I remember the first time I went to buy computer game. It was in 1990. I looked at the shelves loaded with all kind of games, of various companies, but one game immediately caught my eye -- King's Quest 4: The Perils of Rosella. (Actually, the name of the game in Hebrew is "The Mystery of Rosella" due to difficulties of translating.) It was the cover that made me interested: the picture of Rosella attacked by the winged goons, while the spooky castle is on the background... I saw at once it was an adventure and mystery game, so I bought it. It was expensive, but worth every penny!

The introduction fascinated me because it was like watching a movie. Soon I found myself carried into the game, identifying with the character of Rosella. Surrounded by powerful and supernatural enemies, while having no magical powers, Rosella had no one to count but herself and her human skills. When Rosella obtained the magic fruit, I was rejoiced. When she ventured the cave -- knowing that the troll could appear every second -- I was very frightened. I vividly remember when Rosella was caught and held in the cell and in Edgar's room, after having all her possessions taken away ... while she could do nothing but wait for further developments -- I felt so helpless. And in the end, I was so happy at Rosella's victory!

As a fan of Greek Mythology, I was amazed by the collection of mythological characters who were all incorporated into the beautifully interwoven storyline and setting: Cupid, Pan, and more. My knowledge of mythology helped me to solve one of the puzzles, which was how to deal with the one-eyed three witches whom I recognized as the Graeae.

The game shows the great advance in computer technology achieved since the making of the first three King's Quest games in several aspects. First, the resolution and the graphics are far more sophisticated, and the details are very accurate, even with the limits of mere EGA colors. See the close-up of Rosella and Genesta in the introduction and notice how beautiful they are, unlike the vague figures of the characters in King's Quest 1-3. Second, the Adlib music card replaced the ear-piercing internal speaker, giving the player lovely music to hear. Unfortunately, on today's newer computers and more sophisticated soundcards, the MIDI music in these older games may not play well due to incompatibilities. Third, the addition of the mouse made it easier for the players to make their way through difficult, treacherous places (such as the castle stair, the rocky path, or the chasm). Fourth, the game's vocabulary has expanded, so the player will not experience as much difficulty with finding that correct command to type. Fifth, whenever the player types a command, the game action/animation pauses until ENTER key is pressed. This is a great advantage especially for slow-typing players, which is very helpful in dangerous situations, like throwing the bone to the bulldog before it reaches you.

The puzzles in the game are not easy, but not too difficult. There are two arcade puzzles -- crossing the chasm and climbing the whale's tongue -- which took me weeks to solve. What makes the game more tricky and challenging is the order of deeds. If you obtain an object, do not use it immediately because you may need to first give it away or use it in another way. For instance, I made the mistake of giving the diamond pouch to the person in need of it without first trying to give it back to its rightful owner, and so I got stuck.

Apart from the puzzles, what can be confusing and challenging is that there are many objects, nicely drawn in the background in such a way that they look important, but are completely useless, like the small ladder and the pot in the kitchen of the haunted house. (Remember the axe and the water pump in King's Quest 1?) I remember spending hours, typing all the commands I could think of, in order to take or use somehow those items. Therefore, you must determine if you really need the specific item you are trying to take.

What I did not like about the game is the overly non-violent characteristic nature. If the player types "Kill/Hit *", a message appears and says, "You are NOT a murderous/violent girl, Rosella!" This is most unfair. In King's Quest 1, Graham could kill some of his enemies or at least run away from those he could not, while Rosella cannot perform any aggressive actions, save shooting at a certain character and waving the axe to torment something. This becomes irritating when Rosella is in the dark cave. If the troll attacks, she can do absolutely nothing to defend herself -- neither fighting back nor running away (unless she is very near to the cave entrance).

The character I loved most of all is Rosella. I admired her courage, wisdom, bravery, and resourcefulness as well as how she manages to overcome and outwit her opponents and at last brings salvation to all. The character I hated was not one of the main ones, but a bystander -- the black raven, who keeps flying around, probably to spy on Rosella. The effect made by it is the feeling you are watched all the time. I wanted to get rid of the annoying, inauspicious bird (worse than Cedric, if you ask me!), but the game would not allow any violent actions ...

What can I say more -- Overall, Roberta has outdone herself by creating King's Quest 4! I love this game so much, that sometimes I play it again and again, though I have many more advanced games. It is my favorite King's Quest game of all! I give it 6 of 6 stars. -- Templeton