When you get right down to it, the Quest for Glory series peaked with "Trial by Fire", the second installment, and it was all downhill from there. Besides being a ridiculously large, fun, complex game, you saved a nation (if not the world) from an insane wizard trying to release an evil god, and became a Prince as well as a Paladin or Wizard if you chose that path. After that, there really wasn't any place for the series to go. The third game was basically just a remake of "Trial by Fire", and the fourth while basically "restarting" the series by stripping you of your inventory and throwing you into a town where you had no friends (in a way a remake of QfG 1), ended up using more or less the same plot as QfG 2.

Another important part of the game that died with QfG 2 was the hated text parser. Apparently everybody but me hated typing commands in, but this was incredibly important to the series. All of the games are really like mystery novels in that you have to figure out who the bad guy is and how to beat him/her by the end of the game. To do so, you had to be a good detective and ask the right people the right questions. In QfG 3 and beyond however, this challenge is removed as in each conversation you are provided a list of topics to discuss. So it is possible to "brute force" every conversation by asking every single question available in order to solve the puzzles.

Finally, the fourth game took a different angle with the series by developing closer relationships between the main character and the NPCs, developing two potential love interests. It worked great for the 4th game, but it created a big problem for the 5th game: how do you write a story accomodating a choice between several different love interests (among other things)? The answer is, you don't. This is a problem of trade-offs that plagues ALL RPGs: because the game only has so much development time available, it can be made so that you can be/do whatever you want, but nothing really matters (Baldur's Gate, Arcanum), OR you can play a specific character the authors had in mind, which can involve an extremely detailed plot that you are not allowed to deviate from (Final Fantasy). Trying to do both is like making 5-6 games at once and selling it for the same price. By going with the "multiple ending choice" route, Quest for Glory 5 would naturally be much lighter on the details than the earlier games.

So it was a bit much to have expected QfG 5 to be some sort of masterful conclusion to the series. Especially since there seemed to be some major issues with development of the game itself. All in all, it turned out pretty decent. The combat/magic system I thought was pretty awesome overall, allowing for epic battles against large numbers of enemies. The graphics were very nicely done. There were plenty of new abilities/spells for the paladin and wizard. The plot was interesting enough and had all the old crew back.

I would say QfG 5 is BYOD -- Bring Your Own Dialogue. You're the main character, you know the characters well from the previous games. Imagine the dialogue and story playing out as you like as you play the game. Don't expect the writers to have to basically write 5-6 games to accomodate the possible choices you take. Above all, enjoy the game for what it is, a fine chance to complete your character's quests, say goodbye to your friends and close out the series.

"Glory", Quest For Glory 5: Dragon Fire is not merely the end of a great series, but the end of an era for the entertainment compant Yosemite Entertainment. As a great fan of the series, "Hero" has journeyed from the town of Spielburg to the fog-ridden lands of Mordavia, Raseir, Fricana (not in this order) - and finally the village of Silmaria.

In a game of this ilk, graphics plays second fiddle to storyline and gameplay, and it is in these two areas that Qfg5 excels. Transported to the island of Marete and its capital, Silmaria(modeled after ancient Greece), "Hero's" last adventure is fraught with peril and mystery. The music is professional orchestral, with sweeping tones unlike any other game I have encountered.

Now to the plot. Decades ago, the peaceful island of Marete was plagued by a dragon. Seven pillars were constructed with ancient spells, forcing the dragon into its lair. Lately, however, following the brutal assasination of the King of Silmaria, invaders from distant lands rampage across the country, pillaging mercilessly. Compounding the trouble is the prophecy that the blood of a murdered being will destroy the pillars, freeing the dragon from its enchantment...

An enthralling plot, filled with characteristic offbeat Lorey and Corey Cole humor, fantastic music and solid gameplay cement Qfg5's position as a good final instalment to the series and possibly the greatest of the Quest for Glory epics, sure to please fans of the series and provide a closure in "hero's" final adventure.

Also you can be 4 different classes Paladin, thief, wizard, warrior. Personally I like playing the rogue at the moment because there are more little side things for you to do that way. Not really a start char tho. =)

But to give you alittle bit of an idea it of what it's about. You come to this kingdom when it's king is killed and they are having a contest to see who will be crowned king. You are told of what happened when you arrive at the palace from an old friend if you've been playing the series. You have to pay to enter but some of it is taken care of for you so that's alittle less gold you have to drum up. (Side note: if your the thief you can just rob the bank one of the times and that will easily cover you costs with plenty to spare to help you gear up.)

If you want a bit of a challenge and don't mind older graphics. Give this a shot. =)

"A mediocre end to the series.", I've loved Quest For Glory since the first, but this last one did not at all live up to any QFG fan's expectations. The storyline itself remains more or less true to the earlier games, but the gameplay reeks of being tweaked to be more like traditional RPGs, most likely thanks to the new executives who ran Sierra after Cendant took over. The soundtrack is unimpressive, I'd go so far as to say the MIDI music from QFG2 and 3 was better than the digital music for QFG5. Overall, unless you're a fan of the earlier games, you probably won't enjoy this one very much.

On that note, Sierra is stupidly discontinuing sale and production of the QFG collection (as well as the collections of King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, and their other main series from the 80s and early 90s), so Amazon and other retail stores are not going to be selling them anymore. I'd really recommend looking around for them in various places that sell used software (e.g. [URL]); they're really excellent games.

"Quest for Glory V", I think this is the best game out there, and sierra was crazy for getting rid of it.