#cedric kq | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

theadventurerslog · 2 years ago

Text

King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder | Part 1

The Adventurer’s Log

King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder Part 1

Release date: 1990

Introduction:

Welcome to King's Quest V! I've been looking forward to this one. It was actually the game I thought to originally play first before I decided to play the series from the start. And I don't regret my decision! But I am excited to finally tackle this one.

Usual disclaimer for KQ: not a blind play.

Before I get into the game proper I need to make note of the version. There are two computer versions of V: Floppy Disk and CD. The version you can buy on GOG or Steam is the CD talkie version and so is the version I have. Voice acting! Not... good voice acting, but voice acting! Okay I do find a lot of it kind of endearing in its own way. Unfortunately, the game only has speech as an option and no subtitles, so that is going to make this is a little trickier. However, there will be a video clip or two or three because some things just must be heard.

As an interesting sidenote there is also an NES port.

This game also makes the switch to a point and click interface. No more text parser which is a little sad for the experimenting end of things, but it will be nice to not have the occasional fight to find what it wants.

There are are some general actions: look, use, talk and walk. And of course you've got your inventory. Pretty standard stuff.

Now with that bit of upkeep done, let's get into this.

It's time for the return of King Graham and everything is well for the kingdom of Daventry.

Except... not, because then we wouldn't have a game now, would we? A wizard appears and with a spell makes the castle and all its inhabitants vanish!

But meanwhile Graham is having a stroll through the woods, stopping to smell the flowers, and just generally having a lovely time.

Until his day takes a turn for the worse. Nothing like a vanished castle to ruin your day. Graham is understandably stunned, but thankfully we have a witness. An owl flies down and introduces himself as Cedric while explaining that he'd been visiting an old friend, but then saw the evil wizard Mordack appear and take the castle and Graham's family.

He's cute! He has a reputation for being annoying but honestly I don't find him that bad.

Cedric doesn't know why Mordack did this, but offers his help. His employer is a good wizard named Crispinophur or just Crispin. He's getting on in years and is a bit forgetful but still one of the best wizards, so no need to worry, Graham. Cedric thinks Graham doesn't currently stand a chance against Mordack, so he needs to come with him. He has some fairy dust that will let Graham fly and sprinkles it over him. The land of Serenia where Crispin lives is too far to walk, so flight it is. The fairy dust is old but Cedric's pretty sure it still works. With those encouraging words it's time to gooo!

It's just so pretty! I love hand-painted backgrounds so much. I can only imagine what it must have been like back then going from King's Quest IV to this.

They make it to Crispin's house but that old fairy dust comes into play and wears off before landing dumping Graham into the pond.

Oops. Hey, at least there are no monsters in this river.

Crispin comes out to see what all the fuss is about.

He invites Graham inside and it's discussion time. Crispin explains that even in the society of wizards Mordack isn't looked on fondly and has been suspended a few times for his abuse of power. There's not a lot Crispin can help with but he offers some old dried snake that'll let Graham talk to animals. No dough in the ears here, but I do appreciate the shared ingredient continuity between the two spells anyway.

He also sends Cedric to help you out and it's time to start the adventure. The first main goal that Cedric advises you of is to head to town to look for supplies. The route to Mordack's castle is over some treacherous mountains so we gotta be prepared.

I explored around a little on the way. There's a path into a dark forest with a warning sign I avoided for now. I continued and found a weeping willow tree whom I could speak to. It turns out she's actually a princess who was enchanted by a witch. She'd been walking through the woods with her fiance, a prince. A witch appeared and was charmed by the prince. The prince refused her advances and so the witch banished the prince elsewhere and turned the princess into a tree. She stole her heart and turned it to gold and the only way to be turned back into a human is to have her heart returned to her. All she has to console herself now is a magic harp.

And she sings a song!

youtube

There's our first thing added to the list of things needed. Before I left I tried drinking some of the water. It was very salty. Graham was not impressed. Yuck! Willow tears...

A screen or two away I found the despondent prince who explains he can't find his princess. He describes her and asks if Graham has seen her to which Graham says he hasn't, which I guess is technically true? But come on, Graham, put two and two together here. You JUST talked to her. Anyway, the prince decides to keep up the search and leaves while adding he's sure the witch had something to do with it. Again, Graham, please.

Continuing on, I found a gypsy camp. I was told I'd need a gold coin to see Madame Mushka. Nothing to do here yet. There's a desert west of this area, but I avoided it for now.

I also found a big ant hill with a fun bit I'll get into later. For now: ants. Nothing to be done. They're just busily doing their ant thing.

And I found some bees! And I poked the bees!

And got my first glorious death. From the narrator: "That wasn't a smart move, Graham. Bee seeing you." A death is worth it so long as there's a bad pun.

Unfortunately for Graham, while I of course had a save to restore, his life wasn't to last long because in the next area was an inn, sure, and more importantly a river!

I gotta dump him in the water at least once, okay. It's like some kind of tradition. No moat or alligators here, but we do what we can with what we have. There wasn't much of a fun death message here, just fast river. But a fun "No, Graham, don't!" from Cedric.

I didn't get many deaths this session, but most of them happened in rapid succession. Because I got another one coming right up!

I just wanted to visit the dog, but when you approach the bar, you overhear the men talking about some kind of job they're pulling and the inn keeper orders them to catch you. You get locked up in a cellar to be rubbed out later and there's nothing that can be done at this point, so that's death number 3.

Onward I found a bakery with delicious custard pies of which I can't buy yet. I guess Graham didn't carry any money at all while he was out walking. Then it was time for town! But town on my own because Cedric was once chased by a dog and doesn't want to enter again, so he waits outside. Cedric not wanting to come with you into places is going to be par for the course.

There are several things to do here. A fish in a, er, barrel, to be scooped up. A man whose wagon broke but beyond talking with him, there's nothing to be done, and three shops to check out.

First: the shoe shop, or what's left of it. There's an elderly couple who own the shop, but they have no shoes to sell. Add that to the list of things to do something about.

Second: a tailor. There's a fine cloak that will be helpful to have when going to Mordack's castle but we'll need something to offer for said cloak. There was one other customer there being helped and complaining about everything he tried. A true retail experience.

Third: A toy shop. The point of interest here is a sled but again, we'll need something to offer for it. The toy shop owner is very friendly and has a grand daughter playing with one of the puppets. He mentions that his wares are a mix of things made by him or his son, and some things that he's bought himself.

Back outside, the guy with the wagon is gone but in his place is a silver coin that's easy to miss. With that coin it's custard pie time! A pie that cannot be eaten because it's going to be extremely important later. Eat that pie: get dead-ended without knowing you've locked yourself out until later. Yeah.

I went back to the bees and my final death for this session because now there's a bear trying to get their honey. I approached the bear.

I got punched by the bear. This screencap is good but even then it can't quite convey the absurdity of this bear just whipping around and socking Graham one in the face. Death number 4: punched out by bear.

The actual solution here is to throw the fish at the bear which takes it and leaves. The queen of the bees comes out and thanks Graham for saving her hive and promises the bees won't bother him now. She offers him some honey. Yay, more inventory!

We've befriended some bees. I grabbed the honey and that stick lying on the ground and carried on.

Now it's time to finish this session off with the ants.

The ants are now being bothered by a dog which is an easy fix with that newly acquired stick. Throw stick, dogs runs after and problem is solved. Just as the queen bee thanked us, now the ant king comes out to thank us as well and offer the ants' aid should Graham ever need it.

Meet King Antony. Honestly this portrait and the way his mouth moves creeps me out a little, but the ant help will be appreciated soon.

And now we finish this session off with getting too close to the ants.

Bugalooo will be stuck in my head forever. Thank you Cedric.

Next time: I still have the forest and the desert to explore. I'll need to find some things to solve my current list of needs: golden heart, gold coin for Madame Mushka, sled, cloak, shoe shop, and not getting killed by the inn thugs. Lots yet to do before starting the journey to Mordack and Graham's missing family.

Points: Unknown because they're not listed. Won't know until the end.

Deaths: 4

Time: 1:08

#king's quest #king's quest v #absence makes the heart go yonder #KQV #KQV_Log #sierra #adventure games

1 note · View note