King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones (RtT Remake) (PC, 2002/2009)
Graphics-7 Sound-7.5 Control-6.5 Challenge-6.5 Story-6.5
Level Design-6 Frustration-8 Fun-6 Originality-6
Overall Score-6
+
New content (altered and more fleshed out story, new puzzles/characters/locations)
Updated audio and visuals (on par with or better than the previous game)
Decent voice acting overall (each piece of dialogue can be skipped, can be turned off)
Skippable walking/swimming animations (press Esc)
Improved interface (roughly on par with early 90s Sierra games, no need to type what you want to do, less picky about positioning)
Game speed options
Some good humour (sarcastic, surreal, silly, puns)
Many ways to die
Points system (get more points for better solutions to puzzles and being thorough)
Some alternate solutions (monk, ferryman)
Some directions are given via the narrator and NPCs here, you can now get a lot of different reactions from the narrator by trying to talk to different objects, larger world than in the prequel and the original version, lots of fluff to read (clashes with the comical tone of the game though and slows down its pacing), some good puzzles (the tiara, baby pumpkin, swamp maze, tower door), you get to create a spell by mixing certain ingredients, can skip all/most cutscenes after having finished the game once (there should've been an option to at least speed them up right away)
+/-
Much longer descriptions of objects and areas overall when looking around, save anywhere outside of a cutscene (nameable saves (short character limit though), 20+ slots)
Pop-up interface at the top of the screen (fairly easy to accidentally trigger)
No health (you can fall from a tree over and over?)
Open ended beginning (many accessible screens right away) but much more linear structure overall than in the prequel (can't go into Hagatha's cave before getting a quest involving it for example)
Would've been nice to be able to type out actions as an option (to try out different things and see the result)
No in-game map (this world is a bit easier to navigate though)
Enemies don't follow you to the next screen, the backstory is in the manual
Tons of fetch quests
F5 (quicksave) also skips dialogue (fairly easy to skip a text box by accident)
The world no longer wraps around here (was a weird feature in the prequel but it did help somewhat with backtracking)
-
Trial & error (fairly easy to miss the wolfbane potion, short timer when trapped by the dwarf at the bridge and when facing Hagatha in the tower (perhaps there could've been a counter listing how many actions you had left before a counter attack or something), getting the reed to shoot the poisoned needle with (it doesn't stand out at all on the screen it's found on), can't donate to the church via the monk, finding the little girl (Possum) again at night time - need to go get the crucifix from the monk (why wouldn't he give it to you right away if he wanted you to have it?) and then wander around a bit in the forest (this whole sequence would've been smoother if you could examine the cross-shaped lock on the castle door), the poisoned thorns outside the castle don't stand out from the background, sudden timed events, you'll automatically tell the merchant in Kolyma about the coins you threw in the fountain when first trying to talk to him, unexpected need for carefully controlling Graham (to avoid falling down a platform for example), can't swim very far into the sea (no warning given), you'll die if you try talking into the cave near the beach, )
Uneven VA quality (acting and sound quality - the librarian and pumpkin mom are kind of annoying, several characters are acted by someone whose first language isn't English) - the little girl's voice acting is particularly bad (sounds like an adult foreigner with some weird effect on their voice, the script also makes her sound more like an adult than a child)
Can't quickly cycle between the items (could've been done by right clicking the item icon in the pop-up menu)
Can't skip several in-game cutscenes (Graham walking up to objects to interact with them, catching the duck, etc.)
Can't skip OR speed up most cutscenes
No clear indication of where there is or isn't an exit to an interconnected area (such as the walk icon changing or whatnot; it's not always obvious where you can walk into the horizon for example))
Some odd color choices (dark turquoise icons) and sometimes smudgy shading/sprite definition, poor to average cutscene stills (sometimes laughable)
So-so animation (the Graham close up at the mirror in the intro ends up being funny)
Pretty limited options (''you'd rather not'', ''can't use that here'', can't explore most of the town, can't cut free the creature in the haystack?, can't be evil)
Logical inconsistencies (can't use the emerald on the clearly enchanted mermaid's pendant and the bat symbol at Hagatha's cave, can't dive into the sea in the beginning, sometimes need to manually move close to an object to inspect or interact with it without there being a platforming challenge involved)
While the new interaction interface is much more user friendly overall it can cause problems (see Kolyma above, trying to pray with the monk (need to interact with a specific part of the altar when you could've just typed ''pray''))
Still no action hotkeys (see Maniac Mansion Deluxe)
Crude 3D cutscene in the intro (looks like something on the LaserActive and clashes with the rest of the visuals)
Parts of the Sharkee segment (frustrating guard encounters where you need to react quickly to not die, several unskippable in-game cutscenes, for some reason you can't mount the seahorse while taking the backdoor into their base (not that it's useful there)
Easy chase sequence (similar to the ones in Lion King or Mickey Mania but the scrolling is pretty choppy here) and weren't the guards supposed to have poor sight and the cave be dark?
Cheap death after the chase sequence in the backdoor cave (pretty much need to die so you can get a hint on how to deal with the two guards)) - however the puzzles are decent and it feels good to get revenge on the guards after getting the trident
No journal/log feature (there's a lot more text in this than in the previous game and you need to remember some things for much later (the crystal in the sword which isn't clearly visible in the inventory, where the row of six stones is located near the beginning, the name of the correct grave in the church since you can't bring that note with you for some reason)
Very vague reply options during the air gem tests
The candle puzzle (you wait over half the game to use it and then there's a torch downstairs - dumb!)
Some backtracking (through the swamp..., Graham should remember the path after going through it once)
Tedious library puzzle (too many books, Little Bo Peep is kind of an obscure fairytale?)
No use for the horse in town
Can't cancel the move while Graham is walking towards an object you're trying to interact with
Level Design-6 Frustration-8 Fun-6 Originality-6
Overall Score-6
+
New content (altered and more fleshed out story, new puzzles/characters/locations)
Updated audio and visuals (on par with or better than the previous game)
Decent voice acting overall (each piece of dialogue can be skipped, can be turned off)
Skippable walking/swimming animations (press Esc)
Improved interface (roughly on par with early 90s Sierra games, no need to type what you want to do, less picky about positioning)
Game speed options
Some good humour (sarcastic, surreal, silly, puns)
Many ways to die
Points system (get more points for better solutions to puzzles and being thorough)
Some alternate solutions (monk, ferryman)
Some directions are given via the narrator and NPCs here, you can now get a lot of different reactions from the narrator by trying to talk to different objects, larger world than in the prequel and the original version, lots of fluff to read (clashes with the comical tone of the game though and slows down its pacing), some good puzzles (the tiara, baby pumpkin, swamp maze, tower door), you get to create a spell by mixing certain ingredients, can skip all/most cutscenes after having finished the game once (there should've been an option to at least speed them up right away)
+/-
Much longer descriptions of objects and areas overall when looking around, save anywhere outside of a cutscene (nameable saves (short character limit though), 20+ slots)
Pop-up interface at the top of the screen (fairly easy to accidentally trigger)
No health (you can fall from a tree over and over?)
Open ended beginning (many accessible screens right away) but much more linear structure overall than in the prequel (can't go into Hagatha's cave before getting a quest involving it for example)
Would've been nice to be able to type out actions as an option (to try out different things and see the result)
No in-game map (this world is a bit easier to navigate though)
Enemies don't follow you to the next screen, the backstory is in the manual
Tons of fetch quests
F5 (quicksave) also skips dialogue (fairly easy to skip a text box by accident)
The world no longer wraps around here (was a weird feature in the prequel but it did help somewhat with backtracking)
-
Trial & error (fairly easy to miss the wolfbane potion, short timer when trapped by the dwarf at the bridge and when facing Hagatha in the tower (perhaps there could've been a counter listing how many actions you had left before a counter attack or something), getting the reed to shoot the poisoned needle with (it doesn't stand out at all on the screen it's found on), can't donate to the church via the monk, finding the little girl (Possum) again at night time - need to go get the crucifix from the monk (why wouldn't he give it to you right away if he wanted you to have it?) and then wander around a bit in the forest (this whole sequence would've been smoother if you could examine the cross-shaped lock on the castle door), the poisoned thorns outside the castle don't stand out from the background, sudden timed events, you'll automatically tell the merchant in Kolyma about the coins you threw in the fountain when first trying to talk to him, unexpected need for carefully controlling Graham (to avoid falling down a platform for example), can't swim very far into the sea (no warning given), you'll die if you try talking into the cave near the beach, )
Uneven VA quality (acting and sound quality - the librarian and pumpkin mom are kind of annoying, several characters are acted by someone whose first language isn't English) - the little girl's voice acting is particularly bad (sounds like an adult foreigner with some weird effect on their voice, the script also makes her sound more like an adult than a child)
Can't quickly cycle between the items (could've been done by right clicking the item icon in the pop-up menu)
Can't skip several in-game cutscenes (Graham walking up to objects to interact with them, catching the duck, etc.)
Can't skip OR speed up most cutscenes
No clear indication of where there is or isn't an exit to an interconnected area (such as the walk icon changing or whatnot; it's not always obvious where you can walk into the horizon for example))
Some odd color choices (dark turquoise icons) and sometimes smudgy shading/sprite definition, poor to average cutscene stills (sometimes laughable)
So-so animation (the Graham close up at the mirror in the intro ends up being funny)
Pretty limited options (''you'd rather not'', ''can't use that here'', can't explore most of the town, can't cut free the creature in the haystack?, can't be evil)
Logical inconsistencies (can't use the emerald on the clearly enchanted mermaid's pendant and the bat symbol at Hagatha's cave, can't dive into the sea in the beginning, sometimes need to manually move close to an object to inspect or interact with it without there being a platforming challenge involved)
While the new interaction interface is much more user friendly overall it can cause problems (see Kolyma above, trying to pray with the monk (need to interact with a specific part of the altar when you could've just typed ''pray''))
Still no action hotkeys (see Maniac Mansion Deluxe)
Crude 3D cutscene in the intro (looks like something on the LaserActive and clashes with the rest of the visuals)
Parts of the Sharkee segment (frustrating guard encounters where you need to react quickly to not die, several unskippable in-game cutscenes, for some reason you can't mount the seahorse while taking the backdoor into their base (not that it's useful there)
Easy chase sequence (similar to the ones in Lion King or Mickey Mania but the scrolling is pretty choppy here) and weren't the guards supposed to have poor sight and the cave be dark?
Cheap death after the chase sequence in the backdoor cave (pretty much need to die so you can get a hint on how to deal with the two guards)) - however the puzzles are decent and it feels good to get revenge on the guards after getting the trident
No journal/log feature (there's a lot more text in this than in the previous game and you need to remember some things for much later (the crystal in the sword which isn't clearly visible in the inventory, where the row of six stones is located near the beginning, the name of the correct grave in the church since you can't bring that note with you for some reason)
Very vague reply options during the air gem tests
The candle puzzle (you wait over half the game to use it and then there's a torch downstairs - dumb!)
Some backtracking (through the swamp..., Graham should remember the path after going through it once)
Tedious library puzzle (too many books, Little Bo Peep is kind of an obscure fairytale?)
No use for the horse in town
Can't cancel the move while Graham is walking towards an object you're trying to interact with