Video Game / Anna's Quest

This is a tale that began in a number of places, as many often do.

It began once with two sisters in a faraway school, Where children were cruel and misunderstood all the same.

Today, however, it begins in a deep, dark wood... Where a very special girl indeed was about to begin a long and perilous journey.

Anna's Quest is a 2015 Point-and-Click Adventure Game, created by Krams Design and developed by Daedalic Entertainment. It stars Anna, a girl who lives on a farm with her grandpa. When her grandpa gets sick, Anna leaves the farm to find a cure, but is quickly caught and locked up by the witch, Winfriede. What follows in a German-style fairy tale with a twist.

Anna soon discovers that she has the power of telekinesis. She also discovers Ben, the soul of a boy trapped in a teddy bear. Together, the two manage to escape Winfriede and go searching for her grandpa's cure. This leads down a long and winding path, through a town, a dungeon and finally a royal castle. But, Anna must beware, because Winfriede is always right behind her.

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Anna's Quest contains examples of:

• Alas, Poor Villain: Winfreide is shown to have gotten a raw deal from fate in the final chapters of the story. Though she is evil in her present form, her Start of Darkness shows that it was only fractionally her fault.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Joringel and Jorinde do this after they are reunited. Hans is finally able to do this after Anna retrieves the Amber Orb.
• Barred from the Afterlife: Each of the ghosts suffer this to one degree or another. Joringel can't move on until Anna breaks the curse placed on him. Jorinde won't move on until she's reunited with Joringel, and Hans can't leave the lake due to Unfinished Business.
• Big "NO!": Winfriede screams this when Queen Jannike returns and denounces her at the wedding ceremony.
• Bittersweet Ending: Winfriede dies, unable to let go of her past or her hatred, and Anna is crushed that she couldn't save her. However, Anna has managed to break the curse on her Grandpa, reunite Ben with his family, and restore Jannike to her throne. With all that completed, Anna is finally able to go back home.
• Buffy Speak: Anna, who's somewhere around five years old, talks like this from time to time, from referring to a cut-up ball as "half a rubber thingy" to finding a "glowing orb thing" in a drawer.
• Casanova Wannabe: Jakob and Wilhelm, who both harbour a crush on a young Jannike. Winfriede exploits this fact, with hilarious results.
• Cast from Lifespan: Phillip Voigt does this in order to summon the Red Dragon, costing him his life in the process.
• Child Prodigy: Hans Lind, who manages to build a secret lab inside a tree. One of the available Steam Achievements even calls him "Little Genius".
• Convicted by Public Opinion: Winfriede is highly disliked by her peers, and her mother believes her to be a reckless, disobedient child. When she is accused of murder, everyone is shocked, but no one doubts for a minute that she did it. She didn't.
• Court Jester: Ernestine is a is a traditional, and very benign example, complete with juggling and a Happy Harlequin Hat.
• Crystal Dragon Jesus: About as literal as it gets. The Red Dragon is regarded as a savior in this world, a status she gained by banishing the Devil to the underground.
• Curse: Many, many cases of this.
  • Anna discovers that her Grandpa's illness is actually a curse cooked up by Winfriede to lure Anna away from her home.
  • Winfriede imprisons Queen Jannike on Glass Mountain to keep her from returning to the castle.
  • Joringel's spirit is cursed (again, by Winfriede) to forever be trapped by his corpse.
  • Averted in Ben's case, as the spell that turned him into a teddy bear is actually protecting him from harm.
• Department of Major Vexation: A dungeon runned by Devil himself works on that intentionally. Because of that even if you win his challenge you won’t get form.

  Devil: For your little adventure to come to an end over… administration issues! How… unfortunate.

• Determinator: Anna. Nothing will stop this little girl from saving her Grandpa, not witches, not trolls, not even the Devil himself.
• Disney Villain Death: After Winfriede rejects Anna, she falls from the edge of the castle ruins.
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: Anna has trouble controlling her telekinesis at first. It causes complications, as while she want to move camera a little, she destroys it, alarming Winfriede about her plans to escape.
• Dramatic Irony: Hans states that he believes that he has done good by helping his friend. However, it turns out that Winfriede, the main antagonist of the game, is the one he was actually referring to. To rub salt on the wounds, upon ascending as soon as he helps Anna with getting the Amber Orb, he never learns about her becoming evil and such, nor does he even realize that what he did was actually evil.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Gil and Gottfried from the tavern are prone to doing this. It's never revealed just why Gil drinks, but Gottfried is doing it to cope with the fact that his son got kidnapped by a witch.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Winfriede has never forgotten Hans, and it's clear that his death is the only one she regrets. The irony of course, is in the fact that his death was not truly her fault, unlike the many murders she would later commit.
• Evil Old Folks: Both major villains, Winifride and the Devil, appear quite elderly. Subverted for both-Winifride is actually pretty young and looks like a hag due to a curse, and that's just the Devil's human form, his true one is as ageless as he is.
• Evil Uncle: A Gender-Inverted Trope. Winfriede is Ben's aunt, and she tries to dispose of him and his mother in order to take over the throne.
• Felony Misdemeanor: Invoked, Discussed, and ultimately Subverted. When Anna is thrown into the dungeon, she meets the Devil, who accuses her of being just as bad as everyone she has claim is (i.e. imprisoning a child eating witch is just as bad as the witch eating children). While nothing Anna has done up to that point was really all that bad, Anna (being the definition of Incorruptible Pure Pureness) takes this accusation very seriously, even says to herself that she is as bad as the others the when she gets one of the mean trolls reassigned to janitor duty (yes, she really is that sickenly sweet). However, Anna eventually realizes that the Devil is just messing with her head and that everything she has done up to that point, she did with a good reason and she had no other choice.
• Fog Feet: Each ghost Anna encounters will have these instead of actual feet or legs. In Joringel's case, they're still attached to his corpse, and it's the reason he can't leave Winfriede's Tower.
• Foreshadowing: In spades; many characters and elements from the game come back later on.
  • Hans Lind is mentioned on certificate. If you mention this name to Winfriede she will react with surprise and you will get an achievement called “Little Genius”. He is also seen as ghost in next chapter, but his whole story isn’t revealed until last chapter.
    • Also just before meeting his ghost form Anna meets a mysterious old man, who is later revealed as The Devil, who was behind this all
  • The Sorcerres of Wunderhorn seems to know that Anna has a magic book, which she stole from Winfriede because she IS Winfriede.
  • One of church iconographies shows mother banishing her dauther. Winfriede’s backstory shows what was reason of banishment.
• Friendly Ghost: Joringel, Jorinde, and Hans. Each of them help Anna on her quest.
• Girl in the Tower: The game starts off with Anna imprisoned within Winfriede's Tower. The first two chapter's of the game are devoted to her escape.
• God Save Us from the Queen!: Narrowly averted with Winfriede, as she never becomes Queen. However, her status as Queen-to-Be allows her to do some pretty despicable things.
• Good Shepherd: Theodor, a kindly priest found in Wunderhorn. He tends to the church and teaches Anna about the Red Dragon.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The Devil. His manipulations are part of what made Winfriede the monster she is today. Anna is able to outsmart him during the course of the game... but he is no worse for the wear, and still very much a threat to the rest of the world.
• The Guards Must Be Crazy: Without his halting spear, the castle guard feels he has no choice but to let Anna walk right by him.
• Heartwarming Orphan: Anna, who lost her parents years ago, acts as The Protagonist of the story and is one of the nicest characters in the game.
• The Hermit: Rinkrank, who lives alone at the top of Glass Mountain.
• Heroic Lineage: It turns out that Anna has inherited her telekinesis from her Grandfather. Like her, he also used it to help those in need.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Anna refuses to even risk causing permanent harm to any living thing, helps every troubled soul in her path, and refuses to stop believing that even evil people have some speck of good in them. On the few occasions she does have to lightly hurt someone (no matter how much they deserve it), she expresses how terribly guilty she feels about it.
• Karma Houdini: As in most fairy tales, the Devil never suffers for the misery he causes, only has his pride hurt and his scheme ruined-he's still cheerfully ruining lives in the ending.
• Lie to the Beholder: Winfriede uses a charm to hide her true face.
• Little Miss Snarker: Winfriede exhibits this behavior constantly as a child, largely due to the bitterness she feels towards her mother.
• The Load: Being quite the scaredy cat, Ben's standard reaction to danger is to become paralysed with fear and cover his eyes, meaning that he often ends up being actively unhelpful.
• Longing Look: As children, Jorinde gives these to Joringel constantly. This is what tips off Winfriede to the fact that they like each other.
• Mad Scientist: Winifrede is quite happy to experiment on Anna to sharpen and study her telekinesis. Bonus points for actually using technology for that, instead of her magic.
• Magitek: The two don't cross much in the game. But it's established that magic exists and that science is a new, upcoming thing. It's dismissed by the magic community as being pointless nonsense.
• Mail-Order Novelty: In castle segment you find a coupon for magic thimble. To get one you need to send it with mail pigeon.
• Mama Bear: A rather literal example. In Winfriede's flashback, Jannike states that she used a spell to determine her spirit familiar, which is a bear. Years later, the protection spell Jannike casts on her son winds up turning him into a teddy bear.
• Music Soothes the Savage Beast: Hans will tell Anna that the Weisse Frauen are pacified by music. Playing a instrument for them is the only way to win their favor, and get the Amber Orb.
• Narrator All Along: At the end of the credits, it's revealed that Jannike is narrating the story. She's recounting Anna's exploits to Ben as a bedtime story.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: The dungeon works on this, so even if Anna releases herself from prison she has to get permission to leave it.
• Out-Gambitted: The Devil promises Anna that he ordered to write form releasing her, but because of bureaucracy she can’t actually get it, so she has to steal it, which suprises him.
• Portrait Painting Peephole: Anna utilizes this in order to spy on Winfriede and free Ben from his cell. Ben remarks on how creepy it is, especially since she has to use his portrait to do it.
• Protective Charm:
  • While trapped in Winfriede's tower, Anna has to create one of these in order to escape.
  • Jannike uses one on Ben to protect him from Winfriede. It's the reason for his current appearance.
• Puppy Love: Occurs between Joringel and Jorinde, and it actually leads to a happy, healthy relationship. Jakob and Wilhelm also have a crush on a young Jannike, but their crushes are never requited.
• Raised by Grandparents: Anna has been raised by her Grandpa ever since her parents went missing. The Prologue reveals that Winfriede targeted them in the belief that they possessed telekinesis. Since then, Anna's grandfather has done everything he could to protect Anna from the same fate.
• Recessive Super Genes: While both Anna and her Grandpa have telekinetic powers, Prologue reveals that Anna’s parents didn’t have it.
• Really Royalty Reveal: Ben is actually the missing Prince Bernhard. He's suffering a case of Identity Amnesia due to the spell he's currently under.
• Running Gag:
  • Most of times, where telekinesis is mentioned it is mispronounced.
  • Clicking on any given bed will produce, "It's not sleeping time, it's (something) time."
• Sadistic Game Show: Executioner plans to kill his victim in the form of a game show, where execution form is chosen on a drawing machine.

  Executioner: Congratulations, you win. Prize is loose.

• Samus Is a Girl: The Wizard turns out to be a woman. Subverted-the Sorceress we meet is actually a disguised Winifrede, the actual wizard is a guy.
• Schizo Tech: The available technology varies by centuries. Sewing is done by hand, the primary form of lighting is by lanterns and candles, and the only weapons around are swords and spears. But then there are modern scissors, sunglasses, yo-yos, water coolers, blenders, miniature lightbulbs, video monitors, robots, and computerized machines. Despite growing up on an isolated farm, Anna is able to identify everything she sees.
• Screw Destiny: Winfriede's attempt to do this does not go well at all and completely pointless, since her destiny wasn't what she thought it was.
• Sheep in Sheep's Clothing:
  • Ironically, Reynard the Fox is this. Anna first meets him in a dark forest just outside of town, and while he gives her good advice, he seems secretive and maybe a little sinister, so Anna and Ben are a little wary of him. However, it turns out that, no, Reynard isn't working for anyone nor is he planning anything, he genuinely wants to help Anna, as proven when he travels out of his way to help Anna when she is caught by the guards. Even when he overhears Anna wonder out loud if Reynard will just betray her later, he only questions where her mistrust is coming from and then continues happily helping her without promise of a reward simply because he wants to.
  • Jannike is more of a downplayed example, though a much more of a tragic one. When you finally meet her, she is every bit the wonderful queen and mother she has been built up as. Given that Winfriede harbors such hatred for Jannike despite being her sister, one might think Winfriede must have actual good reason for it. However, as the flashback chapter shows, Jannike was a sweet, if a little oblivious, child who loved her sister and was actually the only one to show Winfriede any compassion after she was accused of murder and cursed. Winfriede's hatred of her was born out of a misunderstanding after years of resentment due everyone, even their own mother, liking Jannike better.
• Shout-Out: Many.
  • To previous Daedalic games:
    • The posters on the castle wall feature characters including Rufus and Drogglejug.
    • Antiques in the shop in Wunderhorn includes blue rabbit, Sadwick’s hat and Rufus’ suit and top hat. After exaniming all items you will get achievement Cameodalic.
    • After clicking on haystack you will see Rufus falling into it.
    • The achievement "Clever reference #451" (The idea was good. But Anna's arms were too short.) is a reference to one of the narrator's catchphrases in Harvey's New Eyes.
  • To The Brothers Grimm:
    • There's a pair of brothers at the Voigt School named Jakob and Wilhelm.
    • Jorinde and Joringel also appear.
    • The Bremen Town Musicians show up in Wunderhorn.
    • Cinderella (and her magic tree) can be found at the castle.
  • Reynard the Fox is a character.
• Slipping a Mickey: In order to speak to the Devil, Anna will have to spike the drink of the guard standing outside.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Roostwig Von Beethoriki, who claims to be a world-renowned musician, when in reality no one has ever heard of him.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Hans Lind. His death occurs long before the events of the game, and kickstarts many, if not all the tragedies that eventually occur.
• Spoon Bending: Anna’s Psychic Powers are used the first time on a spoon to bend it.
• Stalker with a Crush: Averted by the Swan Prince. He didn't try to track down Cindy because he's obsessed with her, but rather because he thought she was a filthy rich princess.
• Start of Darkness: Chapter 6 has you playing as a young Winfriede, through the circumstances that led up to her being cursed with her "wicked witch" status — making this overlap with Protagonist Journey to Villain.
• Strong Family Resemblance:
  • Winfriede looks a lot like her mother, especially after her Rapid Aging.
  • Prince Bernhard/Ben also looks like a mini replica of his father, minus the beard.
  • Averted with Jannike, who doesn't resemble any of her family members.
• Touch Telepathy: Used by Anna twice. First, with Ben, to help him recover his lost memories. The second time, she uses it as a last ditch attempt to reason with Winfriede.
• Tragic Keepsake: Hans's Science Fair Award is definitely this for Winfriede. Anna will encounter it twice. Both times it's in one of Winfriede's hideouts, implying that she takes it with her wherever she goes. There is even a Steam Achievement for asking her about it.
• Trap Door: The Witch's way of kidnapping children is this. She welcomes children to get inside, asks them to sit on a chair and pulls the lever opening the trap into cage. Until...
  • Trap-Door Fail: To stop the Witch’s Trap Door you have use your telekinetic powers on it, so she can fall into her own trap, when she examines what’s wrong with it.
• The Trickster: Joringel straight out accuses Winfriede of being this. He's right, but that doesn't make her capable of murder.
• Undead Child: Hans, whom Anna first encounters as a ghost. Later on, she sees memories of the last days he spent alive, and the events leading up to his death.
• Unfinished Business: Hans's spirit won't find rest until he's found a way to help his old friend, Winfriede.
• Ungrateful Bastard: A couple of examples, as many people are too willing to take advantage of Anna's kindness.
  • Roostwig Von Beethoriki, who breaks his promise to help Anna, even after she helps him find a home.
  • Joringel is a downplayed example, as he does eventually help Anna. But, it's only after he's reunited with Jorinde, and she calls him out on his treatment of Anna, courtesy of a Dope Slap.
• The Unintelligible: Gil, a patron of the bar in Wunderhorn. He's only coherent when he's sober.
• Unions Suck: One of prison guards complains about union which is "practically non-existent" because meetings are always postponed to another time.
• The Voiceless: Jorinde hasn't spoken since the time she almost drowned.
• Wizarding School: The Voigt School of Witchcraft. It also doubles as an orphanage for many of the children there.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Winifrede. She was targeted by the Devil to turn to evil in early life, and he ensured that-with a great deal of help from stupid humans-ensured that the world basically existed to screw her over, turning her into the bitter, greedy Wicked Witch she is today.
• Would Hurt a Child: Winfriede, naturally, as the entire plot starts off with her capturing, experimenting on, and exploiting Anna for her powers.
• You Can't Fight Fate: People in the story believe in Wyrd, the concept that your early actions — and more importantly, morality — will shape the rest of your life, whether you like it or not. Winfriede's Start of Darkness is that her Wyrd was cursed for murdering Hans; however, this was a misunderstanding and thanks to a complete failure to investigate the situation. When we see the events she wasn't remotely responsible and was, in fact, trying to save him.
• You Have No Chance to Survive: After Anna defeats the Devil, he spitefully tells her that her victory is pointless, as Winfriede will kill her in their next confrontation. Naturally, he's proved wrong.
• Younger Than They Look: Winfriede looks easily twice as old as she should.

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