KING'S QUEST III: TO HEIR IS HUMAN
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YEAR: 1987
SIZE: 15 MB
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+ Lovely graphics
+ Clock timer to keep track of Manannan’s movements
+ Thrilling twist in the story
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- A lot of waiting around when you’re not able to do anything
- Many dead-ends and deaths
- Spells can be deadly if you make the tiniest mistake
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STORY
King’s Quest III: To Heir Is Human, is vastly different from the previous
King’s Quest games, namely, that it doesn’t focus on King Graham or
Daventry.
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As the story opens, you learn that your name is Gwydion. You are a
17-year-old boy living in the land of Llewdor. You’ve been raised from
a baby, by the evil wizard Manannan, and you are nothing more than
a slave to him. Your life has been hard, and you often long to escape
from Manannan’s cruelty. But his punishments are harsh, and your
fear of him keeps you from disobeying his orders.
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However, you recently found out that Manannan has previously had
other slaves before you, and he has killed them all on their 18th
birthday. With your birthday fast approaching, you don’t want to
suffer the same fate. So you have to learn Manannan’s schedule -
you have to learn when he is awake, when he sleeps, and when he
goes out. You gradually teach yourself magic, covering your tracks,
so he doesn’t find out. And when the right time comes, you will
finally be able to defeat the evil wizard, and be free at last!
　
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GAMEPLAY
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Kings Quest III: To Heir Is Human is the third game in this beloved
adventure series. It is somewhat different from the previous King’s
Quest games, in that it doesn’t take place in Daventry and it doesn’t
focus on King Graham. It is also a lot harder, because for the first
part of the game, you have to complete certain activities within
certain time-frames, according to Manannan’s schedule. This gives
the player an extra challenge, but on the other hand, it means
waiting around for long periods of time when you can’t really do
anything. This is also the first game to feature magic, although you
have to be very careful when typing out spells, otherwise
unexpected (and amusing) accidents will happen.
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The game has a clock timer which is displayed at top of the screen.
This can be turned of, but I recommend you keep it on until
Manannan is dealt with. It’s a handy visual guide as to how much
time you have left before you must check in with the evil wizard
again. The Magic Map was a nice addition that I really liked. Once
you find it, you can use it to teleport to places you’ve already visited.
Unfortunately, the map got a lot of negative feedback from fans, so
the map never appeared in any other King’s Quest game.
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The game uses a text parser to type in commands that tell Gwydion
what to do. The parser continues to improve with each game, and so
it can understand a fairly large amount of words and sentences. The
computer can understand the difference with ‘LOOK AT SOMETHING’,
and ‘LOOK IN SOMETHING’. You can tell Gwydion to ‘Give Item X To
Player Y’, and you can even chant spells. Commands you type in are
shown at bottom of the screen, so it doesn’t clutter up the screen.
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Pressing F3 on your keyboard is a shortcut to retyping your last
commend, which is handy, if you weren’t quite close enough the first
time.
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Gwydion’s walking speed can be altered between Normal, Slow, Fast,
and Fastest.
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There are many dead ends, in that if you don’t pick up Item X, you
won’t realise you need it until much later, and by then, it may be too
late to go back and get it. It’s also very easy to die - mistyping spells,
getting punished by Manannan, falling off a path, turned to stone by
Medusa, etc.
　
The Game Menu is accessed by pressing Esc on your keyboard (or
clicking your mouse at top of the screen, if you are playing through
SCUMM). The Menu is used to Save\Load\Restart\Quit your game,
see your Inventory items, and more.
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I really recommend you Save your game progress often, using
different Save slots. There are many dead ends, in that if you don’t
pick up Item X, you won’t release you need it until ages later, and by
then, it may be too late to go back and get it. It’s also very easy to die -
falling down stairs, falling into chasms, getting caught by the wolf or
the witch, drowning etc.
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The Game Menu is accessed by pressing Esc on your keyboard (or
clicking your mouse at top of the screen, if you are playing through
SCUMM).
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GRAPHICS
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Graphics are simple and blocky, but pleasant to look at, and the
animation is smooth. While watching credits at the start, Manannan
conjures up the names, with just a flick of his finger. There’s a lot of
brilliant moments in the game. The mirror in Manannan’s bedroom
shows Gwydion’s reflection as he walks past, which is a lovely touch.
The cat wriggling in Gwydion’s arms made me giggle. Candles on the
wall flicker as though alive. But my favourite was Gwydion’s head
spinning round when he falls.
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Conversations are shown as text on plain background. Inventory
items can be examined for further clues, and when you LOOK at an
item, it appears as a small icon at bottom of screen, with a
description sentence above it.
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As you explore Daventry, don’t be confused by the ‘scrolling’
technique. If you start walking North or South, you’ll eventually end
up back where you started. However, the same can’t be said for East
or West. Llwedor is a very strange place.
　
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SOUND AND MUSIC
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Lovely music is played throughout the opening credits and the intro,
but not much music is heard after that. However, I really love the
fanfare when Manannan zaps into a room. ‘If You Go Down To The
Woods Today’ is played, when you see the3 Bears leave the house,
which really appealed to me. Also, ‘The Drunken Sailor’ is heard when
the sailors at in the tavern.
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Sound effects are also used effectively. The cat screeching as
Gwydion pulls it’s fur was my favourite. Snores of a sleeping
Manannan, and the Pirate Captain are kinda cute. I also love the
mystical sound as Gwydion casts a spell.
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