This game makes me wish I had played the series in order. Having played King's Quest 5 first, I felt I had lost something in King's Quest 3. Needless to say, it was an incredible game! The graphics were not a huge step up from King's Quest 2, and neither was the music. This was all made up for in the plotline of a young slave named Gwydion struggling for survival. The player learns very quickly in reading the King's Quest 3 text (which is included with the game) that the evil wizard Manannan steals children as infants, trains them to do his chores, and kills them on their eighteenth birthday. This cycle has been going on for centuries. Young Gwydion is nearing this landmark birthday and must save himself from being another victim of this plot.

The biggest advancement was a teleportation device that was added into the game. A player could be transported anywhere he had already traveled to instantly. Some players felt this took away some of the challenge of the time restrictions placed by the wizard's routines. You could very quickly transport back to the mountain if you needed to get back soon. In the beginning, you start out as a young slave of a wizard named Manannan. Not knowing anything about your life with the exception that you had better do what Manannan says and right this instant--if you please! Eventually one learns of Manannan's strict routine. This knowledge is critical in finding out a way to defeat the wizard, for even the slightest error on your part can easily lead to your untimely demise. If you learn to work around Manannan’s routine then you can start the process of spellcasting. This leads to the sealing of Manannan's fate for eternity.

Travel into the land of Llewdor and see the little town for all its beauty, but beware of the dangers! Sometimes it is wiser to listen to the animals than to try talking to people. This is one of the most original and creative games in the series. You will notice in your wanderings through Llewdor that this quest has more to it than is originally assumed. You may already know this secret if you have played the later games (King's Quest 4-7) which make it fairly obvious who he is. This is a game that seems most enjoyable when one plays the series in order. The whole promise of this game was one giant puzzle to figure out. What direction you are going to take has to be figured out. In King's Quest 1 and King's Quest 2, your objective is neatly laid out in the beginning of the game. Not so in this game! There are many good points to this game. The simplicity of the entire affair at the beginning of the game soon is crushed. When you start to explore and collect items, you realize things are not always what they appear to be. Gwydion is a young slave, but he was not always a slave just for as long as he can remember. This game was an amazing game of discovery, and its best feature is by far the plot and the difficulty of the puzzles.

Here are some hints for playing the game. Learn Manannan's schedule. When does he leave? For how long? When does he sleep? For how long? Pick up every item in sight. Explore the house thoroughly and be careful when casting those spells. Type exactly what it says to type. The main drawback of this game has to be the spell casting. You have to type in the exact phrase. Even one little infraction during this time ALWAYS leads to your death. In the manual, there are typing errors, so even if you follow the book exactly you could still die. Save your game before you are going to cast a spell as you will most likely die before you get the hang of it. Also, if you already know Gwydion's identity, some of the excitement is unfortunately lost in this game.

I played the series out of order and enjoyed it very much, which makes me wonder how much more I would have enjoyed it at the time of its release in 1986 -- before it was possible to find out Gwydion's identity without having played the game. However, I digress this game is amazing. If you are looking for superior graphics and great music this game may not be for you. The storyline is phenomenal. Who is Gwydion you ask? If you don’t know who he is, the best gift I can offer you is not to tell you, so if you do play this game you can receive the fullest enjoyment from it. Despite the games faults, I would have to give it 6 out of 6 stars. Way to go Roberta Williams! -- Steve