Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur Summary
The legend of King Arthur is one of the world’s most popular stories. It tells the tale of a young boy named Arthur, who draws the sword from the stone to become the king of Britain. And, fun fact, the sword in the stone is a different sword from the famous Excalibur, or Caliburn if you want to be pedantic. Of course, this is all just a setup for Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur. It was first released on the PC, Macintosh, and other early devices in 1989. This interactive fiction game saw the player take on the role of Arthur. He hasn’t become king yet, and you must interact with the world around you to progress the plot.
Notable for possessing full illustrations, characters, objects, and other interactions not seen in a video game at that time. It was also one of the last interactive fiction games produced by Infocom. Upon release, the Amiga version of Arthur: The Quest of Excalibur received critical acclaim. With the puzzles, the graphics, humor, and more being high points of the game. That said, that only applies to the Amiga version. The Apple II release was met with a much worse reception. Reviewers claim it has bad graphics and a high number of disk swaps.
But, all in all, this was a worthy piece to add to the Arthurian Legend!
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur Premise
As the young King Arthur takes his place on the throne of Camelot, his scared sword, Excalibur, has been stolen. The culprit in question is the evil King Lot, and to regain the sword, Arthur must prove to Merlin he has what it takes to become king. The virtues he must show, through trial and hardship, are chivalry, experience, and wisdom. But thankfully, Arthur isn’t entirely on his own. Merlin saw fit to give him the power to transform into various animals, and at times, shows up to advise on what to do next.
As with most legends, the setting differs upon who’s telling it, so don’t expect this story to be 1:1 with the legends you may have heard growing up.
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur Main Characters
- Arthur. The Young King hasn’t quite grown into the mold, but he’s getting there. Unlike most deceptions of the once and future king, Arthur here has more than just a sword to help him. Merlin gave him the ability to shapeshift into other animals.
- Merlin. The archetype for the wizard. Merlin helps and guides Arthur on his quest to recover Excalibur.
- King Lot. The one who stole Arthur’s sword. He used to be the ruling regent in-between Uther, Arthur’s father, and Arthur himself. Ergo, he’s not too happy that his rule was ended by a young boy.
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur Titles of Video Games in the Series
To this writer’s knowledge, this is the only game in the series. And while there are many games based on King Arthur, we will not be listing them all.
- Arthur: Quest for Excalibur (1989)
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur Cheat Codes
Since there are no cheat codes for this game (and remember, cheat codes are usually made purposefully by the developers themselves), let’s cover a few tips and tricks!
- Be mindful of your actions. As this is a text-based adventure game, you can input your actions and get a response from the computer. However, while this is the norm, keep in mind, that you are King Arthur, and you are expected to uphold the Chivalric virtues.
- Examine everything. As usual with old text adventures, nothing in the game was put there by accident. As such, you should examine everything you can. From graveyards to windows to stables and more.
- Ask for hints if you need them. Merlin is around to guide you, and while his hints aren’t always helpful, or free, you can learn something from him,
Arthur: The Quest for Excalibur Cheat Code FAQ
Is King Arthur a girl? Not in this game!
Where can I play this game? You can find it on most abandonware websites, or the Internet Archive.
Is it hard? While most games of this type did have a few odd tricks up their sleeves, it is worth noting that it is not as hard as today’s games.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Infocom.