King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (SCI)

King's Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella (SCI) is an adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line in 1988, and it serves as the fourth game in the King's Quest saga. This is a version of KQ4 released for MS-Dos. It was as the first computer adventure game with a female protagonist. The player takes on the role of Princess Rosella, daughter of King Graham of Daventry (KQI and KQII) and the twin sister of Gwydion/Alexander (KQIII). KQIV was also the first PC game to support a sound card.

Background
This chapter is the only one in the official King's Quest series where the action takes place during a specific and limited amount of time&mdash; the events of the game cover about 24 hours (8:00 A.M. to 8:00 A.M.). In fact the game, much like King's Quest III, had a real time clock and time would pass even if the player wasn't solving puzzles. Some activities must be completed during the day, while other puzzles can only be solved at night, and solving certain puzzles would cause the clock to skip ahead.

Story
King Graham has suffered a heart attack and is on the brink of death. The good fairy Genesta contacts his daughter Rosella through the Magic Mirror and offers her assistance. Genesta then teleports Rosella to the land of Tamir, where she learns of a magical fruit that can heal her father. However, Genesta herself will be unable to teleport the princess back to Daventry, and die if her magical talisman&mdash; stolen by the evil Lolotte&mdash; is not returned.

Rosella must win Lolotte's trust by performing three tasks for the evil fairy; Rosella must bring Lolotte a Unicorn, a Magic Hen and Pandora's Box so she may rule the world. Fortunately, Lolotte's son Edgar develops a crush on Rosella and will aid her when Lolotte imprisons her for the wedding. She must then defeat the evil fairy to recover the talisman and return home to Daventry.

It is possible to complete KQIV without retrieving the magical fruit, but failure to do so leads to a tragic ending.

As stated in the game scripts KQ4 is largely a serious game. It has one of the solemn stories in the series and touches on some tough topics. There are puns but they are limited to the deaths only, and even then many of the deaths do not have puns (but are rather melancholy in nature).

Versions (SCI0 early)

 * Game version: 1.000.106, interpreter version: 0.000.247 1988-09-19
 * Game version: Unknown, interpreter version: 0.000.247 1988-09
 * Game version: 1.000.111, interpreter version: 0.000.274 1988-09 1988-09-23 (came with the Great Master Adventurer Contest Flier)

Version Differences
This was the original main SCI version release of the game in 1988. The game included 9 disks, and had separate art for night and day scenes. There are a number of easter eggs specific to this version. Including the magic Bobalu cheat to skip the copy protection. This version uses original KQ4 Manual artwork. The color of the box is slightly different than later releases (due to a change in printer ink/paper differences).

Copy Protection
As a form of copy protection, a random word from the manual must be entered upon startup. Compilation releases provide a printable file of the possible words.

This can be skipped in this version by using the Bobalu cheat.

Behind the scenes

 * The name of this sequel is probably a parody on the title of the movie The Perils of Pauline (it is one of the few KQ games that doesn't have a pun in its title, along with Quest for the Crown, and Mask of Eternity).


 * Assorted cuss words are acknowledged in the parser bringing up a message; "Perhaps you need to purchase a copy of Leisure Suit Larry?"
 * Typing "undress" or "remove clothes", will bring up the comment, "Not in front of the game players!"
 * Rocking the cradle will cause the cradle to rock for a few moments, and the haunted lullaby to play.
 * King's Quest 4 begins directly where KQ3 left off, it repeats the scene of Graham walking to the wall, grabbing his hat and tossing it to his children. It mentions that Alexander had returned to the castle shortly before, after having defeated the dragon and saving Rosella. Unlike the ending of KQ3, Graham doesn't speak to the twins as he tosses the hat. This is mentioned in the introductory text in the manual as well; "According to legend, shortly after Rosella's rescue King Graham decided it was time to pass on his adventurer's cap. Gathering in his wife and two children, the King offered a grateful smile upwards, for each member of his family had given him great pride. Gazing down at his children, he couldn't help but see the glint of spirited valor in their eyes. Knowing the future of his kingdom would rest soundly in the hands of its future heir, he slowly lifted his hands to display the infamous adventurer's cap."
 * Also a trivial continuity error is where the cap is when Graham picks it up. At the end of King's Quest III, the cap is hanging on the wall. At the beginning of King's Quest IV, it is on a table next to the throne. This table is also not seen in the throne room at the end of KQ3.

AGI vs. SCi

 * See King's Quest IV; The Perils of Rosella (AGI)

King's Quest 4 was originally designed with two separate engines in both the AGI and SCI engines. The AGI engine was used in all earlier Sierra adventure games, the SCI in all later ones.

The AGI version was made because Sierra supposed that contemporary low-end systems would be unable to run the SCI version and would require a "lighter" version of the game. However, sales figures proved them wrong and the AGI version was swiftly discontinued. Because of its rarity, the AGI version could be considered a collector's item. The Apple II version had improved sound compared to the PC AGI version

Credits

 * Directed / Written / Designed: Roberta Williams
 * Executive Producer: Ken Williams
 * Programming: Teresa Baker, Chane Fullmer, John Hamilton, Chris Hoyt, and Ken Koch
 * Programming Intro and Ending: Teresa Baker
 * Game Development System: Pablo Ghenis, Robert Eric Heitman, Chris Iden, Paul Krasno, and Jeff Stephenson
 * Cavalry Coding: Al Lowe, Robert Eric Heitman, Chris Hoyt, and David Slayback
 * Wrangling: Dale Carlson and Robert Ballew
 * Animation: Carolly Hauksdottir and Gerald Moore
 * Background Scenes: William D. Skirvin
 * Music: William Goldstein
 * Music Development System: Stuart Goldstein
 * Quality Assurance: A cast of thousands!
 * Documentation: Jerry Albright