Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor
DOS - 1987
Also released on: Mac - Amiga - Apple II - Apple IIgs - Atari ST
Description of Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor
Arguably Infocom's most unique interactive fiction (IF), Beyond Zork is a fun fantasy text adventure/RPG hybrid that attempts to do many things, and achieves most of them. Designed by Brian "Professor" Moriarty (who is more famous as designer of Trinity and Loom), Beyond Zork attempts to bridge the narrative gap between two of Infocom's best-selling trilogies, Zork and Enchanter.
The plot, according to the game, goes as follows: "Dark times have fallen upon the South lands of Quendor. All the enchanters have disappeared without a trace. Monsters roam the countryside. And the taverns are filled with disturbing rumours and un-savoury characters.
A simple peasant like yourself knows better than to get involved in the affairs of wizards. But everyone you meet seems intent on testing your abilities to the utmost. You find yourself drawn into a web of fantasy and magic, solving puzzles, avoiding traps and fighting monsters. Your strength and power grow with every encounter, until the most fabulous treasure of all - the fabled Coconut of Quendor - lies within your grasp."
What sets Beyond Zork apart from all other Infocom IF titles is the inclusion of RPG elements. Before venturing on your adventure, you first need to create your character, RPG style, complete with various statistics and skills. Unfortunately, the effects in the game of most of these skills are not obvious, and the rare chances to improve them are hard to identify as such. Combat sequences require more puzzle-solving prowess to succeed instead of your statistics and skills, and sometimes feel random.
RPG quirks aside, Beyond Zork excels in all the other areas that Infocom was famous for. Moriarty's storytelling talent is once again evident in the game's great storyline, cool plot developments, and consistently good writing. The game also introduces many new features, such as on-screen map and a separate window for your inventory. The parser is even stronger than Infocom's previous games, and the game's vocabulary is quite big.
Although the RPG elements in Beyond Zork are well thought out, they come across more as an interesting distraction from traditional puzzle-solving than an integrated experience. Interestingly enough, Infocom's later adventure/RPG hybrid Quarterstaff is a better RPG than adventure-- quite the opposite of Beyond Zork.
Fortunately, though, it's the adventure fans that the game was designed to please, and as IF, it succeeds in spades. Definitely a must-have for all Infocom fans, though it won't win over any die-hard RPGer. Highly recommended!
Review By HOTUD
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Comments and reviews
Dillon Polok 2015-04-07 0 point DOS version
I find this game very enjoyable, especially compared to the original Zork, which I also enjoyed, but this game is much better than the original, in my opinion.
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Buy Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor
Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor is available for a small price on the following website, and is no longer abandonware. GOG.com provides the best release and does not include DRM, please buy from them! You can read our online store guide.
Game Extras and Resources
Some of these file may not be included in the game stores. For Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor, we have the following files:
Other Releases
Beyond Zork: The Coconut of Quendor was also released on the following systems:
Mac
- Year: 1987
- Publisher: Infocom, Inc.
- Developer: Infocom, Inc.
Amiga
- Year: 1987
- Publisher: Infocom, Inc.
- Developer: Infocom, Inc.
Apple II
- Year: 1987
- Publisher: Infocom, Inc.
- Developer: Infocom, Inc.
Apple IIgs
- Year: 1987
- Publisher: Infocom, Inc.
- Developer: Infocom, Inc.
Atari ST
- Year: 1987
- Publisher: Infocom, Inc.
- Developer: Infocom, Inc.
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