King’s Quest I

Quest for the Crown

“Originally commissioned by IBM [in 1983] as a showpiece for their ill-fated IBM PCjr, Roberta Williams’ King’s Quest: Quest for the Crown would only become an industry bestseller the following year when it was released for the IBM PC and new Tandy 1000 computers. Being the first game to fully support the newly introduced EGA color card, King’s Quest clearly demonstrated the superior 16-color capabilities of the then $400 optional video card.”

“The 1990 project to revamp the original King’s Quest was widely viewed as a critical failure because many reviewers and gamers took offense at what they perceived as an attempt to “destroy the classics.” In fact, the project was compared to the controversial practice of “colorizing” classic black-and-white movies. Valid or not, these reactions essentially stopped work on future attempts to modernize later King’s Quest installments. In comparing this version to the original, it is interesting to note how much the addition of the music soundtrack adds to the mood of the game.”

“The King of Daventry is nearing the end of his life. Tragically, he has no heir to carry on the royal line, and he worries that his kingdom will be left without a leader. Daventry is already a shadow of its former glory, as the three treasures of the realm have been lost to the ages. And so the king summons his bravest knight, Sir Graham, and sets him on this quest — return all three of the lost treasures, and the throne will be his. Not an easy task, but the recovery of the Mirror, the Chest of Gold, and the Shield will take Sir Graham through mythical perils and magical dangers, and forge a new kingdom from the ruins of the old!”

— All Paragraphs Quoted Directly from Sierra Documents