Return To Zork - because it resembles the original text based games more than any of the sequels, also the inventory is so much easier to use.... Wow, had you ever seen a spider that scary before? I got introduced to this game in 1993.
Zork Nemesis - who doesn't like a good thriller, keeps you at the edge of your seat and if you didn't consult ANY spoiler you never knew what was going to happen next! I was too scared and got stuck with Dr. Sartorius, then I read it was ok to get shocked! I got introduced to this game in 2000.
Zork Grand Inquisitor - This game is too funny. I hope the sequels are just as fun. I did miss fighting a troll or defeating a spider. The invisible guy didn't count you just have to cut the bridge. I got introduced to this game in 2003.
I like all of them, but they are all very different games.
In RTZ you had to use many items with others, interacting with objects was very important for the game play. It was in a small "town" the passages and roads were very similar to what the original game (ZORK 1) was about. You had to climb down with a rope tied on a tree down to a cliff, [wow what a thrill!], I was just 15 when I saw this game for the first time and it blew my mind away! I had never played any 1st person perspective games (including ZORK 1 to which I only heard rumors about). My favorite in this game if I had to choose (I love gossipers!) must be Molly. I consulted spoilers about 8 times here. I give it a 10/10
Nemesis... wow, this demon is actually talking. And you don't need to go to sleep to hear it! This game was extremely difficult for me, since I decided to go with "no spoilers" until I was extremely stuck. I finished all the tasks in the temple and all I needed to do was was work in the room with windows with the air valves, I had no idea what to do there and needed some help. There are tasks in this game that you need help with, some things are just not obvious. I have to admit I was scared with this one all the time, that was so cool. Dr. Sartorius is my favourite. :) I consulted spoilers about 13 times [doh! sorry, I was too scared to get killed!) I give it a 9.9/10
Inquisitor... this was and is the only game of its kind that I played, I was actually casting spells and doing magic, makes you feel like a wizard! Ok, yes I had played games like Simon: The Sorcerer, Zelda (5 of them), LucasArts: Loom, but NOTHING like this, no way, it was extremely fun, but painfully short! I expected a game as long as Nemesis. The game is all the way fun to play, but for some reason its just not my favourite. Its the kind of game you might not play more than maybe thrice. My favourite here was of course Antharia Jack. I consulted spoilers about 6 times (most puzzles were self explanatory). I give it an 9/10
Now, consider that I played the game "Connections: It's A Mind Game", and I'd give this 1st person perpective game a 7.5/10
1st person perpective are my favorite kind of games. I have played many. Some are good, some are so crummy you want to cry. Anything lower than Connections will keep me up crying for a week, no kidding. Connections is a great game for kids it teaches about science stuff, its not bad, but not the best either.
In conclussion: Zorks are the BEST 1st person perspective games I've come accross and nobody can tell me otherwise, I played Myst and was not amused, I had to stop (didn't finish it).
I cast my vote for ZGI, because of my warped sense of humor. :) I fell in love with it promptly after I figured out what my plastic 6-pack thingy was going to be used for.
That and there are so many things going on, so many little jokes that are easy to miss, and my goodness, **Faceman** in there to boot, you just can't beat it.
Oh, and as a woman gamer being referred to as Afgncaap is a real treat.
Wow. This is too hard of a choice for me. They each hold special places in my heart.
Return to Zork - The first adventure game I played, period. After I found out there were other Zork games, I did my darndest to find them. Eventually got ahold of Zork: Anthology. Anyway, it was fun. It had humor, but didn't hit you over the head with it. It definitely is the one that feels the most like the text adventures, and has my favorite inventory system of the graphic games.
Zork Nemesis - The darkest of the Zorks, it was based around alchemy and had some information that makes me think someone working on it looked into Metaphysics (which I am studying; Thaumaturgy to the Zork fan, magick to the layperson). It was fun, but there was almost no inventory system what-so-ever.
Zork Grand Inquisitor - A fun romp through classic Zork settings, combined with being the first graphic game to use a spell book. It was a little too much on the humor side compared to the text games, but the Goatfish and Dalboz are very fond memories.
In the end, I can't really pick. But I would LOVE a new game, so I could try a Zork game without hints. The only one I didn't really hint on was the fan-made text prequel to the Demon game.
I've got my vote in there for Nemesis. Although the text games are my true favorites and, among the graphic games, Nemesis is least like the text games, I like the look and feel of Nemesis the best of the graphic games.
RTZ is most like the text games, but I have only played it once. It's just too long and too hard to play again.
Meanwhile, GI is probably my least favorite, but it's the one that I play the most often. Probably because it is so easy. The thing I like least about GI is Dalboz. He just talks too much, and doesn't sound the way I think a dungeon master should sound. He lightens the game up way too much. I guess, after Nemesis, I was expecting something a little darker than GI.
Return to Zork was good, but lots of the puzzles weren't very logical and it was possible to break the game on the first screen, It's my third favourite.
Nemesis was absolutely amazing, but not really a lighthearted dungeon crawl like the others were and it was a little to "Myst-like" for my tastes. It's my second favourite.
Zork Grand Inquisitor is easily my favourite. It's funny, it's colorful and it was the only one I could beat without a walkthrough. The only problem I had with it was that it was really short and the "Archipelago" section was really confusing.
Savannah wrote:ZGI is by far the best.. with the taunts you could bring a newbie in to the GUE and instantly get them hooked.
I must agree. That's what happened to me. Zork Grand Inquisitor happened to come in a free pack of games included with a PC my parents bought in 1999 from Gateway. I had never heard of Zork at the time. The other free games were pretty bad so I almost didn't even bother playing ZGI but one evening I tried it. I was instantly hooked. I loved the humor, the graphics and the Great Underground Empire! I let a few friends borrow the game when I was done and they liked it too. I later played through Zork Nemesis with one of those friends and then tracked down Return to Zork to play on my own. I was new to computers at the time, so it was an adventure merely to get a DOS game running in Windows 98 because I had only played Windows games before. Though I like all three graphical Zorks (and the text ones too), I got my start with ZGI and it is still my favorite.
you just have to cut the bridge. I got introduced to this game in 2003.
