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Thayer's Quest

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Thayer's Quest
Developer(s)RDI Video Systems
Platform(s)Arcade, 3DO, Philips CD-i, PC, DVD
Release1984
Genre(s)Interactive movie
Mode(s)Single player

Thayer's Quest is a laserdisc adventure game initially developed by RDI Video Systems in 1984 for their unreleased Halcyon console and later in arcades as a conversion kit for Dragon's Lair.[1] In 1994-1995 it was ported to home consoles and PC under the title Kingdom: The Far Reaches. The arcade machine had a membrane keypad for controls instead of a joystick. To help players learn the daunting—for an arcade game—controls, a small holder containing instructional leaflets was attached to the cabinet.[1]

Plot

The player controls Thayer Alconred, an apprentice magician on a quest to recover the five magical relics that make up the Hand of Quoid ("kwod") before the evil wizard Sorsabal can find them and cement his rule over the five kingdoms. During the game, Thayer Alconred only visits three of the kingdoms and finds their relics.

Gameplay

The game is fully animated like Dragon's Lair but requires more than simply choosing when to fight or which way to dodge in accordance with the animation. Instead the player has full control over Thayer Alconred's movement to different areas and must find and use a variety of magical objects to overcome enemies and obstacles like in most later graphic adventure games. There are many ways to mess up and permanently lose the game. There are several branching paths, resulting in different dialogue. The RDI'S Computer voice sometimes gives hints and the player's score.

Sequels and rereleases

A sequel incorporating the rest of Thayer Alconred journey was planned, but the company went bankrupt before it could be completed. In the mid-1990s, Thayer's Quest was released to home computers and CD-based consoles titled Kingdom: The Far Reaches, with the characters' names changed (Thayer Alconred became Lathan Kandor, Sorsabal became Torlock, etc., because creator Rick Dyer thought the original character and names were "too 70's") and additional animation and puzzles. In 1998 Kingdom II: Shadoan was released, including the final two kingdoms and the final battle with Torlock. In 2005 the original Thayer's Quest was released as a DVD video game by Digital Leisure, Inc. (true to the original Halcyon version) and could be played on an ordinary DVD player using the remote control. Thayer's Quest was also released for the CD-ROM by Digital Leisure.

Reception

The home versions of the game received mostly mediocre reviews. Critics disparaged the trial-and-error gameplay,[4][5] general repetitiveness,[2][4] limited interaction,[2][3] and unimaginative and poor quality full motion video (likened by many critics to a Saturday-morning cartoon).[2][3][4][5] While Scary Larry of GamePro praised the gameplay for being much less linear than Dragon's Lair, he felt this was insufficient to make it appeal to seasoned gamers.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Thayer's Quest". Dragon's Lair Project.
  2. ^ a b c d Rose, Michael T. (July 21, 1995). "News". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Maximum Reviews: Kingdom: The Far Reaches". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine (1). Emap International Limited: 159. October 1995.
  4. ^ a b c d "Kingdom: The Far Reaches". Next Generation (12). Imagine Media: 186. December 1995.
  5. ^ a b c "ProReview: Kingdom: The Far Reaches". GamePro (85). IDG: 96. October 1995.
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