Best GK Puzzle/Greatest Moment?

[Tawmis]

So GK has had some great story telling - and some great puzzles - and some - ... not so great puzzles ... (Cat Hair Mustache anyone)...

But in all three games - what was your favorite puzzle? Which one were you the happiest to solve or get past? Or even was a greatest moment in the game?

[el_pombo]

It wasn't the hardest puzzle, far from that, but I remember playing GK1 in 1997 and being stuck for a good while trying to figure out the watch in grandma's attic, when I solved it I was very happy.

In 2005, when I played GK3, I liked the puzzle inside Chateau de Serras (the laser beams), again, far from being the hardest one, it had a "je ne sais quoi" feeling to it!

I don't remember very well the puzzles from GK2! I played it in 2000 and never re-played it! The FMV put me off, but still a great game!

[Collector]

There was a bug with the clock puzzle in the attic with some versions (Sierra Originals version?) that my installer fixes.

[Tawmis]

It wasn't the hardest puzzle, far from that, but I remember playing GK1 in 1997 and being stuck for a good while trying to figure out the watch in grandma's attic, when I solved it I was very happy.
In 2005, when I played GK3, I liked the puzzle inside Chateau de Serras (the laser beams), again, far from being the hardest one, it had a "je ne sais quoi" feeling to it!
I don't remember very well the puzzles from GK2! I played it in 2000 and never re-played it! The FMV put me off, but still a great game!

In GK1, for me - it wasn't a puzzle - it was figuring out to get around the zombies. That was intense. And ironically, a similar puzzle in GK2, with the running through the halls, closing the doors to trap the wolf. In GK3, I think the ultimate for me - as dumb as it sounds - is the ending. I can't count how many times I died, trying to figure out what to do at the very end.

[Mostly]

I have to split my answers up for each game. :p

GK1 - my favorite puzzle is probably writing the message on the tomb. I love the narrator's line about how Gabriel tosses the brick down and looks at the message with satisfaction, as that's how the player feels when finally figuring it out. You need to think logically about what you're trying to do (attend voodoo ceremony), how you're going to do it (put tracker bug in sekey madoule), and who is your link to accomplishing those things (Dr. John). I love how that puzzle brings these things together.

I also have to give a shout out to the snake mound puzzle, since it ends with the best part of the game - the introduction of Wolfgang. When he first dropped down and that music kicked in, I knew I was experiencing something incredibly special and amazing.

GK2 - it's hard to pick a puzzle out of GK2 since much of the game is inventory-based, but I do like the scene in the beginning of Chapter 3 when Gabriel needs to get Leber's attention and does so by showing the lab report to the reporters instead. That results in my favorite scene -"Canis lupis lupis!". Still makes me laugh.

But of course the hunt through the woods, finding the lost opera + theater plans, and the final basement chase are excellent. The game and story itself feel somewhat like an opera, mirroring the opera within the game. I love that moment when Gabriel turns and the actors are still going along with the performance. The direction in that scene is pretty fun, with the fast cuts of Von Glower twitching and sweating. Overall The Beast Within is a grand, beautiful romantic tale that has a sort of timeless beauty quality to it given how strong the core of the game's story (relationship between Gabriel and Von Glower) is.

GK3 - it's strange to me that the cat moustache puzzle, as silly as it is, gets so much attention when this game has so much to offer. GK3 doesn't nearly get enough credit for it's resourceful use of 3D environments as well as its interface (moving the camera around at ease, contextual icons, etc.). It's little things like zooming in an object, clicking on it, and not needing to wait for Gabriel or Grace to walk all the way up to it (if the camera is facing away from them, Gabe or Grace will appear right behind it to save time). The interface is a perfect blend of the old (pointing and clicking) with the new (3D). But since the 3D itself didn't look cutting edge, many people overlooked the mechanics and judged the 3D as a whole based on the aesthetics. Plus the time blocks pace and structure the game really well.

Anyway, the best puzzle is obviously Le Serpent Rouge. It's smart and layered, offering multiple "Aha!" moments along the way. My personal favorite moment in the game is probably when Emilio explains everything to Grace. There's just an incredible sadness behind his character, exemplified when Grace realizes who he is and Emilio says he swore to never use the power.

While the end sequence has some mixed puzzles, I do like the chessboard part. Planning your moves ahead and finally solving that puzzle is quite nice. The game's actual ending is quite poignant and bittersweet. Before the age of youtube I replayed the end countless times just to watch the final cutscenes, hoping deep down that one day we'd see a fourth and final GK game.

[Rath Darkblade]

For me, the hardest GK puzzle is still trying to avoid the zombies in GK1. It's so intense! And of course it leads to the introduction of Wolfie, who's one of the best characters in GK1, and the really shocking scene when he dies.

If we're going for the "best" puzzle, though, it's a toss-up between figuring out the graveyard brick and figuring out the Rada drums in the underground chamber. After you figure out the latter, and Dr John comes out, it's an intense (again) race to go to his room, get what you need, get out, and leave the screen before he catches you.

I don't remember much about GK2. But for GK3, the hardest puzzle is the pit and the pendulum. Yikes! I still have shivers when I think of Gabriel screaming. The chessboard puzzle, by comparison, is not so hard - but then I've played chess for decades.

[BBP]

Not sure if it's a bug of the Sierra Originals GK2 version, but when you use the hint system, Neuschwanstein will always light up, even if you've done everything there. I've walked through that castle countless times and was very happy I was done with that!
(My memories of Neuschwanstein aren't so positive - I got to know the castle through a jigsaw puzzle - that one had so many grey tones I gave up on it. Twice.)

In GK3 I eventually had to look up Ophiuchus - not that I wanted to , I'd solved Le Serpent Rouge all by myself up to then, but the anagram was a step too far.

In GK1 I'm always nervous about luring Dr John out, and I'm very happy when the game notifies me he's back in his room. And there's the zombie thing that I never feel like doing.