Lori and Corey Cole's Quest for Glory was always one of my favorite franchises. It set unusually logical puzzle-solving (by adventure-game standards — no "THROW BRIDLE AT SNAKE" here) in culturally distinct worlds that went beyond the usual D&D boilerplate. Even in Quest for Glory I, which eased players into the series with a traditional medieval setting, the sense of place was richer than usual. (My favorite detail: a frost giant from north of the Germanic game-world speaks in the alliterative verse of Beowulf.)
But Quest for Glory II must've blindsided fans of the first game. Expanding the small-scale campaign of QfGI into a world-saving epic, it also transported the hero from a sleepy European valley to the full-sized Arabian city of Shapeir. In all the hype about GTAIV earlier this year, I couldn't help thinking that QfGII had done the same thing decades before — not at the same scale, but with as much attention to detail. In II, you met multiple characters in a large city, and you could ask each of them about each other. You could talk about current events; you could help or hinder their lives. More than any game of its time, Quest for Glory II presented a living world. The musician who played outside the inn during the day went inside to entertain the evening guests. The nearby merchants had opinions on that musician. If you did something brave on their behalf, they'd remember it. The gratitude of a beloved character was a far more satisfying reward for a voluntary action than the experience points and high-powered weaponry that console games doled out. And when, in a beautifully foreshadowed climax, you arrived at Shapeir's fallen sister city to face a growing evil, you really felt that something was at stake.
I could ramble on about how much I love Quest for Glory II, but nothing would convince a new player more than playing AGD Interactive's just-released remake. AGDI is a rare beast among fan groups. They actually finish what they start, even when, as with this remake, it takes seven years. (!) And where fan projects often play like fan fiction, AGDI has recreated Shapeir and its people with the most love and restraint imaginable.
The original game's largest flaw, a drab navigation system that makes much of the city feel more like a tomb than a bustling metropolis, has been fixed; the streets are now bright, easy to navigate and full of life. (Click here and compare with the street scene at right.) And when it comes to expansion, AGDI's take on QfGII treads softly; added elements are completely optional, and many of them are simply subtle enrichments of the game universe. You can now ask many characters about the settings of the later games. You can challenge the magic-shop owner to a magical duel — an element cut from the original game for lack of time. And in a lovely touch, if you return to the inn around midnight, you can sit with the innkeepers, sip a cup of tea and talk about your friendship. Tasteful expansions like this only make an already rich world richer, deepening the mythic sense of place and the satisfaction of saving the land from evil. Every great classic game should be retouched so lovingly — but then, there aren't many games this classic to begin with. With Quest for Glory II, the Coles made one of the greatest adventures ever; AGDI has made one of the greatest fan games, and — the highest praise available — a fitting tribute.
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Rockman 7 FC
Outcast 2
Street Fighter One
Metroid II Remakes