After finishing The Colonel's Bequest (several times) I naturally had to follow up with the game's one and only sequel: The Dagger of Amon Ra.
It’s... not great. The game was written and designed by Bruce Balfour, with Roberta Williams taking a backseat as she worked on other projects. She’s credited as “creative consultant”, which apparently meant she was tasked with making sure the spirit of the first game remained intact and that there was character consistency in the portrayal of Laura.
A switch in creative control doesn’t necessarily lead to a drop in quality – after all, Jane Jenson wrote King’s Quest 6, which is largely considered the best in the series – but there are several problems with this game that leaves it with none of the Replay Value of its predecessor.
Released in 1992, the graphics have advanced in leaps and bounds, going from the 4-bit colour palette and pixelated sprites of just three years ago to rich and detailed scenery and characters. But honestly, I prefer the visual limitations of the first game, largely due to the Nostalgia Filter and the scope for imagination that it provides – often your mind ends up filling in the details of the more unsophisticated graphics.
The Dagger of Amon Ra sees Bequest’s old plantation house in the midst of murky swamplands and raises it a New York museum after closing hours. That’s not a bad exchange as far as ambient locations go, and the designers make the most of the popular 1920’s Art Deco style in order to create the Leyendecker Museum, where most of the game’s action takes place.
