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King's Quest VII

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King's Quest VII:
The Princeless Bride
Cover art
DeveloperSierra On-Line
PublisherSierra On-Line
DirectorsRoberta Williams
Lorelei Shannon
Andy Hoyos
ProducersMark Seibert
Craig Alexander
DesignersLorelei Shannon
Roberta Williams
ProgrammersOliver Brelsford
Tom DeSalvo
Henry Yu
ArtistsAndy Hoyos
Marc Hudgins
WriterLorelei Shannon
ComposersNeal Grandstaff
Dan Kehler
Jay D. Usher
SeriesKing's Quest
EngineSCI2
PlatformsMS-DOS, Windows, Macintosh
ReleaseNovember 22, 1994[1]
GenreAdventure game
ModeSingle-player

King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line for the MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows and Macintosh computers in 1994. It features high-resolution graphics in a style reminiscent of Disney and Don Bluth animated films and is the first King's Quest game with multiple protagonists: Queen Valanice and Princess Rosella, who are both spirited away to the realm of Eldritch, and Rosella is transformed into a troll. They must find a way to return Rosella to normal and find her true love, defeat a powerful evil force threatening this realm, and return to the kingdom of Daventry.

King's Quest VII is the first game in the series to divide the story into chapters. Some puzzles have multiple solutions, and there are two possible endings. Critical reactions to the game were generally positive.

Gameplay

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King's Quest VII has a different structure compared to previous King's Quest titles. The action and story is separated into six chapters, each set primarily in a different region of the realm of Eldritch. The player alternates between two protagonists, Valanice and Rosella, with each chapter. The two protagonists travel through some of the same places during the course of the game, finally meeting up again in the end. The player has the option to choose the chapter from which to begin playing the game, and will enter gameplay from the beginning of the selected chapter.

Aside from the multi-chapter layout, a significant change in game structure is the simplification of user interface by the use of a smart pointer. When playing the game, the pointer lights up when passed over an object that can be interacted with. Players can get or use objects, investigate areas, and talk to characters by directly clicking on them, whereas previous games required the player to select an action icon and then click on the environment. Occasionally, large environments are traversed across a continuous, panning screen instead of being divided into multiple screens. Additionally, although many dangerous characters and situations are encountered throughout the game that can lead to the death of the player character, the player is given the option to immediately return to gameplay and try again, rather than restore a saved game as previous King's Quest titles were designed.

Notably, King's Quest VII makes use of SVGA graphics, new at the time, later used by other adventure games such as The Dig and Space Quest 6. As a result, King's Quest VII features painted environments and highly detailed and stylized animation.

Plot

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Magazine ad.

In Daventry, Queen Valanice pressures her daughter, Princess Rosella, to find a prince to marry, following the wedding of her brother Prince Alexander. Rosella resents the idea, desiring to have another adventure in a faraway land. Whilst they talk in a forest, the pair stop near a pond, whereupon Rosella witnesses an odd creature come out of the water before noticing a castle beneath the surface. Intrigued, she jumps in; Valanice, who hears this, jumps in after her, with both finding themselves within a magical portal. As she tries to grab hold to her daughter, Valanice witnesses something grab hold of Rosella and pull her out of the portal, moments before she herself arrives in a desert.

Seeking to find her daughter, Valanice escapes the desert and finds herself in a magical forest ruled over by Attis, Lord of the Hunt, and his wife Ceres. Attis reveals that Valanice is in Eldritch, a realm of magic that is threatened by an evil enchantress named Malicia, who has caused havoc across the realm. After Valanice helps to remove a spell put over Attis that made him a stag, Valanice is arrested in the town of Falderal - home to anthromorphic animals - for seemingly stealing the moon from the sky (in reality, a wheel of cheese); the order for arrest given by the town's mayor Archduke Fifi le Yipyap.

Meanwhile, Rosella finds herself in the Vulcanix Underground, a kingdom beneath Eldritch inhabited by trolls and ruled over by King Otar, who desires to marry her. Finding herself transformed into a troll, and repulsed by the marriage proposal, Rosella works with Otar's former nursemaid Mathilde to concoct a potion to return her to normal. During this time, she learns Otar is working with Malicia in regards to a machine that controls a volcano powerful enough to destroy Eldritch. Finding a strange creature, she brings it to Mathilde, who reveals it to be Otar's childhood pet called a Dragon-toad. The creature, once revived, reveals Otar is being held prisoner in the Land of Ooga Booga, leading Mathilde to conclude that the Otar Rosella met is an imposter.

Using an elevator to travel to Ooga Booga - which collapses after she arrives - Rosella tracks down and rescues Otar with help from a local doctor, Mort Cadaver. Made aware of the situation, Otar recommends they return to Vulcanix; learning the elevator cannot be used, he recommends they find another entrance hidden in Falderal. To avoid detection, Otar uses magic to become a beetle, while Rosella dons a black hooded robe she finds to impersonate the grieving widow of Count Tsepish, Ooga Booga's ruler who was cursed to wander around the land headless. Travelling through a swamp, the pair secure a mysterious device from Malicia's home, which Otar reveals can help them defeat her. Making their way to Falderal's town hall, the pair find the entrance, where they discover the Otar imposter prepping the volcano for an eruption.

Meanwhile, Valanice returns the moon to the sky, receiving a pardon from Fifi. Resuming her search, she travels to Ooga Booga, where she helps to return Tsepish's missing head, and reunite him with his wife and dog - all of whom suffered thanks to Malicia's actions. Given Tsepish's horse to reach Etheria, a kingdom in the sky, Valanice finds the Fates who tell her that King Oberon and Queen Titania, the rulers of Etheria who can stop the volcano's eruption, are currently away trying to find their missing son. Instructed to find the Lady of Dreams, known as Mab, Valanice seeks help from Dr. Cadaver to visit her realm in her sleep. Finding Mab was magically encased in ice. After aiding Attis end a curse on Ceres, his wife helps provide Valanice the means to travel to Mab's realm and end her curse. With Mab's help, Oberon and Titania return home, whereupon they work to prevent the eruption.

At the same time, Rosella stops Otar's imposter by using the troll king's magic to restore them to their true self - that of Edgar, the young man she met before in Tamir who helped her save her father. After Malicia tries to interfere, sending Edgar away - who goes to find Valanice and bring her to her daughter - Rosella helps Otar shut down the volcano's eruption. Moments later, Valanice finally reunites with Rosella, only for Malicia to try to kill her; Edgar prevent this, dying from her magic, before Rosella uses the device she took to magically turn Malicia into an infant. At this point, Rosella revives Edgar with an extra life she received from a black cat she saved, bringing him back to life.

Oberon and Titania soon arrive, revealing Edgar to be their son, who they lost years ago until Rosella helped him to return home to Eldritch. The pair reveal Malicia was Titania's sister, who wished to rule over Etheria but was driven out - she later kidnapped Edgar and brainwashed him, after deciding to destroy Etheria, not caring for Eldritch's fate. Titania vows to raise Malicia in hopes that she will not fall to evil again. After the revelation, Edgar reveals himself responsible for luring Rosella to Eldritch, apologizing for this, before later requesting her permission to court her. Rosella agrees, leading the pair to fly away in a white swan-like carriage as the realm celebrates their union.

In an alternate ending, Rosella fails to revive Edgar and he dies. Oberon and Titania arrive and sadly explain what happened to him before taking Valanice and Rosella home in a black carriage.

Development

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Kings' Quest VII on the cover of the Holiday 1994 edition of Interaction, Sierra On-Line fan magazine.

The developers aimed for the effect of traditional animation works by Walt Disney Pictures and Don Bluth. As such, the full game contains more than five times the animation of any other Sierra game of the time. Art director Andy Hoyos specifically cited the intensity of the colors in Disney's Aladdin as an inspiration model.[2] Composer Jay Usher said: "Just seeing how a character carries himself, acts, or walks ultimately determines the outcome of the music. We've tried to give each character [their] own 'mini-theme'. Each character is unique, so the music should be as well".[2] The final game was much shortened from an earlier concept in order to fit the game on a single CD-ROM.

The game's backgrounds were hand-drawn and scanned. The game sprites were pencil-drawn on paper and also scanned, and then edited and colored digitally, not unlike the traditional animation process in animated feature films of the era. Of the 70 characters that appear in the game, some are more realistic and human-like (like the protagonists) and others more cartoony.[2] According to lead animator (and character designer) Marc Hudgins, it was the first time when the art department had to use outside (Russian and Croatian) animation houses. Part of the challenge was that the animators had no experience in computer game animation.[2]

Release

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TitleRegionDate[3]
King's Quest VII: The Princeless BrideUS1994
King's Quest VII: The Princeless BrideEU1994
King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride (Version 2.0)[note 1]US1995
King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride (Sierra Originals)EU1998

Reception

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According to Sierra On-Line, combined sales of the King's Quest series surpassed 3.8 million units by the end of March 1996.[16] By November 2000, PC Data reported that King's Quest VII's sales in the United States alone had reached between 300,000 and 400,000 units.[17]

Some critics and fans of the series disliked the use of Disney-style cartoon graphics.[18] On the other hand, upon release PCZone praised its "stunning graphics and superb gameplay".[9] A reviewer for Next Generation approved of the series's transition from idealized fantasy imagery to highly detailed cartoon graphics, and said the game maintained the King's Quest standard for outstanding soundtracks. He concluded: "While it's certainly not the most challenging game available, it may be one of the most impressive in look and feel, and fans of the series should definitely check this one out".[8] A review in Computer Gaming World hailed the game's "animation of quality that would make Disney proud".[19] A retrospective verdict in Adventure Gamers described it as "an eminently playable, if not revolutionary, adventure game", and "a solid—if not stellar—entry in the King’s Quest collection".[4]

Computer Gaming World nominated King's Quest VII as its 1994 "Adventure of the Year", although it lost to Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure. The editors called King's Quest VII "one of the year's most charming releases", and concluded: "The feature-quality animation and the hodge-podge of classic tales make it the closest we're likely to come to a fairy tale on the computer".[20]

Notes

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  1. ↑ The Version 2.0 release of King's Quest VII omits certain parts of the game. It removes Valanice continuously dying from carrying a lit firecracker with her (the game allows the user to continue where the character died), as well as the volcano scene with Rosella in peril having the time limit removed (which would eventually have the volcano erupt).

References

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  1. ↑ "Sierra releases King's Quest VII; best selling adventure series could shatter CD-ROM sales records". Business Wire. November 22, 1994. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2021 – via The Free Dictionary.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Shannon, Lorelei. "The Making of King's Quest VII". King's Quest VII: The Official Hint Guide. pp. 6–11.
  3. ↑ "King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride". GameFaqs.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  4. 1 2 "King's Quest VII review". AdventureGamers.com. 4 September 2003. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  5. ↑ Karen, Lisa. "King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride - Review". allgame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  6. ↑ Roberts, Joshua (2010-10-03). "King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride - Review". allgame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  7. ↑ Ardai, Charles (February 1995). "The Bride with the Disney Dowry: Sierra Creates Their Own Magic Kingdom in KING'S QUEST VII: THE PRINCELESS BRIDE" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 127. pp. 64–66. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride". Next Generation (3). Imagine Media: 92–93. March 1995.
  9. 1 2 "PC Zone - Issue 024 (1995-03)(Dennis Publishing)(GB)". Archive.org. March 1995. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  10. ↑ "King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride - Review - Adventure Classic Gaming - ACG - Adventure Games, Interactive Fiction Games - Reviews, Interviews, Features, Previews, Cheats, Galleries, Forums". Adventure Classic Gaming. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  11. ↑ "King's Quest VII - PC Review - Coming Soon Magazine". Csoon.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  12. ↑ "Test : King's Quest VII" (JPG). Download.abandonware.org. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  13. ↑ "Test du jeu King's Quest VII : The Princeless Bride sur PC". Jeuxvideo.com. 2010-01-29. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  14. ↑ "MBnet Pelihalli". 2005-02-18. Archived from the original on February 18, 2005. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  15. ↑ "DIE Kult-Seite über die alten Spiele-Magazine und Retro-Games!". Kultboy.com. 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  16. ↑ Sierra On-Line Form 10-K (Report). Bellevue, Washington. March 31, 1996. pp. 7–9. Archived from the original on April 16, 2018.
  17. ↑ GameSpot Staff (November 7, 2000). "The 15 Most Influential Games of All Time; King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella". GameSpot. p. 13. Archived from the original on May 25, 2005. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  18. ↑ Karla Munger (2013-05-20). "All Hail Graham of Daventry: The 30th Anniversary of King's Quest". Justadventure.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-20. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  19. ↑ "InterAction Magazine - Fall 1995 (1995)(Sierra On-Line)(US)". Archive.org. 1995. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  20. ↑ Staff (May 1995). "The Computer Gaming World 1995 Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World. No. 130. pp. 35, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44.
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