King's Quest - Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember Reviews
King's Quest: A Knight to Remember is the first part of a five part re-imagining of the original King's Quest games, and boy what a fun re-imagining this first episode turned out to be. While not technically a classic point-and-click styled game like the original series, A Knight to Remember manages to keep that same feel of exploration and adventure like the original games before it, and Christopher Lloyd's narration and witty banter throughout the game is like icing on the cake. For fans of the series, I'd strongly recommend you pick this up, and for those unfamiliar this makes an excellent introductory game to the series.
As a result, A Knight To Remember has little identity of its own. If the goal of this first chapter is to act as a bridge between old and new, and the later chapters offer more original themes, storytelling, and puzzles, then we might be looking at a lesser piece of a greater whole. There's reason to believe this might be the case, as the most interesting part of the story, the development of Gwendolyn, takes center stage by the end of the chapter. But right now, this new take on King's Quest is hoping that a fondness for the fairy tales of yesterday will hide that it has nothing new to offer. It doesn't, but at least it has time to find its purpose.
At the end of the day, this reminded me a great deal of Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island series of recent years. It's a modern take on a classic genre, heavily capitalising on a famous name and rich in character and humour, but ultimately built on a straightforward foundation short on real innovation or beauty. Still, it's been a while since we've seen a lot of these adventures, and this is the first chapter of five. The main characters are endearing enough that after a couple of chapters they might be able to carry the games more or less on their own merits, but less in the way of un-skippable animations (some of which you'll need to sit through a lot) and mid-game ambling would go a long way toward warming me up when the subsequent chapters arrive.
The first entry in the new 'King's Quest' has puzzles, a fun visual style, and a lot of laughs. This is a very carefully crafted game - The Odd Gentlemen have managed to carry forward the essence of the 'King's Quest' series into the modern age without sacrificing any of its charm. 'A Knight to Remember' is a solid first entry in what will hopefully become an excellent series.
The first Episode of the rebooted King's Quest franchise is great for new and old fans alike
What replay value it has is dampened by how slow-moving Graham is and how cutscenes and bits of dialogue can't be skipped, but King's Quest begins a story anyone who plays it will want to follow through to the end.
King's Quest Chapter I: A Knight to Remember manages to deliver a pretty good entry in the series. Not only does it respect the huge legacy but it also brings the franchise to the present day. It offers a lot of content, and while it's generally enjoyable, there are some sequences that might leave players frustrated.
A wonderful experience from beginning to end. King's Quest is just wonderful
King's Quest: A Knight to Remember is a great re-introduction to a new King's Quest series. The beautiful scenery, the interesting characters, the unique and fascinating narrative all come together to create a heart-warming title anyone can enjoy. The big question coming out of Chapter 1 however, is whether the rest of the chapters will have harder, more traditional puzzles to complete now that it has introduced newcomers to the series.
This new King's Quest may not be developed by the original husband-wife team from Sierra Games, but it's more than obvious that the developers are King's Quest fans who wanted to bring back some of that magic. Their first episode was very successful at doing just that, for both old fans and to bring in new ones. Any fan of point-and-click adventure games will enjoy diving into Daventry, and any King's Quest fan will love jumping back into Graham's realm.
For the moment, King's Quest remains caught in a particularly strange-yet-familiar space, halfway hearkening back to an older era but seemingly aware that it was a time that needed improvement.
King's Quest: A Knight to Remember is a great first chapter in a tremendously endearing new series. It sets the stage for the second chapter and leaves the player wanting more. There are hang-ups in terms of general flow and gameplay structure but it really depends on your perspective.
If you are unsure whether you will enjoy the series, A Knight to Remember helpfully delivers a full story on its own, no additional chapters needed.
"Thankfully, A Knight to Remember delivers a superb story full of humorous moments, impactful events, and touching experiences. Playing it is akin to playing the best of the classic era of adventure gaming, but with an entirely new coat of paint."