The Classic Flashback 4.30.09: Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire

Posted by Ty Huston on 04.30.2009

411's Ty Huston relives his personal favorite as he continues the trip down memory lane, and Sierra Online's golden years, in this week's Classic Flashback!

It's that time again – time for the Classic Flashback.

A Classic Flashback is a return to older games that I personally have enjoyed and have shaped the way I play games. Last week's column was the introduction to the Quest for Glory series and an exploration of the first title, So You Want to be a Hero. I was pleased to see the positive responses in the feedback and will definitely continue going through the rest of the series. I also have a surprise for Quest for Glory fans after I give the retrospective on the fifth installment in the series: Dragon Fire. Now then, let's get on to this week's topic - Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire.





Game: Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire
System: DOS, Amiga
Developer: Sierra Online
Publisher: Sierra Online
Release Date(s): November 1990 (EGA)




The Story

The story in Trial By Fire is probably the greatest thing about the entire game. It continues exactly where you ended in the first game – as the Hero of Spielberg. In the closing moments of the original game (and as shown in one of the screenshots from last week) you finish saving Spielberg only to be needed in a far away land. You are enlisted by a handful of merchants, two being Katta (cat-like humanoids) from the first game, Shema and Shameen; and a fat human merchant named Abdulla Doo. The four of you ride away on a magic carpet to the distant land of Shapier, a desert city.

Once there, you understand why you've been called here. A city to the south, Shapier's sister city named Rasier (which is an anagram for Sierra, by the way), has had their Emir (ruler) disappear and has fallen under tyranny. The Hero must investigate the mysterious disappearance, fighting dark and powerful magic and uncover the pieces to the puzzle. This feat requires defeating four magical elementals, travel to Rasier, and fight the evil being behind all of this madness in an attempt to save both desert cities. The game has a definite Arabian Nights influence to it, with the desert cities, clothing and culture.



Gameplay

Like the original version of the first game, Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire was created using a hybrid version of the SCI0 and SCI1 engines. That means the game was a whopping 16 colors and controlling your character was based upon asking the game questions. What is incredible about this is that many other games were already being released using 256 colors at the time this game was released and this is, perhaps, the most beautiful 16 color game Sierra ever made. I'm not the only person that believes that either. Simply look at the screenshots and think of how detailed and clear they are considering they used a 16 color palette to create them. Amazing. This game began incorporating the use of the mouse in the game as well, for movement.

While the game follows the first game, it is also quite different. Where the first game was one of the very first to incorporate the day/night cycle as well as differing graphic sets based on those cycles, this game features a strict timeline in which certain tasks much be achieved. The entire game takes place in a cycle of 30 days in the game. Many of the games' puzzles or quests cannot be completed unless certain days. While that sounds very restrictive, and can feel that way until you get the hang of the game, once you have an idea of how the game plays it is actually quite a bit of time to play. The advantage to this tight time frame is that it keeps the linear narrative of the story progressing and keeps your character from becoming too off-course with side quests and the like. In one particular point in the game, you reach the city of Rasier, and during the three days spent there time significantly slows down which can seem like forever although it is simply to accommodate the amount of tasks required while you are there.

During the game, you have the opportunity to advance your character greatly. Magic-users can gain the sponsorship of Erasmus from the first game and enter the "Wizard's Institute of Technocery" where he faces challenges and upon graduation becomes a full-blown Wizard. Fighters may gain acceptance into the Eternal Order of Fighters. Thieves, while not directly joining the local thieves' guild, can perform several thefts. One of the most brilliant things about this game, and series, is that just as with the first game you are not limited to following these specific paths. Training in different skills can realistically allow you to become a Wizard, perform all the thefts and join the Eternal Order of Fighters. At the end of the game, however, based upon your honor, you are offered the opportunity to become a Paladin. Unfortunately, the advantage to gaining this class is not useable until the next game in the series.





Audio

Just like the first game, we're talking music in all its MIDI glory. The Arabian influence in the graphics and writing are emphasized in the music, which has a distinctive Arabian sound to it, from the Quest for Glory theme to the rest of the soundtrack. It really helps set the mood for scenes properly and can be considered one of the great achievements of this game.




Development

Quest for Flory II: Trial By Fire was designed and written by Lori Ann Cole with help from her husband, Corey, who is a programmer. Together, the Coles have helped develop all five of the Quest for Glory games and Mixed Up Fairy Tales for Sierra Online as well as Shannara for Legend Entertainment, based on the novels. The characters Ad Avis, Al Scurva and Khaveen were named after Bill Davis, Bill Scurvin, and Rick Cavin. Today, Lori and Corey Cole have formed Transolar Games and have created a text adventure game called School For Heroes as well as designing websites.




Pop Culture & Other Fun Stuff

While we talked briefly about a few of the humorous in-jokes and pop culture tie-ins that the first game had, here are a few bits of fun things Trial By Fire had to offer:

• The astrologer in the game was based on Omar Khayyam, a real-life 9th century mathematician, philosopher, astronomer and poet.
• The game is absolutely littered with in-jokes and mythological references, including the name of the Sultan, Harun al-Rashid. al-Rashid was a 6th century Caliph (Islamic head-of-state) whose exploits were written of extensively in the fiction of the Book of One Thousand and One Nights (also known as Arabian Nights.)
• Along with the Arabian Nights jokes, a few characters and jokes were adapted in from the movie Casablanca. The characters of Signor Ferrari (whom looks like Sydney Greenstreet) and Ugarte (who looks like Peter Lorre) appear in the game, as well as the "Maltese Falcon."
• Comedic exaggerations of the Marx Brothers are seen in the game, and play important roles.
• Inside the magician Keapon Laffin's shop, you'll find a plethora of random items and interesting paraphenelia related to other games, movies or television shows. I'll leave them up to you, its way too much fun to find these things yourself.





VGA Remake?

While no "official" VGA remake was ever produced of the game, regardless of the cries from fans who wanted it, it never happened. In a surprising turn of events, however, Sierra (before being purchased by Vivendi) did authorize a fan-based group to create an updated version of the game. Released after being approved by Vivendi in 2008, AGD Interactive created a game so true to the original that fans have been clamoring over it for months now. I personally haven't played the game yet, but it is absolutely free. They've also released updated versions of two King's Quest games. You can find them at www.AGDInteractive.com.





Conclusion

Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire is by far my favorite game of the series. Why, I'm not really sure. Perhaps it is because I remember it fondly as the game that lured me to the series. Perhaps it is the engrossing storyline and tight timeline you must follow to complete the game. Perhaps it is the incredible characters that brought the story to life or maybe it is the hilarious references, caricatures and in-jokes that I still remember to this day. Regardless of what the reasoning is, I love this game as one of my all-time favorites and my personal favorite of the series.


Final Remarks

That ends part two of the five pieces in this series. Like the original, you can find the game currently on Gametap or the remake for free via AGD's website link above. Tune in next week as we look at the game that was originally not supposed to even be in the series - Quest for Glory III: Wages of War!

Screenshots
All 11 Quest for Glory II: Trial By Fire Screenshots