SamNMax

By the time King's Quest II hit stores, the series had established itself as a technological breakthrough for the computer industry. And besides being revolutionary, the seires was also pretty fun. And when King's Quest III came around, everyone wanted to see what new innovation it had to offer. Question is; did it hold up to its two predisessors? Just about.

Our new story does not follow the beloved King Graham, but rather a mysterious boy called Gwydion. A peasent that is under the ownership of the cruel wizard, Manannan. Gwydion has never met any of his family members, and longs to find his real family and his real home. Until then, he's a servent.
As the game starts, Gwydion must do a series of chores for the crusty old wizard. If he fails to do so, he dissapears into thin air. Anyway, while preforming backbreaking labor, while Manannan is out, Gwydion stumbles upon Manannan's spell book. Now, Gwydion knows he can use these spells against his cruel master, and find his true home.
There is a bit of a twist near the end of the game about Gwydion's true heritage, but I won't spoil anything.

From a technical standpoint, KQ3 is supirior than its big brothers. Music and sound effects are much more frequent and there are more colors. Gwydion is white, not yellow, finally. Other than that there is little improvement on graphics and music.


Gameplay, as well is not too different. Arrow keys to move and type-in command system. However, what is new is the use of spells Gwydion has at his disposal. Using and making these spells can be fun, but if you mess up on them, it makes you want to pound the pavment until you break your hand.
Of cource, it wouldn't be a King's Quest game without some tricky cliff that you have to cross but you keep dying. And KQ3 has that and more. Going down the mountain that Manannan's house sits atop: difficult. Making your way through the windy passages of Daventry: difficult. You see the pattern here, right? Luckly, Gwydion carrys a magic map that he can use to warp around the land. Very nice improvement.

While KQ3 does have the occasional frusterating moments, it is a solid game with interesting improvments and is a worthy title to hold the King's Quest Mantle. Sierra fans will defonatly get enjoyment out of this one.
7.9/10