As one would come to expect with the game that revolutionized both PC games and point-and-click adventure games forever, the original King’s Quest still somewhat holds up to this day, and it was pretty successful, becoming the start of what would be Sierra On-Line’s flagship franchise. So, naturally, just one year later, we would get a follow-up to the first game in the form of King’s Quest II: Romancing the Throne. Much like the sequels to Sierra’s other games, this game didn’t really do much different when compared to the previous entry on a grand scale, but it did feature some differences, along while primarily focusing on continuing the story of Grant after he became king. So, on that aspect, it is a good sequel, and a good game on its own, but if you expecting anything big and bombastic for a sequel of King’s Quest, then you aren’t going to get that here, even if there really isn’t anything wrong with that.

The story is no longer about becoming king, but now finding yourself a queen, because I guess he just can’t be a true king without a bride, the graphics are somewhat on the same level as the original game, but it does look somewhat better, like with the more detailed sprite of Grant at the beginning, the music, once again, is almost non-existent throughout most of the game, but for the few tracks that do show up, they are alright, the control is the exact same as the original, no need to go on about that, and the gameplay is also primarily the same as the original as well, but it still provides a good amount of enjoyment whenever you do solve the puzzles laid out for you.

The game continues the point-and-click gameplay first established in the original King’s Quest, where you take control of Grant, you go around exploring various locations, click on a bunch of things and type out a lot of commands to effect numerous creatures and characters seen throughout the land, get items to help you along your quest, and solve the puzzles laid out before you to get closer to your one true love. Much like with the plenty of other Sierra On-Line games we have discussed so far, mechanically, nothing has changed from the first installment, with the primary changes being with the content in the adventure itself. In terms of the locations you visit, there is a lot more variety in where you go, and they are more interesting as a result. With the first game, you primarily only traveled to houses, caves, a land in the sky, and that is about it, but with this games, not only are most of those types of locations still present here, we also have undersea kingdoms, a vampire’s castle, a… church (for some reason), and an entire other world. It isn’t all too out there or creative, but this additional variety is much appreciated for the sequel.

In terms of other new additions to the game, there is now an introduction cutscene, which provides more character and a tiny bit of a cinematic feeling to the game, which is nice to see. Alongside that, this game also has a more linear structure, which some who played the original may find a bit disappointing, but I personally didn’t mind this change, especially since the branching elements of the original are implemented in a different way. Instead of being able to complete objectives in different orders, you are able to solve puzzles or situations with various solutions, which not only allows for more proper experimentation (which is greatly appreciated), but it also allows for more replayability, something that is always welcome, especially with a game as primitive and simple as this.

If you have read my review for the original King’s Quest, or with the Leisure Suit Larry games, you already know exactly what my problems are for this game. Guide game mentality, awkward movement at points, specific commands, none of it is changed around that much, and at this point, I shouldn’t expect much change until we make it to the titles released in the early 90’s. Thankfully, this time around, I had no moments as bad as the one I had with climbing the beanstalk in the last game, but I did have some similar troubles with something as simple as walking up stairs. I dunno what I was doing wrong exactly, but I remember I had barely any trouble moving up and down stairs in the original game, despite how weird it was to do. With this game, however, I was having plenty of troubles with them, either with me getting stuck on some random imaginary barrier that I suppose I should have known about (you know, that old-game BS), or just falling down them and dying when it felt like I really shouldn’t have. Again, this wasn’t as specific or frustrating as that beanstalk nonsense from the last game, but it still did provide some annoyance.

Overall, despite not changing any of the gameplay mechanics yet again, as well as having more frustrations with movement, I would say that King’s Quest II is an improvement over the original, with more varied environments, more experimentation with puzzle solutions, and more imagination as a whole, which is very much appreciated for this type of game. I would recommend it for those who are fans of the original game, or any of the other similar titles from either the King’s Quest series or any of Sierra’s other titles. However, if you aren’t really that into these types of games, then there is little reason for you to check this out. Now I’m just wondering, now that he has become king and gotten a queen, what will Grant quest for next? For some heirs? Because let me tell you, that will be a completely different game if that will be the case.

Game #301

The game I was most reminded of playing King’s Quest II was Dragon Quest II, which is not certainly not a compliment but not quite the condemnation that it might sound like either, given my vocal dislike of that game. But the design similarities are undeniable to me. Both games are kind of copy pasting the same elements that made their predecessors so successful but with what feels to me like a lot less tact. I’ll drop this premise now but just imagine before every example I list here that I start the sentence with “Like Dragon Quest 2,” okay? Okay sick.

So we’re kind of playing the hits on this one: three macguffins necessary to complete the quest, a series of classic fairy tales to romp through, one or two absolutely twisted puzzles designed to turn you into the joker, and a playful, idiosyncratic sense of humor and design that mostly serves the game pretty well.

But there’s also a listlessness here, a much lesser sense of focus to all of it. The world is bigger but not in a way that feels very carefully designed, and there’s a really important piece of this scenario that (infamously, I’ve come to learn) punishes you for exploring. Important characters and locations seem strewn about the map randomly, the larger size makes getting around more of a pain to get around when you do have an inkling of where you’re going, and in general I felt like I was spending a lot more of my play time wandering around until I found two things to bash together as a puzzle solution.

But! Part of Just Doing It All Again But A Little Bit Worse means you’re still getting all the good parts too, and luckily all the parts that got worse in this game were the parts where you play it. The parts where you look at it and read it are even better than before. The game’s wit and comedy have been further refined. Instead of being more of a fun flourish on top of a relatively straightforward fantasy adventure, the comedy is more front and center now and I’m excited to see these narratives continue to develop. This game has honest to god cutscenes in it! Cool shit! Gaming history rules. The art is also pumped up impressively. The ending sequence especially was an unexpected visual treat. The game is full of fun weird shit (Dracula is here and in an uncharacteristic move you DO kill him and the animation is one of the funniest I’ve ever seen in a game, Graham stabbing him with a stake over and over again at like super speed), pushing the borders of the fairy tale fantasy aesthetic a lot further than the first one (again, Dracula) and all of these things lead to some really fun stuff despite the general milieu of actually playing the game in the moment to moment. A fun piece of writing is always around the corner, usually even when you fail.

Fucking Dracula’s here dude idk what else there is to say.