Line #3 VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIIThePiratesOfPestulon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/04_front.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Annihilator droids, overpriced space fast food and an evil software developer. Just another ordinary adventure for our Roger.]]
3	''Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon'' (also simply known as ''Space Quest III'') is the third game in the ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'' series, released in 1989. Taking place immediately after ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge'', Roger Wilco's escape pod is captured by a garbage freighter. As he manages to escape it with an abandoned ship, he'll discover that he's being hunted down by an android for not paying for a whistle in the previous game. Moreover, he finds another sinister company known as [=ScumSoft=], who are creating mediocre games by unethical means.
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6	!!This video game provides examples of:
7	* AbnormalAmmo: All the weapons used by Scumsoft members encase their target in jell-o blocks.
8	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: You don't actually need to beat the ''Astro Chicken'' game to get the next plot detail. The hidden message appears after failing ten times for anyone who just can't get a hang of the arcade gameplay.
9	* BagOfSpilling:
10	** Most of Roger's stuff from the last game is gone, leaving him only carrying the gem he found. Ironically one of the items that's disappeared without explanation is the whistle Arnoid's chasing Roger down to collect payment on.
11	** When Roger infiltrates Scumsoft and steals a company uniform, he discards all of his old inventory with the game saying outright it's doing the player a favor by clearing out all the stuff they don't need anymore.
12	* BitingTheHandHumor: Scumsoft was Mark and Scott taking a shot at the hostile work environment they felt Sierra had at the time. Even going so far as to include Ken Williams and Rick Cavin (head of productions at the time), as two authority figures who routinely crack whips at the programmers.
13	* BorderPatrol: Three instances, two on Phleebhut, one on Pestulon. On Phleebhut, going south too many times resulted in Roger encountering (and if he didn't go back up, being eaten by) a gigantic snake; going north too many times meant he'd get hit by lightning. On Pestulon, Roger can't walk past the Scum Soft building without activating the forcefields and being electrocuted.
14	* BossButton: Purportedly, one of the menu options. However, upon selecting it, the screen would cut to black and open a long series of pop-up windows saying that the player's boss wouldn't be happy if they knew how long the player had been playing the game, and showing the total time the player ''had'' been playing up to that point.
15	* BreakingTheFourthWall:
16	** In the final stage, one of the Two Guys will turn to the screen and ask the player if he's enjoying the game and whether it was worth $59.99.
17	** An unused animation shows the other one turn to the screen and tell the player that he thinks Roger has been in space for too long.
18	** In the end, Roger and the Two Guys land at the Sierra studios, and the two guys are recruited to program ''Space Quest'' video games.
19	* BreatherEpisode: In-game, Roger going to the Monolith Burger for a bite after selling his Labion gem from ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge''. This is even how he stumbles upon the main plot.
20	* ButThouMust: When the Pushy Counter Clerk asks Roger whether he'd like something to drink, Space Spuds, and a Blattfruit Pie with his order, the two options available are "Yes" and "Yes". He'll also offer a special, for which the only option is "Okay". (None of these add to your total though.)
21	* CensorBox[=/=]RelaxOVision: Roger being pulled into the trash grinder and reduced to pulp is covered with a box labeled "NOT A PRETTY SIGHT".
22	* ChekhovsGun: Ortega. It's the first planet you'll see when you first look at where you can go, even though you'll have no reason to go there until near the end of the game.
23	* ConvectionSchmonvection: DoubleSubversion; stepping out onto lava planet Ortega without special protection will cause you to die instantly from the planet's high surface temperature (Well, not instantly, but before you'll be done for sure). The protection in question? [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum Thermo-cooled underwear.]] Really.
24	* ConveyorBeltODoom: In the beginning, Roger must leap off a conveyor belt before falling into a trash grinder at the end of it.
25	* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover shows Roger eating fast food, while being pursued by Skull Fighters, as clerk ladies at Monolith Burger look on in shock, from what looks like pay/pickup windows. In the actual game, Monolith Burger has no such windows nor any (visible) humans working there. The game also won't let you enter your ship with food, saying that "you're likely to get crumbs all over the computer or something." And while Roger does come under attack by Scumsoft Skull Fighters, it (fortunately) happens far away from there.
26	* DeathWorld: Ortega is this, by virtue of being a lava planet you can't land on without protection. Phleebut halfway qualifies, since it has its bits of lethal fauna and flora, but is mainly a boring place.
27	* DeflectorShields: On the ''Aluminum Mallard''. They are required to survive escaping the garbage freighter, and to successfully battle the titular Pirates. If you're not careful, they can and WILL be depleted.
28	* DirectLineToTheAuthor:
29	** Roger Wilco had written his memoirs and sent them back in time to Sierra, who turned them into the ''Space Quest'' games, and the raw memoirs were the Peter Spear hintbook-slash-Novelization ''The Space Quest Companion''.
30	** In ''Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon'', Roger [[spoiler:delivers in-game versions of the creators of the ''Space Quest'' games to Sierra on Earth, with whom they presumably go on to make... the ''Space Quest'' games.]]
31	* EatenAlive: Roger gets eaten by a snake and pulsating pods in 2 of the deaths.
32	* FanRemake: ''Space Quest 3: 3D'', which arrived online in 2023.
33	* GelatinousEncasement: [=ScumSoft=]'s security system consists of drones and pistols that encase the guilty party in a block of green Jello. If Roger screws up and gets caught while infiltrating their headquarters, this will be what happens to him.
34	* GoryDiscretionShot: Falling into the trash grinder results in a black square over the image of Roger getting torn to pieces with the game stating it would be too gruesome to show.
35	* GuideDangIt:
36	** The fusion reactor that must be obtained early in the game to repair the Aluminium Mallard, even though it's hidden behind the scenery. You have to look at the wire to even be told that there's a hole in the room and then look into the unseen hole to see the reactor.
37	** You have to win the game of ''Astro Chicken'' (or [[AntiFrustrationFeatures just play it ten times]]) and buy food at the Monolith Burger joint to decode the message. Nothing tells you that you need to do these things. [[SolveTheSoupCans You're just supposed to do them because they're there]].
38	* HelpHelpTrappedInTitleFactory: The main plot of ''Space Quest III'' kicks off with Roger discovering a secret message from the Two Guys from Andromeda calling for help while playing a game of "Astro Chicken".
39	* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace: At the end when the light-speed drive kicks in with no course set, and the Two Guys are scared they're going to die.
40	* HumanPopsicle: Roger starts as this, woken up when the garbage freighter picks up his EscapePod, which triggers the recovery mode on his sleep chamber.
41	* InsurmountableWaistHighFence: For once it's on the player's side. Arnoid is unable to cross the edge of dunes in the foreground, so if you can make it past that or stay in the background, he can't get you.
42	* InvisibilityCloak: Two examples.
43	** A planet-scale one, to hide the titular Pirates' homebase of Pestulon, enforced by a giant piece of machinery on Ortega.
44	** A personal one with Arnoid's belt, which Roger puts to use on Pestulon.
45	* JumpedAtTheCall: Roger when he finds out the hidden message in Astro Chicken. Unlike every other game in the series, Roger does this entirely of his own volition: all the other games in the series force him into the situation, while this game has him getting involved simply because it's the right thing to do, which allows him to ''finally'' be called a true hero.
46	* LastLousyPoint: You can win the game without doing some things, such as searching the captain's chair in the ''Aluminum Mallard'' and getting a high score on Astro Chicken. However, of the two ways to defeat Arnoid, only one gives you full points: tricking him into going under the carnivorous pods. If you push him into the gears, you get less points for some reason.
47	* LighterAndSofter: One of the lighter installments. Still many ways to die a horrible death, but no actual galaxy-saving, and the Pirates come off as comedic thanks to their jell-o guns and master plan of...releasing crummy video games.
48	* NitroExpress: Features a thermal detonator you had to use to disable a shield generator on an unstable volcanic planet. Trying to take one with you back to your ship across an unstable piece of land or pole-vaulting over the resulting rift results in scattering yourself in a five meter radius.
49	* PlayerNudge: The death messages start to give out hints in this game and will continue on for the rest of the installments.
50	* PokeThePoodle: Compared to most villains in the series. [=ScumSoft=] run a hostile workplace, but the end result isn't that they're destroying planets or subjugating entire civilizations, just that they're selling crummy video games.
51	* PopStarComposer: Music/{{Supertramp}} drummer Bob Siebenberg composed the score.
52	* RoboticPsychopath: The robots on the garbage freighter are this, as they have no regard for organics, and will simply kill Roger on sight.
53	* RodentsOfUnusualSize: The Ratoids. They seem to have a primitive understanding of technology.
54	* SeeTheInvisible: Arnoid's footprints are visible when chasing Roger.
55	* SeriesContinuityError: [[Film/TheTerminator Arnoid the Annihilator]] is chasing down Roger for an unpaid whistle that he ordered in [[VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge the second game]]. However, the whistle was clearly stated to be free for Roger. It was later {{handwave}}d in ''The Space Quest Companion''.
56	* SeriousBusiness: The Gippazoid Novelty Company deals with debtors using robot assassins. Remember to read the fine print on [[VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge that whistle]], folks; it just might save your life.
57	* ShoutOut / TakeThat:
58	** According to Scott Murphy Scumsoft is a plug for Scott Murphy's own personal company, with Elmo being patterned off of Ken Williams and evil side of the Sierra company. Elmo is also a generic nerd, and is related to all the other nerds in the company, described as the 'secret society of the nerds'. They all share same general physical appearance and face.
59	** The ''Aluminum Mallard'' is an obvious shout out to the ''Millennium Falcon'', complete with emergency repairs and a faulty hyperdrive.
60	** Another ''Franchise/StarWars'' reference with the thermal detonator.
61	** The Bowtie Fighter in the junk freighter. If you look at it, it says it's from the Cologne Wars, all references to the ''Franchise/StarWars'' tie fighters and clone wars.
62	** There's what appears to be a wing off an X-wing in the room where Roger finds the reactor.
63	** Arnoid is an obvious spoof of the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}''.
64	** Nukem Dukem Robots is a reference to ''Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots'' [[note]] ''Not'' to the ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' series, as the first one wouldn't come out until almost a year and a half later [[/note]].
65	* StrippedToTheBone: This can happen to Roger in two ways. One way has him falling into lava with his flesh melting off. Another way has his charred skeleton remain untouched after being hit by lightning or electrocuted.
66	* TechDemoGame: The intro was a popular demo for the Roland MT-32. Sierra promoted the game, along with ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella'', as a showcase for sound cards in general.
67	* TerminatorImpersonator: Arnoid, a deadly collections agent robot, coming for Roger for that Labion Terror-beast whistle (despite being a free giveaway in the second game). He's called a terminator by the narration.
68	* TimeSkip: An unknown amount of time (estimated to be a century, or less depending on source and parallel universe) has passed since ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge''. Enough for Roger's unpaid whistle to amass $400,000 worth of interest.
69	* UnexpectedGameplayChange:
70	** To progress the plot without either [[GuideDangIt reading spoilers]] or [[TrialAndErrorGameplay stumbling onto the next plot point]], the player will ''need'' to play the "Astro Chicken" arcade game and get a high score.
71	** The Nukem Dukem robot battle against Elmo Pug.
72	** The dogfight with the Pirates at the end.
73	* UnwinnableByDesign: If you buy anything other than the kid's meal at Monolith Burger, you won't get the decoder ring to decode the hidden message and can't advance the plot. The only indication you get that you're supposed to buy the kid's meal is the price, $7, the same amount you find in the Aluminum Mallard, even though you get up to $425 for selling the Labion gem.
74	* VomitDiscretionShot: If you eat the Big Belcher at Monolith, when you go back to your ship and try to fly away, Roger gets out and goes around the corner and vomits.
75	* WhatAPieceOfJunk: The ''Aluminum Mallard'', a literal piece of junk you get from a garbage freighter and [[TheGreatRepair repair back to working order with whatever materials you have available at hand]].

Context VideoGame / SpaceQuestIIIThePiratesOfPestulon