Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Best of Sierra Nr. 2 delivers a diverse gameplay experience by bundling two full games—King’s Quest VII: The Princeless Bride and The Even More! Incredible Machine—alongside a remake of King’s Quest I and three sizeable demos. King’s Quest VII offers classic point-and-click adventure mechanics: you explore beautifully hand-painted environments, interact with quirky NPCs, and solve inventory-based puzzles that grow in complexity as you progress. Its intuitive interface and well-paced puzzle difficulty make it accessible to series veterans and newcomers alike.

The Even More! Incredible Machine contrasts sharply with King’s Quest VII, focusing on Rube Goldberg-style contraptions rather than narrative. Here, you assemble bizarre components—ramshackle pulleys, bouncing balls, overzealous mice—to trigger chain reactions. Each level challenges your creative problem-solving skills and rewards experimentation, making it a welcome palate cleanser between more story-driven segments.

Beyond the two headliners, the King’s Quest I remake serves as an excellent introduction to the series’ roots. Streamlined controls, updated puzzles, and a fresh coat of pixel art ensure that even modern players can appreciate the puzzle design that founded Sierra’s reputation. Meanwhile, the CD’s trio of demos—3-D Ultra Minigolf, Lords of the Realm II, and Print Artist 3—offers a taste of Sierra’s broader catalog, rounding out your experience with a sports challenge, a medieval strategy title, and a creative application.

For completionists and those stuck on tricky puzzles, the accompanying magazine provides two detailed walkthroughs for the King’s Quest titles and two solution pages for The Even More! Incredible Machine. These support articles strike a balance between gentle hints and step-by-step directions, ensuring you can overcome even the most devious brain-teasers without spoiling the joy of discovery.

Graphics

The visual presentation in Best of Sierra Nr. 2 is nothing short of charming. King’s Quest VII showcases lush, storybook-style artwork in resolutions that were impressive for 1997. Characters are animated with fluid motions, and the backgrounds are so richly detailed you’ll find yourself pausing just to admire the brushstrokes on a meadow or the carvings in a castle hallway.

The Even More! Incredible Machine trades narrative visuals for functional but whimsical sprites and components. While the graphical fidelity isn’t groundbreaking, the crisp icons and clear color palettes ensure you can distinguish gear teeth from steel balls at a glance—a must for precise puzzle construction. The clean interface also helps keep the focus on the mechanics rather than ornamental flourishes.

The King’s Quest I remake updates its predecessors’ rudimentary EGA graphics to a more vibrant VGA palette, complete with smoother character animations and richer environmental textures. Locations such as the haunted forest, dwarf mines, and the wizard’s castle feel more alive, wrapping new players in the atmosphere that defined Sierra adventures of the late ’80s.

Even the demos and bonus content maintain a respectable level of polish. 3-D Ultra Minigolf’s isometric greens are bright and detailed, Lords of the Realm II’s overhead maps offer clarity on troop movements, and Print Artist 3’s templates showcase the creative possibilities of digital scrapbooking. The inclusion of the Sierra Diving Adventure screensaver rounds out the package with some well-animated marine life that you can admire between gameplay sessions.

Story

At the heart of Best of Sierra Nr. 2 lies storytelling at its most whimsical and adventurous. King’s Quest VII picks up the series’ tradition of fairy-tale pastiche, casting you as Princess Rosella on a quest across the Enchanted Lands. The dialogue is witty, often playfully self-aware, and the narrative frequently splits into chapter-based vignettes that highlight different locales and characters.

While The Even More! Incredible Machine lacks a conventional storyline, it evokes a playful sense of mad-scientist experimentation. You aren’t saving a kingdom or seeking hidden treasure; you’re simply tasked with solving imaginative puzzles, and the real “story” emerges from the chain reactions you devise. This minimalist approach frees you to craft your own narrative logic within each contraption.

The King’s Quest I remake reintroduces the classic quest to restore King Graham’s lost crown. Though familiar to series aficionados, its updated presentation and expanded dialogue add depth to character interactions and world-building. A new comic feature in the magazine bridges the gap between King’s Quest I and VI, providing context for long-time fans and offering newcomers a concise history lesson written in the series’ signature blend of humor and whimsy.

Adding to the narrative immersion, the magazine includes an interview with Roberta Williams and an article about the upcoming King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity. These features offer insight into the creative process behind Sierra’s iconic titles and keep readers excited for the franchise’s future. The six-page comic strip further stitches together the saga of the royal family, celebrating Sierra’s adventure legacy while teasing new horizons.

Overall Experience

Best of Sierra Nr. 2 stands out as one of the most generous value propositions of its era. For a single purchase, you receive three full-version games—two recent hits and a nostalgic remake—plus three substantial demos, a handy screensaver, and a richly designed magazine. Whether you’re a die-hard Sierra fan or a curious newcomer, the package delivers hours of entertainment across multiple genres.

The blend of point-and-click narrative, sandbox-style puzzles, strategy demos, and creative software showcases Sierra’s versatility as a publisher. You can move seamlessly from the enchanting castles of Daventry to the contraptions of Rube Goldberg-inspired laboratories, then to minigolf courses and medieval battlefields, all within a single disc. It’s a sampler platter of late-’90s PC gaming at its most imaginative.

The magazine’s supplemental content—comics, walkthroughs, interviews—elevates the collection beyond mere software. It feels like a mini-anthology of Sierra lore, complete with developer insights and puzzle assistance. Even if you breeze through the games, the behind-the-scenes features and bonus demos expand the longevity of the disc.

In sum, Best of Sierra Nr. 2 is an engaging, eclectic package that honors Sierra’s adventure pedigree while offering fresh puzzle mechanics and a wealth of bonus material. It remains a compelling purchase for anyone interested in late-’90s PC gaming, puzzle enthusiasts, or fans of story-driven adventures. With its generous content and varied gameplay styles, it’s a remarkable snapshot of Sierra’s creative peak and a must-have for collectors and casual gamers alike.