Review

King’s Quest: Chapter 1: A Knight To Remember

One of the most challenging endeavors for a game developer is recreating a classic video game franchise. In some cases, the difficulty comes from trying to adhere to old gameplay mechanics but still create something inherently new. In most cases, it’s trying to please fans that are lost in their nostalgic bubbles, unable to budge on even the smallest of details. The Odd Gentlemen had to face all of this and more when they decided to reimagine the critically acclaimed King’s Quest series. Thankfully for us, they were crazy enough to see things through…

The new King’s Quest isn’t a complete reboot of the franchise as all of the original games are still canon. It isn’t a sequel either…well, not entirely. The story sees an old Graham (the current king of Daventry and the game’s protagonist) recounting his many adventures to his granddaughter Gwendolyn. Because Graham’s memory is a little fuzzy, his recalling of past events will differ a bit from what happened in previous games. Basically, this set up allows The Odd Gentlemen the freedom to change things up while holding true to the series’ mythos. Genius!

“A Knight to Remember” starts with a younger Graham on his way to secure King Edward’s stolen magic mirror. Apparently it was placed in the Forest Well (yes, that well) and guarded by a legendary dragon. Serving as a tutorial of sorts, this prologue ends with the player making a key decision that’ll have long lasting consequences. From there we move on to an even younger Graham on his way to Daventry for the first time. King Edward is holding a Knight Tournament – a contest between would-be heroes where the winner will join the ranks of Daventry’s finest – and Graham is looking to make the grade. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned. It isn’t long before Graham is fighting off goblins, communing with giant trolls, and being usurped by overly aggressive squirrels. And that’s before the Tournament even begins.

The game doesn’t just take place in the past. There are moments where the focus is on Gwendolyn, who happens to be preparing for a tournament of her own. The premise is that she is being shaped by Graham’s stories. During breaks in story, Graham will offer some wisdom based on how he solved his past problems. Though you can never make a “bad” choice (you’re a hero after all) there are slightly more honorable ways of dealing with people. The choices you make will affect the way the story plays out in both the past and the present, with Gwendolyn aligning her way of thinking to mirror yours. What we get is dual coming-of-age stories that are impacted by our decisions.

We also get a charming, cleverly written, whimsical narrative that’s one part Indiana Jones and one part The Princess Bride; they even got Wallace Shawn to voice a trickster of a knight. Speaking of voice work, The Odd Gentlemen assembled a great cast. Christopher Lloyd does a swell job of narrating the stories as old King Graham while Maggie Elizabeth Jones expertly channels “wide-eyed granddaughter” in her role as Gwendolyn. Josh Keaton, Tom Kenny, and Zelda Williams all lend their vocal talents as well.

When it comes to actual gameplay, King’s Quest leans more on the classic side of the adventure genre. That said, they did implement some newer features. Players are free to explore the world as they collect different items to be used to solve puzzles later. Using a contextual system, interacting with the environment and talking to NPC is usually handled by one button (sans pulling items from the inventory). Most puzzles can be solved out of order, unless it’s something that pertains to a main story thread. What’s interesting is that the game presents events in a linear fashion but allows for branching elements. For instance, there is a moment when Graham is attacked by monsters. Here the game switches to a first person view allowing the player to take aim with Graham’s bow. Most players would use the bow to dispatch the attackers outright and rightly so. However, it’s possible to just wound the enemies instead of killing them. Not all of the game’s impactful choices are ones that are highlighted during climatic moments. Some are as simple as not looking at a clue before moving the story along.

“A Knight to Remember” is certainly memorable. The Odd Gentlemen have proven themselves worthy of carrying the torch or in this case, wearing the cap. I was pleasantly surprised at the work they’ve done and look forward to revisiting Daventry when the second chapter is released later this year!