Huzzah! I have defeated King's Quest 7! Impressions ... and questions. :-)

[Rath Darkblade]

I am actually ... surprised by how easy it was, compared with (say) KQ3, KQ4 and others. Not once did Valanice fall off that cliff in Etheria simply by walking up it. (How many times does Alex fall off a cliff in KQ3, or Rosella in KQ4? Or Rosella falling down some stairs, also in KQ4 etc...?)

The hardest thing about this game, I thought, was chapter 4 (i.e. Rosella in Ooga-Booga Land). I wonder why it was called that? I was certain that those kids named it so, but it seems that Count Vladimir Something-or-Other (Tsepish?) was the ruler of the land before Malicia took over, and he named it. But why name your land "Ooga-Booga Land"? *shrug*

I'm also fairly sure that the Ghoul Kids are a reference to something. Here's a link to info about them: Ghoul Kids. In the game they're called Nasty and Nastier, but the one on the right is obviously an evil version of Charlie Brown. I'm not sure about the other one, though. Any ideas?

I wasn't too impressed by the ending, though. I don't understand how that "device" stopped the volcano from erupting, or how it turned Malicia into a baby. (I'm willing to accept the volcano-stopping power -- fine ... but turn Malicia into a baby? How does that work? I'm confused).

So what did you think of this game? Now I'm curious. Do tell!

[Tawmis]

I am curious what you thought. You say you beat it but don't say if you enjoyed it?

[Rath Darkblade]

Oh, no. I enjoyed it a lot. I made even more comments in the "veered off" thread - let me copy-and-pasta them ...

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I remember the chicken, the sky is falling.

Now I know what you mean. But ugh - the voice for that chicken is so high-pitched, it was sometimes difficult to understand what it was going on about, other than "The sky is falling."

Ow, my ears.

Well Kings Quest 7 starts off with the most hardest puzzle in the game, then normalize it later.
It just feels like it shouldn't be the first thing to start with, but that may be just me

Which puzzle was it that was the hardest?

I found the well puzzle hardest. I just struggled a whole lot before I could go further.

I just let the well puzzle go and concentrated on other things first. So I finished Chapter 1 relatively quickly. I also enjoyed the little rodent trying to trade with Valanice, and his rhymes.

However, I did die in the desert ... just once ... while trying to offer the spirit some water. I'd say that was the hardest thing about chapter 1: the spirit constantly walks off before Valanice has a chance to offer him water. Very frustrating. I kept having to double-back to the well, then back to the desert to try again. Save at the well, back to the desert, can't find the spirit, Valanice dies, repeat.

By the way: what happens if Valanice gives that spirit salt water? (Yes, I know - EVIL! Valanice would probably say it'd be wrong, or something. But I'm just curious).

I have grown to appreciate KQ7 more than when it first came out. It seemed to turn away from all that I liked about KQ6. After all, it is a Jane Jensen game, one of my favorite game designers. And at the time, I disliked the more cartoony artwork in its effort to be more Disney like. However, Neal Grandstaff's soundtrack has really grown on me and Lorelei's writing and puzzles are good. Also, the backgrounds are really enjoyable, in spite of the fact that the sprites still fail me. Sometimes I fire up chapter 3 just to enjoy the "Bountiful Woods".

May I say, I also enjoyed chapter 3's "Bountiful Woods" and the backgrounds. (I'm not sure who played the deer, but he has a nice bass voice). But I most enjoyed the gate-guard and his increasingly ludicrous excuses for why Valanice couldn't come in.

The bridge was interesting. When I first saw it, I was half-expecting Valanice to have to recruit a team of tiny mouse masons who would rebuild the bridge lickety-split! Or something. I didn't expect the bridge to become a copy of the Bifrost. I'm still not sure HOW that happened. *shrug*

I'm also a bit confused at how quickly, once you repair the bridge, the sky actually does fall. Is there a connection between the two?
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Also, the city of Falderal was ... interesting. (And VERY tiny for a city! IIRC, the city that Alexander starts in, in the beginning of KQ6, is bigger).

And the folks in the city are, um ... strange? Especially Arch-Duke Yip-Yap.

Ooga Booga is very ... let's say, atmospheric. There are more deaths there than in the rest of the game combined, I'd say.

I think I recognize the voice of the person who did the black dog, but I don't know his name or what else he did.

On the other hand, I recognize the name of the person who did the Troll King and others. Danny Delk! He also did voices for lots of LucasArts games, like "Murray the Skull" (and others) in the Monkey Island games, and lots of voices in Star Wars games, and lots lots more. He was also in films. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_Delk

Oh, yeah -- one last thing that struck me. Mark Seibert's wife performing the songs at the start and finish of the game. She has a good voice.

One tiny thing: I thought it was a shame that there was no way to LOOK AT things before using them, but that would require a heck of a lot more programming. So I get it.

On the whole, I liked it!

[BBP]

Your wish is my command:

At 6:58


(PS you should replay to try these things out for yourself, that's where the fun is!)

[Rath Darkblade]

Thank you, BBP! (And that link to "Sierra Games - Falling to your Death" video at the end of it is hilarious!)

Now I wonder what would happen if you give him salt water repeatedly. I'll have to try and see.

[DonaldDuckCo]

I defeated King's Quest 7 probably 1 year ago
Pros: Nice looking animations and artwork
Cons: Too slow

But overall i like it honestly. But if you are used to "Speeding up the walk animation" in other Kings Quest games. Then you might find this one more slow paced in comparison.
Though Kings Quest games i recommend to get it from, would be GOG.com

[Rath Darkblade]

True, King's Quest 7 is a little slow, but we can't do anything about that. (It might've be nice if we had the same control over movement that we have in games like Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest, and so on).

The more serious con, I thought, was that KQ7 is uneven. One chapter -- Rosella in Ooga Booga -- is unsettling. Another chapter (Valanice in the woods and Fol-de-Rol) is extremely silly. It would be nice if there was more unity between them.

On the other hand, it is very difficult to write a coherent story (even a short one) with just one MC (Main Character), let alone two. So kudos to Sierra for taking it on.

[BBP]

The worst thing about KQ7 being slow is knowing there exists animation of Rosella and queen Valanice running that is never used ingame.

[Tawmis]

The more serious con, I thought, was that KQ7 is uneven. One chapter -- Rosella in Ooga Booga -- is unsettling. Another chapter (Valanice in the woods and Fol-de-Rol) is extremely silly. It would be nice if there was more unity between them.

I actually thought this was clever, because it never felt like a stagnant game. You were jumping into different themes, for the chapters.