Quest for Glory is a series of hybrid role-playing/adventure computer games designed by Corey and Lori Ann Cole . The series combined humor, puzzle elements, themes and characters borrowed from various legends, atrocious puns, and memorable characters, creating one of the most well-remembered series in the Sierra stable.

Although the series was originally titled Hero's Quest, Sierra failed to trademark the name. Consequently, the electronic adaptation of the HeroQuest board game forced Sierra to change the series's title to Quest for Glory. This decision caused all future games in the series and new copies of Hero's Quest I to switch over to the new name.

Games

The series consisted of five games, each of which followed directly upon the events of the last. Previous entries in the series were frequently referenced, often in the form of cameos from recurring characters. The objective of the game is to transform your character from an average Joe to a Hero by completing non linear quests.

Each game drew its inspiration from a different culture and mythology (in order, Germany /fairy tale; Middle Eastern /Arabian Nights; Egyptian/African ; Eastern European; and finally Greco-Mediterranean) with the Hero facing increasingly powerful opponents with help from characters who become increasingly familiar from game to game.

Each game varied somewhat from the tradition it is derived from; for example, Baba Yaga, a character borrowed from the Slavic folklore, first appeared in the first game, as did a Jotun from Scandinavian folklore (named Brauggi in the game). The second game introduced several African-themed characters who reappeared in the third game, and characters from every game and genre in the series reappeared in the fourth and fifth games. In addition to deviating from the player's expectations of the culture represented in each game, the series also included a number of intentional anachronisms, such as the pizza-loving, Frankenstein-like mad scientists in the fourth and fifth games.

Hero's Quest I: So You Want to be a Hero (1989; VGA remake released in 1991)

Hero's Quest I, later rereleased as Quest for Glory I, followed the protagonist on his journey into the valley barony of Spielburg (German for "game town", the first of many puns and in-jokes). The would-be Hero battles monsters and brigands , and helps fairy-tale creatures such as a dryad and a ring of fairies. He also meets recurring series characters such as the wizard Erasmus and his familiar Fenrus, and first hears tales of the benevolent sorceress Erana. In the optimal ending to the game, which nets the player the maximum score and serves as canon for the remainder of the series, the player also frees a Baronet from a powerful curse and thwarts the plans of the witch Baba Yaga. Ultimately, the adventurer fulfills a prophecy, restores Spielburg Valley to prosperity, and is awarded the title of Hero.

Hero's Quest I is the only game in the series in which the player use a character of any character class to complete all of the quests that are specifically oriented towards one particular class. For example, a fighter or thief with enough Magic skill and knowledge of the proper spells can play the Mage's Maze game with Erasmus, although only a magic-user will gain points for beating Erasmus. (Note: Many diehard fans of Quest for Glory resented the VGA rendition due to the lack of movement that was prevalent in the original)

Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire (1990)

Directly following from his success in Spielburg, the newly-titled Hero travels by flying carpet to the desert city of Shapeir. After defeating the four elementals that theaten the city, he travels to the city of Raseir, which was once Shapeir's twin but has decayed into its dark mirror. There, he battles the tyrannous wizard Ad Avis, who falls to his presumed death begging for assistance from his Dark Master. As thanks for the Hero's success in liberating Raseir and restoring its lost splendor, the Sultan of Shapeir rewards the Hero by adopting him as his son.

During the course of the game, a magic-using character can earn the title of "Wizard" with the sponsorship of the wizard Erasmus. An honorable character (typically a Fighter) can be awarded the title of Paladin by Rakeesh, the liontaur (lion-centaur) Paladin.

Quest for Glory III: Wages of War (1992)

Rakeesh the Paladin brings the Hero to his homeland, the tropical realm of Tarna, to help prevent a war and thwart the loosing of a demon upon the world. The Hero earns membership in the warring tribes, and leads his newfound allies into battle against the demon wizard. Howaever, as soon as the battle is won, the Hero suddenly disappears into darkness.

As in the previous game, a Fighter who proves honorable can become a Paladin. A Wizard is given the opportunity to create a magical staff, which can be summoned to augment spellcasting ability while wielded. However, the game's reliance on combat and tests of physical strength leave the Thief underutilized and less able to use stealth and trickery to avoid danger in critical sequences than he could in other entries in the series. Furthermore, Quest for Glory III is the only game in the series to not feature a Thieves' Guild in which the Thief can fence stolen goods, hone his skills, and upgrade his equipment.

Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (1994)

Drawn without warning from victory in Tarna, the Hero arrives without equipment or explanation in the middle of the hazardous Dark Caves in the distant land of Mordavia. Upon escaping from the closing cave mouth, he meets a mysterious young woman named Katrina who assists him again several times in his journey. He encounters several old foes, including the not-quite-dead Ad Avis and the ogress Baba Yaga, and makes several bizarre new allies. The Hero is ultimately coerced into assisting Ad Avis's Dark Master in collecting the Dark Rituals that will awaken Avoozl the Dark One (an obvious Cthulhu pastiche) from his slumber underneath the Dark Caves. Naturally, the Hero is freed from this control and thwarts their plan, destroying both Ad Avis and the Dark Master in the process. During the celebration of the Hero's somewhat pyrrhic victory, the wizard Erasmus appears, summoning the Hero to the land of Silmaria.

Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire (1998)

Erasmus introduces the Hero to the kingdom of Silmaria, whose king was recently murdered. The Rites of Rulership are about to commence, and the victor will be given the crown. The Hero enters the contest with the assistance of Erasmus, Rakeesh, and many old friends from previous entries in the series. Travelling across the kingdom and even into the underworld, he completes the Rites of Rulership. In the process, he exposes the conspiracy that has led to the death of the king and the attempted murder of his compatriots, defeats the traitor to the crown, and destroys the Dragon that menaces the kingdom. He is ultimately given the opportunity to accept the kingdom and to marry one of four possible romantic interests; a Thief can also be made the Chief Thief of the Silmarian Thieves' Guild.

The first four games were intended to indicate the four elements and the four wind directions: in the first game, you are the Hero from the East, in the second, you are from the North, etc. The fifth game was allegedly made only because so many fans demanded it of the original designers. Because of deadline issues, several features were dropped from the fifth game before release, such as several of the wizard's spells, the ability to use a bow, multiplayer capability, and the ability to play as Elsa Spielburg or Magnum Opus, two prominent non-player characters from the game.

The fifth game is arguably a different genre from the first four; while the first four are mostly adventure games incorporating role-playing elements, the fifth game is a role-playing game incorporating some adventure elements. For instance, the fifth game has a wide variety of weapons, armor and magical items, whereas the first four do not. Also in the fifth game nearly every major mission consists of going to some place and defeating some monster in physical or magical combat.

A CD soundtrack to Quest for Glory V was released on CD, and some tracks were made available for free download from Mp3.com.

Collections

• Quest for Glory Anthology (1996) a package that includes all four games, including the fully patched CD version of QFG IV.
• Quest for Glory Collection Series (1997)) re-release of QFG Anthology with a Dragon Fire demo

The world

The fantasy world in which the action takes place is known as Glorianna, and is somewhat a mirror of our own world. In Glorianna, time did not advance in the same pace in all places, so many anachronisms are explained (some places are medieval, others are still at the Bronze Age, some others are almost victorian, and some have pseudo-modern elements). The world is popoulated both by traditional creatures of myth and legend (gnomes, fairies, genies, demons) and by humanoids with animal features, such as the Katta (humanoid cat-people) and the Liontaurs (centaur-like people with leonine heads and hindquarters).

Characters

The enjoyment was enhanced by the player's ability to choose his character's career path from among the three traditional role-playing game backgrounds: fighter, magic-user/wizard and thief. Further variation was added by the ability to customize the Hero's abilities, including the option of selecting skills normally reserved for another character class. During the second or third games, a character, regardless of their class, could be initiated as a Paladin by performing honorable actions, receiving a unique sword in the end. This would change the character's profession in when exported into later games. Any character that finished any game in the series (except Dragon Fire, the last in the series) could be exported to a more recent game, keeping the stats and parts of the inventory. If the character received the paladin sword, he would keep the magic sword and special paladin magic abilities. A character imported into a later game in the series from any other game could be assigned any character class, including Paladin.

Each career path had its own strengths and weaknesses, and beginning with the second game, each had its own unique quests and scenarios. Each class also had its own distinct way to solve various in-game puzzles, which encouraged replay: some puzzles had up to four different solutions. For instance, only the Thief (or a character with Thief skills) would see what the inside of the Thieves' Guild looks like, and generally only a Magic User could play the Mages' Maze minigame against the wizard Erasmus.

The Quest for Glory games also had some memorable Easter eggs, including a number of subtle or not-so-subtle allusions to other Sierra games (such as Dr. Cranium, an allusion to The Castle of Dr. Brain , in the fourth game). Perhaps the most notable Easter egg appeared in the EGA version of Quest for Glory. The player could type "pick nose"; if his lock-picking skill was high enough, the game would respond "Success! You now have an open nose". If the skill was too low, the player would insert the lock pick too far, killing himself.

External links

• The Official Quest for Glory Message Board
• Transolar Games - Jim Katic, Lori Ann and Corey Cole's website
• AGDI - A remake of Quest for Glory 2 in VGA with a point and click interface (in progress, see the Designer Journals here)
• Hero 6 - A fan-made game in the style of the Quest for Glory series
• How to Be a Hero - The official site for the book project between Lori Cole and Mishell Baker
• The Quest for Glory Project - Quest for Glory Fanfiction Archive
• Instructions for running Quest for Glory 5 on Windows 2000 and XP