First released: 1992 (PC)
Now available on: PC (via GoG)
Sierra had an obsession with long-running series during its days as an adventure game studio, and that was no bad thing since many of its best efforts are sequels.
Case in point, King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow, a game that remains the pinnacle of its series and one of the greatest point-and-click titles ever made.
This was the game Sierra had been trying to make for the best part of a decade, as the studio churned out sequel after sequel in search of a formula that struck a balance between challenging puzzles and inventive storytelling.
King's Quest VI met that criteria with its memorable characters, imaginative setting, strong narrative, and emphasis on player choice.
There was also a classic love story in there, as love is what motivated protagonist Prince Alexander to journey to the Land of the Green Isles to win the hand of Princess Cassima, the girl he left behind the end of King's Quest V.
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Alexander's quest took him to some weird and wonderful places, from the Arabian Nights-themed Isle of the Crown to the Isle of Wonder, a location inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.
The prince even slayed a Minotaur using matador techniques on the Isle of the Sacred Mountain, played matchmaker to Beauty and the Beast, and challenged Samhain in the Realm of the Dead. The things a guy does for love!
For the first time in the series, the story didn't feel tacked on as an afterthought. Alexander was a little on the clean-cut side, but he was also relatable. Who wouldn't travel to far-off lands and lock horns with mythical beasts for the one that got away?
The main characters were fleshed out, the supporting cast was colourful, and there were moments when the writing bordered on poetic, amplified by the striking tones of narrator Bill Ratner, who went on to lend his vocals to GTA 4 and Mass Effect.
Alexander was voiced by Robby Benson, a Hollywood actor who missed out on the role of Luke Skywalker to Mark Hamill. He had prior experience playing squeaky-clean royalty, providing the vocals of the protagonist in early '90s cartoon series The Legend of Prince Valiant, making him a perfect fit for the role.
Vizier Abdul Alhazred provided a dastardly villain for us to despise, but the star of the show was the Land of the Green Isles, a magical setting where mythology, literature and dark fairy tales collide.
These islands captured our imaginations and played host to some memorable moments. Our personal highlights include winning the respect of the druids by conjuring up a thunderstorm, and making Samhain shed a single tear using the Mirror of Truth.
Storytelling wasn't the only thing King's Quest VI excelled at, which was just as well considering it would scarcely have qualified as an adventure game without some head-scratching puzzles.
The game didn't disappoint in this regard, and even expanded on its predecessors by offering players multiple paths to take, alternate ways to approach each problem, and the freedom to tackle the islands in the order they saw fit.
Almost half of the game's quests were optional, given that players could choose the 'short path' to victory, providing they didn't mind being served an inferior ending.
However, those who fast-tracked their way through King's Quest VI missed out on something special as there were unforgettable experiences to be had in the Land of the Green Isles.
Although the game offered adventure fanatics more freedom than they were accustomed to, there were also infinite ways to fail at the game.
Death wasn't just confined to the Underworld, it lurked around every corner in King's Quest VI. Many of the ways Alexander met his maker were trivial, while others were gloriously gratuitous, like being burned alive by druids or drowning in a boiling pond.
Sierra went overboard with the sheer volume of death scenarios, but many fans wouldn't have had it any other way. There were those who actively sought out death in an attempt to find every single way Alexander could be killed.
The King's Quest series made great strides aesthetically with this instalment, combining hand-painted backdrops with animation built on a rudimentary version of motion capture technology. It was a triumph in virtually every respect.
The secret to the game's success was the creative partnership behind it. King's Quest creator Roberta Williams teamed up with then-newcomer Jane Jenson, who went on to pen the acclaimed Gabriel Knight titles, to design the project.
Williams-Jenson proved to be a dream team, and the fruits of their labour was the adventure masterpiece Sierra had been seeking since its entry to the genre.
Much has changed in the gaming industry since 1992, and point-and-click adventures are no longer the money-spinners they once were, but the King's Quest series is on the verge of launching its first instalment since 1998.
The Odd Gentlemen is hard at work on a new entry in the series that recounts some of the early adventures of Alexander's father, King Graham.
While the game will sport more of a console-friendly interface than the classic King's Quests, the studio has promised to retain the vintage adventure elements and legacy of its forbears.
Who knows, if it's a success we may even see some of the earlier instalments remade for modern hardware. King's Quest VI: Special Edition is long overdue!
