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notbobsmith wrote: 1. Phantasmagoria
2. Conquests of Camelot
3. Conquests of the Longbow
4. The Black Cauldron
5. The Adventures of Willy Beamish
6. Heart of China
7. Lighthouse
8. Phantasmagoria 2

I went the extra mile and number the order I'd do it in... And here's why...

1. Phantasmagoria - Does a great job, I think capturing that haunted house feel... it does have, at least one, disturbing scene (and those who have played it probably know what I mean), but it's a very good game.
2. Conquests of Camelot - I think, having read your comments on LB/LB2, that you would enjoy the amount of content and story and lore/history is poured into this game.
3. Conquests of Longbow - for all the same reasons as Camelot. I like Longbow better, because of the Robin Hood aspect of it. But I think playing Camelot first will make you appreciate Longbow.
4. Black Cauldron - I love this game... but this is one of Sierra's earliest graphic adventure games - so there's story, but the commands are a little wonky.
5. Willy Beamish - fun game, but there's never been anything that's stuck out to me.
6. Heart of China - I remember loving this game when it first came out, but I never did finish it. But after beating Codename: Iceman, I figured I'd replay Heart of China, but that didn't last long because the controls are super wonky (and so is the dialogue system).
7. Lighthouse - Think Myst, but a little more depth... and about 100 times harder. I never beat Lighthouse, and I've had it since the day it came out. I've only ever tried to play it like, twice, however. But now that I have my Let's Play Sierra Games channel, I hope to get back to it one day.
8. Phantasmagoria 2 - Folks enjoy it. I think it was too much like your typical sequel. They took everything that made the first one great and turned the nob up to 11 and just went too over the top.

I stand by Phantasmagoria being one of the best and Phantasmagoria 2 being one of the most interesting Sierra games, so I have to suggest those again. P1 gets the edge, though.

Lighthouse. Period.

Tawmis wrote:Lighthouse - Think Myst, but a little more depth... and about 100 times harder.

I would say a lot more depth.

Half of those, I've never played. Those that I have played, I only went through once, and with the help of a walkthrough. So I can't really give any solid recommendations.

I know the Conquest games are both heavy on copy protection as a substitute for puzzles. They do have an interesting system of tracking how well you're doing, with different endings depending on how honorable you were. It's an interesting idea, but, as I've expressed in other threads, I don't think a "replay it until you get the best ending" system really works well for an adventure game.

Black Cauldron has an interesting interface. It's an AGI game, but there's no typing. Instead, you use function keys to either look at, interact with, or use an inventory item on whatever is in front of you. There's also a fan remake that changes it to point-and-click. I never really got into the game. I'm a big fan of the books, but the game is instead based on the Disney movie, which I've never seen.

I don't remember much about Willy Beamish, just that it was weird, and that while it seemed to give you a lot of freedom, making the wrong choices would send you to a game over.

Like adeyke, I haven't had the chance to play half of these. But I agree that "Willy Beamish" was a very strange game, and that despite having lots of freedom, it's an almost instant game over if you pick the wrong option.

I tried Conquests of Camelot, but could never get past the Black Knight. So I can't offer much guidance there - only that it's a pretty faithful retelling of the 15th-century legends, as written by Mallory. This means lots of chivalry and romance, naturally... as for whether the "real" king Arthur did half these things, or if he even existed, well - who can say?

I also tried playing Conquests of the Longbow, and I can confirm that it's a very good game indeed. Unfortunately, again, I never finished it because I couldn't get past the dice game with the friar. Having said that, it's a very faithful retelling of the various Robin Hood stories. As for Robin Hood himself - well, there's no evidence that a person by that name ever existed, but there are court records from Lancashire in 1320s and 1330s that mention a "Robbe Hod" and similar names that were usually taken by outlaws and fugitives from justice. (Unfortunately, Lancashire is nowhere near Nottingham or Nottingham Forest, but you can't have everything).

So, yes - I definitely recommend either of the Conquest games. As for the extra material above, I read about it and thought it was interesting. I hope you found it interesting too!

Thank you all for the suggestions. So it looks like I have 2 for Phantasmagoria, 1 for Lighthouse, and 1 for the Conquest games. So Phantasmagoria it is. '90s FMV goodness. And I am aware of the disturbing scene. I know a little bit about it, but have never played it. And for the record, I'm willing to do the next game for any reason. It's what makes this kind of fun. I started this after finally clawing my way through Codename: Iceman. Using that as an example "Don't do Codename:Iceman next. It's absolutely maddening" and "You should do Codename:Iceman next. It's absolutely maddening" are perfectly valid recommendations.

notbobsmith wrote:Thank you all for the suggestions. So it looks like I have 2 for Phantasmagoria, 1 for Lighthouse, and 1 for the Conquest games. So Phantasmagoria it is. '90s FMV goodness. And I am aware of the disturbing scene. I know a little bit about it, but have never played it. And for the record, I'm willing to do the next game for any reason. It's what makes this kind of fun. I started this after finally clawing my way through Codename: Iceman. Using that as an example "Don't do Codename:Iceman next. It's absolutely maddening" and "You should do Codename:Iceman next. It's absolutely maddening" are perfectly valid recommendations.

Well if you made it through Codename: Iceman, rest assured, no other game will be a challenge to you.

What about Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Rath Darkblade wrote:What about Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

Well, that's text adventure (and not Sierra). But yes. That game is brutally unforgiving. You can die within like eight turns.

Having just completed Phantasmagoria, I'm ready for my next challenge:

The Adventures of Willy Beamish
The Black Cauldron
Conquests of Camelot
Conquests of the Longbow
Heart of China
Lighthouse
Phantasmagoria 2

Thanks for ordering your suggestions the last time, Tawmis, but I'll still keep this open to voting. So make you suggestions. Polls will close Sunday.

Lighthouse.

Lighthouse should definitely be one of the next two, but (being so difficult), I think Phantas2 and then Lighthouse would be good. That way you can get the easier FMV out of the way and move on to a real challenge.

notbobsmith wrote:Having just completed Phantasmagoria, I'm ready for my next challenge:

The Adventures of Willy Beamish
The Black Cauldron
Conquests of Camelot
Conquests of the Longbow
Heart of China
Lighthouse
Phantasmagoria 2

Thanks for ordering your suggestions the last time, Tawmis, but I'll still keep this open to voting. So make you suggestions. Polls will close Sunday.

1. Conquests of Camelot - I think, having read your comments on LB/LB2, that you would enjoy the amount of content and story and lore/history is poured into this game.
2. Conquests of Longbow - for all the same reasons as Camelot. I like Longbow better, because of the Robin Hood aspect of it. But I think playing Camelot first will make you appreciate Longbow.
3. Black Cauldron - I love this game... but this is one of Sierra's earliest graphic adventure games - so there's story, but the commands are a little wonky.
4. Willy Beamish - fun game, but there's never been anything that's stuck out to me.
5. Heart of China - I remember loving this game when it first came out, but I never did finish it. But after beating Codename: Iceman, I figured I'd replay Heart of China, but that didn't last long because the controls are super wonky (and so is the dialogue system).
6. Lighthouse - Think Myst, but a lot more depth... and about 100 times harder. I never beat Lighthouse, and I've had it since the day it came out. I've only ever tried to play it like, twice, however. But now that I have my Let's Play Sierra Games channel, I hope to get back to it one day.
7. Phantasmagoria 2 - Folks enjoy it. I think it was too much like your typical sequel. They took everything that made the first one great and turned the nob up to 11 and just went too over the top.

I still favour alternating between tone and style, so my vote would go to... "Conquests of Camelots", followed by "Lighthouse" if those two are being put forward.

My issue with Lighthouse is that it's - in my opinion - even more difficult than Codename: Iceman, in terms of figuring out what to do. It, however, does not have as many (possibly any?) "dead ends" which Codename: Iceman was plagued with.