Head back to Part 2 – Romancing the Stones
It’s been a few months since running through King’s Quest 2 and I’ve been on a bit of a retro game binge lately. I really couldn’t decide what to play the other night, so I ended up jumping back into King’s Quest. King’s Quest 3 is up there with King’s Quest 6 for best in series. No, not the original release, come on now. My first two posts on the series suggested some pyrotechnics if you own the originals, so it’ll come as no surprise that I’m talking about the VGA remake. The original King’s Quest 3 was released by Sierra On-Line in 1986 and featured a text-parsing interface in the same vein as the original two games. This is the first King’s Quest game that didn’t feature King Graham as the main character. It was also the first Sierra adventure game that wasn’t a “glorified treasure hunt”, to quote Roberta Williams. We instead have a robust, complex plot and more of a challenge overall. The VGA remake, or Redux, by AGD Interactive was released in 2011 and did away with the old school format and implemented a point and click engine. Once again, they’ve made a classic adventure game not only more enjoyable, but more accessible. I’ve played the original and exactly like the first two games: they’re not even remotely comparable. I still appreciate the original for the source material, but the remake is absolutely the best way to play in 2025.
The original story is mostly intact here, even with their tweaks and additions. Kings Quest 3 takes a sharp turn away from King Graham and Daventry. Instead, we’re off to the far-off land of Llewdor. We follow 17-year-old boy Ale—I mean uh.. Gwydion, who has spent his entire life as a servant for the evil wizard Manannan. In an old house set upon a mountaintop, Gwydion’s life is an endless cycle of chores, while the wizard spies on and looks down on the other residents of the town. Manannan has a certain affinity for killing his servants when they turn 18, as he believes this is the age they will exercise free will and escape. Gwydion is no fool and uncovers this secret. While Manannan takes a nap or heads off on a trip, he sneaks into the wizard’s laboratory. He swipes his spell book and hunts down ingredients from across Llewdor at every opportunity. During one of these moments, Gwydion looks through his master’s telescope and spots a mysterious cave. Entering the cave, we’re greeted by an oracle who reveals that he is actually Prince Alexander of Daventry who had been kidnapped as a child by the very same master he’s been serving. He learns his homeland has been ravaged, his family in peril and his sister is about to be sacrificed to a dragon. After a series of close calls, Alexander turns the tables on his now former master, turning him into a cat with one of his own spells. Alexander then buys passage on a ship out of Llewdor, only to be enslaved by pirates. Redux adds a short treasure hunting story, where Alexander must solve some eerily Last Crusade-esque trials during his second enslaving. Alexander escapes the pirate ship close enough to Daventry, sneaking in just in time to fry the dragon with a thunderstorm spell and rescue his sister. Rosella is saved and the royal family is reunited at last! It’s a pretty bold shift with less emphasis on fairy tales and a darker, more adventurous theme. It also sets the stage perfectly for Rosella in King’s Quest 4.
This comes as no surprise, the graphical enhancements are simply top tier. AGD Interactive has overhauled an old, basic interface into an enjoyable, modern point and click experience. The voice acting is great, I would honestly say it’s nearly on-par with the later games but probably a step below King’s Quest 6 which is the best of the lot. The quality of life changes are more than welcome. Instead of manual clock watching, the game clock now changes colour to indicate the time remaining before Manannan returns, or wakes up. Another solid inclusion is not being able to lock your game due to the limited amount of food available. The three bears now provide you with bottomless porridge, so you can take your time with dodging Manannan if you so choose. Like the first two remakes this one is also free of dead ends, but you can still absolutely die in classic Sierra fashion. Say it with me now: “Save early, save often.” Definitely save before casting spells, that way you get to enjoy all the hilariously gruesome ways Alexander can die. It’s all part of the fun. While this is a follow-on from Romancing the Stones, there is less attention paid to my favourite faction, the Society of the Black Cloak. There are some additional story elements sprinkled throughout, but they’re much more subtle compared with its predecessor until the very end of the game. Personally, I would have liked more but I can understand keeping the story true to the original this time around as to not overcrowd the narrative.
To Heir is Human is easily one of the standouts of the King’s Quest series and serves as another reminder of how well AGD Interactive has handled these remakes. The darker tone and stronger narrative along with much needed quality of life improvements smooth over the rough edges that otherwise make the original game a chore in 2025. The improved visuals and point and click interface breathe new life into what was once a clunky text-parser and the inclusion of voice acting ties it all together nicely. If you’ve never played it before, this remake is hands down the best way to experience it. While I’d have loved to see more Society of the Black Cloak content, I just can’t fault sticking close to the original story. What we’ve been given is polished, accessible and still captures that old Sierra magic complete with hilarious and abundant deaths. For me, this one is hot on the heels of King’s Quest 6 for best in series. That’s no small praise, because King’s Quest 6 is as good as it gets.
Dad with a Deck 
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