Thayer's Quest
| Thayer's Quest | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | RDI Video Systems |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, 3DO, Philips CD-i, PC, DVD |
| Release date(s) | 1984 |
| Genre(s) | Interactive movie |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Cabinet | Standard upright |
| Display | Horizontal orientation, Raster |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Score |
| Entertainment Weekly | B- (CD-i) |
| Maximum |
  (3DO) |
| Next Generation |
(3DO) |
Thayer's Quest is a laserdisc adventure game initially developed by RDI Video Systems in 1984 for their unreleased Halcyon console and later in arcades as a conversion kit for Dragon's Lair. In 1994-1995 it was ported to home consoles and PC under the title Kingdom: The Far Reaches. The arcade machine had a membrane keypad for controls instead of a joystick. To help players learn the daunting—for an arcade game—controls, a small holder containing instructional leaflets was attached to the cabinet.
The player controls Thayer Alconred, an apprentice magician on a quest to recover the five magical relics that make up the Hand of Quoid ("kwod") before the evil wizard Sorsabal can find them and cement his rule over the five kingdoms. During the game, Thayer Alconred only visits three of the kingdoms and finds their relics.
The game is fully animated like Dragon's Lair but requires more than simply choosing when to fight or which way to dodge in accordance with the animation. Instead the player has full control over Thayer Alconred's movement to different areas and must find and use a variety of magical objects to overcome enemies and obstacles like in most later graphic adventure games. There are many ways to mess up and permanently lose the game. There are several branching paths, resulting in different dialogue. The RDI'S Computer voice sometimes gives hints and the player's score.
A sequel incorporating the rest of Thayer Alconred journey was planned, but the company went bankrupt before it could be completed. In the mid-1990s, Thayer's Quest was released to home computers and CD-based consoles titled Kingdom: The Far Reaches, with the characters' names changed (Thayer Alconred became Lathan Kandor, Sorsabal became Torlock, etc., because creator Rick Dyer thought the original character and names were "too 70's") and additional animation and puzzles. In 1998 Kingdom II: Shadoan was released, including the final two kingdoms and the final battle with Torlock. In 2005 the original Thayer's Quest was released as a DVD video game by Digital Leisure, Inc. (true to the original Halcyon version) and could be played on an ordinary DVD player using the remote control. Thayer's Quest was also released for the CD-ROM by Digital Leisure.
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