King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow

The story: You're Prince Alexander (Gwydion from King's Quest 3) and you've travelled to the Land of the Green Isles to meet Princess Cassimma (Mordac's servant girl from King's Quest 5 who was rescued by Alexander's father King Graham). However enroute Alexander gets shipwrecked which leaves him stuck there, and to make matters worse Cassimma's parents both died while she was gone and is now being forced to marry the Vizier who has assumed power since their death. In addition to this all the islands that make up the country are bickering with each other over the loss of of their prized treasures (whom each believes another island has stolen). Can Alexander sort out this mess and be reunited with Cassimma?

The 6th game in the famous King's Quest saga was unfortunately the beginning of the end for the series. Whilst the game had a good protagonist and the story was interesting it just never gelled for me. Most of the puzzles on a particular island were often only solvable by doing tasks on other islands that gave no indication of order or logic - usually the only way to get through the game was keep continuing as far as you could on a particular island and then try somewhere else when you hit a dead end (often resulting in major reloads back to earlier points in the game). This coupled with the now infamous 'sudden death syndrome' (ie. a sudden game ending scenario with no forewarning that occurs simply because you forgot to do something earlier in the game) that plagued nearly all Sierra adventure games made it very frustrating to play. Whilst it could be argued that many of the other games in the series are also guilty of this, all the King's Quest games (up until King's Quest 5) relied a lot on classic fairy tales for their stories and puzzles which helped give the player clues on how to proceed. From Number 5 onwards though the writers became more dependant on their own story ideas which just made it more confusing for gamers as they had no known source material to draw inspiration from.

The thing that really hurt this game (and the series as a whole) however was the competition that was now coming out. Games such as the Monkey Island series, Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max, Alone in the Dark plus a little game called Myst were bringing fresh ideas to a growing-stale genre and Sierra was still stuck in the past (most of the King's Quest games - and most of the other Quest games for that matter played a lot alike each other). King's Quest 6 did try to branch out a bit by supplying a few different endings and 2 different routes to the end but this was a bit too little, too late for many gamers.

All in all, the game held promise but was unfortunately out of date with the times in which it was release and most gamers knew it. The next King's Quest game (King's Quest 7: The Princeless Bride) was released 2 years later in 1994 and flopped, and when the latest (and last) King Quest game (King's Quest 8: Mask of Eternity) was released in 1998 it abandoned most of the standard elements of the series in favour of a more action-oriented game with a 3D engine to try and draw in new fans.

In the end, play if you're a big fan of the series, but adventure gamers may be better of looking at some other games from around the same time (see previously mentioned games in the 3rd paragraph).

Yes, I think this was probably the best King's Quest ever. It's certainly my favorite. I've played them all, but none were quite like KQ6. For one thing, Alexander is probably the most compelling character a game could have. Of all the quests, his is the most compelling, exciting, and even touching.

Aside from that, the interface is convenient, the gameplay is smooth, and the puzzles are challenging, but they're possible. And for once, not having to be constantly on the lookout for enemies to hack apart is kind of a relief. So go play King's Quest, you'll be better for it.

This is the best one of the King's Quest games. My friend and I will spend all day playing it, watching it unfold like a movie. The characters are different. There is such a wide variety of people and creatures you could never be bored. The puzzles are great. Going to the Isle of the Sacred Mountain is one of the best adventures. Everything is so well thought out and creative (and I mean creative as in, yes, the idea has been done before, but the way it is done is terrific). Plus, it's funny to try and image Robby Benson saying "Zounds".

I love the King's Quest series. It is the greatest adventure game series ever made. Probably the most popular in the series is KQ6, which features the voice of Robbie Benson as Prince Alexander(aka Gwydion from KQ3). The plot is very reminiscent of KQ2--seeing the Girl in the Tower in the magic mirror, the pawn shop, the genies, etc.--but it is still an excellent game in itself. There are many different ways to beat the game, and you can play it several times without it getting old.

As a child of "Quest for the Crown," I grew up on these games and they never got old for me. When "Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow" came out, Sierra could do no wrong. This game is packed with adventure, logic puzzles, mythology, and an enticing plot that absolutely keeps the gamer interested the whole way through. Even at the age of seven I was captivated by the story of Prince Alexander traveling through all the islands, trying to find Princess Cassima. It takes some serious thought to solve all these riddles, making you feel like you're the most brilliant person alive when you do solve them. All in all I've give this game 10 stars, it's one of the best adventure games even made, let alone in its own time.