View source for King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human

{{Video Game
 | Title            = King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human
 | SortTitle        = King's Quest 3: To Heir Is Human
 | Image            = King's Quest III - To Heir Is Human - AST - USA.jpg
 | ImageDescription = Atari ST - USA - 1st edition.
 | Developer        = {{VideoGameDeveloper|Sierra On-Line}}
 | Publisher        = {{VideoGamePublisher|Sierra On-Line}}
 | PublishedYear    = 1986
 | PublishedMonth   = 10
 | PublishedDay     = ??
 | Platforms        = {{Platform|Amiga}}, {{Platform|Apple II}}, {{Platform|Apple IIgs}}, {{Platform|Atari ST}}, {{Platform|DOS}}, {{Platform|Macintosh Classic}}, {{Platform|IBM PCjr}}, {{Platform|TRS-80 Color Computer 3}}
 | Genres           = {{VideoGameGenre|Adventure video game|Adventure}}, {{VideoGameGenre|Graphic adventure|Graphic adventure}}, {{VideoGameGenre|Passive puzzle video game|Passive puzzle}}, {{VideoGameGenre|Puzzle video game|Puzzle}}
 | Themes           = {{MediaTheme|Adventure}}, {{MediaTheme|Cartoon}}, {{MediaTheme|Fantasy}}, {{MediaTheme|Pirates}}
 | Series           = ''[[King's Quest (universe)|King's Quest]]''
 | Distributions    = {{VideoGameDistribution|Commercial}}
}}

'''''King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human''''' is a [[graphic adventure]] [[puzzle video game]] developed and published by [[Sierra On-Line]] for [[MS-DOS]] in October 1986 and later ported to several other platforms. It is the third title in the [[King's Quest (universe)|''King's Quest'' series]] and uses the [[Adventure Game Interpreter]] engine.

This story introduces a new character Gwydion in the land of Llewdor who is the slave of the evil wizard Manannan. Manannan stole Gwydion as a child and raised him to do chores, but intends on killing him on his 18th birthday to ensure he won't get into his magic.

==Personal==
{{VideoGameStatus
 | Own      = Yes. MS-DOS port on Steam.
 | CantOwn  = 
 | Won      = 
 | CantWin  = 
 | Finished = 
}}

When my uncle bought the ''[[King's Quest: Collector's Edition]]'', my cousin and I were eager to play the first three games which we hadn't played before. I found the third to be the most enjoyable and played it the most, but quickly got stuck when I couldn't find out how to cast any of the spells necessary to further the game.

==Review==
===Good===
* The art is a step up from the previous two games.
* The music is also more impressive in this game than the previous two ''King's Quest'' titles.
* The magic spells ingredient list is quite helpful as it lists the bulk of the items you need to collect early in the game.

===Bad===
* By the time the last ports were released in 1988, the low-res graphics were really showing their age. The cross hatching on the windows and chicken coop look especially bad. Not a great look considering VGA had just been released.
* Several items are inconsistent in their naming. In the wizard's laboratory, you can "get mandrake," but, you can't "hide mandrake," you must "hide mandrake root."
* The game has a weak parser. In a scene with a stump, "look stump" responds back "what is a stump?" If you "feel in hole," you get nothing, but "reach in hole," it works.
* The game tricks you into killing yourself on the web. If you try to "Cut web," you're told you need to be closer until you get caught.
* A lot of the invalid responses are misleadingly unhelpful. For example:
** Writing "Look X" when X doesn't exist, often responds "It's just as it seems."
** Attempting to hide something that the game doesn't understand results in "You might need it," even if you don't have it, even if it doesn't exist in the game.
* It's hard to read the spell instructions in the manual.
* While I like the way you can get lost in the desert, it doesn't make sense in the ocean; you would be able to see the shore for miles.
* In some frames of Gwydion's walking animation, his foot is dark gray instead of black, which annoys me.

===Ugly===
* Having to walk up and down the winding path to Manannan's house is not even remotely enjoyable.
* There are several [[unwinnable state]]s, many of which are not obvious and can have you playing well into the game before you realize them, if you do at all.

==Media==
===Documentation===
<gallery>
Quest for Clues.pdf|Strategy guide - ''Quest for Clues''.
Hints, Maps, and Solutions to Computer Adventure Games.pdf|Strategy guide - ''Hints, Maps, and Solutions to Computer Adventure Games''.
</gallery>

==Play Online==
{{PlayOnline|https://classicreload.com/amiga-kings-quest-iii-to-heir-is-human.html|Amiga}},
{{PlayOnline|https://classicreload.com/mac-kings-quest-iii-to-heir-is-human.html|Macintosh Classic}},
{{PlayOnline|https://classicreload.com/kings-quest-iii-to-heir-is-human.html|MS-DOS}},
{{PlayOnline|https://colorcomputerarchive.com/xroar-online/?machine{{=}}coco3&basic{{=}}DOS%5cr&joy_right{{=}}kjoy0&tv_input{{=}}3&cart{{=}}rsdos&disk0{{=}}/unzip%3Ffile%3DDisks/Games/Sierra%20Games/King%27s%20Quest%20III%20(Sierra%20On-Line)%20(OS-9)%20(Coco%203).zip/Floppy%20360K/kq3-1.dsk|TRS-80 Color Computer}}

==Representation==

==Credits==

==Links==
{{Link|MobyGames|https://www.mobygames.com/game/126/kings-quest-iii-to-heir-is-human}}
{{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Quest_III}}
{{Link|GameFAQs|https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/562687-kings-quest-iii-to-heir-is-human}}