Shout Out / Kings Quest (2015)

• Chapter 1 has several separate shout outs to The Princess Bride. The Hobblepots are very similar to Miracle Max and Valerie. The battle with Acorn is similar to the battle between Westley and Fezzik. Most obviously, though, is the raisin juice test before the Duel of Wits. This is amplified by the fact that Manny is voiced by Wallace Shawn, whose most famous scene in the movie was dying to a similar test ^note Manny will even comment that this "feels familiar."
  • One final shout-out to the film comes in Chapter 4; when Graham and Rosella work together to get through one of the labyrinth puzzles, he makes a remark about not being sure they'll make it out alive. She responds with Westley's comment about surviving the Fire Swamp: "You're only saying that because no one ever has."
  • All of these are enhanced by the fact that they all occur within a story being told by a grandfather to his grandchild.
• Graham can ask at one point if he is the knight they want, or the knight they deserve.
• Old King Graham (voiced by Christopher Lloyd) comments that his younger self listed the wrong addendum after winning the Trial of Wits, and that the actual number was "one point twenty-one".
• There are many references to places, items, spells, species/races, etc from the classic King's Quest series, but usually completely out of context.
  • Several musical themes come from the older King's Quest games. The three most notable are the main King Graham theme (often played during the credits) coming from the credits of King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!, the Manny/Manannan theme coming straight from his same theme in King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human, and various remixes of "Girl in the Tower" from King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow playing in Chapter 3.
• During the Duel of Strength, Acorn tells Graham the reason his belly is so big is because it's full of secrets.
  • Acorn also tells Princess Madeline of Avalon that everything the light touches will be hers.
• Old King Graham's knack for making puns may be a reference to his original voice actor, Josh Mandel, who was originally a comedian and tended to write puns into many games on which he worked.
• Chapter 2 is filled with nods to fairy tales, legends, and nursery rhymes. The Goblins are trying to reenact them. A few extra fairy tale ideas were scrapped, but the transcripts of the characters and puzzles involved can be found in the game files (Acorn playing the part of the cloud giant and Goblins trying to be Jack). Some of the images of these cut stories can still be seen tacked onto a billboard in the game. Amaya is the Big Bad Wolf, the Feys are represented by the Gingerbread Man, and the Hobblepots are represented by the wicked witch (Hansel and Gretel). Other stories that appear include The Princess and the Pea, Rumpelstiltskin, The Three Little Pigs, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Jack and Jill, Little Miss Muffet, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Sword in the Stone, and Cinderella.
• At the beginning of Chapter 2, the royal guards list off a few addenda that need addressing, including 90210 and 867530 (a reference to Tommy Tutone's One-Hit Wonder "867-5309/Jenny"). The important addendum that plays a large role in the last couple of chapters, Addendum 48677, is a reference to the address of the Sierra offices (48677 Victoria Court, Oakhurst, CA) back in the 80's and 90's.
• When sleeping for the first time in Chapter 2, Graham says goodnight to each of the glowing lizards he names, a possible reference to Goodnight Moon.
• Chapter 2 has one to The Legend of Zelda, when opening the mystery chest guarded by a humongous rat.
• Also in Chapter 2, pulling the sword from the rocks is a reference to various Arthurian legends; in fact, the file name is a reference to The Sword in the Stone.
• In Chapter 4, Graham makes his attempt to stack the suitcases in the carriage like tetrads, which is kind of similar to when Homer Simpson attempts to play the same game with the suitcases and his family members in the car in The Simpsons' episode "Strong Arms of the Ma".
• At the end of Chapter 5, Graham saves the Kingdom of Daventry at the cost of his life via Manny's Elixir of Destruction that slowly kills him before the player control is handed over to granddaughter Gwendolyn as his heir in the epilogue. This is kind of similar to when John Marston sacrifices himself to save his family before his son Jack takes over the reins at the end of Red Dead Redemption.
• Chapter 5 ends with an orchestral remix of the familiar Sierra fanfare.