining the EOF and being blinded, and/or pressured to kill.
d. The thief breaking into houses and facing multiple moments where he could be caught.
e. The wizard undertaking the magical tests in WIT, and being mocked if he fails.
f. The hero being arrested and jailed, and then FINALLY meeting Ad Avis.
g. The hero having to solve the final pieces of the game - how to get to Ad Avis before he summons Iblis??? It's thrilling.

See? Although QfG2 has lots of puns and silly moments, I'd argue that it's very dramatic too. 9/10 for box art, 10/10 for game.

- QfG1, original boxes. The only difference is that one of them says "Hero's Quest", which Sierra had to abandon because of the whole Milton-Bradley thing, yadda-yadda-da. The colours in the original HQ box are slightly brighter, which I like better, but they're still VERY similar.

Anyway, I agree with NBS: the half-eaten shield and bent sword are lots of fun. I'd also mention the bits of metal in the air (the dragon just crunched on the hero's shield! ), and the expression on the dragon's face -- is that the best you can do? The only (slightly) bad thing is that you don't actually fight a dragon in this game, only a saurus (which is scary enough -- the first time I fought one of those, I thought it actually WOULD bite my shield in half. Too bad that was never an option).

10/10 for box art, 9/10 for game (because the saurus never bit my shield in half!)

So how do we conclude?

- Game-wise: QfG2 and QfG4 are my favourite games, but QfG1 is still wonderful. QfG3 and QfG5 take joint third place.
- Box-art wise: QfG1 takes 1st place, then QfG2, and QfG1 (remake) takes 3rd place. Then, QfG3, QfG4 and QfG5 take joint fourth place. (The QfG4 box-art really suffers because of how ridiculously happy the hero looks. Mordavia is NOT a place to be ridiculously happy!)

And that's what I thought.

[Tawmis]

- QfG3. I disagree that this is generic. It may appear to be generic, but if you remember that QfG3 is the first game where you can play a Paladin (with a magic sword! Yay! ), and this cover takes on extra significance.

Yes, but imagine you pick up QFG3 as your first game and play a Thief.

That cover will never make sense.

The heroic stance, holding a magical sword over the head is indeed, very generic.

Not saying it's bad, but it's a trope that's frequently used.

[Rath Darkblade]

- QfG3. I disagree that this is generic. It may appear to be generic, but if you remember that QfG3 is the first game where you can play a Paladin (with a magic sword! Yay! ), and this cover takes on extra significance.

Yes, but imagine you pick up QFG3 as your first game and play a Thief.

That cover will never make sense.

The heroic stance, holding a magical sword over the head is indeed, very generic.

Not saying it's bad, but it's a trope that's frequently used.

Oh, sure. But then, they couldn't make a box to show all three (or even four) hero-types. They don't try to do that for any of the boxes.

Every box shows a warrior-type. Not sure why.

I personally like the "heroic stance". I know it's used a lot, but when QfG3 came out (back in 1993, I think?) it was the first time I saw it. So I like it.

I'm sorry if it's become frequently used now ...

[goatmeal]

Yes, the revelation of MInos as the Chief Bad Guy, and the Dragon Rising Again, is serious enough, but you can tell you'll win anyway.

But was it really a revelation at all? Sierra showed that Minos was the person behind everything in the TRAILER for the game !!!

SIERRA! , if it's supposed to be a mystery, DO NOT put the main antagonist IN THE TRAILER explaining that that THIS IS THE "BAD GUY" of the game !!!

[Rath Darkblade]

Ah, you mean this?

Remember the first time you played QfG5? It was a revelation then. The trailer only shows Minos for a few seconds, and in the game, you don't get to see him at all until you enter the Rites of Rulership. (Before that, you're focused on surviving, making money, and enjoying a new land). And even when you do see him, he looks different. He is dressed differently (red jumper instead of light-blue), and he has a quasi-military haircut, and a full head of hair instead of thinning hair. So you start thinking: who IS this guy? Is he maybe working for the dragon-summoning guy we saw before? Or maybe he has nothing to do with it, and he's just a jerk.

Besides, who's to say that the "Big Reveal" of Minos was supposed to be a mystery? Only the Coles know that. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe, since the actor doing the voice-over in the trailer is hamming it up, maybe it was a mock-mystery.

Or, maybe, it WAS supposed to be a mystery ... but the marketing people who created the trailer didn't talk to the Coles, and created the trailer, and the Coles saw it, and they were angry that the marketing people RUINED it, but it was too close to publishing time, so it was too late to change it, and ... and ... and ...

I mean, we don't know that's what the Coles intended. Anything might've happened. Maybe we can ask the Coles somehow?

Or maybe don't mind me. Just thinking out loud. Maybe I'm talking complete rubbish ... *blush*

[goatmeal]

What they could have done is show the character from behind, or in dim lighting/shadows to better obscure him.

However, the 3D model used in the trailer for the exterior of Minos's stronghold is the same one used in the finished game...

And solving the mystery of "Who's the bad guy?" played out through the entire series up until that point:

HQ1/QFG1: Brigand Leader = Elsa von Spielburg
QFG2: Main Baddie = Ad Avis
QFG3: Main Baddie = Demon Wizard
QFG4: Dark Master = Katrina
QFG5: Minos = Minos

And before his assassination (not a spoiler), King Justinian certainly didn't know who was causing the strife in Silmaria...

[Rath Darkblade]

Well, that's true too. They could've done anything. But they didn't.

Also, as for the exterior of Minos's stronghold ... yes, you can see the 3D model in the trailer. But so what? You don't see the stronghold in the game until the very end, and by then, you already KNOW that it was Minos.

OTOH, you DO see Minos -- briefly -- during the introduction to the Rites of Rulership. (He says which village Elsa will free, and she sarcastically replies "Thank you, Minos, for making up my mind for me").

The only questions are:

a. Who created the trailer?
b. Why didn't they obscure Minos?
c. Did the Coles want Minos obscured?
d. If they did, why did the video creators ignore that?

And as I pointed out, no-one can answer that, except the Coles. Maybe we could (should?) ask them somehow.

[goatmeal]

Also, as for the exterior of Minos's stronghold ... yes, you can see the 3D model in the trailer. But so what? You don't see the stronghold in the game until the very end, and by then, you already KNOW that it was Minos.

It's been too long since I last played QFG5, but can you travel to Minos's island once you get the airship/balloon? Or does some natural / magical force keep you from approaching?...

[Rath Darkblade]

Also, as for the exterior of Minos's stronghold ... yes, you can see the 3D model in the trailer. But so what? You don't see the stronghold in the game until the very end, and by then, you already KNOW that it was Minos.

It's been too long since I last played QFG5, but can you travel to Minos's island once you get the airship/balloon? Or does some natural / magical force keep you from approaching?...

Unfortunately, no. You can NEVER travel to Minos's island by balloon airship.

If I remember rightly (and I haven't played QfG for a long while, but I used to be OBSESSED with it ... *blush* ... you can tell, can't you? ), there are only two times when you can see Minos's island ... *WARNING, SPOILERS*

1. The first happens late in the game (after you come back from Hades, i.e. after Rite 6 - going to Atlantis - starts). Elsa breaks into your room at night, after you go to bed, and wakes you up to tell you that she's suspicious of Minos. If you want, you can go to sleep the next day ... and Elsa wakes you up again to tell you about his Dragon Stone, and smuggles you to his island so you can take a look around. (You can't find the Dragon Stone, but you can find a whole bunch of other goodies).

2. The second and last time happens AFTER everyone figures out that Minos is the Big Bad Guy. Then, Logos sends you off by a fast ship to Minos's Island to stop him from summoning the Dragon.

There. If there's anyone around who hasn't played QFG5, they won't be spoiled... unless they want to be.

[goatmeal]

Thank you for the reminder. I probably haven't played QFG5 since the late 1990s.