An iconic beginning to an epic series. Designed by Lori and Corey Cole, they were able to combine the adventure game formula that Sierra was known for, with role-playing game mechanics. The game starts off playing like a traditional adventure game; you have a text parser for interactions and conversations, it uses the same engine as past Sierra adventure games. Eventually, once you leave the town and learn about the different actions and character stats, the RPG elements begin to introduce themselves.

The game starts at the town of Spielburg and does a good job at easing the player into the mechanics and the world. You are given the opportunity to explore the city, talk to people, and pick up on bits of lore. The city is small but full of shops and different types of people, some of different cultures. The inn is run by a katta, which are cat-like people that live in the city of Shapeir in the southern desert. You also meet a centaur girl named Hilde running the fruit stand. There are many more interesting types of characters and creatures that you will uncover throughout the game. All of this helps flesh out the fantasy, fairy tale world.

The front gates of Spielburg Castle.

The land of Spielburg was once a safe and prosperous place. The respected ruler of this land, Baron Von Speilburg, was cursed by the evil witch Baba Yaga. His son and daughter went missing, and his army killed off as he sent them to find his children and destroy the witch. Now with his army gone, and the land left lawless and unprotected, monsters and brigands have taken over. Spielburg's only hope is a hero to come and save them. So the adventure begins with your character, the want-to-be hero, entering the town to make a name for themselves. You must explore, learn, train, fight, and use problem solving skills to defeat Baba Yaga, the brigand leader, and save the day. The story is a little tropey and pretty straightforward, but for a lighthearted fantasy adventure it works. All of the unique and entertaining characters you meet along the way like Wolfgang the guild leader, Zara the magic seller, Erasmus the wizard, and many more are all cleverly written with funny and entertaining dialogue that helps make the world feel more alive.

Another Star Trek refrence when you give the Dyrad the seed.

Once you leave the city and step out into the wilderness, the real adventure begins. As you explore the vast forest, you will find different locations of interest such as the healer's hut, castle Spielburg, monastery, Erana's peace, and so on. There are many different quests that the hero can complete throughout your adventure, you get a peak at them at the guild hall. They range from finding a ring and collecting materials, to rescuing the Baron's daughter. On your way to complete your quests you must prepare yourself by training your skills and fighting enemies such as brigands, goblins, and other monsters. Unlike in some other RPGs like D&D where you get enough xp to level up and get an increase in hit points or hit bonuses, in QfG, your skills and attributes increase as you use them. This creates a more natural feeling progression system and makes each increase in a stat or skill a more active part of the game. It's simple, easy to understand, and satisfying which is great for players that are new to either RPGs or adventure games. This simplicity also extends to the character creation at the start of the game. You can pick between three different classes: fighter, magic user, and thief. Each class starts with different stats and has different skills. The fighter has the highest starting strength and is the only class that can parry, however he can't climb or use any thieving skills. The thief is weaker than the fighter but starts with higher agility and has additional skills that let them stealth and get access to areas that the other classes can't. Finally the mage which while the most weak, has access to magic which requires magic points to cost. When you pick your class, you can allocate additional points into your stats and attributes. Then you name your hero and you're off.

Combat against a brigand.

The visuals are also really nice for its age. I played the EGA version and while the VGA version is much improved in many ways, such as a point-and-click based interface and improved visuals, I found there was a certain charm to the old graphics and I like the old text parser system as well.

Overall this was an excellent RPG and adventure game that also has some replayability since you can pick between 3 different classes; fighter, mage, and thief. I played as a fighter and had a good time. I may replay again some day as one of the other 2 classes. The only criticism I can give about the game is that the combat is a little rough. Performing actions during combat such as attacking, blocking, or dodging, can get stuck and your character will repeat the move several times long after you let go of the key. I am not sure if this is intentional or a bug possibly due to playing on much newer hardware, but it is a little annoying. It does not ruin the game however and I had no problems with the combat once I got my stats up sufficiently. The rest of the game was enjoyable to play and held up very well as both an RPG and adventure game.