King's Quest V
A point-and-click adventure with VGA graphics and a talking owl.
In 1990, Sierra On-Line released King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!, a graphic adventure that swapped the series' old typing interface for a point-and-click system. It also brought VGA graphics to the franchise for the first time. The title plays on the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Sierra On-Line; Novotrade International (NES)
- Publisher
- Sierra On-Line; Konami (NES)
- Director
- Roberta Williams
- Artist
- Andy Hoyos
- Programmer
- Chris Iden
- Composer
- Ken Allen; Mark Seibert
- Series
- King's Quest
- Engine
- SCI1
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The game opens with a view of Castle Daventry, which is suddenly engulfed by a whirlwind created by a mysterious cloaked figure. King Graham, who was out walking, returns to find the castle gone. He meets a talking owl named Cedric, who reveals that the evil wizard Mordack stole the castle. Cedric leads Graham to the land of Serenia, where the good wizard Crispin gives Graham advice, his old wand, and a piece of white snake that enables speech with animals. Graham learns that Mordack is the brother of Manannan, whom Graham's son Prince Alexander turned into a cat in King's Quest III. Mordack has imprisoned the royal family out of revenge and threatens to feed them to Manannan unless Prince Alexander reverses the spell. Graham travels through Serenia, gathering items and information, and reaches Mordack's island lair. Cedric accompanies Graham throughout, offering commentary and advice, and must be rescued from danger several times; near the end, Cedric inadvertently saves Graham's life from a spell. With help from another prisoner, Princess Cassima, Graham confronts Mordack in a magical duel, using spells from Mordack's own spell book. After Mordack transforms into a ring of fire, Graham conjures a rainstorm to extinguish it, slaying the wizard. Crispin arrives, restores the castle and royal family, teleports Cassima home, and sends the family back to Daventry.
Versions
King's Quest V was the last series entry to offer EGA and Tandy graphics at 320x200; a separate EGA release used 16-color 320x200 graphics, while the VGA release featured 320x200 256-color VGA graphics. The diskette versions required the player to cast spells by referring to the manual as copy protection, a feature omitted in the CD-ROM version. The disk version had a slightly different interface with an additional walk option, and several animated characters had large closeup pictures of their upper torsos with full animation. The CD-ROM version, released in 1991 and mastered in High Sierra Format, added voice acting and modified many script elements, including giving speaking roles to characters who had none in the floppy version. The CD version showed closeups only on characters' faces and added colored backgrounds and frames around closeup pictures. A Nintendo Entertainment System version was released in June 1992 by Konami and ported by Novotrade. An Atari ST version was announced for a Spring 1991 release but was canceled.
Development
Sierra spent roughly one million dollars on the game. Character animation was built by tracing over live actors, a method also used by Disney for The Little Mermaid. Artists hand-drew, painted, and scanned every background. The CD release used voice sampling for dialogue and cut many text boxes to save disc space. A Sega CD version was planned but never came out.
Reception
King's Quest V had sold 250,000 copies by February 1993, with lifetime sales eventually exceeding 500,000 units. In 1991, Computer Gaming World's Scorpia applauded the game's VGA visuals, sound card support, and streamlined interface, but found its vast desert map largely pointless. She deemed the puzzles simple enough for newcomers, calling the game a "pleasant diversion" for veterans. Dragon magazine awarded it four out of five stars that same year. The CD-ROM version's voice acting drew mixed reactions: Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World called it "wooden" in 1993, though the magazine later noted the quality ranged from excellent to grating. Adventure Gamers rated it three out of five in 2007, while Allgame gave the PC original four stars and the NES port two-and-a-half. The title won the 1991 Software Publishers Association award for Best Fantasy Role-Playing/Adventure Program, and Computer Gaming World named it Adventure Game of the Year for 1991, inducting it into its Hall of Fame in 1992. MPC World readers voted it Best Multimedia Fantasy/Adventure Game in 1992. In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked it the 94th best game ever, remarking that Roberta Williams "horrified Sierra traditionalists" by removing the text parser to showcase the graphics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who developed King's Quest V?
King's Quest V was developed by Sierra On-Line and Novotrade International (NES).
When was King's Quest V released?
King's Quest V was released on November 9, 1990.
What platforms is King's Quest V available on?
King's Quest V was released for MS-DOS, Windows, NES, Mac, Amiga, FM Towns, Tandy Memorex VIS and NEC PC-9801.
Who composed the music for King's Quest V?
The music for King's Quest V was composed by Ken Allen and Mark Seibert.
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