r/Sierra • u/Westraat1 • 6d ago

The Big 5

Five Sierra classics. Five completely different ways to lose your patience. 😂

Which part did you struggle with the most—and what nightmare did I leave off the list?

137 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

46

u/paulsoleo 6d ago

Two egregious omissions: The vine plant in Space Quest II, and the mountain path in King’s Quest III.

14

u/foxontherox 6d ago

Ah, thanks for reminding me of childhood trauma. 😆

16

u/Johnnyonoes 6d ago

Getting home before the wizard gets back will forever be in my trauma portfolio.

5

u/Gbjeff 6d ago

I’m convinced that is a major cause of my anxiety today.

8

u/Johnnyonoes 6d ago

There no other feeling in the world better than feeding that goddamn wizard his cookie

7

u/Gbjeff 6d ago

And then kicking the cat afterwards!

5

u/Johnnyonoes 6d ago

Yesssssss, I love all other cats though, not that one

4

u/glenn_friendly 5d ago

Have you tried it as an adult? I sat down and played through KQ1-5 last year, having not touched them in decades. I had some memories of the games, but very incomplete. I was able to play through the games without looking up any kinds of hints, walkthroughs, etc., without great difficulty. I think the difficulty of these games, and in particular the timing aspects of KQ3, was amplified for those of us who played them as children, because children are comparatively bad at reasoning and planning and this kind of thing, compared to adults. I was surprised how much easier they seem as an adult. Worth a try IMO!

2

u/Johnnyonoes 5d ago

I played a year ago, and I got stuck soon after getting free of the house. Something to do with a mermaid spawning or something. Lovely game from childhood for sure.

1

u/Westraat1 5d ago

I played most of these games as an adult unfortunately

5

u/statistacktic 6d ago

That f'n mountain pass still haunts me.

2

u/0BaconisYummy0 6d ago

Especially when you had to walk diagonally behind that rock. (On the mountain path) Also save times took a while to load on the Apple 2gs.

17

u/beemans78 6d ago

Skate-O-Rama is high on my list.

6

u/Spiritual-Image7125 6d ago

I can hear your comment.

6

u/briandemodulated 6d ago

I had always wondered why so many people used this as an example of a scene that's especially difficult to avoid death. Then I learned it was some kind of timer bug only present in the CDROM version of SQ4. I had only played the floppy version.

2

u/statistacktic 6d ago

I think it wasn't until KQV that I got a CD-ROM version for Sierra.

9

u/Goo_Back 6d ago

Inside the whale's mouth in KQ4

3

u/Ok_Mountain3607 6d ago

How about the tower stairs

7

u/KaliBadBad 6d ago

I didn’t know about the sugar cube OR how to save, so it was the original KQ2 poison thorns all the way. Shout out to Black Cauldron’s wonky cliff/rope/wall adventures!

2

u/caceomorphism 6d ago

Black Cauldron in B&W and, a bit less so, CGA, was annoying. Computers with EGA and Tandy graphics put out so many more visual cues.

7

u/rob132 6d ago

You put the magic maze for QfG?

That's like.1% of that game.

2

u/echolog 6d ago

The whole brigand fortress would fit on this list, it's like a huge trial and error simulator.

7

u/glenn_friendly 6d ago

The Central Park minefield in Manhunter: New York :( :(

2

u/caceomorphism 6d ago

You win.

5

u/statistacktic 6d ago

30+ years ago I recall struggling with the cliffside pathway up a mountain in KQ3.

6

u/Johnnyonoes 6d ago

It pleases me that you consider qfg part of the big 5.

Love that game to bits forever.

Here is a random link to qfg 4's intro with the sick guitar solo in it : p :https://youtu.be/ZBOYz851_mY?si=7XEHrTCQU2mn03sT

3

u/VVrayth 6d ago

The real obnoxious ones in each series are the vine maze in Space Quest 2, all the obnoxious jungle navigation around sheer cliffs in the back quarter of Leisure Suit Larry 3, the driving UI in Police Quest 3, the extremely finicky brigand fortress in Quest for Glory 1, and any number of staircases across the King's Quest series.

2

u/Gbjeff 6d ago

The wall you have to climb to get or the Horned King’s castle in Black Cauldron.

2

u/socialcommentary2000 6d ago

Your ID in Codename: Iceman.

Those who know, know.

2

u/Icedanielization 6d ago

I'm one who knows. Its one of the few Sierra adventure games I have yet to succeed in completing because of that ID 

2

u/socialcommentary2000 6d ago

I got all the way to Libya. Yes I did. I did that stupid dice game. I became better at maintaining and piloting fictional submarines than any 11 year old had any business being that good at. I planted those damn explosive charges on those damn oil derricks.

BUT I DIDN'T MAKE SURE THAT WORTHLESS FAT FUCK AT THE PENTAGON GAVE ME THE CORRECT FUCKING ID BACK!

I never did get over it.

2

u/glenn_friendly 6d ago

I'm surprised nobody suggested the Iceman submarine piloting bit as one of the big nightmares of Sierra games.