TOG universe

Comparisons between classic King's Quest series, and the upcoming King's Quest: Your Legacy Awaits by The Odd Gentlemen.

Note: This is subject to change as more information is released.

See also, KQ9 timeline.

Background
The new King's Quest be released through the 'resurrected' Sierra Games, and Activison and developed by The Odd Gentleman (although its technically not KQ9, but rather a series of connected mini-adventures).

It appears that the original games are considered part of the canon of the new game, though the new game is seen as neither a reboot nor necessarily a sequel but a reimagining (while developers deny that this game is a 'reboot', many journalists still refer to it as a reboot in their previews).

Still many details appear very different than they appeared in the original games. The Odd Gentlemen described this as 'reimagining', but usually attempt to avoid the use of the term 'reboot'.

Some of the story changes, may be subject to Graham' retelling his story to his Granddaughter, and contain exaggerated embellishments (and based on her Grandaughter's imagination and perception of the stories he tells), or perhaps an example of liberal use of 'artistic license' being used by the developers, at worst it might be set in an alternate universe from the original (in the same way that aspects of the KQ1 remake are alternate to the events of the original King's Quest).

An article on Polygon.com supporting embellishment (suggesting it changes each time he tells and retells it) idea states:
 * "No longer able to go on adventures, he instead creates fanciful retellings of his past glories for his granddaughter, Gwendolyn."

Graham admits concerning his embellished version of KQ1 Dragon's Lair events:


 * "It wasn't exactly how I remembered it, " old man Graham says. "But it wasn't all that different either."

According to the developers:


 * This isn't a reboot, and its not necessarily a sequel. It's a reimagining. Everything that exists in the past games is still canon." These stories exist between those stories. Over the course of the game players will experience Graham's previously unknown adventures. "We're definitely not retelling the old games...we're nodding to them and respecting them, but this isn't King's Quest 1 HD. The new scenarios deal with some of the blank spots in the King's Quest timeline. How did Graham become a knight in King Edward's Court? How did his young love with Valanice develop? These tales from the past are framed by Graham's present; he is now a very old man, and he is recounting his adventures to his granddaughter, Gwendolyn. She's an energetic youngster who eats up the stories of Graham's exploits, and she is eager to have her own exciting stories to tell...


 * The game is completely reimagined; it’s not King’s Quest IX or anything like that,” Korba explains. “Think about it like when someone reimagines The Wizard of Oz, or Peter Pan. That’s how I see King’s Quest, [as one of] those classic fairy tales that keep being retold and reimagined.”


 * "We're not throwing out the canon that they already established. We're fitting our stories between those, or taking bits of those and reimagining parts of it."Gamespot preview

Matt Korba clarifies in another article which might suggest that the reimagining might go further to change details from what we know:
 * "I look at this the way people might look at The Wizard of Oz or Peter Pan," Korba says. "A sort of classic fairy tale thing and this is our take on it." As such, this new adventure won't drastically alter the canon, but it will update and throw out a ton of references from past games.

This is unclear on if Matt Korba is stating that a ton of references from past games will be made incompatible with the new unniverse, or if the game will make tons of references to past games.

Certain aspects may completely change or ignore backstory from previous games, novels, and books. If so this would be an indication that the game occurs in a different universe than the original series (though differences may be 'slight' and general stories still occurred).

Kingdom of Daventry
The Kingdom as it appears in the game is not quite the kingdom as it appears in KQ1, or later games. Just as much as KQ8 showed a different portion of the country than KQ1 did.

The river, well, dragon's lair appear, but are different than they appear in earlier games. The town apparently appears in the game, as it only appeared or mentioned in previous games its unclear how it will be portrayed.

Daventry now has a coliseum, its unclear where it will be located and how it relates to known landmarks from previous games.

There is a crossroads with Edward Statue as well, which has not been seen in any previous game.

Castle Daventry
The appearance of Castle Daventry differs from its appearance in earlier games. Though it might slightly resemble the castle as it was seen in the artwork for King's Quest I for IBMPCjr. Rather than looking like a medieval keep, it looks more like a fairy tale castle with high spires, and built on a mountain.

Graham's Heritage

 * In the original series Graham is noted to already be a knight of Daventry. There is little about his backstory except for a few references to his 'father' in side material (King's Quest 6 Hint Book and Hoyle I, see Graham quotes (Hoyle I), and Rosella quotes (Hoyle I), and some of the narrative added to KQ1SCI (mentionting he attended Daventry High School)). The Companion offers a little more, and became source of references in other manuals and hintbooks. The Companion and Hoyle I suggest that he has lived in the kingdom with a somewhat plush lifestyle with lords and ladies giving him pies as a child, and being the son of one of Daventry's knights. The Companion also discusses his years enrolled at Daventry's Palace School], and [[Royal University, while Hoyle I mentions Knight School. The three novels hint a bit as well, about Graham's heritage, suggesting his ancestors do not go back very far in Daventry's history, and that he traveled around the world much in his youth (although the latter sources saw less or no direct influence by anyone working at Sierra, and this detail might be in conflict with what Hoyle I or Companion suggests).
 * In the new game it appears that Graham has newly come to Daventry, and may not have seen it before. He has come to the kingdom after hearing about a knight tournament being held there. He has a map showing the way to the castle, and mentions that he has had nothing but trouble since he decided to come to the kingdom.

Additionally Graham's clothing is very different than it appeared in King's Quest 1, though it is certainly inspired by some of Graham's wardrobe appearances throughout the series.

KQ1: The Dragon's Lair/Sorcerer/Dragon
See also Dragon's Lair comparisons. The new King's Quest appears will be retelling/reimagining certain aspects of Ancient Well/Dragon's Lair encounter in the prologue introduction. From the reveal and according to further information, the introduction story in the first episode will be a partial retelling of the events of the Dragon's Lair sequence in King's Quest I (but the team has no intention to retell the events of any other game from the series, but only tell stories that take place in between the earlier games).

The reveal shows off for example his journey down the Ancient Well (which looks roughly like the well as it appeared in the KQ1 remake) into the Dragon's Lair, the bottom of the well looks like it is dry (avoiding the swimming sequence from the original games). There is a door and tunnels filled with Mattresses (which apparently foreshadowing something significant in the main story in the first episode, and possible to the villain of the entire series), and pullies and gears. There is also some kind of door at the bottom of the well (as well as bones and traps).

It is said that Graham will initially distract the dragon somehow, allowing him to take the Magic Mirror. It doesn'tappear that Graham defeat the game by throwing a bucket of water at it (or using his knife to kill it) as he did in the previous game (unless a similar event is portrayed in the game when he first 'distracts's the dragon).

Upon his escape, it appears it then turns more action oriented, and the dragon treated as a large chase/escape sequence/boss fight. This chase will lead to a decision from Graham that will test his bravery, wisdom or compassion, leading to separate outcomes (that have future consequences), either blinding the dragon with a arrow (causing it to be a future enemy), sending it away to look for food using a bell, or freeing it from its bondage by unlocking its shackles, making a friend in the process, and it returning the favor later on in its life. This sequence is very different than the version that occurred in King's Quest 1 or the KQ1 remake. It is unclear if this is an expansion to what appears in the previous games (that occurs in areas not accessible in the first game (off screen between lair and the exit cave) with the dragon ultimately escaping and removing the bolder to the exit as shown in the original game. Or is a completely retelling that is intended to replace how it was explained in the original games, with several completely different alternate outcomes.

Another thing of note is that this (the Magic Mirror events) will be Graham's 'second journey to the Dragon's lair", where as in the original it seems it was his first time. But perhaps Graham will enter the Dragon's Lair from a different entrance, and have to discover the well entrance later on when he attempts to find the mirror a few years later. On the other hand the game may just suggest he went down the well both times, but failed to get the mirror the first time. Or perhaps he never sees the mirror at all his first trip (he apparently states about the later period that it was the last place he checked for the mirror). It will at least bend the idea that Graham's discovery of the Dragon's Lair beneath the well occurred during KQ1 (see King's Quest Companion), or might leave the King's clues as unknown location of the treasure, but who stole it as mentioned in King's Quest by Roberta Williams slightly redundant.

KQ1 and the Three Great Treasures
A line from King Graham seems to suggest that in this rendition the Magic Mirror was the last treasure Graham collected, as he mentions he already scoured all the rest of the hiding places in Daventry, and the well was his last place to check.

In original KQ1 and King's Quest Companion the order the treasures is collected in is said to be Mirror, Shield, then Chest. KQ1 SCI and The Official Book of King's Quest, 3rd Edition makes the order Chest, Mirror, and then Shield. Though technically in the games themselves, in the original game all three can be found in any order, and in the remake the first two can be found in any order.

Magic Mirror
The Magic Mirror is a story telling device in the new game, Graham uses it to show his adventures to his daughter, and it also acts as the inventory, and communication interface for the game. It's already known that Graham is being a little loose with his 'story telling' an 'unreliable narrator'.

However, in classic lore the magic mirror has the property of 'showing the truth, whether of past, present or future'. If Graham is embellishing his stories with his daughter: "It wasn't exactly how I remembered it, " old man Graham says. "But it wasn't all that different either." (see death scenes, or other changes to the story/history, in comparison to previous games/published events), then it is perhaps not so truthful in the 'reimagined' universe. Of course its possible that she doesn't see everything that that her Grandfather claims happened but only fragments on screen, so only the truthful fragments are shown in the mirror (the mirror does seem to swish over with shadowy fog, at times, and not show all the events). Still it does seem that it would suggest that the mirror is still showing a less accurate (less truthful) or different version of the Dragon's Lair events, then happened in the original games.