After Space Quest 5....

[SierraFan81]

The Space Quest series is personally my favorite of all the Quest series, with SQ4 being my favorite in the series. I enjoyed 5 as well, alot of people seemed to be disappointed with it, sure the lack of Scott Murphy was obvious, but other than that it had a very well developed plot and fleshed out characters you actually grew to care about, and it was nice to see Roger FINALLY be respected since the finale of The Sarien Encounter.

That being said, while it has grown on me over the years, I was rather disappointed with the route they went with Space Quest 6. I think it would have been neat to have Roger recieve a heros welcome, be promoted, and command the Goliath in a new misadventure through the cosmos. And to see Cliffy, Droole, and Flo again would have been great.

How about the rest of y'all? Do you think Space Quest 6 should have had Roger command the Goliath or was SQ6 as it is the best way to go?

[Tawmis]

I don't know - seems a few people on the forum enjoyed SQ5. For me it was SQ3 with SQ4 right behind it by a hare (like the Energizer Bunny! Get it? Behind by a HARE? Oh never mind...)

While SQ5 wasn't my favorite - I did love the cast and crew! As a matter of fact, forever and a day, when my user name was Vaprakgruumsh (long story) on the Sierra WebX forums - my avatar was a blue version of Droole.

What I didn't like about SQ6 was the art they used for Roger and such. It seemed so flat compared to the backgrounds and such. But SQ6 did have some pretty funny moments in it. I think the other downside to SQ6 was that we got to know the "Crew" pretty well (as you said they were developed very well for a comedy!) - and then suddenly they're taken away from us in SQ6. Sort of like how we got to know Passionate Patti in LSL3, then in LSL5 she's gone.

[the_doctor]

I understand WHY they wanted to return Roger to janitor because that's what he's supposed to be. Captain Janitor was certainly a fun ride, and they had the good plot point to demote him ... they would eventually discover the glitch that let him pass.

But you're right, 6 didn't really give you the grand space hero that had been building up since 1 (stopping the sariens, stopping vohaul, traveling thru time, commanding a ship and saving a whole confederation) to crawling around in people's innards?

I played 1-5 roughly around the time they came out (within months anyway). I didn't play 6 until a couple years ago. So maybe time changed my perspective on the series ... I would have preferred to have him continue on the Eureka (but not the Goliath) and planned the rest of the game accordingly.

And I agree with the graphics. 5 does look odd after 4, but that's because it was Dynamix's hand at work instead of Sierra's there. I think 6 should have either gone back to 4's styling or stayed with 5's (depending on whichever company actually get the art in 6). The whole new style and the 'icon bar' ... bah.

[Tawmis]

I understand WHY they wanted to return Roger to janitor because that's what he's supposed to be. Captain Janitor was certainly a fun ride, and they had the good plot point to demote him ... they would eventually discover the glitch that let him pass.

Well I think when they demoted him, they kind of slapped everything in the face. As you said, there was a build up to being the hero he was. I think they should have kept going with that angle and worked off of what had happened in SQ5. Like I said, SQ5 wasn't even my favorite - but SQ6 felt like a step backwards because they reverted back - and so all sense of accomplishment was lost. I think of the games, King's Quest really did the best at progressing the characters.

[Akril]

I agree that while letting Roger have a stint as a captain was new and exciting, it seems natural that eventually, he would have become a janitor again. After all, Roger has been a respected hero before (at the end of SQ1), but like all celebrities, he became forgotten after a while. I didn't exactly like how SQ6 accelerated events by more or less punishing him for saving the galaxy, while one of the only good marks on his record is saving a ship that he destroyed.

Perhaps things might have worked better in SQ6 if he was found guilty of some other crimes (destruction of two high-quality androids and a failure to pay for a certain whistle, maybe?), or like the_doctor said, they might discover what happened with the grading machine. Then the gist of the game's intro would be more like: "Thanks for saving the galaxy and all that, but I'm afraid we'll have to demote you just the same, sorry."

I definitely would have liked to have seen more of the characters from SQ5, or at least heard an explanation for their absence. Whatever happened to Roger's faithful companion Spike, for crying out loud?

[Datadog]

I'm guessing Scott wasn't too happy with what Mark did with SQ5 and wanted to take it back in his own direction after he was given the reigns. To my understanding, they both had very conflicting visions for the future of this series.

[MusicallyInspired]

Bit of a correction here, despite what the game box says Scott Murphy did not design SQ6. Josh Mandel did. Then Josh Mandel quit Sierra and Scott Murphy tried to finish it up with Leslie Belfour (sp?) to get it out the door. He left out several key things needed to complete the game in the process too, like the datacorder puzzle solution comic that was supposed to be in the manual but was never completed because Scott Murphy didn't know what it was or why it was needed.

SQ6 is one of my least favourites because it's not like any other Space Quest. There's a lot missing atmosphere-wise. But it's also, ironically, the funniest in the whole series. I also find it a bit anti-climactic to be in such a let-down of a situation compared to the epic proportional situations of earlier games. I don't fully accept it as a Space Quest title, but then I do at the same time because it's still quite sarcastic and hilarious. I also liked the fact that Roger became a janitor again. I just HATE the whole StarCon addition that SQ5 brought in and SQ6 expanded on. I rather preferred the nameless science crew uniform thing from SQ1-SQ4. The uniforms also looked better. That big golden triangle is ugly.

My favourite is still SQ4. SQ2 is second. Then SQ1. I don't know why everyone loves SQ3 and SQ5 so much. They're certainly great games but not the greatest in the series.

[Tawmis]

I rather preferred the nameless science crew uniform thing from SQ1-SQ4. The uniforms also looked better. That big golden triangle is ugly.

Actually to me that was part of the humor. That golden triangle is UGLY and WAY over the top. Which I thought was intentional.

My favourite is still SQ4. SQ2 is second. Then SQ1. I don't know why everyone loves SQ3 and SQ5 so much. They're certainly great games but not the greatest in the series.

Heh - I'd love to hear why you loved SQ2, because JWise strongly dislikes it. So I'd like to see your opinions on what makes it so good.

[MusicallyInspired]

I don't know really. Maybe it's mostly nostalgia. I thought it was a great sequel to a great game. Exploration of a jungle planet really appeals to me for some reason. It was lacking in locales in comparison to the other games, but it was interesting to me. I can understand why most wouldn't call it that great, but personally it's highlight in the series for me. Maybe for all the reasons everyone hates it I don't know. lol

[Datadog]

I still think it's hilarious how you have to type "HOLD BREATH" before diving.

[Fender_178]

I would have liked SQ5 better if it had voice acting. By not having voice acting it was sort of a downgrade from SQ4 Cd version unless you played the floppy disk. Well the one reason why I liked SQ2 is because i grew up playing it and it holds that special place in my mind.

[MusicallyInspired]

A full CD-talkie version of SQ5 was planned and I think work had even started to some degree. But for some reason it never got off the ground. I think the same guy who did Roger in SQ4 was going to do it for SQ5. Maybe not.

[The_Roger_Wilco]

I have to say SQ5 is my favorite in the SQ Series.

[Tawmis]

I have to say SQ5 is my favorite in the SQ Series.

Sq5 and Sq4 seem to be dueling for that #1 spot - so what made SQ5 a favorite for you?