King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human (aka King's Quest III Redux, King's Quest III Redux: To Heir Is Human and King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human Redux) is a fangame reimagining/retelling of Sierra Entertainment's King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human continuing from King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones. It was developed by AGD Interactive and released in February 2011 under fan license of Sierra Entertainment (a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard). It expands on the story of the original game, and continues the story of the villainous Father, introduced in the previous game. It introduces many new situations to the original King's Quest III.
Background
The young baby Gwydion is kidnapped from his castle by the evil Wizard Manannan (a member of the Black Cloak Society), to grow up as his slave. As is the tradition of the evil wizard, he will kill the boy upon his eighteenth birthday. That date is fast approaching, and it is up to Gwydion to escape the wizard, and find his way home.
Along the way Gwydion discovers his true heritage, of being the Prince Alexander, and that his homeland is nearing destruction. He defeats the wizard, and escapes Llewdor on board a ship. The pirates on board capture him, intending to make him a slave. Their first order of business takes them to Treasure Island, where they force Alexander to find an ancient treasure of the legendary pirate Seran. Alexander successfully finds the treasure, and the pirates sail on towards Daventry. Alexander escapes and makes his way across the mountains into Daventry, saves it from evil three-headed dragon and the machinations of The Father.
Geography
- Llewdor: Llewdor is a land bounded by the Llewdorian desert and Shapeir to the west and the sea to the east. Large bluffs rise to the north, and a fence blocks passage to the south. It is ruled by Manannan who spies on its inhabitants from his mountain retreat. Bandits patrol the woods from their treehouse hideout. The Three Bears and the Oracle make their homes there as well. The town of Port Bruce is the only sign of civilization in the whole land. It is the location of a Tavern, a General Store, and a Library. It is a draw to ruffians and pirates. The desert is the home to sauruses, jackalman, lizards, snakes, and the gorgon Smaude. The latter lives in a darkened cave in the northern reach of the desert.
- Treasure Island: This is an island between Llewdor and Daventry. It is a jungle island filled with traps where the First Mage, pirate lord Seran hid his treasures, and some of the treasures of the First King Legenimor. Tiles are scattered throughout the jungle needed to activate a magical gate leading to hidden treasure. A wrong choice leads to death in Shapeir. Whoever made it past the gate, then had to prove they were worthy of obtaining the treasure from the spirit of Seran. Treasure Island is a nod to the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, which was also referenced in AGD Interactive's previous game.
- Kingdom of Daventry: The kingdom of Daventry is governed by King Graham and his family. After The Father cursed Graham, the kingdom fell into despair when it was invaded by a three-headed dragon. The dragon laid waste to much of the kingdom until an agreement was reached that it was given a sacrifice of a female from Daventry.
- Cloud Mountain & Cloudland: This mountain was previously explored by King Graham in his search for Daventry's lost treasures. Some of the clouds are walkable, but there are plenty of pitfalls. The three-headed dragon made its roost here when it invaded Daventry. When Alexander returns to Daventry, he must climb the mountain to save Rosella. The bridge to the old path Graham once took is destroyed, so Alexander uses a new stairway to the top. This stairway was actually the original stairway from the original version of the first game.
- Shapeir: Alexander may accidentally be dropped into Shapeir's Forbidden City if the player is not careful. This is not a good situation for a character that cannot swim. Shapeir is also said to be a land west of the Llewdorian desert. Shapeir is a land from Quest for Glory II, and appears in AGD Interactive's Quest for Glory II remake. In that game, Alexander can be seen falling off a waterfall and bobbing down river. In KQ3 Redux it is possible to cause Alexander to end up in that situation through an improper use of a magical gate on Treasure Island.
