King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human

King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human from 1986 shifts the focus from King Graham to a young slave named Gwydion, held captive by the evil wizard Manannan, who forces him to gather ingredients for magic potions. The game is unique in that the first third takes place in the wizard's house, where the player must secretly complete tasks while keeping track of where Manannan has gone – if he catches him disobeying, the game quickly ends in death. Only later is it revealed that Gwydion is actually Prince Alexander, King Graham's lost son, which ties the story into the rest of the series and gives meaning to the fate we follow in later installments.

The second half of the game opens up into freer exploration of islands and towns, where the player gathers materials for potions against a running limited game clock – a mechanic that was unusually tense for its time and frustrating for many players due to the strict time limits and the need to plan routes ahead, since a wrong decision can consume precious turns. The player can also control a dragon that Gwydion frees along the way, bringing an unexpected element into an otherwise earthbound adventure. The graphics and controls follow on from the second installment, meaning the AGI engine with arrow-key movement and a text parser, but the level design is considerably more elaborate and branching than in previous entries in the series.

Thanks to its more elaborate story and bolder mechanics, King's Quest III is still regarded by players today as one of the better early installments in the series, even though its pacing and time limits can still test patience after all these years. It also holds key significance for the series as the first game to hint at the wider mythology of Daventry and to connect Graham's family line with the main hero, a thread later installments built upon, and it is still mentioned today as one of the bolder experiments of the early era of Sierra adventures.

Why play: Thanks to its more elaborate story and bold mechanics that first develop the mythology of Daventry, King's Quest III ranks among the better early installments of the series, even though its pacing and time limits will test your patience even today.