King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella

"New and improved graphics, good story line offset frustrating randomization of critical puzzles."

The two most immediately striking characteristics of King's Quest 4 as opposed to the game it succeeded are more detailed graphics and non-fixed width fonts--assuming you get past the very first characteristic, the copy protection that asks for a word in the manual. The basic command interface--type in a command, with options to change game settings like speed via hot keys or a pull-down menu, remains the same, and the computer communicates its responses to your actions with pop-up boxes. However, there are some new twists you find in what may be too long of an introduction(unless you hit return.) At the end of KQ3, Graham threw his hat up in the air. When KQ4 starts, he collapses and is mortally sick. His daughter Rosella flees from his deathbed and wonders how she can help. The fairy Genesta appears in the Magic Mirror Graham reclaimed in King's Quest I and tells Rosella of a fruit of life in Tamir. She also asks that Rosella return the life-giving talisman that Lolotte stole. Rosella is transported through the mirror by a beach to begin her quest. Although Rosella only has 24 hours before Genesta, the only person who can help her return, dies, your time playing the game is not recorded as in KQ3. Time shifts in the game occur as you solve puzzles. To get through the game, you must find three items in order for Lolotte: a unicorn, a hen that lays golden eggs, and Pandora's Box, which you can but shouldn't open. There is also the magic fruit, which can be found independently of these. The mainland of Tamir is six by five, with vertical wrapping, and Genesta's island is off to the west past some water. Overall, Sierra makes good use of the extra detail; there are some necessary items you could not see with lower resolution that are clearer. You have a good assortment of different places to visit: houses, forest, river, waterfall, sea, swamp, and a graveyard. However, there are flaws in the game.

The whole deal with managing to get caught by the whale is a nuisance(you have to see Lolotte first, which is another wrinkle,) particularly with sharks that may catch you as well, even if you use the time-honored edge-of-screen trick that works for previous AGI games. You have a problem in that swimming will take a while unless you go fast, in which case a shark will likely pop up and eat you. Although it's nice that Sierra allows virtually unlimited slots to save your game, the sea part is still a nuisance. In fact, there is one series of puzzles where monsters will attack, but an item protects you. As they attack frequently, your game is constantly interrupted with the same pop-up message, which gets irksome quickly. A rather nicer randomization is on Genesta's isle--the peacock and its feather are in random places on a well-drawn(and safe) area. The haunted house with the ghosts you must appease is very nice even if it's dragged out a bit too much. There are also the staircases which will reenforce the concept of saving your game--it has didactic value, I suppose, since you can lose work this way in the real world, but with all this magic floating around, it's a bit annoying that your skill climbing spiral staircases is so sorely tested--even if spiral staircases are the type most conducive to fantasy. The cut-movie scenes, which are detailed but only moderately inspired, can also be taxing to sit through, with the scenes in the dwarves' house being the prime example, and you can't push a key to be through with them. They don't tell you much, either. Given that you can skip the introduction, why can't you skip a scene you may have seen once before you forgot to save a game? There are also certain times when you have to be in a very small area to perform an action, which got on my nerves. You may spend more time than you want positioning yourself to execute the command, although at least the computer indicates you're on the right track.

Now for the good news: the graphics. The people look much more real. You can actually see that Rosella has two braids even if you can't see the braiding, and it's fun to watch her get dizzy after a short fall. You can even see birds' claws and patterns on their wings. There also seems to be more color than in previous games. The most entertaining part, though, may be Genesta's Isle. It's not necessary to visit all locations there to win the game, but it's worth looking around, and as an added bonus, you can't fall down the stairs and die. My favorite NPC's may be the guard dog in the ogre's house, and I like how you can't do what's necessary if he's too close to you. Lolotte's place is respectably done, and the goons are pretty neat, especially when they pick you up and fly you away. The only minor nuisance is seeing Roberta Williams's face pop up with a ''Thank you for playing KQ4. Try to be more careful next time!'' each time you die. Not that it's terribly drawn, or that her looks should be ripped if it weren't nasty for people to do that sort of thing, but it seems out of place and not as creative as, for instance, the mug shots in Space Quest.

King's Quest IV is a solid continuation to the series, especially with the double-resolution graphics. The 24-hour time frame in the story does not correlate with real time, but the time shifts give more structure to the story. Unfortunately, some of the puzzles are a bit silly or require repetition(typing jump 15 times to get across the swamp, or hoping the randomization works in your favor) or waiting. Still, it ties two stories together pleasantly, throws out a few familiar images and characters that may otherwise seem over-used, and makes another character from Daventry a protagonist.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/01, Updated 04/29/01