History VideoGame / KingsQuest2015

* KillerRabbit: As Graham himself says, in a game over where he's hogtied and carried off by vengeful squirrels, the squirrels in Daventry are [[JustForPun a little nutty]].

* BatmanGrabsAGun: Valanice will try to sort out the situation in Chapter 4 peacefully between your family, Icebella and the Sphinx. The moment [[spoiler: Icebella realizes she's Valanice's best friend from the tower of Hagatha, and her memories come flooding back, the Sphinx shatters her]], and...

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Mordack is a lot more amicable to Graham because [[spoiler: he saved him from goblinhood]].

** Averted by Graham's family, which has many different personality types: the adventurous, eccentric Graham, the compassionate and devoted Valanice, the brash, hot-headed Rosella, the calm and collected Alexander, the bratty but caring Gart, and the imaginative and courageous Gwendolyn. Despite the many personalities among them, it's clear that they ''all'' love each other, without reservation, as best exemplified at the end of chapter 4, where [[spoiler: Gart is much more upset about the fact that Graham is dying than by the fact that Graham's last official act as king will prevent Gart from taking the throne]].
** Played absolutely straight by [[spoiler: Manny's]] family. [[spoiler: Manny, Mordack and Hagatha are all related by birth or by association, and while Mordack and Hagatha are nice to each other without being overly compassionate, Manny treats both of them as disposable pawns in his plans.]]

* EvilSoundsDeep: Mordan [[spoiler: / Mordack]] has a badass baritone and a smooth velvety voice like thick chocolate syrup.

* FixFic: The concept is briefly discussed towards the end of Chapter 5. With Old Graham [[spoiler: too ill to continue his story, he requests that Gwendolyn do so. One of the first things she attempts is to tell the story so that Graham gets to live and everyone "moved to Avalon" rather than him having to sacrifice himself to beat Manny. Old Graham gently chastises her, telling her that this clearly isn't what happened and that the story must be told correctly.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: According to Chapter 5, King Graham's fading health and faculties are due to a potion that slowly destroys a person. It was that or let Manny pour it over the castle and let it destroy it via SympatheticMagic.]]

* IncrediblyLamePun: A RunningGag in the series is that everyone in the setting makes these. King Graham himself is the [[PungeonMaster worst]] in this regard, and his granddaughter's [[LamePunReaction reaction]] is predictable. Princess Vee can match Graham pun-for-pun.
** Alexander does one accidentally in one of optional dialogues early in Chapter 4. Graham later tries to encourage him, even after he said that he doesn't really like puns, but his joke is more an example of AntiHumor[[note]]"What do you call koalas at the North Pole? Lost. Very, very lost."[[/note]]. Graham even notes that:
--->'''Graham''': That was really more of a punchline than a pun!
** Wente really loves making these too. When at one point he's chastised by his wife because he's wasting time, he stops making them. Then Graham exits the scene and she tells him "You have 30 seconds" and he unleashes a HurricaneOfPuns because of his pent up compulsion.

** The Sphinx in Chapter 4 calls Graham "Mr. Majesty." [[spoiler: They later call Alexander ''Gwydion'']]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Gart initially comes off as the bratty older sibling (cousin) to Gwendolyn, and looks like he's going to be absolutely insufferable as the heir to the Daventry throne. [[spoiler: When he finds out that Graham is trying to push through an amendment to the rules that would allow him to name Gwendolyn as his heir, Gart is much more upset about the fact that Graham is dying than he is about losing the throne.]]

* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: The key driving point of Chapter 4. After Graham is reunited with Alexander, he expects that his son will like all the things that Graham likes - puzzles, puns, archery and adventure - and tries to connect with Alexander by doing those things. But Alexander thinks of himself as Gwydion, since that's how he was brought up, and instead has an aptitude for brute forcing his way through problems with magic, both of which Graham dislikes (and Graham absolutely hates and fears magic). It's not until the end of the chapter, when Graham is forced to use [[spoiler: magic himself]] to save Alexander, that they start to reconcile and properly connect. [[spoiler: The present day segments show that Alexander is still is own person, but has definitely inherited his father's love of adventure, and has nurtured it in his daughter Gwendolyn.]]
* LiterallyShatteredLives: In Chapter 4, this is the ultimate fate for [[spoiler: Icabella/Vee/Nees]]

* MindScrew: Did these stories happen as told or did Graham embellish them? The FramingDevice is that Graham's stories visually play out in the magic mirror as he tells them to Gwendolyn, and for the first four chapters they seem mostly true (with maybe a few facts left out or altered, see the AlternativeCharacterInterpretation entry), but Chapter 5 clearly couldn't have literally happened, as Graham's failing memories turn the story into a meta-heavy incoherent plot that breaks the rules of reality. Some puzzles are solved by old Graham remembering something (for example, a sandbox with a bucket in it) the (slightly) younger Graham getting an item as a result, and then old Graham saying he remembered wrong and it was actually something else (a fountain instead of the sandbox) which younger Graham then uses to fill up the bucket with water. Also, the end of the story ([[spoiler:Graham and Manny's final showdown]]) is told by Gwendolyn, who (it is implied) had no prior knowledge of this particular story, though her version of events does get Graham's approval (the cause of his [[spoiler: impending death via Manny's poison]] is implied to be true, even though Gwendolyn told that part of the story). Though the game never outright states whether or not the events of this chapter actually occurred, it's heavily hinted that they did in some form, but how much was true, how much was Graham's failing memory, and how much was Graham/Gwendolyn making stuff up is never addressed.

* MotivationalLie: After [[spoiler: Achaka dies]], a disheartened Graham goes into a TenMinuteRetirement. Manny brings him out of it by telling Graham that he can help the cause that [[spoiler: Achaka]] was serving. Manny gets caught out on his lie later on when he forgets the name of the village in question.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: In chapter 1, [[spoiler: Manny made sure Graham made it to the final, thinking he would be the easiest to defeat. But Graham is more clever than he appears. Manny would have had an easier time in the Duel of Wits with Acorn or Whisper, and neither of them would have had the support of Kyle and Larry.]]

* PassingTheTorch: In-universe, Graham is passing his adventuring hat (literally) to his chosen successor, [[spoiler: Gwendolyn]]. Out-of-universe, the franchise is putting forward this person as the protagonist of new adventures from now on.
* PensieveFlashback: It's implied that the Magic Mirror shows Graham's adventures as he describes them. This explains why Gwendolyn occasionally comments on the imagery. [[spoiler: The white void areas that appear periodically in the last chapter implies the Mirror's images are tied to Graham's memory.]]

** Averted by Alexander, who seems to find puns more confusing than anything. He finally makes one, to his father's delight, near the end of Chapter 4. [[spoiler: He's later shown to be a master in his old age.]]

** [[spoiler: Even worse: During the conversation with Achaka, Manny keeps saying "Hornswoggle." In Chapter 3, we find out that Hornswoggle is the name of the dragon.]]

* RiseToTheChallenge: In "Once Upon a Climb," Graham must scale the outside of the tower. [[spoiler: Twice. The second time he's being chased by ice.]]
* RuleOfThree: A theme to the game is deciding to show compassion, think your way around a problem, or go for the direct route. As such, many puzzles have three results. The end game screen shows you the decisions you made, and with two exceptions, all of them have three possibilities. [[spoiler: Later episodes remove these choices, as Graham has defined his character already, and would be used to making the same kind of choices.]]

** Graham himself becomes one in the later episodes, as well, able to quote rules and regulations with ease. [[spoiler: He uses these abilities to try to push through an addendum to the existing laws.]]

* SadisticChoice: Both Bramble and Mr. Fancycakes are sick in Chapter 2, but there is only one bottle of remedy to be found. No matter who you choose to save, Old Graham will make you feel guilty for it. [[spoiler: Giving the medicine to Mr. Fancycakes unlocks an achievement, and the Merchant will be so happy he gives you a hatchet. The hatchet is needed to cut down a mushroom, in order to get the third 'story' page ("Page of Wisdom") for another achievement, and the page is needed to get Gwendolyn's Bravery ending (yet another achievement).]]

* ShapeShifterSwanSong: When Mannaman finally bites the dust, he cycles through all of his forms he's taken in reverse order [[spoiler: from human to cat, to sphinx, to cat, to human, and finally to goblin]].

* SingleTear: When Gart is bawling his eyes out at the end of Chapter 4 [[spoiler: learning about Graham making a law change because of his impending death, in less than thirty days]], he holds onto Gwendolyn, who then sheds a single tear.

* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Vee and Nees, who can be courted by Graham in chapter 3, share some lines in which they respond in the same way depending on who's RelationshipValues is the highest. [[spoiler: The one you don't end up marrying will turn out to be the Snow Queen]].

** Used in-universe as a PlayerPunch in Chapter 5. Graham's memory is quickly going and Gwendolyn has to correct him with the bridge trolls several times, and at several points he has problems remembering what was in certain locations. [[spoiler: There's also a subtle implication that Graham made up the whole story of the final confrontation with Manny, to give Gwendolyn a more heroic reason for his impending death than just "old age".]]

* EvilSoundsDeep: Mordan [[spoiler: / Mordack]] has a BadassBaritone and a smooth velvety voice like thick chocolate syrup.

* HatesWearingDresses: This incarnation is a bit more of a tomboy, to juxtapose with Alexander being more of mage and less like his adventurous dad, she's gone more TomBoy. She spends all of Chapter 4 in regal trousers. She's wearing one in her later years though, having mellowed out.

* BatmanGrabsAGun: Valanice will try to sort out the situation in Chapter 4 peacefully between your family, Icabella and the Sphinx. The moment [[spoiler: Icabella realizes she's Valanice's best friend from the tower of Hagitha, and her memories come flooding back, the Sphinx shatters her]], and...

* HorseOfADifferentColor: Instead of horses, people in the setting ride giant gerbil or dog-like creatures instead.

* DisappointingLastLevel: Discounting the Epilogue Chapter, the last part of the game is a series of logic puzzles with cryptic clues written on notes. While it's supposed to be a CallBack with poisoned goblets, it all falls rather flat and doesn't reach an actual climactic point for the player. [[note]]Storywise it does though[[/note]].

* AllTheWorldsAreAStage: Because of UnreliableNarrator in Chapter 5, and the DreamWeaver/InMediasRes nature of the game, Chapter 5 smooshes elements of all previous chapters together willy nilly.

* EvilSoundsDeep: Mordan [[spoiler: / Mordack]] has a BadassBarritone and a smooth velvety voice like thick chocolate syrup.

* InterfaceScrew: When Graham's memory starts going off in the InMediasResChapter5: A Good Knight, and he mentions not remembering where to go, the controls get inverted for a bit, so that you end up in a big blank void, and current Graham narrating mentioning he didn't go this way.

* AllTheWorldsAreAStage: Because of UnreliableNarrator in Chapter 5, and the DreamWeaver/InMediaRes nature of the game, Chapter 5 smooshes elements of all previous chapters together willy nilly.

* InterfaceScrew: When Graham's memory starts going off in the InMediaRes Chapter5: A Good Knight, and he mentions not remembering where to go, the controls get inverted for a bit, so that you end up in a big blank void, and current Graham narrating mentioning he didn't go this way.

** The Sphinx in Chapter 4 calls Graham "Mr. Majesty."