King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow

aka: KQ6, King's Quest VI: Heute geerbt und morgen verschwunden
Moby ID: 131
DOS Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/27 9:24 PM )

Description official descriptions

For months Prince Alexander of Daventry has shut himself away from the world, thinking only of Princess Cassima, who he met while imprisoned in the previous game. Eventually he can take it no longer, and he hires a ship to search for the Land of the Green Isles located on the edge of the world. After months of searching he finally sets sight upon the island kingdom, only for a freak storm to strike the ship, destroying it and leaving him the only survivor. His troubles are far from over, however, as he soon finds out that the King and Queen have passed away, the Greens Isles are on the brink of war, and his beloved Princess Cassima may even be held prisoner by the royal vizier.

Like its predecessors in the series, King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow is a third-person puzzle-solving adventure game. For Alexander to save the Isles, he must travel between the Land's four magical islands, each based on myth and fables, and encounter people and strange beasts that will either help or hinder him. Alexander must be careful as well, because, as with all the King's Quest games, poor choices or missteps will often prove fatal for the Prince. Puzzles are solved linearly, although late in the game there are two completely different paths to take to reach the final confrontation. Like the previous game, actions are performed using a point-and-click interface with icons that represent verbs ("walk", "examine", "use", "talk", etc.).

The CD-ROM version of the game includes both DOS and Windows versions, full speech, a pre-rendered introduction, and the Girl in the Tower theme song.

Spellings

  • 國王密使 VI:希望之旅 - Traditional Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

39 People (37 developers, 2 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 26 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 162 ratings with 11 reviews)

This is possibly the best Kings Quest adventure in the series.

The Good
This game is part of the great Kings Quest series, all great adventures. In my opinion, this game is the best one of all. It has many puzzles that can be solved in different ways, one way easier than the other. But choosing the hard way over the easy will give you the best ending. Meet a lot of cool people in a fantasy world divided into several islands. Overall, this game is very cool and it will keep you playing, and you won't be stuck too long because of the multiple puzzle solutions.

The Bad
The story was a little unoriginal. A prince looking for his great love who is locked up in a tower by the evil wizard who wants to marry her to gain control over the land. But the way it is brought in this game, it doesn't matter much. Another thing that is a little anoying is the unexpected deaths. Example : You walk in a maze, you enter a passage (You cannot see where it will lead) and at the end of this passage, there's a hole in the ground, you fall in and are dead.

The Bottom Line
A very good adventure game with nice puzzles and riddles. A must for lovers of adventure games!

DOS · by Robert Pragt (27) · 2001

Classic adventure with a pretty facelift

The Good
King's Quest 6 plays as a classic fairy tale might. The plot is unusually complex and rich for the series, thanks to contributions by Gabriel Knight writer/designer Jane Jensen, who's design methods complemented Roberta Williams' perfectly in this installment.

The plot itself has been done before, even in the series (Prince Alexander sets out to rescue his love after seeing her trapped in a tower through an enchanted mirror), but the flair and atmosphere with which the game executed is phenomenal. Charmingly quirky at times and dark and mysterious at others, the game provides brain-teasing puzzles set against a vibrant environment that ranges in influence from Arabian Knights to Alice in Wonderland.

Beauty and the Beast's Robbie Benson does a solid job as the protagonist, and its ironically funny to hear him interact with the game's own equivalent of Beast. This was also the first entry in the series to offer multiple solutions to solve the game, one of which permitted you to skip a good 1/3rd of the game (this component was half-heartedly featured in the series' next installment as well).

The Windows version features newly-detailed character portraits that are a nice, if unnecessary, addition.

The Bad
Despite the multiple paths, the game's replayability factor is somewhat limited. Some of the puzzles are unnecessarily frustrating (this is during a time when Sierra cruelly worked anti-piracy techniques into the game's structure, frustrating those who owned legitimate copies), requiring you to save often and reattempt all-too-often. It's also very easy to miss something or make a mistake that will have fantastically bad and unforeseen consequences for the future. One such puzzle involves descending to the underworld to save the love interest's parents, only to discover that if when you get back, you forgot to pick up water from the River Styx, you are stuck without recourse and must load from a previous save. There are several instances like this where even people who have played the game multiple times before (myself included) can easily get stuck.

The Bottom Line
If you're an adventure gamer, you've already played this, and I don't have to say anything. If you're just getting into the series or the genre, this is an essential. A true classic.

Windows 3.x · by jTrippy (58) · 2007

A great adventure from Sierra and one of the best IF not the best Kings Quest games!

The Good
The good points

The Graphics are highly detailed for their time and are filled with lush color.

The voice acting on the cd version is actually VERY well done compared to other voice acted games of the time. Kudos for sierra for giving a good cast!

Some puzzles are particularly devious. The cliffs of logic were rather tough and took time since you had to actually use that manual for something!

Alexander is a great main character and has quite a bit of intellect by him. You gotta admire the courage he has to meet a princess in a basically unknown land.

The Interface is great and easy to use. Out of all the interfaces sierra has this is my favorite.

The land of the green isles is varied and quite big for a adventure.

The game has TWO different endings!

The Bad
The game once beaten is very short and can be beat in about 20-30 minutes once you memorize all the puzzles and use the fastest route to beat the game.

the game does not have much replay value after you beat it and get both endings though you may want to replay it every few years to forget the puzzles and get the gameplay through again.

The Catacombs maze is rather annoying.

The Bottom Line
First a little backstory on how I came across this game

It was a beautiful day in 1996 when I was out getting the first family computer! Back in those days before I could get a computer of my own I was out in a computer expo and there I saw it! The cd version of Kings Quest VI Heir Today gone Tomorrow in a box brand new for four dollars! This being my first computer game I was completely awe struck at the colorful graphics and the great voice acting.

Now that the past is gone I still have this game and manual and pull it out every once in a while to relive the land of the green isles. The game as you know is a Sierra adventure game and goes with every other click game sierra made. You know Gabriel Knight, Eco Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Police Quest, Quest for Glory and so forth. Great stuff.

If you love adventure games get this game which is a pinnacle of Sierra gaming! The best in my opinion of the kings quest series!

DOS · by Mr. Huh (105) · 2004

[ View all 11 player reviews ]

Trivia

Amiga version

The back cover of the Amiga version contains information: "Beautiful graphics in 256 colours or 32 colours (two versions available)." but the game was released only in 32 colours version.

According to KQ VI reviews in Amiga Computing, Amiga Format and Amiga Power magazines Sierra originally planned to release a 256 colours version but decided that 32 colours version looked so good already so they shelved the idea.

The game was ported to the Amiga by Revolution Software, though the company wasn't credited on the box or in the manual. This is why this version uses Revolution's Virtual Theatre engine instead of SCI.

CD version

The CD version of King's Quest VI includes Girl in the Tower , the theme song to the game, composed by Mark Seibertm in full length. A sample of it can be heard on the floppy version for five seconds, then the game urges you to ring up radio stations that was listed in the manual and request it. Also the introduction was also extended in the CD version.

Music

Chris Braymen, the game's composer, quoted a Gregorian chant (Dies Irae) in the theme that plays when Prince Alexander is captured in the Catacombs of the Isle of the Sacred Mountain. It's a famous theme, quoted as well in many classical compositions such as Berlioz' Symphonie fantastique (5th part), in Stanley Kubrick's films The Shining and A Clockwork Orange, and also in Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Room of the God Machine).

References

King's Quest VI's villain is named Abdul Alhazred; this name was taken from the work of horror and sci-fi writer H.P. Lovecraft. Abdul was a fictional character (also dubbed ''the Mad Arab'') who wrote the Necronomicon.

Technology

This was Sierra's first adventure game to feature their lipsyncing technology that they got when they bought out Bright Star Technology.

Awards

  • Power Play
    • Issue 02/1993 – #2 Best Presentation in 1992

Information also contributed by B14ck W01f, B.L. Stryker, game nostalgia and Jiguryo

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

King's Quest 4+5+6
Released 2010 on Windows
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!
Released 1990 on DOS, 1991 on Amiga, Windows 3.x...
King's Quest: Mask of Eternity
Released 1998 on Windows
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation
Released 2010 on Nintendo DS, 2015 on Android, iPhone
Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI: Awakening of the Dragon
Released 1998 on Macintosh, PlayStation, Dreamcast...
Roberta Williams' King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride
Released 1994 on DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows
King's Quest III: To Heir is Human
Released 1986 on DOS, 1987 on Atari ST, Amiga...
King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human
Released 2006 on Windows
King's Quest
Released 1984 on PC Booter, 1986 on Amiga, 1987 on DOS...

Related Sites +

  • Game Nostalgia
    Provides extensive background info for King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow, pictures of the cast and examples of voice-overs, full credits with shots and info about the design team, demo of the game, specific details about the game, various goodies, all musical themes, shots of every location in the game, video clips, saved games, a list of reviews, including a "nostalgic" review and tech specs.
  • Hints for KQ6
    These hints will help you solve the game.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 131
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Andy Roark.

Amiga added by POMAH. Windows 3.x added by Mr. Huh. Macintosh added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Adam Baratz, Katakis | カタキス, Jeanne, formercontrib, game nostalgia, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger.

Game added May 23, 1999. Last modified February 13, 2024.