RainbowBrite's Review of King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride

Although KQ7 is a bit different than the rest of the series, it's still worth playing.

User Rating: 7.5 | King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride PC

By RainbowBrite | Review Date: October 13, 2005

King’s Quest 7: The Princeless Bride was much-awaited by fans of the series in 1994. Finally it was released, only to bring some disappointment. It is the only KQ game in which you do not even see King Graham, and it is also the first time you can play as 2 different characters; both Rosella, and Queen Valanice, who is playable for the first time. Gone were the graphics that attempted realism, instead KQ7 was graphically designed as a cartoon. There is also no text option available; you must listen to the game’s voices. They also thought the game too easy; the Look, Talk, Walk, and Touch mouse cursors were replaced with one single cursor that could not only do everything, it also lit up when placed over an object you could interact with. Finally, the traditional game-saving system was gone. KQ7 was instead told in “chapters” and bookmarks were used to save your game. If your character died, the game simply brought you back to the moment just before you died, so you could change what you did. Some die-hard King’s Quest fans refuse to acknowledge KQ7 as a King’s Quest game, but the characters and background are there and it is enjoyable in its own right.

With Alexander married to Cassima now, Queen Valanice wants Princess Rosella to find a husband. She tries to fix Rosella up with many different men, but Rosella shows no interest. As they walk in the woods, talking about this situation, Rosella sees a small dragon sprite leap out of a pond, leaving behind an image of a beautiful castle. She is curious and dives into the pond, and disappears. Valanice is frantic with worry and leaps in after her, and they find themselves in a swirling vortex. Rosella lands in the Vulcanix Underground, home to trolls, and Valanice lands in the desert, both in the land of Eldritch. Each will journey on a separate quest through the land, passing through other towns and parts of the land, to find each other and save the land from the evil witch Malicia.

There are still a couple of references to mythology and fairy tales in King’s Quest 7, including the Headless Horseman (less scary than he sounds) and Chicken Little who believes the sky is falling. You will visit the town of Falderal where things seem silly, Ooga Booga, a town reminiscent of Halloween, and Etheria, the beautiful land of the Faeries. Hmm, now where in the King’s Quest series have we talked with Faeries before?

While the game may seem off-putting at first with its simplified interface and cartoony graphics, if you are an open-minded fan of the series, you will enjoy the story. It is a bit simpler than the previous games but there are still puzzles to solve and inventory to use. I couldn’t resist playing to find out what the next adventure would be, and I had a good time. Be adventurous in the spirit of the royal family of Daventry, and give King’s Quest 7 a chance!

King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride

Although KQ7 is a bit different than the rest of the series, it's still worth playing.

King’s Quest VII - The Princeless Identity Crisis.

The Quest Continues...