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Some thoughts about Quest For Glory IV
10 years ago
In Quest For Glory IV, there's a puzzle that first appears to be a Moon Logic Puzzle. To paint it in the worst possible light, it goes a little like this:
You need to get into Baba Yaga's house because she has something you need. Her doorman, a skull with a laser-beam eye, won't let you pass unless you give him a nice hat. To get a nice hat, you need to tell an old man, Nikolai, that his wife has died and become a ghost so that he wanders out into the monster-infested woods after her, where Nikolai is promptly eaten by monsters and is now free to give you his ghost(!) hat.
That doesn't sound very heroic, but there are two paths that make this pretty logical.
One, there aren't very many hats in the game. The Burgomeister has a sort of fur cap, but Nikolai is the only one who really has a hat, and it's a pretty nice hat.
Two, you first find Nikolai wandering around in a circle in the middle of town, saying nothing except "Anna? Where is Anna? Have you seen Anna?" Well, that sounds like a sidequest to me! It's a hero's duty to complete sidequests.
Well, you find a confused ghost out in the forest at night. At first, she doesn't even believe that she's a ghost. After talking to her enough, she finally realizes that you're telling the truth. She's Anna, Nikolai's wife, and she was eaten by a monster in the monster-infested woods. Bad luck.
So you just go back to Nikolai and say, "Hey bro, sad news. I found Anna. She was eaten by monsters while wandering in the monster-infested woods."
Nikolai, being just slightly senile, says, "You found Anna? Where is Anna? I must go to Anna."
And you're like, "Well, yeah, bro, but she's a ghost. You know the bit that was all like 'til death do you part'? That's your situation, bro."
And Nikolai will have none of it. He elbows right past you, going, "Anna! I will find you Anna!"
Well, you go back to where Anna was in the forest, and sure enough, Nikolai got himself eaten by monsters in the monster-infested woods. But hey, he's a ghost now, and he's a heck of a lot more lucid. He thanks you for reuniting him with his wife in death.
The two ghosts ask if there's any way they can repay you. Your only choice is to ask for Nikolai's hat, to which he replies, "Sure, bro. It's not like I need it anymore."
What did Nikolai lose except his sorry existence of wandering around in circles, asking about Anna all day, every day? What less did he gain than his mind, wife, and continuance of existence as a ghost? Seems like a pretty happy ending and successful resolution of a sidequest, all told, even if the hat reward happens to go to something completely unrelated.
That's what true heroes do. They feed old guys to monsters and take their hats.
You need to get into Baba Yaga's house because she has something you need. Her doorman, a skull with a laser-beam eye, won't let you pass unless you give him a nice hat. To get a nice hat, you need to tell an old man, Nikolai, that his wife has died and become a ghost so that he wanders out into the monster-infested woods after her, where Nikolai is promptly eaten by monsters and is now free to give you his ghost(!) hat.
That doesn't sound very heroic, but there are two paths that make this pretty logical.
One, there aren't very many hats in the game. The Burgomeister has a sort of fur cap, but Nikolai is the only one who really has a hat, and it's a pretty nice hat.
Two, you first find Nikolai wandering around in a circle in the middle of town, saying nothing except "Anna? Where is Anna? Have you seen Anna?" Well, that sounds like a sidequest to me! It's a hero's duty to complete sidequests.
Well, you find a confused ghost out in the forest at night. At first, she doesn't even believe that she's a ghost. After talking to her enough, she finally realizes that you're telling the truth. She's Anna, Nikolai's wife, and she was eaten by a monster in the monster-infested woods. Bad luck.
So you just go back to Nikolai and say, "Hey bro, sad news. I found Anna. She was eaten by monsters while wandering in the monster-infested woods."
Nikolai, being just slightly senile, says, "You found Anna? Where is Anna? I must go to Anna."
And you're like, "Well, yeah, bro, but she's a ghost. You know the bit that was all like 'til death do you part'? That's your situation, bro."
And Nikolai will have none of it. He elbows right past you, going, "Anna! I will find you Anna!"
Well, you go back to where Anna was in the forest, and sure enough, Nikolai got himself eaten by monsters in the monster-infested woods. But hey, he's a ghost now, and he's a heck of a lot more lucid. He thanks you for reuniting him with his wife in death.
The two ghosts ask if there's any way they can repay you. Your only choice is to ask for Nikolai's hat, to which he replies, "Sure, bro. It's not like I need it anymore."
What did Nikolai lose except his sorry existence of wandering around in circles, asking about Anna all day, every day? What less did he gain than his mind, wife, and continuance of existence as a ghost? Seems like a pretty happy ending and successful resolution of a sidequest, all told, even if the hat reward happens to go to something completely unrelated.
That's what true heroes do. They feed old guys to monsters and take their hats.
