Quest for Glory Anthology

by Sierra

Product Features

• Rare compilation released in 1996. Includes the first four Quest for Glory games on one CD!
• Quest for Glory I: So You Want to be a Hero. Massacre monsters, battle brigands, and rescue royalty as a recent graduate of the Famous Adventurers' Correspondence School. Venture forth into a world of dark magic to become a real Hero.
• Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire. Far across a blazing desert, fight a sinister magician for the fate of two cities, combating poisonous evil with might and magic.
• Quest for Glory III: Wages of War. Disaster looms over the land of Tarna. Journey through compelling scenes of wonder, danger and excitement to your ultimate battle with unspeakable evil.
• Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness. Free the mythical kingdom of Mordavia from the malevolent power of the Dark One. Triumph over wraiths, vampires and grotesque monsters, or lose your soul in defeat.

Product Details

• ASIN: B000BQYX8S
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,231 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic PC - modern gamers approach with caution!, August 9, 2010

By 

Rochelle Bayne "Ro" (Southern Tier, NY) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Quest for Glory Anthology (CD-ROM)

Ah the QFG Anthology. I couldn't even say how many times I played through these games - easily five or more times on the first two and probably 3-4 times on the 3rd and 4th. This was of course back in the 90s, when there weren't that many good PC adventure/puzzle games and as a teenager, money was tight. Gamers who are used to cutting edge graphics and twitch game play should probably skip these all together, because that is not what QFG was about. Well ok, there was some twitching when you missed your forward thrust and ended up dying (complete with game over and a dead hero).

Games 1 & 2 were originally presented with 16 bit graphics - that means 16 color blocky graphic style and you have to use a little imagination to enjoy them if you're not used to it. Still better than loading up old NES carts though, in my opinion. The first game was actually remade as SVGA at one point, but I almost recommend against playing that version, because Trial By Fire was NOT, and it is a difficult adjustment to make going backwards. The Sierra team did a superb job with the tools they had available at the time. The music is also quite catchy for being originally rendered on internal PC speakers. There is also a lot of typing, since you have to figure out from dialogue and observation what key words will get you to the next step. I actually learned to touch type by playing the old Sierra games, so I suppose that gives me a bit more fondness for the method.

One note, if you're trying to run the original Anthology games you may need to find and install VDM Sound

The story of the first game is pretty simple, you are a 'hero' (via a correspondence school) and you begin your first adventure in Speilburg. There are three classes, fighter, wizard, and thief, although you can perform some tasks using the skills of another class. That is difficult to do however without training the skills. There are cheat codes for the first two games but you should really try playing without them at least once!

The second game takes place in Shapeir, a desert kingdom. Some of the characters from the first game have brought you home with them so as to find new adventures. The combat system is pretty similar for the first two games, but the city navigation is much more complex than the original game's wilderness. It helps if you have experience doing D&D dungeon maps on graph paper, unless you can find a copy of this game with the original printed map. Not to reveal too much but Trial By Fire has you best Elementals along with desert brigands and other enemies. I thought it was a great continuation of the original concept.

The third game transports you to a land based on the African savannah and jungles. The graphics are much improved and the combat system refined. Also the physical training and passage of time are somewhat less annoying. A few of the puzzles were really difficult as they required a certain amount of random finds in the jungle, but it was still a great game.

The fourth game begins in a land inspired by Transylvania of legend and includes some Russian mythology, including an enemy from the first game. Take note, there is an infamous glitch in the beginning that will crash your game at the Slippery Slimey Slope!. There is a freeware patch for it out on the web however. If you encounter the glitch, a little research can get you back up and running. The graphics are a bit better than in Wages of War, and there are actually voiceovers for many of the audio options, including narration by John Rhys-Davies.

There is a 5th game that is not included in the original Anthology release, although I have not played it as I was without a computer when it was available.

Hopefully this review gives you an idea what you'd be getting into if you can put your hands on a copy of QFG - if you're into classic games and don't mind the older graphics, they're well worth the time - although I wouldn't pay the $500 I saw a private seller asking, that's just insane. I would say the collection is worth $50 easily though, if you are interested in older adventures.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Awwwwesome, August 6, 2009

By 

J. hibbs - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Quest for Glory Anthology (CD-ROM)

I trucked through all the games a while ago.
These are difficult, eat many hours.
Not so much a hack and slash though there is plenty of fighting in it.

You spend a lot of time just figuring out puzzles and doing tasks for someone to get somewhere or
recieve something in return.

I went through as a thief, with that I had access to the thieves guild while still being able to fight well
and use magic.

This game(s) dated though i will certainly go back and bash through them again, especially 1+2