Quest for Glory I: So You Want To Be A Hero

aka: QFG1
Moby ID: 16075
DOS Specs

Description official description

Quest for Glory I: So You Want To Be A Hero is a remake of Hero's Quest: So You Want To Be A Hero.

The remake features 256-color VGA graphics. Locations have been re-drawn, and character portraits appear during conversations. This version also has an icon-based interface instead of the text input of the original, very similar to the one used by Sierra for their adventure titles. The player selects dialogue choices from a dialogue menu, as opposed to typing in conversation topics in the earlier release. A few changes have been made to the dialogue, adding (or altering) some of the easter eggs and references to other games.

Combat now features clay models for the enemies and stop-motion animation. The perspective has been switched to an over-the-shoulder view farther away from the player. Battle commands (two types of attacks, parry, and dodge) are displayed as icons on a shield in the corner of the screen. The player can switch to the spell menu at any time, and also click the middle of the screen to escape from combat.

Spellings

  • 영웅의 길 I: 당신도 영웅이 되고 싶은가 - Korean spelling

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Credits (DOS version)

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 9 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 52 ratings with 8 reviews)

The best adventure game EVER!!

The Good
The story, character development, replayability, music, graphics (great for its time; still not bad though)

The Bad
This game kept me from dating for years. I'm still trying to recover.

The Bottom Line
A must play for anyone who enjoys and adventure game or rpg. There is no way that you won't enjoy this one.

DOS · by Shawn Michaels (1) · 2005

Almost completely superior... almost

The Good
What's there not to like about the game? The hand painted graphics still hold up almost two decades after the game's original release, the claymation monsters and models would never really get old, and the overall story would be best dubbed a classic.

Compared to the EGA version, the land of Spielburg (contrary to popular myth, is not named after Steven Spielburg, but is a pun: Spielburg means 'game town' in German), is much more alive and easier to explore, with the added benefit of a few new easter eggs (such as finding Earl Sinclair from Dinosaurs) that were more from the early 90's than the late 80's. the level of detail and quality of the artwork is better than the original as well. This wasn't surprising, since Quest for Glory was the last major 'quest' series to be launched by Sierra (though not the very last, EcoQuest held that title, but it wasn't nearly as big as any of the rest), and when they got about to making the remakes, it was the very last game to be remade. For that, I'm wiling to assume that the artists had had enough experience with graphic design to make this game the best looking of the original EGA and VGA remakes.

The interface was also quite good, with the icons looking better than most early sierra VGA games actually. What really was improved dramatically I believe I was the combat. Beyond better graphics, I believe that the game play, while not perfect (The series was never that good on combat mechanics), was much better than the original EGA, which for the life of me, I never quite got. Also the tie-ins from other QFG games and sierra series never fail to put a smile on my face. The dialogue trees were also some of the best in the entire series, if overtly simplistic (but that could be excused by the fact that they are not tied to any in-game event, and as such are available in their entirety from the start). And in my own opinion, the inventory interface is still the best in the series.

The Bad
(Please note that these might contain some spoilers. You have been warned)

I mentioned in my title that I called it 'almost' completely superior. Are there problems? Yes there are, and sadly, many of them are so glaring that they seriously detract from the game play and immersion.

Firstly, in the bad old days of pre-DosBox, there was the Sword Master problem... in the game, as a fighter, you had to beat the sword master to get full points, and since the game ran on it's own clock, if you manage to get the game running without dosbox, it meant that he would move at lightening speed and defeat you before you were able to press the first attack button. Though this has been solved by DosBox, it still annoyed me for years on end before then, and I still resent it quite greatly (while other games had clock issues, none of them had problems of this magnitude).

The other big problems were the potions and goblins 'training' looting bugs. When buying potions of the from the healer, you had to open and close your inventory twice after every purchase to make sure you got it. What I mean is, if you buy two stamina potions in a row, but don't check your invention after every purchase, you will only end up with one potion. Same thing applies to looting the dead goblins you fight in the goblin training grounds screen. If you search one and don't double check your invention, you will only get the money from the latest one you searched. Though this isn't a gamebreaker, this issue makes it rather tedious to perform what is a routine game function.

Another bug (again solved by DosBox, but still annoying) is that Yorick does not leave the maze room even after you explain your purpose there, and unless you adjust the game cycles he would continue to throw things at you to hinder your progress through the maze. In the original game, after telling him/ why you were there, he would leave you alone. It was another notable error.

The graphics issue that almost everyone has experienced... well I suppose I could give it a notable mention, but to be honest I was never bothered by it as a kid, and as an adult, I just like to think it's the effect of the mushrooms that the hero would use to get his mind of the fact that every monster in the forest wants him dead.

But to me, the single biggest problem in the entire game is the dagger bug. In every iteration of QFG, before combat, you could throw daggers at your enemy, and then after combat you could pick them up. This includes QFG EGA, but in the VGA remake, if you throw a dagger at your enemy and then enter combat, that dagger is gone forever. You could avert it by throwing a dagger and then picking it up before combat, but that still does not excuse the original issue.

The Bottom Line
Have you ever wished you could leave the world and all it's problem and embark on a great adventure? Well this is it, and it gives a brilliant and colorful start to a great series of adventure games.

That being said, the game really was an overall great improvement and if it wasn't for the annoying bugs, it would have been a 100% improvement over the original in every way.

DOS · by Salim Farhat (69) · 2011

The village of Spielburg needs a hero

The Good
The Coles did an excellent job remaking Quest for glory 1, but let's talk about the game itself, the combination of RPG and adventure elements it's great, a shame it has been used so much. Some of the music pieces in the game are brilliant, i really like the Erana's Peace theme, it's very emotive and calming. The combat system is real good, very efficient and easy to get used to it.

The Bad
The quests in my opinion are very short and don't give enough sense of adventure, the only one i liked was the Brigand's one, that's a quest in my opinion. Something very silly and atmosphere-killing was the freaky magic-room by the end, i hated it, and if you are running your game in Windows you will hate it even more (you know about those timing problems in most sierra games) Also, being a remake, the Coles could have worked some more in making the game longer and adding some more new elements, it would have done the game a big favour.

The Bottom Line
The birth of a great saga, not my favourite of the 5 sequels but it's ok, if you would like to get into RPG's this game is a great starting point.

DOS · by Depth Lord (934) · 2005

[ View all 8 player reviews ]

Trivia

Easter Eggs

  • If you walk right, straight out of Spielburg, then back to the Spielburg gates a few times, you'll meet up with the father from the TV series Dinosaurs
  • When you take a look at the lamp in the Kattas Tail Inn, it says "Lamp for rent. Inquire in Quest for Glory 2: Trial by Fire for information."

References

  • Keep clicking the eye icon on the trees, because you'll eventually get one called a "Daventree". This is a reference to Daventry, the main setting of King's Quest.
  • Every now and then when the Gargoyle above Erasmus's house asks "What is your Quest?" (obvious Monty Python joke) one of the answer choices is "I want to be a pirate!" This is, of course, a reference to The Secret of Monkey Island. If you select it, the Gargoyle says "Boy, have you got the wrong game," and sends you back down the mountain.
  • When the gargoyle above Erasmus's house asks the name of the hero, one of the answer options is "Call me Ishmael." This is a reference to Moby Dick.
  • The most common password to the thieves guild in the game is 'schwertfisch'. Schwertfisch is German for swordfish, which in turn is the password to a speakeasy in the Marx Brothers movie Horse Feathers.
  • The town of Spielburg is, of course, named after Steven Spielberg. Sam the beggar also makes a reference to Amblin, which is Steven Spielberg's production company.
  • In Erasmus' house there is a Sarcophagus tied in with a ribbon, called a Lara Bow (a reference to the character Laura Bow from The Colonel's Bequest and The Dagger of Amon Ra).

Information also contributed by Itay Shahar, Leofan93, OceansDaughter, Timo Takalo, and WizardX

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Unicorn Lynx.

Macintosh added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: PsOmA, Alaka, Pseudo_Intellectual, lee jun ho, Trypticon.

Game added December 27, 2004. Last modified January 20, 2024.