King's Quest III Redux: To Heir is Human (aka King's Quest III Redux, and King's Quest III: To Heir is Human Redux) is a fangame adaptation/retelling/reimagining[1] of Sierra Entertainment's King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human continuing from King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones.[2][3] It was developed by AGD Interactive and released in February 2011 under fan license of Activision. It is a work of non-canonical fiction.[4] It expands on the story of the original game, and continues the story of the villain, The Father, introduced in the previous game. It introduces many new situations to the original King's Quest III.
Background
The young baby Gwydion is kidnapped from his castle by the evil Wizard Manannan (a member of the Black Cloak Society), to grow up as his slave. As is the tradition of the evil wizard, he will kill the boy upon his eighteenth birthday. That date is fast approaching, and it is up to Gwydion to escape the wizard, and find his way home.
Along the way Gwydion discovers his true heritage, of being the Prince Alexander, and that his homeland is nearing destruction. He defeats the Wizard, and escapes Llewdor on board a ship. The pirates on board capture him intending to make him a slave. Their first order of business takes them to Treasure Island, where they force Alexander to find an ancient treasure of the legendary pirate Seran. Alexander successfully finds the treasure, and the pirates sail on towards Daventry. Alexander escapes makes across the mountains into Daventry, saves it from evil three-headed dragon and the machinations of The Father.
Geography
Llewdor: Llewdor is a land bounded by the Llewdorian desert and Shapeir to the west and the sea to the east. Large bluffs rise to the north, and a fence blocks passage to the south. It is ruled by Manannan who spy's on it's inhabitants from his mountain retreat. Bandits patrol the woods from their treehouse hideout. The Three Bears and the Oracle make their homes there as well. The town of Port Bruce is the only sign of civilization in the whole land. It is the location of a Tavern, a General Store, and a Library. It is a draw to ruffians and pirates. The desert is the home to sauruses, jackalman, lizards, snakes, and the gorgon Smaude. The latter lives in a darkened cave in the northern reach of the desert.
Treasure Island: This is an island between Llewdor and Daventry. It is a jungle island filled with traps where the First Mage, pirate lord Seran hid his treasures, and some of the treasures of the First King Legenimor. Tiles are scattered throughout the jungle needed to activate a magical gate leading to hidden treasure. A wrong choice leads to death in Shapeir. Whoever made it past the gate, then had to prove they were worthy of obtaining the treasure from the spirit of Seran. Treasure Island is a nod to the novel by Robert Lewis Stevenson, which was also referenced in AGD Interactive's previous game.
Alexander may accidentally be dropped into Shapeir's Forbidden City if the player is not careful. This is not a good situation for a character that cannot swim. Shapeir is also said to be a land west of the Llewdorian desert. Shapeir is a land from Quest for Glory II, and appears in AGD Interactive's Quest for Glory II remake. In that game, Alexander can be seen falling off a waterfall and bobbing down river. In KQ3 Redux it is possible to cause Alexander to end up in that situation through an improper use of a magical gate on Treasure Island.
Easter Eggs
- If you look behind the tapestry next to Manannan's room, it will give information about King's Quest developers, and it will also say "There is information about the upcoming King's Quest IV, but this doesn't interest you because you presently have your hands full with King's Quest III". Message 13 "You lift the bottom of the tapestry and peer behind it. The wall is filled with cracks. You can see why Manannan would hang a tapestry here. (There are also dozens of charcoal- scribbled drawings, diagrams, maps, and notes to programmers, with the legend \"King's Quest IV,\" but you're uninterested in this, since you presently have your hands full with \"King's Quest III.\") You lower the tapestry and smooth out the wrinkles."
- There is a family of bears in the game called, 'The Three Behrs'. There is a little boy bear, a momma bear, and a papa bear. This is a reference to the classic story, 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'.
Development
Credits
Title
The game's shares its title with the original version of the game in the game's title. The term King's Quest III Redux appears in the files and the interface.
Reception
The game has been well received in the gaming press, with largely positive reviews.[1] CNN praised it as an example of a return to retro gaming.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
See also
- King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human (Sierra)
- King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human (Infamous Adventures)
- King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown (AGD Interactive)
- King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones
Differences between KQ3 and Redux
- The ending order is different than the official KQ3 but keeps the idea that the hat toss occurred not long after Alexander's return as in the original.
External Links
- AGD Interactive, King's Quest III Redux
- The Daventry Chronicles, King's Quest III Redux: To Heir is Human
- Sierra Chest, King's Quest III Redux
- Moby Games, King's Quest III Redux: To Heir is Human
- GameFAQs, King's Quest III Redux: To Heir is Human
- Brandon Blume, King's Quest III Redux Original Soundtrack
- Google Drive, KQ3R Complete Fan Soundtrack
- Introduction demo (that inspired the game)
- KQ3 Redux (IMDB)
- Retro games big in 2011 (CNN coverage of KQ3 Redux)
- KQ3 Redux announcement on IGN
- King's Quest Fan games recall and rewrite the good old days (WCF Courier)
- Games Radar's top thirty free games
References
- ↑ https://www.vox.com/2015/9/16/9337121/reboots-remakes-reimaginings
- ↑ http://pc.ign.com/articles/115/1152021p1.html
- ↑ http://www.agdinteractive.com/games/kq3/
- ↑ KQ3R Manual, pg 22
- ↑ http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-14/tech/retro.games.hot_1_retro-gaming-duke-nukem-playstation-network?_s=PM:TECH
- ↑ http://wcfcourier.com/entertainment/games/article_05062ecb-5bcf-5fab-8fb9-c77dddfde71c.html King's Quest Fan games recall and rewrite the good old days (WCF Courier)].
- ↑ Destructoid review
- ↑ Just Adventure review
- ↑ Mac World review
- ↑ Impulse gamer review
- ↑ NZ Gamer review