Quest 64

"Quest Review"

Quest 64 is a game which has received both heavy praise and heavy assault. Either you hate it or love it. I happen to be the latter. But I can see its drawbacks.

Basics: Quest is an adventure game where you control a small magician boy whose father has gone missing. It is officially an RPG, but it is also like an adventure game. The main character, Brian, travels throughout a hilly land, stopping at various cities along the way. He advances his magic attacks by training against monsters in the field, or by finding magic "spirits". There are quite a few towns, each fairly large, but there's basically nothing of interest in most of them. They can be fun to explore, but usually contain nothing of interest. There are only about 20 different items in the whole game, and it seems like less. His magic is based on the four elements of old: earth, water, wind, and fire. He fights in a turn based system.

Graphics: I don't really care about graphics, but most people do. The childish graphics are not bad. The attacks and monsters are great. The landscape is OK. The people are mediocre. Graphics are not bad for a rushed game.

Sound: You can tell that this game was rushed when it comes to sound. But those tunes are catchy... They will stay in your head for a long time. Again, good for a rushed game.

Creativity: It was a creative game for its time, which means it was creative. It isn't like other RPG's, in perhaps a bad way. But it does present good ideas and a flare which is present in later games. The turn based fighting system isn't exactly unique, but this was the first N64 RPG. It gave a lot of Ideas to Aidyn Chronicles a few years later.

Story (w/ spoilers): Brian, basically a magician's son, goes on a journey to save his father, who went missing looking for the Eltale book, a book that could destroy the world. He finds badguys which hold power orbs to control the four elements. They actually don't do anything, just take up inventory space. He finally ends up at the castle of King Beigis. (this thing is huge, it has to be the biggest castle I've seen) He finds his father there, fights the king, runs up the throne, thinking he has won, and learns from a fellow traveler that a giant titan known as Mammon must quickly be defeated before he is released from his netherworld prison and destroys the world. Actually, one boss did make a mention of Mammon, but he is basically a surprise at the end. So Brian plunges into the twilight zone in an alternate reality. It is a very interesting place indeed, with bubble backgrounds and space backgrounds and all types of stuff. He finds Mammon, a giant beetle-man the size of a nearby sun. Mammon shoots fire and explodes matter, but can actually be defeated in a few turns incidentally. And that is Quest.

Good Stuff: The story can be considered either suspenseful with a great surprise at the end, or rushed. The enemies are creative. The ending is phenomenal, not the "cutscene" and credits, but just the whole turn of events unfolding after Brian exits the Boil Hole tunnel. The design and layout of the castle and netherworld is unrivaled. The attacks look good. The forests are expansive. The towns are large and actually have people in them to talk to. The enemies actually look evil. The fighting system is good. You cannot go past an area you're supposed to be in due to the powerful monsters you will eventually have to fight later which reside there. Spirit hunting is fun.

Bad Stuff: The main reason this game is bad is that you cannot win unless you use your experience on water and earth spells. I was lucky on my first playthrough to do so, but what is the chance that someone will only stock up on earth and water without knowing. And the Earth attacks: magic barrier and avalanche and water: healing and drain magic make the game way too easy. The few items either suck or don't serve a purpose. RPG fans expect a money system. There is none. The towns, although large, have hardly any items. And there are enough spirits in the game to eliminate the need for any experience gaining. You wouldn't even have to fight a single battle and you'd be fine magicwise. The lack of money doesn't help either.

Overall: I gave it an 8/10 because it is a great game. It has kinks, but if you don't spend much on it, you will love it. It is fairly good for replaying. But I liked the epic ending most of all. Rent it if you want, but you can probably only find it at Gamestop for $5 or so. I would recommend buying it. You can beat it in a day or two, but it is fun to replay. I think most people who play it like it, despite its mixed reviews. I will definitely keep it for a long time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/05