Review for King’s Quest III: To Heir is Human Redux
Sierra’s King's Quest III: To Heir is Human was originally released in 1986 and looked to do something a little different with the popular series. Not only did it forsake a continuation of King Graham's story as the ruler of Daventry, it explored an array of experimental game mechanics which were cutting-edge back in the day. The story begins with young Gwydion tirelessly performing chores for his master Manannan, a cruel and cunning wizard. Gwydion is an orphaned slave who knows very little about the world around him or his past, as his youth has been spent obeying Manannan’s every whim and command. When his master starts travelling more frequently, however, Gwydion gathers the courage to explore Manannan’s forbidden quarters and visit the town close to his mountain home. Within him, he harbours a restless feeling that something terrible will happen soon if he’s unable to learn more about his master’s intentions.
King’s Quest III Redux, by AGD Interactive, is a remake of this quarter-century old game, delivering both visual and audio enhancements along with some key story and gameplay improvements. This game marks the indie studio’s third KQ remake, following the original King’s Quest and its first sequel. The most obvious upgrades of the third game are bringing the graphics to VGA standards and replacing the original text parser with a point-and-click interface, but KQ3 has received the 'Redux' label because of its adjustments to the original story. The changes don’t represent massive plot or structure overhauls, but there are several alterations blended seamlessly into the original story. The transition has been done so smoothly that if you’ve never played KQ3 or have forgotten most of it over the years, you’d never know the new additions weren’t always an integral part of the game. Some of the differences expand on the King's Quest II remake, further fleshing out the storyline details introduced there and introducing a new character known as the 'Father'.
For those new to the game or in need of a refresher, completing chores forms a large part of the gameplay in the early stages; fail to do so and you can expect to be punished or killed. As you set about these tasks, if you happen to collect any inventory other than food or general items, you must hide them before Manannan returns or risk being turned into ash by one of his spells. As in the original, a timer at the top of the screen shows how many minutes have passed, but it now offers the added help of displaying green when Manannan is away, turning yellow when he is almost ready to return and red when he’s imminently due to teleport back. I estimate that you have roughly three minutes each time, give or take. If you complete a chore quickly, you can either wait for Manannan to return or head to your room to have a quick nap, which skips time forward. In fact, your private quarters provide a pivotal role, as it’s the only part of the house that Manannan is not willing to enter. After you’ve successfully completed the requisite number of chores, Manannan will begin taking longer journeys, giving you a window of roughly 10 to 30 minutes (the amount of time varies between each trip) to really go exploring.
Eventually you’ll escape Manannan completely, but even then there are plenty of trials awaiting you. You’ll spend time on a pirate ship (in captivity once again) and confront the perils of Treasure Island before finally beginning a trip to Daventry that involves overcoming obstacles in the wilderness and surviving deadly beasts. Gwydion’s travels lead to a number of potentially deadly mythical creatures, such as a giant spider, Medusa, the Abominable Snowman and a rather large Hydra. Not all enemies are monsters, however, as you’ll also need to contend with humans who are eager to stand in the way of your freedom. Thankfully, there are some friendly creatures as well, such as the fairy tale Bear family (think Goldilocks), who may not be greatest conversationalists, but at least they won't tear you to shreds and have you for dinner. Part of your journey also includes uncovering your true identity (concealed from you by Manannan), which not only reveals the remaining part of your quest but ties your character into the larger King’s Quest series.
The timed aspect of the early sections makes for a punishing and rather steep learning curve, as dying and having to go over your actions again can get annoying at times. This is a core feature of the original KQ3, however, so the developers were simply being faithful to the source material in keeping it in. AGDI have provided an auto-save function, at least, which is a helpful improvement, though it doesn't always prevent you from having to backtrack fairly significantly, so some prudent manual saves are still recommended. If you’re able to survive the early time pressures, the rest of the game doesn't involve much more, typically allowing you to explore at your leisure. You’ll still be faced with some good old-fashioned Sierra deaths if things go wrong, but these are often quite amusing. There's usually a good pun to go with each death, and it can even be fun to experiment with some of the potential outcomes. In the original game, you were almost guaranteed to die and die often, but KQ3 Redux is not quite as merciless, alleviating a few challenges that once resulted in a quick and easy demise, like navigating down a brutally punishing winding mountain path with twitchy controls. Here this sequence has been replaced with a very manageable walk, where only laziness or stupidity can really be the cause of your death.
Visually, KQ3 Redux is one the better examples of pixel art that I’ve seen to date. It works within the confines of its 320 x 200 resolution but still manages to craft some stunning graphics. There is an immense amount of detail crammed in, making each scene look on par or even better than the visuals from Sierra’s own VGA sequels. Modernizing the look yet still capturing the exact feel and setting of the original is a feat that must have required considerable skill and effort, especially the scenes from the pirate ship, which I've always felt were designed poorly in the original game. I also appreciated the scenes in Medusa's cave (a new addition), which shifts from the colourful and almost cartoon-like fantasy atmosphere elsewhere to dark, gloomy despair in flickering green phosphorous light.
Sprites are nicely detailed and offer a good representation of each character. The best has to be the Abominable Snowman, which looks like a cross between a Wookiee and a hunchback, with demon red eyes and white fur; the detail on this guy is brilliant! Character portraits that appear during conversations are excellently drawn, displaying an array of convincing facial expressions and lip-syncing. The only criticism I have is the animated lip movements of Manannan, which don't look in sync with the rest of his face. It's only a minor point and it certainly doesn't ruin the game in any way, however, as the stellar work in other areas more than make up for it. Even the functions bar that appears when the cursor hovers over the top of the screen has been redesigned, now looking like a beautiful stone tablet covered in moss and tree roots.
In terms of sound, KQ3 Redux is no slouch, either, as the game has some marvellous music and effects. The soundtrack produces a moody and mystical ambience at key moments, though for the most part the game relies on an array of organic background noises, like the creaks and echoes in Manannan's house or the tweets of birds whilst exploring the countryside. There's also some “action” music that plays when a tense moment is underway, the tune alerting you to danger. These little touches take their cue from the original version, but they are now more polished and refined. The game also comes with high quality character voices and narration that sound similar to those found in King's Quest V and VI. Veteran Sierra employee Josh Mandel reprises his role in a cameo as King Graham, and AGDI filled out the rest of the cast with actors who successfully sound the part.
The point-and-click interface is exactly what you'd expect from one of the later Sierra games, with the inclusion of major functions such as walk, look, interact / touch, and talk. Each function can be scrolled through using either the mouse wheel or right button. You can also access available interactions through the function bar, which contains the inventory as well, where stored objects can be selected and certain items combined. If you're familiar with any point-and-click Sierra VGA titles, you will immediately feel at home with the interface here, quickly letting you get on with the business of adventuring. That’s important in a game such as this, as the improved controls make a huge difference in dealing with the time constraints of the early tasks.
Despite the colourful façade and user-friendly interface, do not be fooled – this is definitely one of the hardest King's Quest games. Many of the puzzles in KQ3 are just as challenging in the Redux as they were originally, demanding some clever deduction and a good eye for detail, like the multi-layered puzzle requiring you to find a thimble full of morning dew for a spell. But in saying that, AGDI have taken some of the pain out of certain puzzles that were extremely frustrating and often tiresome to get through originally. The spellcasting element won't have you tearing out your hair (as much), as the spells are now listed in an in-game reference book (previously contained only in the paper manual as a copy protection device) and you no longer need to type the solutions in, leaving you only with the not-so-easy task of finding the ingredients. You’ll still need to follow each recipe precisely or face the consequences, but here it’s far less demanding to do so.
Along with the original puzzles, there are also some new challenges that will force you to put your thinking cap on once again. The additions include a puzzle for entering a secret part of Manannan's house, which will have you venturing far further than before. There is also one involving Medusa, which has three possible outcomes (hint: one won't be entirely to your liking!), and one of the most enjoyable new puzzles involves collecting the feather of an eagle, which has been completely redesigned from the original. A number of puzzles have been added to the Treasure Island section too, adding a sizeable amount of new content for even experienced players to get through. Most of it is well balanced and ties in nicely with the existing material, actually improving upon the original design.
To me the original King's Quest III was a frustrating gameplay experience, but I always liked the story, which was a vastly superior effort compared to the first two titles and showed an early glimpse of the growing sophistication of the franchise. The previous KQ3 remake by Infamous Adventures updated the game with improved production values and point-and-click controls but offered no changes to the actual gameplay, which meant that many of the original problems were carried over intact. While that was an impressive accomplishment in its own right, AGDI have taken their “Redux” to next level. Every element has been given a thorough polish to get the very best out of the story, visuals, sound and puzzles, with a few key additions that feel legitimate and completely worthy of a game produced by Sierra. There are still aspects that some modern gamers may not like, but there have been enough enhancements to make this well worth a look. Free games of this quality should not be ignored, so start downloading right now. To err may be human, but missing out on a new, improved To Heir is Human would just be dumb.
