Thayer's Quest
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| Thayer's Quest | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | RDI Video Systems |
| Platforms | Arcade, DVD |
| Release date(s) | 1984 |
| Genre(s) | Interactive movie |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Cabinet | Standard upright |
| Display | Horizontal orientation, Raster |
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] 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, 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 only visits three of the kingdoms and finds their relics.
Gameplay
The game was fully animated like Dragon's Lair but required more than simply choosing when to fight or which way to dodge in accordance with the animation. Instead the player had full control over Thayer's movement to different areas and was required to find and use a variety of magical objects to overcome enemies and obstacles like in most later graphic adventure games. There were many ways to mess up and permanently lose the game. You also have several branching paths, with some changing some characters dialogue. The RDI'S Computer voice will sometimes give you hints, your score and when you lose a life in certain scenarios, such as if you chose a path that led to your death.
Sequels and rereleases
A sequel incorporating the rest of Thayer's 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 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.
References
External links
- Thayer's Quest at the Killer List of Videogames
- Thayer's Quest at Dragon's Lair Project
- Kingdom: The Far Reaches at MobyGames
- Kingdom II: Shadoan at MobyGames
- History of laserdisc games (including Thayer's Quest) at The Dot Eaters
- Kingdom: The Far Reaches review at Mr. Bill's Adventureland
- Kingdom II: Shadoan review at Mr. Bill's Adventureland
