Quest 64

"A unique, excellent RPG."

Quest 64 was the first official RPG (Role-Playing Game) released for the Nintendo 64. There was much hype for this game. Many people expected it to rival Final Fantasy VII. However, when the game finally came out, most of the hyped-up people were very, very disappointed and some were even disgusted with the game. However, there are a few people out there such as myself who think this is one of the best games of all time.

Graphics - 8/10

The graphics were very good for when the game came out; there's no doubting that. However, when you look back on it now, they don't look so good. But it happens with all N64 games - look at Super Mario 64, that looks horrible now.

The spells you cast in Quest are very well-done, graphic-wise. Each spell is unique and does its own type of movement. They're even color coded - green spells are Wind, red is Fire, brown is Earth, and blue is Water.

The towns are very detailed, but not very detailed. How is that so? Well, if you look at the town of Limelin, the biggest and most majestic town in the game, it looks gorgeous, but if you look within one of the houses, there isn't much detail. Most of the houses are empty and they look rushed. But hey, there's not much you need in most of the houses, anyway.

Overworld maps are very good looking, too. Once you get near the end of the game, they start to look very, very good. There aren't any overlaying graphics (I guess you could call them that) such as fog, rain, mist, or sand, but there's no need. Everything looks beautiful.

Music - 9/10

The soundtrack is one of Quest 64's best features. The forest themes, despite there being only two, are very well done and fit the mood perfectly. In battle, the music is upbeat and strong. In the towns in the first half of the game, the music is very peaceful and calm. In the town of Brannoch, near the end of the game, though, the music is sad, depressing, and mysterious. Everything was composed greatly, even though there are a couple tracks that repeat far too quickly. That's my only complaint, though, but it's a slight price to pay for such a good game.

Storyline - 7/10

Okay, okay. While I admit that the story isn't your every-six-months Final Fantasy's story, it's still a good story. It starts off with your character's (Brian) father, Bartholomy, leaving the Melrode Monastery in search of the stolen Eletale Book. The Eletale Book is what keeps everything in balance in the world of Celtland, and when it is stolen or misused, monsters run wild and the order of peace in the world is broken. Bartholomy set out to reclaim the book in order to bring peace back to Celtland.

You receive a letter from him, saying that he had gotten to the blue city of Larapool just beyond this country of Kennishire. One month passes, though, and you do not receive any word from him and finally decide to go out and find him.

The more you play the game, the deeper the plot gets and the more climactic the game itself gets as you near the final battle.

Control - 10/10

I don't know why I'm putting this down for this game, but hey. *shrug*

The controls in Quest 64 are easy to understand and you will have them down just seconds after you begin playing. A is used to open chests, find spirits, and talk to people. B is used to swerve the camera around you. L is used in open plains to zoom the camera in or out. R opens the item menu. The start button opens the main menus and the Z button does everything the A button does.

The C Buttons are used for the spells.

C-Right: Wind magic.
C-Left: Earth magic.
C-Down: Water magic.
C-Up: Fire magic.

When you gain more spells, you can cycle through the spell menu, searching for what magic you wish to use. It's very simple once you get the hang of it.

Difficulty - 7/10

The difficulty of Quest all depends on what elements you choose to level up. Certain elements are strong against others, while certain elements are weaker against others. It's easy to learn, but you have to be careful. If you don't spend some time training your Defense, Agility and magic, the bosses and even regular enemies will smear your body all around the ground.

Gameplay - 9/10

Awesome gameplay. The battle system is excellent. It's turn-based, but you have the freedom to move where you want to, so long as it's in your movement area.

There are so many ways to beat this game! You can go through with only one element or you could choose to go through without Healing (Water element). You could go through by training all of your elements to Level 50 (max) or just go with the standard two elements. It's all up to you and whatever combination of elements you choose to use throughout the game will choose how difficult the game will be.

There is no currency in this game, and that's just one thing that sets Quest 64 apart from all the other RPGs. You have to find the items yourself or else you're done for. If you use up that last Honey Bread, you're not going to find another one anytime soon. You have to be careful in this game.

Also, there's no equipment. Just your magic and staff. I was hoping that the sword THQ was going to put in would stay, but they ripped it out and stuck with the staff. It's nice that this game is an RPG, but still very unique.

The last major difference in this RPG is that there's no party system. Like the sword, there was going to be one, but they decided not to have it. Oh well! Now I don't have to manage an entire group of characters, but instead focus on just one. This game is very unique and very fun.

Rent Or Buy? Buy!

Even if you're not a huge fan of RPGs, pick this up.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/20/04