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Part I: The Quest Begins
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Wizard and the Princess
(Apple II/Commodore 64, 1980)
Before there was King's Quest, there was Wizard and the Princess (that's right, there's no "The" at the beginning). Basically, in the land of Serenia, trouble is a-brewin' when King George IV's daughter, Priscilla, is kidnapped. The sage king calls upon any man brave enough to rescue the lost maiden, as is the way of chivalrous times! The storyline is quite bland, but when there's a damsel in distress, you have to take that call. Wizard and the Princess's gameplay is severely ancient by today's standards: you must make your way through the game based on text commands. Only still images guide your way, and the art is horribly done. Their art director must have finished his work between nap time and colouring on himself with permanent markers. But every franchise has to start somewhere.
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Adventure in Serenia
(IBM PC, 1982)
The backstory behind Wizard and the Princess was heavily rewritten so that it became a sequel of sorts, and then it was essentially released again under the title "Adventure in Serenia" for the IBM PC. But it's the same game. How about that?
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King's Quest: Quest for the Crown
(IBM PCjr, 1995)
The first King's Quest game may seem extremely primitive (and far less pleasant to look at) compared to later titles, but it was an almost immediate hit with computer gamers. This game follows the adventures of Sir Graham as he is entrusted with a quest by King Edward on behalf of his ailing territory: to seek out the three legendary objects that have been cached throughout the kingdom. If these treasures are found, only good fortune can befall Daventry; furthermore, he is promised the crown if he succeeds. Thankfully, King's Quest actually HAD graphics that represented what they were supposed to, as opposed to those nasty text-based adventures of the time. However, aside from moving Graham with the arrow keys, all actions have to be typed in. It's an entertaining romp and our first glimpse into the quaint world of Daventry. Oh, and the best part? The death music. Classic.
King's Quest was updated by Sierra several times over for newer computers, the last revision having been made in 1990, with fresher visuals and sound, as well as a fleshed out version of the storyline.
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King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne
(PC, 1985)
When you have a hit game, keep on squeezin' it for all it's worth! ...I'm kidding. I'm glad the King's Quest series continued. The storyline here feels like a natural progression: Sir Graham has become the King of Daventry, but he has no queen! Suddenly, the Magic Mirror (one of the three treasures Graham recovered) revealed a vision of a beautiful maiden trapped in an ivory tower: Valanice! However, she was being held captive by the witch, Hagatha. The game is strongly similar to its predecessor, both in how you play and how it's presented (complete with looooovely PC-speaker sound). Still, it's notable for really getting the series chugging (as a series, and not just a one-off hit title). It's also the first appearance of Valanice, who would become queen and eventually get her own separate King's Quest adventure... about ten years later...
As with the previous game, it was re-released in 1987 for the Apple IIGS.
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King's Quest III: To Heir is Human
(Apple II/PC, 1986)
It's quite understandable to believe that when this was first released, players were upset and confused. Where's King Graham? Where's Daventry? Why the heck are we following a teenaged boy named Gwydion in the far-off land of Llewdor? Of course, the foul cries were soon quelled once gamers who managed to trek far enough through Gwydion's quest realized the connection: Gwydion was, in fact, the long-lost son of King Graham, kidnapped many years ago! Indeed, it was a stretch, but it still sold and kept the series going. Gwydion, later known as Prince Alexander, eventually escape the clutches of the wizard -- by transforming him into a cat -- and then somehow making his way back to Daventry. The gameplay is still text-based; the graphics are a slight improvement, as is the sound quality (though still chugging through the PC speaker).
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