Quest for Glory is a series of video games that mix adventure and role-playing elements. The games were created by Corey and Lori Ann Cole. They were made using the Sierra Creative Interpreter, a set of tools developed by Sierra to help make adventure games. The series includes humor, puzzles, characters, and ideas from different legends and stories. It has five games in Sierra's collection.
The series was first called Hero's Quest. However, Sierra could not legally use that name because Milton Bradley Company had already trademarked the name HeroQuest for their unrelated board game. This forced Sierra to rename the series to Quest for Glory. After this change, all future games in the series and new versions of the first game used the new title.
Series
Lori Cole presented Quest for Glory to Sierra as a "rich, story-focused, role-playing experience." The series included five games, each continuing directly from the previous one. New games often referenced earlier ones, such as characters returning in later games. The goal of the series was to help players transform their character from an ordinary adventurer into a hero by completing quests that could be completed in different orders.
The game introduced a groundbreaking system that let players carry over their character, including skills and items, from one game to the next. The games combined serious stories with humor. Players faced real dangers and performed heroic actions, but the games also included silly details and jokes. Wordplay was common, as seen in the ending of the second game, which called itself the hero's "latest set of adventures and miserable puns."
The series included repeated story elements, such as creating a dispel potion in most games. The games also featured Easter eggs, including references to other Sierra games. For example, typing "pick nose" in the first game (or using the lockpick icon in later versions) could result in a message like "Success! You now have an open nose" if the player's lock-picking skill was high enough. If the skill was too low, the player might accidentally harm themselves. Another example was Dr. Cranium, a nod to The Castle of Dr. Brain, in the fourth game.
Each game was inspired by a different culture and mythology: Germanic/fairy tale, Middle Eastern/Arabian Nights, Egyptian/African, Slavic folklore, and Greco-Mediterranean. The hero faced stronger opponents in later games, with characters becoming more familiar as the series progressed. Some games mixed elements from different cultures, such as Baba Yaga from Slavic folklore appearing in the first game, which was based on German mythology. The second game, inspired by Middle Eastern folklore, included Arab and African-themed characters who returned in later games. It also featured elements from American culture, like references to the movie Casablanca. Characters from all games reappeared in the fourth and fifth games. The series also included intentional anachronisms, such as mad scientists who loved pizza in later games.
Many fans of computer role-playing games (CRPGs) regard the Quest for Glory series as some of the best in the genre. The series is praised for its non-linear gameplay. The games combined elements of adventure and role-playing games, blending serious and humorous tones. They also included innovative features, such as day-night cycles, non-playable characters with their own schedules, and character improvement through practice and skill points. Websites like Polygon and Kotaku have called the game a precursor to modern RPGs. Fraser Brown of Destructoid described the games as "one of the greatest adventure series of all time." Rowan Kaizer of Engadget credited the series' mix of adventure and role-playing systems for its success. He noted that most puzzles in Quest for Glory required skill checks, allowing players to succeed through practice or exploration rather than relying on random item combinations.
Gameplay
The first four games in the series are a mix of adventure and role-playing games, with combat that happens as the game plays. The fifth game changes to an action role-playing game style.
Earlier Sierra adventure games had certain gameplay rules, but these games improve on them by letting players choose a character’s career path from three traditional role-playing backgrounds: fighter, magic-user/wizard, or thief. Players can also customize the Hero’s abilities, including choosing skills usually limited to other classes, which creates unique combinations called "hybrid characters." In the second or third games, a character can become a Paladin by doing honorable actions, which changes their class, abilities, and gives them a special sword. This change stays with the character if they are used in later games. Any character who finishes a game (except Dragon Fire, the last game) can be used in a newer game (Shadows of Darkness has a glitch that allows importing characters from the same game). The character keeps their stats and some items from their inventory. If the character has the Paladin sword, they retain it along with special magic abilities, except in Shadows of Darkness, where they lose all items, including weapons, at the start of the game. A character brought into a later game can be assigned any class, including Paladin.
Each career path has its own strengths, weaknesses, and unique situations based on the skills of that class. Each class also has its own way to solve puzzles, which encourages replaying the game. Some puzzles have up to four different solutions. For example, if a door is closed, a fighter might knock it down instead of using a spell or lockpicking. Magic users and thieves cannot fight up close like fighters but can attack from a distance using daggers or spells. An example of these differences happens early in the first game: a gold ring owned by a healer is in a nest on a tree. A fighter might throw rocks to make the nest fall, a thief might climb the tree, and a magic user might use a spell to get the nest. After retrieving the ring, the fighter and magic user return it for a reward, while the thief can choose to return it or sell it to the thieves’ guild (which is only available to those with "thieving" skills). Over time, a character can gain skills from all classes, allowing them to do nearly any task. However, some tasks are only available to specific classes.
Each class has unique abilities and a shared set of attributes that can be improved by completing tasks and quests. In most games, the maximum value for an ability is 100 multiplied by the game number. Quest for Glory V allows extra points that can increase attributes beyond normal limits and includes special equipment that changes stats. At the start of each game, players assign points to attributes, and some classes only have specific attributes available, though extra skills can be added for a cost.
General attributes affect all classes and how characters interact with objects and other players. High strength allows moving heavy objects, and high communication skills help in bargaining with sellers. These attributes improve by performing related actions, like climbing a tree to increase climbing skills or running to improve vitality. Some skills are tied to specific classes: parrying (blocking attacks) is mainly for fighters and paladins, lockpicking and sneaking are for thieves, and casting spells is for magic users.
Vital statistics decrease when certain actions are taken. Health, based on strength and vitality, determines how much damage a character can take. Stamina, based on agility and vitality, limits how many actions a character can perform before needing rest. Mana is only used by magic users and depends on intelligence and magic attributes.
Puzzle and Experience points track a player’s progress and development in the game. In the first game, these points also affect the types of random encounters a player faces, as some monsters appear only after reaching a certain experience level.
Games
In the valley region of Spielburg, a wicked witch named Baba Yaga has placed a curse on the land and the baron who tried to remove her. His children have vanished, and the area is ruined by monsters and thieves. The Valley of Spielburg needs a Hero to fix these problems.
The first game was released in 1989. A version with better graphics was released in 1992.
Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire is set in the land of Shapeir, which is part of the world of Gloriana. This game follows the events of the first game. The Hero of Spielburg, now famous, travels by flying carpet with friends Abdulla Doo, Shameen, and Shema to the desert city of Shapeir. The city faces threats from magical creatures, and the Emir of Shapeir’s sister city, Raseir, is missing. Raseir has been taken over by a cruel ruler.
Quest for Glory II is the only game in the series that was not remade beyond the original EGA graphics by Sierra. However, AGD Interactive made a version with better graphics in 2008 using the Adventure Game Studio engine.
Rakeesh the Paladin brings the Hero (and Prince of Shapeir) along with Uhura and her son Simba to his homeland, the town of Tarna. Tarna is in a jungle and savannah area called Fricana, which is similar to central African ecosystems.
Tarna is close to war. Uhura’s tribe, the Simbani, is ready to fight the Leopardmen. Each tribe has stolen a sacred object from the other, and neither will return it unless the other does. The Hero must stop the war and stop a demon that could destroy the world.
The Hero is suddenly taken from his victory in Fricana and appears in the dangerous Dark One Caves in the distant land of Mordavia without equipment or explanation. While trying to survive in this land filled with undead creatures, the Hero must stop a dark power from bringing eternal darkness to the world.
Erasmus introduces the Hero to the Greece-like kingdom of Silmaria, where the king was recently killed. The traditional Rites of Rulership are about to begin, and the winner will become king. The Hero competes with help from Erasmus, Rakeesh, and friends from earlier games. The Hero faces competitors such as the Silmarian guard Kokeeno Pookameeso, the warlord Magnum Opus, the large warrior Gort, and the fighter Elsa Von Spielburg.
Original concept
The game series was originally planned as a set of four games, each based on different themes: the four cardinal directions, the four classical elements (earth, air, fire, and water), the four seasons, and four different mythologies.
The creators had this plan in mind:
When designing Shadows of Darkness, the developers realized it would be too difficult for the hero to travel directly from Shapeir to Mordavia and defeat the Dark One. To fix this, they added a new game, Wages of War, to the official order of the series. This change caused the games to be renumbered. Evidence of this can be found at the end of Trial by Fire, where players are told the next game will be Shadows of Darkness, and a fanged vampiric moon appears to hint at the game’s theme.
In the Fall 1992 issue of Sierra’s InterAction magazine and an online chat room, the developers explained their plans. Corey said, “We wanted themes that connect the story. We used the four seasons, the four elements, and the four cardinal directions of the compass. We planned four games to follow these ideas.”
The first game, So You Want to Be a Hero, was set in spring and focused on earth, taking place in medieval Germany in the north. The second game, Trial by Fire, was set in summer and focused on fire, taking place in the south in Arabia.
The original third game was planned to be Shadows of Darkness, set in Transylvania in the east during fall and focused on air.
Between finishing Trial by Fire and starting work on Shadows of Darkness, the developers realized they needed a fifth game to help the hero grow stronger. This game became Wages of War.
The seasons in the games show the hero’s development as he moves through the story. The series was designed as a complete set of four stories, forming a single saga with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Corey explained, “One theme is the hero’s growth. In the first game, he is an adolescent. In the second, he becomes more confident. In the third, he becomes a master of his skills. In the fourth, he reaches his peak.”
In the first game, the player is a new graduate of the Famous Adventurer’s Correspondence School, starting his journey in spring. The game is fun and can be replayed three times with different puzzle-solving approaches.
In the second game, Trial by Fire, the hero faces more difficult challenges during summer. While the game is more serious, it still includes fantasy, humor, and challenges that made the first game popular.
The developers felt the hero needed more development before facing the challenges in Shadows of Darkness. Corey said, “Shadows of Darkness will be very hard. You’ll face tough enemies from the start.”
Lori added, “In Trial by Fire, you had friends and places to rest. In Shadows of Darkness, you’ll be alone and unable to trust anyone. Wages of War helps you grow. At first, you have allies, but eventually, you must solve the mystery alone.”
— Lori and Corey Cole
Characters
In addition to the Hero, many characters appear and return in the series. These include Rakeesh Sah Tarna, Baba Yaga, Abdullah Doo, Elsa von Spielburg, the evil Ad Avis, and others.
World
The fictional world of the Quest for Glory series includes several locations inspired by different cultures and myths. These include the town of Spielburg, which is based on German folklore and Norse mythology; the desert city of Shapeir, inspired by the Arabian tales from One Thousand and One Nights; the jungle city of Tarna, influenced by African mythology, especially Egyptian traditions; the village of Mordavia, rooted in Slavic mythology; and Silmaria, based on Greek mythology. The adventures, monsters, and stories in the games often come from the myths of the culture each location represents. However, there are some exceptions, such as the character Baba Yaga from Eastern European folklore appearing in the first game, even though that game is set in a world inspired by German and Nordic traditions.