A kingly modern classic
Not all revivals or remakes instill a sense of nostalgia within me. For instance, if we ever got that sequel to Kabuki Quantum Fighter we were promised in the original’s credits, I wouldn’t be all that excited.
But King’s Quest? I have so many fond memories of that franchise, either going at it alone, or figuring out puzzle solutions with friends and family, so the promise of a new entry after all these years warms my heart. Thankfully, The Odd Gentlemen has done right by the series, and then some.
I never would have expected it to be this good, much less a serious Game of the Year contender.
King’s Quest: A Knight To Remember (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: The Odd Gentlemen
Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
Released: July 28, 2015
MSRP: $9.99 per episode / $40 for the “Complete Collection”
To be clear, this isn’t a true continuation of the series, but rather, a “re-imagining” with the same characters, and some of the same events. For the most part, this new rendition is going to tell side stories that happened between the games over the course of five episodes — A Knight to Remember is the first. There’s plenty of fanservice scattered about to keep old fans happy, but newcomers won’t be lost in the slightest in their first foray into Daventry — it’s a great balancing act.
When I first booted up the game, it was seemingly taking a low-key Ico-like approach, which I really dug. The protagonist didn’t talk much initially, and you’re thrown into an unknown situation that sets up the rest of the tale. It immediately reminded me of a Don Bluth project, with beautiful scenery and interesting character designs. There are a few areas I encountered that had some screen tearing issues, but nothing that affected my enjoyment significantly, or crashed the game in any way on Xbox One. Slowly but surely the game opened up and started to become more talkative, at which point I immediately fell in love with it.
The way the game is framed is through the narration of King Graham, who is telling his granddaughter the tales of his youth. Christopher Lloyd plays an older Graham to perfection, with plenty of “grandpa puns” and lots of heart. You can tell he’s really enjoying it and isn’t phoning it in like some stars might (Destiny), and in fact, the entire cast is one of the most organic collective of characters I’ve ever seen in a game.
There’s tons of great references to classic films like The Princess Bride with a welcome appearance from Wallace Shawn, and even direct references to characters like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. While I don’t want to spoil the surprises, they’re done with the utmost respect to the source material, and never approach the level of an annoying forced meme. It helps that the game’s animations are incredible, and it’s hard to not laugh out loud when you see Graham frantically running with his arms flailing about like Disney’s Ichabod Crane. In fact, I’ve never laughed so hard at a game in my life — trust me when I say that’s not an exaggeration.
I particularly like how the game handles death with the Grandpa Graham narration mechanism, which even makes failure funny. There’s also a few hilarious references to characters “remembering that” from Telltale games, and a clever use of the narration technique in other ways. For instance, there’s one part where you’re walking on a log, and after going over it again, Graham mentions that it would be repetitive if he had to explain that bit over and over to his granddaughter, so it transports you to the other side. It’s convenient and charming in the same breath.
One thing I need to mention is that the game is not as hardcore as past King’s Quest titles, which is to be expected. The narration element sort of clues you in sometimes to the solution (which again, is done very well), and I really like how the game focuses in on objects you are currently trying to use a piece of equipment on, to eliminate any nasty instances of pixel-hunting. There’s also plenty of choices to be had that change the story in smaller ways, like leaving tips in a collection plate in any empty store, or bigger conundrums that promise more of an impact in future episodes (stay tuned to future reviews to see how this plays out).
While the first hour or so of the roughly five hour adventure is rather linear, the game opens up significantly after that, with a large sandbox that isn’t as massive as a classic adventure game, but big enough to roam around in. There’s also some third-person obstacle dodging, mild on-rails platforming, and several first-person aiming sequences. There’s a few quick-time events but they are very few and far between, which is a nice touch, as modern adventure games use them as a crutch far too often. Of course, A Knight to Remember also has several puzzles as well as some memory work involved, which are well executed. So yes, it’s much more involved than your average Telltale game.
I wish King’s Quest: A Knight to Remember was a bit more taxing, but I loved everything about it. If this series does well I hope we get to see the adventures of other family members like Alexander, and additional areas like the Land of the Green Isles. Right now though, I’m going through withdraws for the second episode already. Move over Telltale, there’s a new adventure king in town.
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
