To this day, I'm still comforted by how few "bad guys" the series had (Ad Avis and the Demon Wizard are the only ones who spring to mind)--
Baba Yaga and the Imp in the first game were just flat out evil characters.
I know what Alexander Freed means though. That the series had very few outright evil characters and that were beyond redemption.
But I think he is sort of wrong. All the games, except perhaps the fifth, had a "villain" who was the "Evil guy".
What helps Quest for glory is that each villain sort of went around things in their own way. Baba Yaga was truely passive, she really didn't care. The second game was a Schemer if I remember correctly.
But yes what quest for glory NEVER did EVER was try to make you hate the bad guy. Their wicked deeds always spoke for themselves. The game worked exclusively on making the villain threatening, if that, or even entertaining. Baba Yaga was a very intimidating villain in the first game. There was no moment where the villain killed someone and laughed in your face... While indeed you could see a trail of corpses and ruined lives, you rarely saw these acts yourself.
Mind you the only villain in Quest for Glory I liked was Baba Yaga... She just had so much style.
Yes, I saved the Rusalka
I really don't see why not. I never was killed by her mostly because if by Quest for Glory 4... she manages you kill you... You really should replay the games until then. Heck she isn't even subtle.