An Oldie but a Goodie

When I think back on the games that I really loved as a kid there are a few that really stick out and oddly most of them were developed by the same company--Sierra.  The King's Quest series was a family favorite and I still have all of them in my library.  Sierra made so many great little adventure games that it's easy to forget some of them.  One that I have many fond memories of is a western adventure called Freddy Pharkas:  Frontier Pharmacist.

The main character, Freddy, is a former gunslinger turned pharmacist who moseys into a small town hoping to establish his new business.  It's a slow little town, but it turns out they have their share of problems.  The story revolves around Freddy's efforts to help out the citizens of Coarsegold--be it with his mad gun skills or his ability to create a headache remedy.  This game combines the goofy humor present in so many Sierra games from the 1990's with point-and-click adventure.  Going back and replaying this game you also realize how much adult humor was actually present in the game.

My favorite part of Freddy Pharkas was mixing up prescriptions for people (which actually also served as an early form of DRM--without the game manual mixing them was impossible).  You had to follow the steps in order to brew the appropriate remedy.  There also was just enough childish humor to keep a ten-year old entranced by fart jokes and other silliness.

In the mood for retro goodness?  Check out Freddy Pharkas:  Frontier Pharmacist on the Internet Archive.

Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist