King’s Quest VII - Final Rating

Just how deep is my despair for having played this game?

Written by Michael

I was thinking of taking some time off between my last post and writing this scoring post, but I didn’t want my memories to fade.  This isn’t a bad game, but certainly not the best Sierra has to offer.  One could argue that they hit their peak with Gabriel Knight, although they certainly have a couple more well-done stories to come, mostly from Al Lowe with Larry 7 and Torin’s Passage, and two more Space Quest games that almost reach the luster of the earlier titles.  The FMV titles to come have their fans, but they aren’t perfect either.  The rest of Sierra’s output from this point on is a collection of arcade, action, and WalMart-friendly shovelware.

Yes, I know that those last few sentences are bound to start some arguments and paint a target on my back from some, but the good news is that, while the glory days of Sierra are largely over, other publishers will be picking up the slack for the next few gaming years.  The genre itself doesn’t “die” just yet, and some quality titles from other houses are yet to come.  I often mention Sanitarium as such an example, but there’s also Syberia, The Longest Journey, and Discworld Noir, all from publishers that have not had any real impact on our blog so far.

I bring all this up because we are about to score the final true adventure entry in Sierra’s original animated adventure series.  Before 1984’s King’s Quest: Quest for the Crown, they only made text adventures with accompanying pictures.  Mind you, they were the first to do that as well, and they did it successfully.  This is the end of an era for Sierra, and after 1995’s Phantasmagoria and limited input on the action King’s Quest 8 title, Roberta Williams will avoid adventure game design for almost 30 years, enjoying the riches of her success yachting with her husband.

But I digress; back to the title in front of us.

The Clue! - Sabian

Written by MenhirMike

I left you with a cliffhanger last time, but unlike Dallas’ “Who shot J.R.?” I’m not going to let you wait four more episodes to resolve it - the caller was Herbert Briggs, who tasked Matt with picking up a parcel from a woman named Sabien at Lisson Grove 17.

If you remember the intro to the game, Sabien was the woman mourning at Matt’s grave, so this is the romance act of the story kicking into gear.  

Matt is immediately stricken by her sparkling green eyes, her beautiful face, that special smile she seemed to give him. He stutters for a bit while she invites him to some tea, and after a few hours Matt leaves with butterflies in his stomach. And Briggs’ package.

Game 151: Innocent Until Caught (1993) - Introduction

Written by Morpheus Kitami

 

It's nice to get back to some normal, standard and uncontroversial adventure games after what in retrospect, was a year consisting entirely of more experimental titles, the most traditional of which was arguably the most insane in other respects. (This was actually written in 2025, since I know it's 2026 when you read this) Yes, sir, it's nice to get back to the realm of adventure games that actually enjoy being adventure games.

What, you think there's going to be a joke here? Nah.

Innocent Until Caught is one of those adventure games with a cool premise and world design that even at the time, seems like a complete and total waste of resources. You're telling me that someone made an adventure game with its own unique universe, completely disconnected to any published sci-fi writer or licensed material? And instead of playing as an actual hero, you're just the local equivalent of a tax dodger? The nerve of these people. Give me ten copies and a framed poster of the box art.

King’s Quest VII - Won!

Written by Michael

Unfortunately, the game fizzles out along with the volcano at the end.

We’ve reached the end, and there’s not much to it.  So, this will be a rather short entry.

When the scene begins, we return to the underground lair where the two troll kings are fighting each other.  While I can’t tell which is which from the animation, the voice of the real one tells me to turn the imposter back into his true self.

Which witch is which?

Unfortunately, the animation is so fast, I can’t tell who to click the wand on, but I manage to get off a shot and hit the one on the right.  He turns into something resembling the scarab of the past posts, and hops away.

Oops.  It seems I turned the real King Otar into a creature, instead of the imposter.

The Clue! - Art of the Steal

Written by MenhirMike

I am not going to lie, this session was a real struggle for a while. Not so much because of the game, which is still great despite some interface troubles I will get into. But because these last three sessions were essentially me keeping notes in an Excel sheet and then writing those notes into prose that read more like math homework than a blog about a game. I am happy to report that the game did pick up on story bits again at the end, but until then it’s going to be a bunch of facts and numbers.

In the previous episode, we’ve burgled the Jeweller, got arrested for 24 hours as part of the story, sold our stolen goods, and are now left with 2398 pounds and no clear direction. Time to look at the available targets, and it’s clear that the next heist is going to be art: 

• Suterby’s: Not to be confused with Christie’s and Sotheby’s, it’s a smaller auction house
• Chiswick House: An old, aristocratic mansion
• Osterly Park House, Isleworth: One of the many country houses around London, having its walls covered by precious paintings instead of wallpaper
• Ham House, Richmond: Another country house with impressive hedges 

Despite the name, it's not a butcher's store.