TSR, $2.25, ISBN 0-88038-079-9
Fantasy, 1984
King’s Quest has nothing to do with the video game from Sierra that came out around that time. The king in the title is actually a dead one, and you have his bones with you.
Okay, let’s backtrack a little, just like how Tom McGowen structured his campaign opening scene: you’re Sparrow, and together with your brother Jay, the two of you form a performing troupe to make an meager living from entertaining people.
As you’re moving to your next stop, you encounter a dying man that asks you to help go to the secret cave in which his ancestor, King Farad Silverhair, was buried. You can take his map to find the way there, naturally. There, you must help put the king’s spirit to rest by burying the king’s bones, which the man will pass to you, there. The cave has treasures, so you and Jay can help yourself to them as your reward.
Oh, and before the man dies, he warns you that brigands and their leader Scarface (seriously?) did him in, so you must watch out for them too. Okay, he’s dead now. It’s your time to shine!
Like the silly kids you are, you and Jay completely buy this story and head off hoping to be rich, because there is no way the dead man is lying and he may have led you to a HQ of cultists looking for kids to sacrifice to Shub-Niggurath or something.
One thing you’ll notice right away is that the obligatory companion in this Endless Quest campaign is not some talking object or animal, and in fact, Jay is actually not obnoxious or intrusive at all. He may even offer some good advice now and then.
There are some bad endings, of course, but most of them are obviously telegraphed to the point that you have to deliberately seek out the bad ending just for the fun of it. There are also several routes to a happy ending, and some can be simple while others can be fraught with dangers such as Scarface, wizards, giant hungry frogs, and more.
As a result, there is actually a sense of agency afforded to you, to a degree that is quite rare in this line. You will feel that your choices and decisions do matter, at least, far more than in other campaigns in this line, and that’s always good. This also adds to the replay value of this thing.
The narrative is solid, and Mr McGowen balances the more kids-friendly elements of this campaign with some degree of somewhat more mature but still kids-friendly stuff so that the younger players won’t feel talked down to or made to feel like a dumb little kid.
Because of all these virtues, King’s Quest is indeed a fun gamebook to play at least twice!
