Fester's Quest

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Sunsoft had been known to produce fantastic action/adventure games for the earlier NES consoles. Fester's Quest is certainly no exception. This is a game that often gets unfairly rated and overlooked. Some of the disdain is justified, but I would argue that those who pass it over are missing out on a creepy and a cooky, and altogether ooky adventure =)

Graphics 5/10
Well, it's an NES game so of course it's not going to be eye-candy. But overall, the graphics aren't too shabby. The enemies are well drawn and animated, as are the buildings and most of the overworld. The only real problem comes with missing frames. What I mean is that a lot of times when Fester is walking or when a high number of enemies are on screen at the same time, random frames in the animation will inexplicably disappear and reappear. This, while not necessarily a distraction, does take away from the enjoyment of the game and is the reason I had to dock points in this category.

Sound 9/10
One constant in every Sunsoft adventure game I've played, be it Fester's Quest, Journey to Silius, or Gremlins 2, is that the music has been absolutely OUTSTANDING. Every time I turn on this game, I make it a point to listen through the entire remixed title theme because it is just that good. While I do admit the soundtrack is somewhat limited (the only reason I gave it a 9), the music that the game does have gets the job done extremely well. The overworld theme is upbeat and, as often as you have to listen to it throughout the game, never gets old. The music played while trekking through the sewers is dark, eerie, and also has a nice beat to it. The theme played inside the buildings gives you a sense of puzzling through an impossible challenge. And of course the boss music. Quite possibly one of the best boss themes I have ever heard, I'm dead serious. A tad under tempo, but damn....

Gameplay: 5/10
It's mediocre at best compared to most other NES games, but still very fun. Basically you walk around a game map blasting everything in your path, while collecting various items and weapons. Most of the weapons are very useful and necessary given the difficulty and cheapness of the enemy AI. Enemies will make a beeline for you at all times, even if there is a wall directly in your path. That can be good or bad depending on the situation. Items are acquired through visiting houses throughout the game which are occupied by members of the Adams family. One of the real downsides to this game is that it isn't exactly wide open. It's pretty straightforward; simply follow a path that leads you exactly where you need to go. Not much thinking involved. But then again, I doubt many people will be playing this game looking for a puzzling challenge.

Play Control 4/10
This is, unfortunately, where the game suffers big time. Fester is unable to move diagonally and, therefore, evading enemies, especially the quicker ones, becomes very difficult. Because Fester cannot aim in an absolute direction, he needs to be positioned directly in front of an enemy in order to attack. This is very dangerous at times, especially with a weak gun such as the one you start out with.
Another weakness in the play control, I feel, is making the item menu appear with the start button instead of the select button. I constantly get the two confused, expecting the menu to naturally pop up with the select button, even today. It's always been a personal peeve of mine, but some people don't care. Otherwise, the weapons and items work as one would expect.

Challenge 10/10 (high challenge is not necessarily a good thing)
If you are looking for a challenging game, here you go. Most of the challenge is due to the poor play control, but the enemies provide a more than suitable challenge for anybody. You need to be on top of your button mashing to ward off a lot of the enemies most of the time, even with the more powerful guns and whips. The bosses can be difficult as well until you figure out a pattern. The real reason that Fester's Quest receives a 10 in this category is because of the low amount of health you are expected to finish the game with. You need to play a near flawless game to win. Granted you do have some nice items and weapons to help you out, including health potions, however you only start the game with a mere 2 life bars. You can find 2 more life bars through the game, but it forces you to play conservatively (which can be a good thing anyway).

Miscellaneous
Fester's Quest is a game that can take a number of hours to complete in one sitting. I say one sitting, because in order to beat the game you must play through it in one sitting. For as long as it is, Fester's Quest does not have a built in save feature. It also lacks a password option to restore your saved quest data. This flaw in the game is the primary reason many casual and even hardcore gamers to throw FQ aside after dying. There is, however, an option to "continue." You start back at the beginning of the game with all the items and weapons you had accumulated up to the point of where you died.

Overall 6/10
Fester's Quest has it's strong points and weak points. The music and the challenge are undeniably it's strengths. The play control is something you will need to be wary of if you decide to try out this game. It takes some getting used to, but you'll catch on soon enough. In any event, I highly recommend you give this game a shot. It's not perfect, but it's a game that gets overlooked and unfairly rated far too often.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/04, Updated 02/21/06