Firebird is, like Lesson of the Tortoise, based on a fairy tale/folklore.  Firebird was the first of the two to do this, but Tortoise got released first, as sometimes happens.  I'll open with saying that I had a great time playing Firebird.  As an avid lover of folklore, there were a lot of little touches that made me laugh out loud.

The writing was sparse, but humorous in spots.  I didn't notice constant spelling or grammatical errors, so I give it a passing grade there.

The plot wasn't original, being derived from a Russian story, but it was delivered in an original manner that I found very enjoyable.  Certain folkloric traditions reared their heads in the game, making me laugh.  For instance, your two older brothers both went on the quest you are being sent on before you.  As anyone who's read much folklore will tell you, that bodes well for your quest.  The rule of threes also appears many times in the story, and a few other chestnuts that brought a smile to my face to see them translated over into IF.

The coding is not as robust as it could be, but I didn't have much trouble divining the commands I was supposed to be entering.  The game design wasn't bad either, thanks to a thoughtful save reminder system for when things were about to get ugly.  There's a maze of sorts, which I hated,
but I hate all mazes.

Overall, Firebird does what it sets out to do.  It captures the feel of a fairy tale, infusing some humor into the story.  It isn't as polished as Spider & Web, but zarf's a really tough act to follow.  I try not to release anything within a few weeks of his stuff.  Wait awhile after playing Spider and Web before playing Firebird, or play Firebird first.  Firebird is a very nice game and doesn't deserve to suffer by the comparisons to a game that very few games could measure up to.

Oh, and read a book of fairy tales before you start.  It makes it all the better if you recognize all the archetypes and the parodies that have been made of them in this game.

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G. Kevin Wilson: Freelance Writer and Game Designer.  Resumes on demand.