[Chrono-Serge]

When I heard that The Silver Lining was being released, I became excited and decided to go back and re-play the older games. This got me thinking about which game most people would consider to be the best in the series. For me, it would be KQ6 because I think it had some of the best puzzles (up there with 2 and 5) Great voice acting, music and the whole presentation was excellent.

[diego]

err.. i think there was a King's Quest 7 also

yeah, not much of a traditional adventure i agree

[Chrono-Serge]

Originally Posted by diego

err.. i think there was a King's Quest 7 also

yeah, not much of a traditional adventure i agree

Oops! I was thinking not to include KQ8 since it wasn't really the same genre as the others, but I somehow managed to not include 7 either!

[diego]

lol and i was actually refering to Mask of Eternity when speaking of a non traditional adventure

[rayvio]

Mask of Eternity was just a horrible nightmare, never happened. if I can convince enough people of that perhaps it'll become true

[Fantasysci5]

I voted for "Kings Quest 5", because it was the first Kings Quest I played, and it stuck with me as best ever since. I liked the graphics just fine, and the variety of puzzles and locations was great. I loved Cedric, and although "Kings Quest 6" is a close second, I still love playing Graham better.

[GarageGothic]

From a pure idea/ambition point of view I adore KQ3 - there's so many cool concepts stuffed in there with having to discover the wizard's secrets while he's away and use his own magic against him without being caught. I believe it was the first Sierra game to use timed events (beyond the most basic time limit puzzles). The execution was quite flawed though with lots of trial and error, and I haven't really felt like playing the remake. But I still find it a very inspiring and original adventure in terms of game mechanics. (Returning to a destroyed Daventry also made a big impression on me).

Overall I'd say KQ4 though (if we count only the originals, KQ2VGA is a far better game than anything Roberta ever wrote/designed on her own*). The day-night change was a big thing at the time, I remember. And I really loved the haunted house and the Shakespearean witches. There was so much to discover in the game world, and the characters were much better defined than in previous games. Climbing the whale tongue was the only part that I honestly hated - but seeing it parodied in LSL3 was enough to make me forget that grudge.

Never really got into the later games, and barely remember KQ6. I guess I had gotten too old by then and would rather play Police Quest or Quest for Glory - my only strong memory of KQ6 is using the sample of "Girl in the Tower" available in the About menu on the disk version to test my speaker connections, again and again and again because of bad wiring. To this day I still can't make myself listen to that bloody song.

* Edit: I am mistaken, totally forgot The Colonel's Bequest which is still one of my all-time favorites. Good job on that one Roberta. Phantasmagoria wasn't too badly written either, but the actors' deliveries of the dialog surely didn't help it - though I loved the guy playing the magician (Zoltan? or is that the fortunetelling machine in Big?).

[inm8#2]

KQ6 was brilliant. Jane Jensen + Roberta Williams.

[Sughly]

Yeah I love plenty, but 3 and 5 stuck in my mind from childhood memories alone, so vote went to 5.

I still remember Cedric saying "Ohhh Graham, I wouldn't go in there!" or some such before the witches woods. And it scared the crap out of me, and I very much did not want to enter myself. Few other memorable quotes too, such as "Ah! Life giving water! Nectar of the Gods!" and "It fits peeeeerfectly!" (not exact quotes, I'm sure).

3 came close, I spent so long making those damn cookies! And trying to get that damn mountain near the beginning...

[Fien]

I have fond memories of KQ2. I watched my friend play it on his brand new Atari ST computer and was sold on adventure games forever. KQ3 was great, actually much better than KQ2. It had the evil wizard and more of a story. I loved the chores, the spells, the black cat tripping me up, even the terrible mountain. I loved how Manannan would reappear suddenly and punish you for snooping around or being lazy. But my vote goes to KQ6. Because I was delighted that you could choose different paths, something I had only seen in text adventures.

[Intense Degree]

My vote has to go to 6, it's the one game in the series where I feel everything really came together, outstanding intro/graphics (for the time, although the intro is laughable now!) great story, fun puzzles, good voice acting (Goooood day Prince Alexander!), different paths to reach the end which were actually very different, and even a song to go with it!

As good and even ground breaking as the earlier ones were, it's 6 that really stands out for me.

Also as inm8 has said, Jane Jensen + Roberta Williams, can't argue with that!

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by inm8#2

KQ6 was brilliant. Jane Jensen + Roberta Williams.

I definitely agree!

[clockradiospeakers]

Ha, seems like an inordinate number of KQVI votes compared to the number of posts praising it in the thread. That 'ol Jensen loving silent majority, I suppose.

(I voted for it too.)

[rayvio]

I actually voted for 5 but meant 6, I got mixed up which one was which
despite the earlier games being extremely dated, the whole series is pretty fun. but on top of already being an excellent game, 6 had that rare quality in adventure games; replayability

[Collector]

Originally Posted by rayvio

I actually voted for 5 but meant 6, I got mixed up which one was which
despite the earlier games being extremely dated, the whole series is pretty fun. but on top of already being an excellent game, 6 had that rare quality in adventure games; replayability

Partly because of the multiple paths/outcomes and in large part due to Jane Jensen's writing. 6 is indeed a gem among adventure games.

[Chrono-Serge]

I would say KQ6 is the runaway winner here. I'm not surprised really. I have to admit though, that I was pretty close to voting for KQ5 or KQ2 VGA remake, as those are both excellent games in their own right. They are all great games actually. I really enjoyed the KQ3 remake, but I think that while it is a fun challenge with nice puzzles and a great twist, it's story and characters aren't nearly as deep as KQ6 or 2.

[Captain Blondebeard]

I think KQ6 is a top 10 game of all time followed closely by the KQ2 remake.

[Little Writer]

Still have to play them from 5 and up, but I once started playing 6 and loved how beautiful it all looked, but I stopped because I kept dying everywhere. Of the first four, I don't think I have a favorite. I hated 3, hate to play it with walkthrough in hand and even then had trouble. I think I'll go with the remake of 2.

[cbman]

It would have been interesting to see how many votes a 'I don't like any King's Quest games' option would have gotten. At least one, from myself.

[sierramindy]

I can see why so many voted for KQ6, that was a terrific game that I enjoyed playing very much, as well as KQ5 and KQ7. However my vote goes to KQ4: The Perils of Rosella. It was the first KQ game I actually finished and then played a second time, but more than just enjoying playing the game, it somehow speaks to my heart in a special way all its own.