3rd May 2007, 12:26 PM
First: I'll reply to the rest of your post later. First I wanted to talk about Quest for Glory.
I just lost a great, long post about the Quest for Glory series that I really don't want to rewrite (it would take another half hour at least probably...)... :( :( ... bah, I can't resist. :)
Quest for Glory is what happened when Sierra took their adventure game engines and made RPGs in them. There are plenty of Sierra-style inventory puzzles, conversations with options, etc... except that it's also an RPG. You can equip stuff (though you don't change your armor/weapons much, it does happen once in a while across the series, and if you're a mage you get more spells as you do things, etc), check the time (there is a day/night cycle), rest (though be careful where you do it; resting in the wilderness at night is not a good idea... go to town or to a safe area. :)), you eat food (yes, you have to buy food. :)), etc.
The settings of the games are also unique. Each game is set in one specific area. You do not travel the world each time and save it from some ancient evil five times over. This is a good thing. :) QFG1 is German, 2 is Arabian, 3 is African, 4 is Eastern European, and 5 is Greek, and each time the setting is on a constrained area. The first and fourth games are each set in a small town and the forest surrounding it; the second one has two cities and a desert between them; the third a city and some plains (with a village in them) and jungle beyond it; and the fifth a city on the main island and some other islands around it. Each time, you do something to help the people in that region. There are also major themes tying the games all together, and evil forces that take several games to find the source of and defeat, but each game has a specific focus and region, and I think that that design works really well... I don't need to travel to every country in the world for two hours each like in your average JRPG, darnit. I'm perfectly happy just saving one nation at a time... :)
Combat: the series changed combat systems multiple times, but they are consistently simple and action-focused. In the first four games, enemies are visible in the overworld but when you run into them you go into a battle screen. In 1-3, this is a simple screen where you are in front and the enemie(s) are in back. You can't move, but can dodge and parry left and right (block until they let down their guard than hit, etc), attack or use magic, etc. It's simple, but works... in QFG4 though there's a new system, with side-scrolling battles. There are two modes, one more actionish and one a bit more strategic, and the battle system is great... nice graphics and style, etc. Not complex, but good enough. QFG5, coming some years after the fourth one, is quite different. The game in general feels a bit more "RPG" than "RPG-Adventure", though it is still a QFG game. Combat is simplistic -- no separate battle screen. Just Diablo-ish "click on the enemies a lot to kill them". There is a block button, and magic of course, but the combat in the fifth game is kind of lacking... even in that last game though, which has more of an RPG feel than the others, the puzzles are still the focus. The games are graphic adventures after all, as well as RPGs, and they have the Sierra-style adventure game puzzles you'd expect them to have... though often with a QFG twist (multiple ways to complete them, or combat elements, or other things to keep things interesting). :) The puzzles are great, and for once, the fact that in some cases doing the wrong thing can kill you actually makes sense... this is an RPG after all!
Story and writing: The story and writing in the QFG games is great. The designers, Corey and Lori Cole, did a very good job with the story throughout the series. The sense of humor is great and shows through frequently; they can be very funny games. They have a serious side too though, of course, and when they are they do it just as well as they do serious. The fourth and fifth ones have voice acting. Quest for Glory has an interesting system to make you feel like you are the character (that I may have described before somewhere here, but oh well): instead of putting words in your character's mouth, there is a description of what you are saying, without putting it in specific words. As a result, in QFGIV and V, the narrator says those parts describing what you are saying, not some voice actor playing "You". It's a great system that works well. (There are some limitations to the role-playing -- while you can choose class and stats (and these have a very real impact on the games), you can't choose your character model. There's just one, a blond man (which you name, there's no default).)
Classes and continuity: QFG has three main classes and one special class. In the first game you choose between Fighter, Mage, and Thief. Your choice matters -- there are some houses to rob and a thieves' guild you can only access as the thief, some mage games and stuff only mages can really do, etc. In addition, puzzles have different solutions depending on your class. For instance, there is a thing you need up in a tree in a birds' nest. You can try to climb the tree, or throw rocks at the nest to knock it down, or use the Fetch spell to grab it; which you use depends on your characters' skills. Now, despite the lack of levels, there is still kind of a "grind" in the games at times -- if you don't have enough skill in whichever of those methods you are using, you'll just need to try over and over until your skill level is high enough. But since your skill in the ability is going up slowly over time as you do it and not just all at once when you suddenly level up, it doesn't feel that bad (and of course if you'd been practicing climbing or whatever steadily all along it wouldn't have been a problem). Anyway, many puzzles throughout all of the games in the series are like that one and have multiple solutions depending on your class. In addition, there is a fourth class which a Fighter (in QFG 2, 3, and maybe 4?) or perhaps Mage (in QFG3 maybe? 4? not sure) can become a Paladin. You need to do specific quests in order to change class (which are of course different in each game where you can convert), doing good deeds and stuff like Paladins are supposed to. It's never a class you can create a new character in -- to use a Paladin you needto either import one from a previous game (since each time you finish a QFG game you can create a 'finished save' which you can then load in any QFG game after it. If you're going from 1 to 4 or something, your stats will be scaled up appropriately so you don't start far behind new characters. Or you can take one character through the whole series.) or use a precreated Paladin save character (I think there is one in QFG5).
The first and fourth Quest for Glory games are my favorites. The first one was the only one I had for a long time, and it has great nostalgia value for me, but the fourth one was simply incredible and I eventually decided that it was just as good as the first one. I didn't play 2, because QFG2 is only available in the old-style EGA engine with text input (QFG1 was originally that way, but then there was a VGA remake using the KQ5-style engine, which is the one we had), and in a game this complex I don't find that fun. Trying to go through long, complicated conversation trees without specific lists of the words you can ask about? That's no fun! Anyway, 1-VGA, 3, and 4 use that classic VGA Sierra engine. 3 isn't quite as good -- it's good, but is a bit more linear, there isn't much for thieves to do thieving-wise, the general design is a bit weaker, etc. Still, it's kind of rare, being an RPG that actually uses an African setting... QFG5 uses its own engine and looks a lot more like an RPG -- a less adventure-style interface (though there is a Look function still), the screen scrolls, you fight in the overworld (and areas are as a result larger in scale), etc. It's usually considered the weakest game in the series, though it does provide for a good, solid ending to the series.
On that subject, QFG 1-4 have point system, Sierra adventure style. You can finish the games without doing everything; there are some things you must do, but then there are other tasks beyond that that are optional. Each game has one real ending, but because of the varying quests depending on class and the optional elements, that doesn't mean that they play through the same way each time or that on your first playthrough you're going to get it all. 5 is again different; there is one ending, with variations depending on character pairings (for your character alone or with several possible partners). It's the end of the series though, so that kind of ending makes sense...
I just lost a great, long post about the Quest for Glory series that I really don't want to rewrite (it would take another half hour at least probably...)... :( :( ... bah, I can't resist. :)
Quest for Glory is what happened when Sierra took their adventure game engines and made RPGs in them. There are plenty of Sierra-style inventory puzzles, conversations with options, etc... except that it's also an RPG. You can equip stuff (though you don't change your armor/weapons much, it does happen once in a while across the series, and if you're a mage you get more spells as you do things, etc), check the time (there is a day/night cycle), rest (though be careful where you do it; resting in the wilderness at night is not a good idea... go to town or to a safe area. :)), you eat food (yes, you have to buy food. :)), etc.
The settings of the games are also unique. Each game is set in one specific area. You do not travel the world each time and save it from some ancient evil five times over. This is a good thing. :) QFG1 is German, 2 is Arabian, 3 is African, 4 is Eastern European, and 5 is Greek, and each time the setting is on a constrained area. The first and fourth games are each set in a small town and the forest surrounding it; the second one has two cities and a desert between them; the third a city and some plains (with a village in them) and jungle beyond it; and the fifth a city on the main island and some other islands around it. Each time, you do something to help the people in that region. There are also major themes tying the games all together, and evil forces that take several games to find the source of and defeat, but each game has a specific focus and region, and I think that that design works really well... I don't need to travel to every country in the world for two hours each like in your average JRPG, darnit. I'm perfectly happy just saving one nation at a time... :)
Combat: the series changed combat systems multiple times, but they are consistently simple and action-focused. In the first four games, enemies are visible in the overworld but when you run into them you go into a battle screen. In 1-3, this is a simple screen where you are in front and the enemie(s) are in back. You can't move, but can dodge and parry left and right (block until they let down their guard than hit, etc), attack or use magic, etc. It's simple, but works... in QFG4 though there's a new system, with side-scrolling battles. There are two modes, one more actionish and one a bit more strategic, and the battle system is great... nice graphics and style, etc. Not complex, but good enough. QFG5, coming some years after the fourth one, is quite different. The game in general feels a bit more "RPG" than "RPG-Adventure", though it is still a QFG game. Combat is simplistic -- no separate battle screen. Just Diablo-ish "click on the enemies a lot to kill them". There is a block button, and magic of course, but the combat in the fifth game is kind of lacking... even in that last game though, which has more of an RPG feel than the others, the puzzles are still the focus. The games are graphic adventures after all, as well as RPGs, and they have the Sierra-style adventure game puzzles you'd expect them to have... though often with a QFG twist (multiple ways to complete them, or combat elements, or other things to keep things interesting). :) The puzzles are great, and for once, the fact that in some cases doing the wrong thing can kill you actually makes sense... this is an RPG after all!
Story and writing: The story and writing in the QFG games is great. The designers, Corey and Lori Cole, did a very good job with the story throughout the series. The sense of humor is great and shows through frequently; they can be very funny games. They have a serious side too though, of course, and when they are they do it just as well as they do serious. The fourth and fifth ones have voice acting. Quest for Glory has an interesting system to make you feel like you are the character (that I may have described before somewhere here, but oh well): instead of putting words in your character's mouth, there is a description of what you are saying, without putting it in specific words. As a result, in QFGIV and V, the narrator says those parts describing what you are saying, not some voice actor playing "You". It's a great system that works well. (There are some limitations to the role-playing -- while you can choose class and stats (and these have a very real impact on the games), you can't choose your character model. There's just one, a blond man (which you name, there's no default).)
Classes and continuity: QFG has three main classes and one special class. In the first game you choose between Fighter, Mage, and Thief. Your choice matters -- there are some houses to rob and a thieves' guild you can only access as the thief, some mage games and stuff only mages can really do, etc. In addition, puzzles have different solutions depending on your class. For instance, there is a thing you need up in a tree in a birds' nest. You can try to climb the tree, or throw rocks at the nest to knock it down, or use the Fetch spell to grab it; which you use depends on your characters' skills. Now, despite the lack of levels, there is still kind of a "grind" in the games at times -- if you don't have enough skill in whichever of those methods you are using, you'll just need to try over and over until your skill level is high enough. But since your skill in the ability is going up slowly over time as you do it and not just all at once when you suddenly level up, it doesn't feel that bad (and of course if you'd been practicing climbing or whatever steadily all along it wouldn't have been a problem). Anyway, many puzzles throughout all of the games in the series are like that one and have multiple solutions depending on your class. In addition, there is a fourth class which a Fighter (in QFG 2, 3, and maybe 4?) or perhaps Mage (in QFG3 maybe? 4? not sure) can become a Paladin. You need to do specific quests in order to change class (which are of course different in each game where you can convert), doing good deeds and stuff like Paladins are supposed to. It's never a class you can create a new character in -- to use a Paladin you needto either import one from a previous game (since each time you finish a QFG game you can create a 'finished save' which you can then load in any QFG game after it. If you're going from 1 to 4 or something, your stats will be scaled up appropriately so you don't start far behind new characters. Or you can take one character through the whole series.) or use a precreated Paladin save character (I think there is one in QFG5).
The first and fourth Quest for Glory games are my favorites. The first one was the only one I had for a long time, and it has great nostalgia value for me, but the fourth one was simply incredible and I eventually decided that it was just as good as the first one. I didn't play 2, because QFG2 is only available in the old-style EGA engine with text input (QFG1 was originally that way, but then there was a VGA remake using the KQ5-style engine, which is the one we had), and in a game this complex I don't find that fun. Trying to go through long, complicated conversation trees without specific lists of the words you can ask about? That's no fun! Anyway, 1-VGA, 3, and 4 use that classic VGA Sierra engine. 3 isn't quite as good -- it's good, but is a bit more linear, there isn't much for thieves to do thieving-wise, the general design is a bit weaker, etc. Still, it's kind of rare, being an RPG that actually uses an African setting... QFG5 uses its own engine and looks a lot more like an RPG -- a less adventure-style interface (though there is a Look function still), the screen scrolls, you fight in the overworld (and areas are as a result larger in scale), etc. It's usually considered the weakest game in the series, though it does provide for a good, solid ending to the series.
On that subject, QFG 1-4 have point system, Sierra adventure style. You can finish the games without doing everything; there are some things you must do, but then there are other tasks beyond that that are optional. Each game has one real ending, but because of the varying quests depending on class and the optional elements, that doesn't mean that they play through the same way each time or that on your first playthrough you're going to get it all. 5 is again different; there is one ending, with variations depending on character pairings (for your character alone or with several possible partners). It's the end of the series though, so that kind of ending makes sense...