EGA vs. VGA

Quest for Glory was originally released in 1989, under the name 'Hero's Quest'.  It used Sierra's standard adventure game engine, SCI0, with a few tweaks to create an RPG-Adventure hybrid.  The engine utilized the Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) standard, which allowed for a total palette of 64 colors, 16 of which could be visible at any one time, with a resolution of 320x200 pixels.  In today's world, this seems like a joke, but at the time it was only slightly obsolete.  The creators of Quest for Glory used the EGA standard despite VGA having been released two years earlier, probably to maximize the market and not limit the game to only users with high-end computers.

By 1992, Sierra had upgraded their standard engine to a mouse-based system, SCI1.1, which used the Video Graphics Array (VGA) standard, allowing for 256 colors at a resolution of 640x200 pixels.  They had been enhancing and re-releasing their games for some time (King's Quest I, Leisure Suit Larry I, and Space Quest I, to name a few), and with the naming issue with Milton Bradley over 'Hero's Quest' and 'HeroQuest', a remake was not unexpected.

The Quest for Glory Anthology contains both versions of this game.  So the question is, which one should you play?  In many respects, they are the exact same game.  Puzzles function identically, the maps and conversations don't change much--it really comes down to a question of personal taste, or of conversation simplicity.  Because dialogue is typed in the EGA version, the player needs to pay close attention to what the NPCs are saying, and ask appropriate questions.  In the VGA version, conversation uses a 'tree' system, where asking about one thing will open the option to ask about something else (for example, asking the Sheriff about "The Brigands" will open the option to ask about the "Merchant" and "Treasure" he mentioned in his answer.

I, personally, prefer the EGA version.  I can type faster than I can click, and the action pauses while the text box is open anyway, so the interface of the VGA version bothers me.  I didn't like using it in QFG3 and QFG4, either. The EGA version is also what I started with, so it has that nostalgic value to it.  I'm writing this without having played it all the way through, though--the last time I tried, I gave up after ten minutes.  I do plan on playing both versions all the way through as I build this shrine, so we'll see what I think of the VGA version after that.  Most of the data in the shrine, however, comes from the EGA version.

Oh, I've also heard rumors that there's a bug in the VGA version that makes it impossible to export your character to QFG2.  Not sure if that's true or not, but I'll let you know.

•   Fighters:  The combat system in the VGA version is difficult to get used to.  If you're playing with a mouse or touchpad, you can just about forget having an easy time with it.  The number pad combat controls work better, but are still somewhat confusing.  Combat skills don't seem to go up as quickly as in the EGA version, and fighting the Weapon Master in the beginning is all but impossible, since he pushes you back so quickly that there is little chance to use all of your SP to work on your defensive skills.  You also die if you run out of SP during combat, which makes it extremely important to save your game before nearly every fight, especially at the Goblin Camp.
•   Magic-Users:  No more F3-Enter-Enter to repeatedly cast a spell for practice.  Now you have to click the Spells menu, find the icon for the spell you want to cast (not all of the icons are immediately obvious, so you might even have to check the icon description as well), and repeat that.  It requires you to move the mouse halfway across the screen each time you cast something, which is rather annoying (at least for me).  The only advantage is that the VGA version has the option to rest in 30- or 60-minute increments as well as in 10-minute, so you can restore more MP more easily.  But checking your Character Sheet to find your current SP and MP (to see how many spells you can cast before needing rest) is also tedious--rather than ctrl-S, you need to do the move-click-move-click thing.
•   I think the VGA version is biased toward Thieves.  Stealth seems to have more of an effect on whether or not you'll meet monsters in the forest, and it rises much more quickly when you sneak everywhere (rather than switching between typing walk and sneak repeatedly).  Practicing at the Healer's tree offers a higher maximum Climbing skill (47-48 in the EGA version), and you only have to continually click the Hand icon on the tree to climb it, rather than typing climb tree and climb down for each circuit.  You also make a lot more money from your stolen goods in the VGA version--your fenced goods get you 295 silver in the EGA version, and 880 silver in the VGA version.