Ranking the installments of Sierra's franchises

[alphex]

Since Sierra has lots of series with lots of games, this seems feasible. Hopefully I'm not alone with that sentiment!

Quest For Glory:
1. IV (CD version, patched)
2. I (both the EGA and the VGA version)
3. V
4. II (VGA)
5. III (still a good game)
6. II (EGA - sorry, can't deal with those mazes)

Police Quest:
1. II
2. I (VGA)
(3. Blue Force)
4. III (if it weren't for the bugs and the driving, this would be higher on the list)
5. Open Season (pretty crappy)
(6. Codename: Iceman - at least it's got a sweet OST)
7. I (EGA - there is just zero reason to play this instead of the remake)

Leisure Suit Larry:
1. VII
2. VI
3. III
4. V
(5. Freddy Pharkas)
6. I (only one I played more than 5 minutes was the VGA version)
7. II

For Space Quest and King's Quest, I only ever got into a couple of these - I just really don't feel like playing the EGA original of KQIV, thank you. SQIV and KQVI are easily my favs, though, and I've always had a very soft spot for SQIII, despite some merciless puzzles.

[Bobinator]

I'm no expert, but I'd personally say that you could rank King's Quest and Space Quest a-like so:

1. King's Quest 6
2. King's Quest 5
3. King's Quest 4
4. King's Quest 3
5. King's Quest (the original)
6. King's Quest 7
7. King's Quest 2
8. Mask Of Eternity

And for Space Quest:

1. Space Quest 5
2. Space Quest 4
3. Space Quest 3
4. Space Quest 2
5. Space Quest 1
6. Surprise! Space Quest 6.

[alphex]

Space Quest 5 ahead of 4? Now that's a surprise. I suppose I oughta revisit that one sometime.

Also, KQ5 coming in second place is really an awful testament to the quality of the franchise. That is one of the most ridiculed adventure games of all time.

[Bobinator]

Apr 15, 2016 19:40:58 GMT -5 alphex said:

Space Quest 5 ahead of 4? Now that's a surprise. I suppose I oughta revisit that one sometime.

Also, KQ5 coming in second place is really an awful testament to the quality of the franchise. That is one of the most ridiculed adventure games of all time.

Let me elaborate a bit: I feel that SQ5 has the better story, with more focus given to characterization, which I can appreciate. Roger's actually got a definded personality instead of being mostly silent for large portions of the game. There's also more of a defined plot as opposed to SQ4, where you just kind of went from scene to scene until you stumbled into the final area. It's also a little nicer than previous games, since I think there's one puzzle that will let you screw it up once or twice before it kills you. I couldn't see any of the previous games doing that.

King's Quest 5 only gets the higher rating because the point and click interface is slightly easier to use than a text parser. To be honest, except for 6, I'd dare day none of the KQ games are especially great, but that's just me.

[Discoalucard]

Space Quest:

IV - III - V - VI - I - II

Quest for Glory:

IV - I - II - III - V

Kings Quest:

VI - IV - V - VII - III - II - I (haven't played the reboot, don't know where to rank Mask of Eternity)

Leisure Suit Larry:

VII - VI - III - I - II - V - Magna Cum Laude - Box Office Bust (hardest to rank, the second game is pretty hateful but at the same time the fifth game is weirdly boring).

Police Quest:

II - III - I - IV - SWAT

[alphex]

I never got the contempt for QfG5. I was 12 when it was released and super hyped about the game. To me, it was the logical next step for the series. Granted, it kinda dilluted many of its adventure qualities in the process, but compared to KQ8, it was a great transition, and it also opened up many new options the previous games didn't offer. Like I said, at the time, it felt like a more advanced experience than the previous entries.

Otherwise, the top spots seem to be pretty canonical for these games. Huh.

Also, yeah, KQ6 is the only KQ game I'd call worthwhile by today's standards. Sure they broke new ground, but mixing potions with a shaky parser isn't exactly fun.

If I were to make cut-off, indicating which games are actually fun and which ones I would revisit:

Quest for Glory: All of them

Space Quest: IV, III and V

Leisure Suit Larry: VII, VI, III and V (I like the early 90s design direction a lot)

Police Quest: II basically. Part I doesn't do a lot of interesting things, and III has aggravating bugs galore. Might replay Blue Force one day, though.

King's Quest: VI

The one Sierra game I wish they could have polished in the form of another entry would be the Laura Bow series. I really like part 1, but the clusmy interface makes it somewhat tiresome. I _LOVE_ part 2's atmosphere, but the puzzle design, holy shit.

[Sac (a.k.a Icaras)]

What puts me off Quest for Glory V, despite a few attempts to play it, is the combat. It's just handled so differently from the previous games. I recall an early attemp to play the game where early enemies shot me to hell while I was still struggling with the controls to be able to reach and attack them.
for me at least, i find it gives the game an overall different feel than the 4 earlier games where you would always transition into a battle scene when you encountered an enemy. Mind you, I've never really played that far into either,sad to say

on the series itself, I'd rate in the order of IV ( I love this game to bits, the scenario, the battles the music...it's just great), then probably II (I played the absolute HELL out of this. I even have a guide for it hosted on gamefaqs, albeit one I've not worked on for ages), then I and finally III.

For space quest...I'd have to go with III 1st, though partly because it was the 1st adventure game I can recall having a EUREKA! moment when a puzzle solution just came to me (Using the pulley inside World o Wonders to smash Arnoid...which wasn't actually the solution that gave the most points), then IV (yeah the story doesn't really make much sense, but I do really enjoy the various scenarios...and I'm kinda surprised that the time travel via sequels idea hasn't been stolen afterwards!), Then I'd go with V and VGA 1, with the original 1 and 2 equal last.

Leisure Suit Larry...wow my memory of this series is so hazy, despite having a collection of all of his games bar love for sail. I really should play through these again.

Police Quest- I'd also agree that 2 is the best game in the series, and I'd actually rank the original version of 1 after it, for some reason I just didn't like the remake as much. I'd put 3 here as while I really enjoy it, I found it could be hard to sometimes trigger some days to end properly. I've played a little of Open Season, but the lack of Sonny Bonds just made it hard for me to give a shit, and I've never played any of the SWAT games, tho I've seen that Sonny cameos in them (Tho his cameos look nothing like he actually looks >.<

King's quest: This is tough. I never got to play the original version of 2, so I have to leave it out. Same for the original version of 1 (I played the VGA remake). I played quite a bit of 3, tho I can't remember of I beat it with a walk thru or on my own. IV I was never able to get through and when I was young the various walking enemies that chased you gave it kind of an oppressive vibe. 5 I enjoy allot, and it's always good to be King Graham (The cartoony version in the recent game is partly why I hesitate to pick up the new game), 6 is a really good game, it deserved the hype it got at the time.

I've owned 7 for ages (I actually remember thinking when I was much young that valenice was the only royal family member not to star in a game, and was a little chuffed when she was revealed as one of the leads).

As for Mask of Eternity...I actually really enjoyed it. Funnily enough, I actually enjoy its combat system much more than QFVs...it actually feels a bit more like quest for glory game really. Sadly, the bugs are why I gave up on the game. I recall one where there was a weapon upgrade of an axe in daventry, but every time you tried to grab it, the game would freeze...most of the time. Sometimes it would continue and you could keep playing.

honorable mentions:
The Castle of Dr Brain is a great puzzle game...it's actually one of the few games I can recall my Dad actually playing with me. I also like the little digitized animated pics of the developers during the end credits. I hear the later games weren't as good. (And due to this I got a massive kick out of Dr Craniums sections in QFG4!)
EcoQuest- Not a bad little game, part of an edutainment line. I actually recall a local department store had a rolling demo of ecoquest on one of their PCS (Man, to think department stores used to sells PCs, hahahaha). Never did play the sequel
Hoyel- I only had Hoyle 2, which was mostly card game, but I loved that you could play as and against Sierra characters. I know they still popped up in later games.
Betrayal in Antara- Alot of people seem to hate this game, but I love it. I played the hell out of the demo and the year I got it as a birthday present was awesome. My little sister convinced my Dad to get it for me (I played Betrayal in Krondor and the graphics...I just couldn't play the game, the world graphics did my head in, despite everyone seeming to love this)

I can't really think of any other games from Sierra off the top of my head, but when I was a young teen in the 90s with only a PC for gaming, Sierra was my #1 company. Funnily enough, the 1st game I ever bought myself was a Space Quest compilation with 1, 2 and 3 on it (I ended up taking it back as I could never get 2 to run.)

EDIT: Oh how could I forget Freddy Pharkas, a funny game (Al Lowe, so course it was ), I didn't like the medicine mixing bits much but those were copy protection. I recall I wanted to replay it some years back, but could only find the disk version and gave up as I decided when I replay it, I wanted to replay the CD version with voice acting. Hmmm I wonder...nope its not on GoG, dammit

[alphex]

Well, I first played QfG5 with a Paladin, and once you have reversal magic, it's a cakewalk, because then you have both physical prowess and don't need to worry about magical shots fired at you anymore! QfG3 was my introduction to the series, although it was part 4 that got me seriously into it. I'll never forget being super pumped when exploring the castle! I'm not big on fantasy settings, but when it's pulled off like this, I'm all for it! Despite the Larry series having the prestige of having peaked at its final numbered entry, QfG is, IMO, the best series Sierra had going.

I really wanted to like PQ3. I'm a fan of Miami Vice, I dug the graphics, and I like that early 90s suburban vibe it has, too. But the story is partially bullshit (the main point, Mary being attacked, makes little sense as it is later revealed that the killers committed crimes in specific locations. Did she just happen to be at one such spot? That would clash with the whole revenge-thing of the story), the driving is aggravating, and the bugs, oh God, the bugs. A game so minute on smallest details should NOT have so many critical and consequentially game breaking bugs! Part 2 has a horrible start (the first 30 minutes are just paper work), but afterwards, it's awesome. Great music, great atmosphere, great pacing, and actually a reasonable parser, too. Still would love to have this one remade, though. Part 1 has awesome graphics in the remake, but there's just little interesting things going on in it. Open Season sucked big time, IMO. Messy graphics, paper work galore, an unlikeable protagonist, cheesy "urban gangsters" setting, shitty music, horrible voice acting... Blue Force was MUCH better, but like PQ1, there was not TOO much exciting stuff going on, and it felt somewhat unpolished and felt like a straight to video-version of PQ. Still an okay game.

KQ7 is an incredibly bleak game, despite the cheery nature. The environments seem barren, the puzzles are rather random, and it's just not a lot of fun. Part 6 is awesome, a great game, and one of Sierra's best. Even the labyrinth is awesome! Part 5 has tons of bullshit, but is pretty to look at and listen to (not the voice acting, though). Part 8 was... okay? The game world felt barren for the most part - something I'd never say about QfG5. The bugs and laggy gameplay also didn't help, but it wasn't awful. It just lacked the vivid game world that made KQ6 so great.

The Colonel's Bequest is a great game, but it's rough around the edges. Once you understand what you have to do, it's a lot of fun, but until then, it's super random. The sequel is more straight forward, but it has a ton of super unfair dead ends. Like I said, I wish there was a third part that got it all right.

Larry 6 and 7 are two of Sierra's best games. Part 6 is somewhat buggy, but the whole feel of the game is super fun. Part 7 recycled some of the ideas (Larry being the cheapest guest at an otherwise luxurious place), but also added stuff like the return of the parser and SVGA graphics. It's not a perfect game, but like Full Throttle (which I also love), it is a great piece of interactive entertainment that has a very distinct mood to it. I enjoy part 5, but in terms of puzzles, it feels like an edutainment version of Zak McKracken.

I only played Gabriel Knight 1, but I have to say, I was somewhat underwhelmed by it. It was fun, but the pacing was super slow, and some of the puzzles were rather pixel hunty.

[The Great Klaid]

King's Quest-
V

Leisure Suit Larry-
The one with the cruise ship

[shinr]

I am seeing a pattern here, with the first, non-remake VGA entries suffering from the "Lets show off the new tech at gameplay's expense", with King's Quest V suffering the most from it, while Quest for Glory III arguably the least. Speaking of these two series, QfG2 was initially planned to be Sierra's first adventure game to use VGA and the new point and click engine, but it was decided that their flagship series, King's Quest, will have that honor instead, with QfG2 switching back to EGA to fill the financial schedule.

Seeing how KQV turned out, I am glad that the Coles didn't have to waste time being innovative and instead focused on basics, and even the EGA version aged relativelly well.

As for ratings, excluding the fanmade VGA remakes:

Quest for Glory (haven't played or even seen much of V, so in interest of fairness it is excluded):
IV, as if there was any doubt;
I, the original already got many things right out of the bat;
II, it is a one step forward and one step backwards situation here, mostly regarding the forced timetable, but otherwise is a good game;
III, a good game despite being last, but story-wise it was an unplanned (the whole series was planned from the start) interquel between II and IV and it shows.

Space Quest:
Tie between III and V, both capture the right Sci-Fi atmospheres and have the gameplay to back it up;
I (VGA), rough around the edges, but very good;
IV, bad Time-travel plot;
II and VI, both are bad, one just bad and other because of troubled production, made worse by the developer's hatred of V.

[llj]

Gabriel Knight--1 is still my favorite
Leisure Suite Larry--I might be the only guy who loves 2, even with its bad puzzles, dead ends and creepy old-guy Larry.
Quest for Glory--Only played ADG remake
King's Quest--5.

[alphex]

Is there any reasoning beyond maritime hissing that makes one prefer KQ5 over part 6?

[Weasel]

I'd like to rank the Dr. Brain games:

1. Island of Dr. Brain - Has a lot more creative puzzles and general polish compared to Castle.
2. Castle of Dr. Brain - Admittedly has some parts that feel like filler (the elevators, for example), but at least you can use hint coins to bypass the copy protection.
3. Time Warp of Dr. Brain - Another example of a formula being more polished and creative, though the more actiony segments feel a bit on the lame side.
4. Lost Mind of Dr. Brain - For some reason, the art style seriously bothers me, the new formula of completing puzzles repeatedly feels less interesting than the previous two games, and in retrospect I'm really glad Sierra totally forgot about Elaina and Rathbone after this game because I don't really like either one of them.

[llj]

Apr 18, 2016 14:19:12 GMT -5 alphex said:

Is there any reasoning beyond maritime hissing that makes one prefer KQ5 over part 6?

Haven't played 6

[Elvin Atombender]

My personal rankings:

King's Quest

VI - IV - VII - V - II - III - I

Leisure Suit Larry

VI - III - VII - V - II - I

Space Quest

III - V - IV - I - VI - II