I think Quest for Glory had more (and could support more) past references because you could import your own customized character between all the games, by having those references in 5 which was intended to be your character's retirement of sorts, it helped remind you of all you had accomplished in the previous games. Mass Effect 2 is similar in this regard (though I think it overdoes it a little bit) where you sometime run into characters that you encountered in 1, and how the encounter goes depends on how you handled the situation in 1. Helps create the feeling that your actions have had an impact beyond the immediate game/situation, and helps it feel like YOUR character. King's Quest, though, kept changing up the lead characters, and those characters were pre-created for you. Graham was the lead in the most games, but still. so in 4 it wasn't logical to have a ton of past references, since Rosella was the star, and not in Daventry for most of it besides. I mean, basically what I'm saying is that just because it worked well in one game doesn't mean it will work well in another. Though I would be fine with some nods to the past so long as it was something that wouldn't confuse someone new to the game, in which case it begins to feel self indulgent
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