The game came out in two versions: the AGI version, which was released in 1988, and the SCI version, which was released in 1989. Although, when they came out, the SCI version was more highly anticipated and successful because it took advantage of improved technology in personal computing, the AGI version is considered the among the best AGI games made by Sierra and is highly sought after by collectors.
There is a bottle floating inside the whale's mouth. The note inside it contains distress messages referring to many other Sierra games: King's Quest 1-3, Space Quest 1-2, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (1987), Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel (1987), The Black Cauldron (1986) and Mixed-Up Mother Goose (1987).
Some of the game characters, animals and items are based on famous fairy tales and Greek Mythology, among them: the hen that lays golden eggs and the ogre from 'Jack and the Beanstalk', the dwarfs from 'Snow White', the Frog Prince, Cupid, Pan, Pandora's box and the three one-eyed gray witches.
The only game in the series that begins at the same point where the previous game ended.
The SCI version of the game was the first PC game to support AdLib sound.