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[[File:Space_Quest.jpg|200px|thumb|right]]
''Space Quest'' is a series of sci-fi themed adventure games made by Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy (collectively, the '[[Author Avatar|Two Guys from Andromeda]]'). Published by [[Sierra]] in the late
Stronger than a Betegeusian Puddle Monster, faster than a Xenon Space Weevil, and better with a mop than a blaster, the unwilling Roger finds it his fate, time and again, to Save the Galaxy.
His arch-nemesis
The games extensively parody most of modern science fiction, and ''[[Star Trek]]'' in particular.
In addition to the official six game series, there are several fan-made games and a graphical update to the second title on the level of the official update to the first. There had been talks of a ''Space Quest
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Action Survivor]]: Roger Wilco.
* [[Adult Child]]: Roger has shades of this coloring his bizarre hyper-competence. For example, after taking control of his own starship in ''Space Quest
* [[Adventure Game]]: Of the text-parser and later point & click variety.
* [[The Ahnold]]: A deadly collections agent robot. Gender-flipped in
▲* [[Adult Child]]: Roger has shades of this coloring his bizarre hyper-competence. For example, after taking control of his own starship in Space Quest 5, he gives a rousing (and random) speech to his new crew members, who ignore him, before sitting in his chair and ''spinning around with his hands in the air''.
▲* [[The Ahnold]]: A deadly collections agent robot. Gender-flipped in [[SQ 5]], when the deadly collections agent robot is a gynoid.
* [[All Your Base Are Belong to Us|All Your Ship Are Belong To Us]]: The beginning of the first game.
* [[Almighty Janitor]]: Roger Wilco, sorta. When you're controlling him, he has these huge insights that allow him to save the galaxy [[The Many Deaths of You|(when you're not sending him to many humorous deaths)]]. Unfortunately, when you're not controlling him, Roger is heavily implied to be a lazy, clumsy, not particularly competent janitor, who also seems to have pissed off people in high places. The first game, you survive the initial Sarien onslaught because you were asleep in the closet. The second, you lose a broom while sweeping the deck because someone beeped you. It was the third one this week. Rogers improves though, as by the sixth game, your supreme capability to get rid of stubborn mildew stains and black heel marks allows you to keep your old post as janitor second class.
* [[Apocalyptic Log]]: Used several times, most notably in ''Space Quest
* [[Author Avatar]]: The Two Guys from Andromeda.
▲* [[Apocalyptic Log]]: Used several times, most notably in Space Quest 4 (Dr. Lloyd's message about the Vohaul-corrupted computer), and twice in Space Quest 5 (from the point of view of a pukoid-infected colonist, and a second from the geneticist who created the toxic waste).
* [[Bag of Spilling]]: Averted in the sixth game, where it turns out that Roger's been stockpiling a lot of his old junk from his previous adventures (like a good adventure game hero ought to), and has them all strewn about his room.
**
* [[Betting Minigame]]: The slot machine in the bar in the original game.
** Turned into a frustrating [[Luck-Based Mission]] due to the fact that you could randomly get three skulls, which ''[[Have a Nice Death|kills you]]''. You are ''literally required'' to [[Save Scumming]] to get past this part. There's a device you can use to cheat it in the VGA remake (which, of course, robs you of the points you get for doing it legitimately).
* [[Big Bad]]: Sludge Vohaul
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: In ''Space Quest IV'', ''Space Piston'' could be titled ''Space Press'', as press is piston in French.
* [[Bling Bling Bang]]: In his fantasies as a macho space ranger in the ''Space Quest Companion'', Roger always carries a pair of pearl-handled laser guns.
* [[Body Horror]]:
** In ''Space Quest III'', get hit by lightning or get electrocuted and get ready to sleep with the lights on.
*** It's also not a good idea to hop in the lava from Ortega.
** The poor souls wandering the streets of Xenon in
* [[Brain Uploading]]: Vohaul in ''Space Quest IV''.
* [[Bridge Bunnies]]: Flo in the fifth game is a subversion of one. Instead of an attractive twentysomething lady, Flo appears to be in her late forties, and her countless failed marriages have turned her into a bitter old crone... who nevertheless starts [[Squick|flirting with you once the crew starts warming up to Roger]].
* [[Butt Monkey]]: Despite being a pan-galactic hero, everyone still treats Roger like a second-rate janitor (granted, he kinda ''is'' a second-rate janitor). Even after becoming a starship captain, he's still treated like crap, by both his crew (at first) and his superiors. And after stopping the Pukoid threat, he's promptly court-martialed upon return with a bunch of trumped up charges and busted back down to janitor again. He's not even court-martialed for something understandable like blowing up the Space Bar with Space Monkeys.
* [[The Cameo]]: At least one in each installment, most were Sci-Fi related, but occasionally even members of the development crew would make an appearance.▼
** ''Space Quest I'':
*** Among the musicians performing at the bar are [[The Blues Brothers]], and originally ZZ Topp.▼
** ''Space Quest II'': one of Vohaul's alien monsters bears a suspicious resemblance to the titular ''[[Alien]]''. If it [[Face Full of Alien Wingwong|kisses you]]... nothing will happen {{spoiler|until the end of the game, when an alien bursts out of your chest, naturally killing you
** ''Space Quest III'':
** ''Space Quest IV'': King Graham (from the ''[[King's Quest]]'' games) can be seen in the background while Roger is waiting to be eaten in a pterodactyl nest. ▼
** ''Space Quest V'': Elvis shows up in the Starcon academy. As do Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, Worf....▼
*** Also, the [[Star Trek|USS Enterprise]], a shuttle from ''[[Star Wars]]'', and a few other notable ships appear in the space dock at the Starcon station. ▼
** ''Space Quest VI'': [[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|E.T.]] can be found on Polysorbate LX.▼
* [[Caught in a Snare]]: In ''Space Quest II'', Roger [[Stupidity Is the Only Option|accidentally trips a hunter's snare]] (at least you can't see it beforehand), and is stuck there until the hunter who set it eventually comes and takes him down, intending to bring him back to his lair as lunch.
{{quote|'''Narrator''': Eventually, the cerebral fireworks begin, and you pass out. [...] You dream you're a man named [[Leisure Suit Larry]]...}}
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Among them are some of the hypothetical questions posed in the Starcon Academy Test in ''Space Quest V'':
** There's also the dead fish in ''Space Quest
* [[Clothing Damage]]: In ''Space Quest IV'', Roger's shoes and pant legs get vaporized by the Latex Babes of Estros in preparation for leg-shaving based torture. Shortly after, you must get replacement clothes in order to enter Monolith Burger, which has a "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" policy.
* [[Convection, Schmonvection]]: [[Double Subversion]]
* [[Copy Protection]]. Lampshaded in 4 ("Okay, here's the dumb copy protection"). In all cases, the answers were [[All There in the Manual]]. The CD version did away with the copy protection entirely, instead letting a random guess take you where you needed to go.▼
** Was supposed to be averted in ''Space Quest VI'' if the game's head writer hadn't quit halfway through designing the game. By the time his replacement realized the mistake, they had to include the hints that were supposed to be programmed into the game with the manual as [[Feelies]].▼
▲* [[The Cameo]]: At least one in each installment, most were Sci-Fi related, but occasionally even members of the development crew would make an appearance.
▲** Space Quest I: Several famous robots appeared in the Droids-B-Us store, including the Daleks from ''[[Doctor Who]]'', Robbie from ''[[Lost in Space]]'' and even the ones from ''[[Laputa: Castle in the Sky]]''. Don't Forget the Rifleman Reference to ''[[BattleTech]]'' in the VGA Re-Release.
▲*** Among the musicians performing at the bar are [[The Blues Brothers]], and originally ZZ Topp.
▲** Space Quest II: one of Vohaul's alien monsters bears a suspicious resemblance to the titular ''[[Alien]]''. If it [[Face Full of Alien Wingwong|kisses you]]... nothing will happen {{spoiler|until the end of the game, when an alien bursts out of your chest, naturally killing you.}}
▲** Space Quest III: The [[Star Trek|USS Enterprise]] can be seen making a stop at the Monolith Burger (the Space Quest version of McDonald's), and the garbage scow's hold contains a [[Star Wars|TIE Fighter]], the [[Lost in Space|Jupiter 2]], and the pod from the [[2001: A Space Odyssey|Discovery One]].
▲** Space Quest IV: King Graham (from the ''[[King's Quest]]'' games) can be seen in the background while Roger is waiting to be eaten in a pterodactyl nest.
▲** Space Quest V: Elvis shows up in the Starcon academy. As do Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, Worf....
▲*** Also, the [[Star Trek|USS Enterprise]], a shuttle from [[Star Wars]], and a few other notable ships appear in the space dock at the Starcon station.
▲** Space Quest VI: [[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|E.T.]] can be found on Polysorbate LX.
* [[Conveyor Belt O' Doom]]: In ''Space Quest III'', Roger must leap off a conveyor belt before falling into a trash grinder at the end of it.
▲* [[Copy Protection]]
* [[The Corruption]]: The pukoid infection from ''Space Quest 5''. ▼
▲** Was supposed to be averted in ''Space Quest VI'' if the game's head writer hadn't quit halfway through designing the game. By the time his replacement realized the mistake, they had to include the hints that were supposed to be programmed into the game with the manual as [[Feelies]].
* [[Cypher Language]]
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Unlike the rest of the series, ''Space Quest
* [[Death World]]: Labion from ''Space Quest II'', and [[Lethal Lava Land|Ortega]] from ''Space Quest III''. Also, the planet where you rescue Beatrice in the fifth game (poison atmosphere, deadly drops, {{spoiler|pukoid ambushes}}...).
* [[Deliberately Monochrome]]: The Monochrome Boys in ''Space Quest IV''. They make fun of Roger for his "fancy VGA graphics".
* [[Dying as Yourself]]: Used in ''Space Quest
* [[Earthshattering Kaboom]]: The Star Generator in the first game, in itself a subtle take on the more famous Death Star. Of course, as originally envisioned, the Star Generator would do just that: generate stars. It was designed (
* [[Easter Egg]]: There is at least one hidden in most of the games.
* [[Evil Cripple]]: Vohaul had a habit of [[Professor Guinea Pig| testing his experiments on himself]], and the repeated mistakes had taken their toll, reducing him to a barely mobile, deformed
* [[Explosive Breeder]]: The Space Monkeys from ''Space Quest V'', when mixed with alcohol.
* [[Explosive Decompression]]: [[Have a Nice Death|Sudden decompression sucks]].
* [[Extreme Omnivore]]: Stellar. Just look at all the random junk you come across while running around inside her body.
** Most of the fauna (and quite a bit of the flora) on Labion doesn't particularly seem to care that you're not a planetary native. They eat you anyway. [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Some of them get indigestion though
* [[Fake Action Prologue]]: The beginning of the fifth game, where Captain Roger Wilco commands an intense battle on the bridge of his ship... until his viewscreen is suddenly filled with the giant image of Captain Quirk, who tells ''Cadet'' Wilco to get out of the training simulator.
* [[Fan Sequel]]:
* [[Fantastic Voyage]]: Parodied, of course.
* [[Fat Bastard]]: Describes Sludge Vohaul perfectly. Both Roger and the [[Interactive Narrator]] tend to sling fat jokes at him a lot.
* [[Fungus Humongous]]: The fungus world in ''Space Quest V''.
* [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke]]: "Genetix -- we play God, so you don't have to."
* [[Grand Theft Me]]:
* [[Guide Dang It]]: a Sierra adventure game staple.
** Like every Sierra game, it's possible to finish the game with [[Trial and Error Gameplay]], but without a guide, you'll never get every [[Last Lousy Point]] (see below).
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* [[Heroic Mime]]: Roger in the first three games. Starting with ''Space Quest IV'', he gets regular dialogue.
** Except when he orders a Keronian Ale or three in ''Space Quest I''.
* [[Hints Are for Losers]]: The hint books have several fake hints and berate the player for spoiling the game by looking ahead. ▼
* [[Honest John's Dealership]]: ''Space Quest I''. Hoo boy.
** Hilariously, when you buy the right ship off him (naturally it's the most expensive) and figure out how to get it to take off, you then find out that ''he sold you some other guy's ship''.
*** Even MORE hilariously, if you pay close attention during the takeoff, the guy who comes screaming at you for taking his ship is also a man who will mug you if you follow him earlier. Enjoy some intergalactic karma!
* [[Human Popsicle]]: Beatrice in the fifth game. {{spoiler|The Eureka crew also uses it against the Goliath
▲* [[Hints Are for Losers]]: The hint books have several fake hints and berate the player for spoiling the game by looking ahead.
▲* [[Human Popsicle]]: Beatrice in the fifth game. {{spoiler|The Eureka crew also uses it against the Goliath.}}
* [[Indy Escape]]
* [[Indy Ploy]]: Roger is a grandmaster of this stunt. The only game where there is anything resembling a plan is when the crew is boarding the Goliath in
** Even then, it's more "Infiltrate here, get here, flip the switch, try not to die." ''That's the entire plan''.
* [[Insignia Rip Off Ritual]]: Done in the introduction to ''Space Quest VI'' to help assert that [[Status Quo Is God]].
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* [[Kid From the Future]]: ''Space Quest IV'', also mentioned a number of times in various death messages in ''Space Quest V''.
* [[Last Lousy Point]]: As per Sierra standards, there's always some tiny task, easily overlooked, that will deny you a perfect score if neglected.
** In ''Space Quest
** In ''Space Quest
** In ''Space Quest
*** Also, forgetting to look under the pilot's seat in your spacecraft for spare change will cost you some points.
** In ''Space Quest
** In ''Space Quest
** Subversion in the [[Fan Sequel]] ''Space Quest 0
* [[Lemony Narrator]]: The voiced narrator in the voiced games.
** That's not to say the non-voiced narrator in the non-voiced games doesn't have his moments, too.
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** "Casually glancing up at the status bar, you realize you're in Space Quest Twelve."
* [[Nonstandard Game Over]]: Deleting ''Space Quest IV'' from the supercomputer immediately quits to operating system, with no warning. Also, trying things the game designers didn't anticipate.
* [[Parental Bonus]]: ''Lots'' of jokes in the game are shout-outs to R-rated movies, which the target audience was, at the time, too young to see, like ''[[Blade Runner]]'' and ''[[Total Recall]]''.
* [[Press Start to Game Over]]: Provides the page quote.
* [[Professor Guinea Pig]]: The reason Sludge Vohaul is an ugly, deformed, cripple. ▼
* [[Product Placement]]: The Sprint logo in communication transmissions in ''Space Quest V''.
▲* [[Professor Guinea Pig]]: The reason Sludge Vohaul is an ugly, deformed, cripple.
* [[Recycled in Space]]: The series is the snarkier, raunchier, and somewhat [[Darker and Edgier]] little brother of ''[[King's Quest]]'', [[Zig-Zagging Trope|taking on sci-fi tropes]] where ''King's Quest'' took on fantasy ones.
* [[Red Herring]]: In the fourth game and the VGA remake of the first, you get the "Lick" and "Smell" commands, in addition to the standard "Walk", "Look" and "Use". They serve no purpose but to add flavor and make Roger seem crazy as he goes around licking and smelling everything.
* [[Red Shirt]]: Parodied in ''Space Quest V'' because Roger, now a starship captain, is the one wearing the red shirt.
** Eventually lampshaded by Droole, who says it is bad luck.
** It should be noted that Roger can't die in the fifth game until he gets the red shirt
* [[Remember the New Guy?]]: Stellar Santiago is introduced as an old friend (and potential romantic interest) of Roger's without any prior evidence of her existence.
* [[Ret-Gone]]: What happens to both Jr. and Roger if Beatrice dies.
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* [[Right Man in the Wrong Place]]: Pretty much sums up Roger's place in most of the games.
* [[Save Scumming]]: The hint book recommends you do this as frequently as possible, and it's easy to see why.
* [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]]: The SCS Eureka of
* [[Series Continuity Error]]: Whether it's deliberate is debatable, but the Terminator-style robots in
** ''The Space Quest Companion'' [[Hand Wave|Hand Waved]] the coupon as a gift for a public television pledge which Roger (obviously) never followed through on. The Gippazoid Novelty Company which advertises the whistles also makes the "death slot machines" which the player was required to beat in the first game; not exactly the most trustworthy company in the galaxy....
** Another one involves the introduction from ''Space Quest VI'', in which they commend Roger for returning the ''SCS Eureka''. The same ''SCS Eureka'' he blew up to kill the [[Big Bad]] in the previous game.
▲* [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]]: The SCS Eureka of SQ5 is equipped with one of those. It's needed towards the end of the game. Ditto for the Arcada in the first game, where it is activated just before the start of the game.
* [[Shmuck Bait]]: "THIS BUTTON IS NOT TO BE PRESSED AT ANY TIME" in the first game's escape pod. [[Tempting Fate|Go ahead, press it....]]
* [[Shout-Out]]: Blatantly on multiple occasions
** Legal action forced them to change "Droids-R-Us" in the first game to "Droids-B-Us", and to change "Radio Shock" in the fourth to "Hertz So Good". They also got in trouble from ZZ Top's management for having an [[Expy]] of the band in the VGA remake. The latter were still [[Dummied Out]] in the code, so they could be restored by hacking.
** That didn't stop them from making a joke out of it, as can be seen [http://spacequest.wikia.com/wiki/Room_Removed_For_Legal_Reasons here].
* [[Solar CPR]]: The Star Generator.
* [[Take a Number]]: In ''Space Quest
* [[Take That]]: A hilarious one in ''Space Quest
{{quote|'''Narrator:''' What are you going to do? Play [[Mortal Kombat|More Dull Combat 3]]?
* [[Temporal Paradox]]: "But she didn't, so he couldn't -- therefore you aren't."
** Brushes against [[Time Travel Tense Trouble]].
* [[Torpedo Tits]]: The assassin droid WD-40 from the
* [[Trial and Error Gameplay]]: The whole series.
* [[Trouser Space]]: Lampshaded in ''Space Quest III'':
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** And ''again'' again in ''Space Quest VI'':
*** "Bet you can't fit that thing into your pants." *picks up 2x4 board* "Guess I was wrong; it does fit. [[Stealth Insult|There must be plenty of spare room in there]]."
* [[True Companions]]: Oddly enough, there seems to be one on the Eureka with Flo, Cliffy
* [[Unexpected Gameplay Change]]: Many, many examples
** In the remake of ''Space Quest
* [[Unwinnable by Design]]: As a classic [[Adventure Game]], it's easy to miss any number of items that are later required to solve puzzles (or die trying), some of them crossing into [[Guide Dang It]] territory. Among them:
** In the first game, when someone offers to buy your hovercraft, if you accept his first offer, you'll miss out on a jetpack needed to maneuver in zero-gravity later in the game. And if you forget to take the ignition key from your skimmer after declining the man's first offer, he'll simply steal it from you.
** Likewise, if you forget the emergency kit from the escape pod, you won't have the water necessary to avoid dying of dehydration, or (in the VGA remake) the emergency knife needed to acquire an item. Also, that shattered windshield? Better take some glass from it. Trust me on this one.
*** The first two games are ''full'' of these, in fact: if you break the slot machine, it will never work again. Oh, you bought the wrong droid? Restore. Failed to take the rope after you escaped the hunter? Restore. Did you drink five beers at the bar? You'll wake up behind the bar, missing key parts of your inventory. Restore. Didn't use the order form to get the Labion Terror Beast whistle and now you're in the caves or beyond? Restore. In a ''lot'' of cases, you'll be pretty far beyond the location where you needed to get a critical item, with no way to return. Hope you've been using more than one save.
** Or in the fourth game (
** Some of the other games are a little nicer, by presenting you with (non lethal) puzzles that simply bar your passage if you don't have the required item to beat them.
** And in almost every case of [[Have a Nice Death]], there's a hint about what you should do, most notably starting in ''Space Quest
* [[Unwinnable Training Simulation]]: The opening cutscene to ''Space Quest V''.
* [[Vader Breath]]: Vohaul from ''Space Quest II''.
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