King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human successfully captured the essence of the King's Quest world. At first, you might find yourself saying "What the heck does this have to do with King's Quest?" and it isn't until the very end of the game that it really becomes evident.
The thing which really struck me with King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human was the wonderful sense of actually being a slave under the evil wizard Manannan. It was nerve wracking to sneak around the house gathering magical components while underneath his nose, and then running to the bedroom to stash them under the bed before he caught me.
The "magic" in King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human is something that really gives it a unique ring. Being able to wander the land collecting the components, and then actually fabricating the magical spells was truly neat. Even funnier was the results when a magic spell would go wrong, and you'd end up with the nose of an elephant, or with a raincloud eternally over your head.
The puzzles in King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human are also wonderful. From having to stone the medusa (with a mirror of course) to robbing the hideout of the forest bandits to recover your belongings, everything involved sitting down and thinking about the best course of action. Sadly, such a quality isn't as apparent in games much anymore.
But finally, what really drives King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human to a special place in my heart is that it's a graphical text adventure that you have to type everything in for. Definitely, this isn't the style of game for everyone, but having to use your head to tell your character what to do is fun.
Graphics: Leaps and bounds since King's Quest 1: EGA and it's still EGA.
Sound: Well done: neat sounds coming from an internal speaker!
Enjoyment: Sierra's "quest" games have a special place in my computer game shrine.
Replay Value: Fun to play again for sure, although knowing the solutions to puzzles really subtracts a lot from it.
The king and queen gave birth to two children, Alexander and Rosella, and the kingdom was once peaceful. It wasn't long until Alexander was snatched from his crib and things started to take a turn for the worse. A three-headed dragon threatens the ever-peaceful Daventry, and requires a maiden to be sacrificed every year. Rosella is the chosen one.
Alexander, meanwhile, is taken to a faraway land of Llewdor. Named Gwydion, Alexander becomes a slave to an evil wizard called Manannan who prepares to kill Alexander on his 18th birthday, for fear that he would discover the wizard's spells and use them against him.
King's Quest III: To Heir is Human is an adventure game; as in any other game using the AGI engine, you move your hero, Alexander, with arrow keys and control his actions by typing commands (which are typically verb/noun phrases).
In a departure from its predecessors, King's Quest 3 does not focus on King Graham. Instead you play a boy named Gwydion, who was kidnapped as a child by the evil sorcerer Manannan. Needless to say you must manage to escape from life as his slave ... and you must do it quickly! Manannan has had two slaves before you; both were killed when they turned 18, and guess how old you will be very soon.
You must explore every corner of the house in search of forbidden knowledge that will help you get away from the sorcerer. This may sound easy, but believe me ... it is NOT! King's Quest 3 is probably the most difficult game in the entire series. Death comes quickly and unexpectedly in this game, to the point where it becomes annoying.
The game has some highlights too; for instance, the graphics are much better than in the previous two games. KQ3 still uses the same number of colours, but the designers have learned how to enhance their use.
An interesting note: King's Quest 3 was the only game in the series to come equipped with a map ... but the fans at the time objected to this, saying it made the game far too easy! (Remember that line when you get stuck in the game!)
Part of the King's Quest Series
The third part of the KQ series. This time you're not Graham whatsoever; you play Gwydion a nice fellow who works for an evil wizard Manannan. You do not want to live as his slave anymore and want a life of your own. One day he goes away for a while and you can walk around outside your home. Find a way to get rid of the wizard for once and all.
How to run this game on modern Windows PC?
People who downloaded King's Quest 3: To Heir is Human have also downloaded:
King's Quest 4: The Perils of Rosella, King's Quest 2: Romancing the Throne, King's Quest 7: The Princeless Bride, King's Quest 6: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow, King's Quest 1, King's Quest 5: Absence Makes the Heart go Yonder, King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown VGA, King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human
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