Space Quest: Difference between revisions

* [[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.

{{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'': For example, one question asks "you are stranded on an alien planet being stalked by a killer robot. What do you do?" This same situation occurs later in the game, and two of the answers to the SAT question are, in fact, the solution to the puzzle.

* [[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.

* [[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.

*** 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 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.

* [[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.

* [[The Corruption]]: The pukoid infection from ''Space Quest 5''.

* [[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".

* [[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 ( {{spoiler|actually cribbed from a weapon designed by Vohaul}}) to save Xenon, as the planet's sun was burning out.

* [[Easter Egg]]: There is at least one hidden in most of the games.

* [[Press Start to Game Over]]: Provides the page quote.

* [[Product Placement]]: The Sprint logo in communication transmissions in ''Space Quest V''.

* [[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 - it is only possible to lose in some ways that do not involve death.

* [[Ret-Gone]]: What happens to both Jr. and Roger if Beatrice dies.

* [[Ridiculous Future Sequelisation]]: ''Space Quest IV'', with its [[Time Travel]] theme, labelled its various time periods using sequel numbers. The post-apocalyptic future into which Roger was initially thrown is identified as "Space Quest XII"; the galactic mall in the "Space Quest X" period also tosses a reference to ''King's Quest XXXXVIII: The Quest For More Disk Space'' (back in the days before CD-ROM drives) stated to be by "Roberta Williams III".

* [[Series Continuity Error]]: Whether it's deliberate is debatable, but the Terminator-style robots in 3 and 5 are out to kill Roger because he forgot to pay for a mail-order whistle he received for free in the second game. With compounded interest (and the fact that Roger went into cryogenic sleep between games 2 and 3), the bounty on Roger's head is stated to be over 400,000 buckazoids.

** ''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....

* [[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....]]

** 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].

* [[Unexpected Gameplay Change]]: Many, many examples -- the hoverbike obstacle course and the slot machine in ''SQ1'', Astro Chicken and Ms. Astro Chicken...

** In the remake of Space Quest 1, the slot machine and the hoverbike become optional. In Space Quest 4, Ms. Astro Chicken, unlike the previous game, serves ''absolutely'' no purpose, but there's no indication it serves no purpose. Conversely, Astro Chicken in Space Quest 3 serves a ''very important purpose'' (it gets the ''plot'' moving, for god's sake!), but there's no indication that it serves that purpose! [[Guide Dang It|Argh!]]

** 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.

* [[Vaporware]]: Bits of artwork and rumors leaked for several years about a seventh game, but nothing ever came of it.

* [[What Does This Button Do?]]: The emergency button in the escape pod labeled [[Shmuck Bait|DO NOT PUSH.]]

** In the first one, you have a ship and a pilot droid. It's a ship full of mean, nasty Sarien bandits against one not-so-[[Almighty Janitor]]. The pilot droid suggests hauling tail. It's a [[Nonstandard Game Over]] if you take it.

** In the second one, no one knows about Vohaul's plan. In theory, you could save your own hide instead of shutting down Vohaul's life insurance salesman invasion. Again, [[Nonstandard Game Over]] if you take it.