The Secret of Monkey Island
Lucasfilm Games
Released: 1990
It’s no secret that The Secret of Monkey Island is one of the most cherished point-and-click adventure games of all time. You play as Guybrush Threepwood, a young man with aspirations to become a great pirate. Unlike many of the great Sierra games we’ve covered so far, The Secret of Monkey Island is still very playable today (nearly two decades after it was originally released!).
Above: We loved the way sword fighting sequences required you to counter and parry your opponent by selecting the perfect insult
Above: We even have fond memories of Monkey Island’s Dial-a-Pirate copy protection code wheels. Remember when DRM didn’t piss you off?
King’s Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!
Sierra
Released: 1990
The game begins with King Graham picking flowers in the countryside (a common pastime for hardened adventurers and noblemen at the time), when the evil wizard Mordack casts an enchantment on his castle, which spirits it away.
What we remember most about this installment in the King’s Quest series was the quality of the graphics and the constant deaths. Although it felt like King Graham had an uncanny knack for dying every few minutes, the beautiful backgrounds and detailed animations kept our frustration in check throughout the adventure.
Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire
Sierra
Released: 1990
Like its predecessor, Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire incorporated RPG elements and allowed you to play as a fighter, a caster, or a thief. If you had completed the first Quest for Glory, you could import your old hero before beginning a new game. Adventuring and leveling-up in Quest for Glory II was still fun, but at the time the visuals seemed a little dated. Was Sierra’s non-stop production of sequels to its popular series starting to show?
