KING'S QUEST VI:
HEIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
​
​
YEAR: 1992
SIZE: 245 MB
​
​
​
+ Beautiful, cinematic opening
+ Gorgeous graphics
+ Wonderful story
​
​
- Spider web bug causes the game to freeze
​
​
​
STORY
​
Prince Alexander is pining for his lost love, Princess Cassima. He had
met her in Serenia, after a run-in with the evil wizard Mordack (KQ5),
and it was a case of love at first sight. He had planned to visit her in her
homeland of The Land Of Green Isles. Unfortunately, no-one seems to
know how to find The Land Of Green Isles. No-one has even heard of it
before. Poor Alexander is beginning to think he’ll never see her again.
​
One day, while he sits in the throne room, unable to forget about the
beautiful princess that captured his heart… he sees a vision in the
Magic Mirror. He sees Cassima trapped in a tower, just as his mother
had been trapped, so many years ago. What’s more, he sees the stars
surrounding the isles. Instantly, he knows he can use the stars to
navigate to the mysterious lands.
​
He quickly gathers a crew, and a boat, and sets out on his long journey.
But just as they are approaching land, the boat crashes in a storm, and
sinks. Alexander makes sure his crew are safely on the lifeboats… but
Alexander himself ends up washed ashore, on the beach of a strange
island. As luck would have it, this is the Isle Of The Crown… Cassima’s
home. But fate isn’t finished playing with him yet! As he enquires of Cassima’s well-being at the castle… the Vizier informs him that
Princess Cassima is in mourning following the death of her parents,
and is not receiving visitors. Furthermore, Cassima is in line for the
throne, and is due to marry the Vizier, as per her parents wishes.
​
Alexander is completely stunned! Princess Cassima is going to marry
someone else? He can’t believe it! Is that what she really wants? If
only he could talk to her, and hear it from her own lips. But the Vizier
refuses to allow Alexander to see her.
​
But Alexander is a determined chap, and he can’t bear the thought of
never seeing Cassima again. Besides, there’s something suspicious
about the Vizier - he’s clearly hiding something. So as Alexander
explores the island, he discovers that all is not well in the Land Of The
Green Isles. The Isles are warring with each other, and he must find
another way to travel between the Isles (Isle Of The Crown, Isle Of
Wonder, Isle Of The Beast, Isle Of The Sacred Mountain). He also
discovers that Princess Cassima herself is in mortal danger now.
​
Can Alexander save her, and restore peace to the Kingdom? Only time
will tell.
　
​
　
GAME BUGS
​
There is a game-breaking bug that affects newer computers. On The
Isle Of Wonder, in the BookWorm screen, there is a Black Widow spider
web in the corner. The web contains a scrap of paper that is a clue to a
later puzzle. However, trying to get this scrap of paper results in the
game freezing, forcing you to quit, or reload a previous game.
​
The game is completely playable without trying to get this scrap of
paper. It shows the word ‘LOVE’.
　
​
　
GAMEPLAY
​
King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow takes place several
months after the end of the previous game, and continues Prince
Alexander’s plight. This is my favourite of all the King’s Quest games -
it just seems to get everything right.
​
There are 2 distinct paths through the game. The ‘Short’ path is
quicker, and of course, shorter, but you miss out on a lot of the story.
The ‘Long’ path is longer and more complicated, but is a lot more
fulfilling.
​
The Point & Click interface is used again, and is hidden from view until
you move your mouse up to top of the screen, so it doesn’t get in the
way of what’s happening on-screen.
​
The icons are: Walk, Touch, Look, and Talk. Your Inventory items are
also stored in a bag up here, and you can look at your items to get a
more detailed description, use the item in the game world, or
manipulate the item first (for example, turn pages in a book).
​
The Game menu is also stored here, and is used to Save \ Restore \
Restart \ Quit the game. You can adjust game detail, volume, and
speed to your preference, as well as being able to choose between
Speech and Text. Your score is located here, giving you an indication
of how well you’re doing.
​
As with all the King’s Quest games, it’s rather easy to die, so Save
often, and use different slots. However, I found the Death sequences
very amusing, and enjoyed watching them.
　
​
　
GRAPHICS
​
Graphics are simply gorgeous! The game has a fully cinematic intro,
showing Alexander seeing Cassima in the Magic Mirror, and his journey
to the Land Of The Green Isles. Animation is incredibly smooth, and
right from the start, there are so many lovely touches to admire -
everything from plants blowing in the wind, or fire crackling in torches
on the wall, or wallflowers dancing in the Isle Of Wonder, or the
fountain flowing in Isle Of The Beast. Even rats in the catacombs are
very creepy! And the dancing skeletons in Land Of The Dead are just
SUPERB!
​
The game can be played with either Speech or Text (but not both). In
Speech mode, conversations show a close-up of the bust of whoever is
talking. Lips move as the characters talk, making them seem more
real. In Text mode, the bust is accompanied by a nicely-framed text
box.
​
Inventory items are shown as icons, so you can easily see what you’re
carrying. Clicking the Eye icon on an inventory item gives you more
details about it. You can also manipulate Inventory items, by using the
Hand icon, which is useful for turning the pages of a book, or finding a
loose hair on a ribbon. You can also combine Inventory items. The
inventory box has arrows that scroll up & down, as Alexander collects
more things.
​
Each island has it’s own distinct style. Isle Of The Crown is rather
Arabian-inspired. Isle Of The Beast is based on Beauty & The Beast,
with Beast isolated in the centre of his beautiful garden. Isle Of
Wonder is very fairytale-like, and I really love the 5 gnomes that guard
it - the whole island really reminds me of Alice In Wonderland. Isle Of
The Sacred Mountain has the classic minotaur in the labyrinth.
​
　
　
SOUND AND MUSIC
​
Voice acting is professionally done this time around, and is a huge
improvement over KQ5. All the characters sound just right. You may
even recognise some of the voices (Alexander himself, is voiced by the
man who voiced Beast from Disney’s Beauty & The Beast). Narrator’s
voice and Captain Saladin’s voice were particularly impressive, I
thought. The grumpy Rotten Tomato, and the Stick-In-The-Mud made
me giggle.
​
Other sound effects are equally impressive. Things like waves gently
lapping against the shore, the nightingale singing, snapp-dragons
snapping at you, voodoo drums on the Isle Of Mists, the Baby Tears
crying, and so much more. A little ‘tinkle’ is heard, when Alexander
picks up an item, or does a correct action.
​
Music is a delight to listen to. You may have heard of the now-
infamous ‘Girl In The Tower’ song that is played for Alexander &
Cassima. But there’s also other music, such as when the wallflowers
dance or the suspenseful music as he climbs The Logic Cliffs. But the
whole ‘Skeletons Dance In The Realm Of The Dead is a real treat!
​
​
​
​
​
​
​