Beat the VGA version of SQ1 this afternoon with my children (hopefully that doesn’t make me a bad parent). Even with detours such as them badgering me to repeatedly push the “DO NOT PRESS” button or walking through the lasers, we beat it in less than a couple hours. I can’t believe how short the game is when you know what to do. And I’m pretty sure I spent like $50 of 1990 money on it, but I guess that’s why the game is mean to you with all the deaths and unwinnable scenarios.
I actually had a couple false starts because I forgot some items back on the Arcadia.
It was great to relive this game again. It’s amazing how childhood memory works because even if I forgot to pick something up, I always remembered what it was when I needed it. I was able to immediately recall the solution to each puzzle. To compare that to adult formed memories, I’m also replaying Myst 4 which I played probably 15~ish years ago and I do not remember much of that game at all.
My kid’s favorite parts were walking into the shuttle bay without a spacesuit and crash landing in medieval Europe. My son was terrified of the Borat and left the room until he was gone. =)
Onto SQ2! I might also try the original SQ1, but I’m also tempted to just watch a playthrough of it.