Quest: Brian's Journey

"First review for this adventurous RPG."

Game Info:1999 Imagineer Co.,Ltd, produced by SunSoft, licensed by Nintendo,
Size: 16 megabits, Genre: RPG, Save Feature: Battery-backed memory.

Introduction: This is the first RPG game I have played, and I loved it. It has all the basic elements of an RPG game, including battling enemies and going through many different sub-stories. This game even teaches you something about the four elements the Greek scientist Aristotle once stated. They are fire, wind, water, and earth. However, in this magical Quest, you are going to use these elements as your fundamental spells to heal or attack. Pretty cool, huh. All right, let’s get to the review. By the way, I am evaluating this game by the standards of Color Gameboy, not Super NES or Nintendo 64.

Story: 8.4 You discover the story of the game slowly as you progress through the game. In the beginning, all you know is that the number of monsters are increasing and you are going to have a quest like it said in the title. The vague story unfolds as you reach the end of the game, and then you realize your true purpose for playing this game.

Graphics: 8.7
Evaluating with the standards of a Gameboy Color, this game’s graphics are above average. The town graphics are kind of like Pokémon, except that your character can move faster than the Pokémon’s character. Like typical RPG, towns contain houses that you can enter and majestic castles that you can explore. I actually liked some of the castle designs presented in the game. The outside world graphics are ok, because not much decorations are out there. Trees, mountains, and rivers are the three main ingredients for the outside world graphics. During battle scenes, the enemies appear in their full size and are well drawn. A special thing about battle graphics is that you still look the same size as before, only now there are also enemies on the screen.

Game Design: 8.8
Congratulations, Sunsoft. You designed a great game that is unique in battles and in the way Brian negotiate with other people. During battles, you can walk around and then attack. Sometimes an attack depends on how accurate you are. For example, if you use earth(rock), you’ll be throwing a boulder at an exact distance. If you are standing too far from an enemy, you won’t hit it. Other attacks such as fire are homing attacks, so the distance does not matter. The method you attack is diverse, because later in the game you can combine three of your four elements to make many different attacks, including walking water, homing arrows, and rolling boulders. You can also use the elements to heal and protect yourself.

In this game, almost all people in towns are nice. You can sometimes get free stuff from other people, and there are no shopping stores in this game. Why? Because you don’t possess money in this game. Innkeepers let you stay for free, and you don’t have to buy weapons or armors, because you use solidly magic to offense and defense. This game is very unique indeed. The bad thing about magic is that you can only gain up to a specific level for each element spell.

Music/Sound: 9.0
The music in this game is catchy, especially in some towns. It has been about an year since I played this game, and I still remember some tunes from this game! The music in forests is noticeable because it gives you a sad and lonely feeling. The sound effects are good(for Gameboy), because they suit most situations well, especially element attack sounds.

Play Control: 8.4
The controls are all very straight forward, since it is an RPG. Start button brings up the main menu, the two A and B buttons confirm or cancel a selection, and the control pad allows you to move around. One thing that makes the play control better than normal RPG is that you move the distance about half of your body every time you take a step. In normal RPG, the distance a character cover is about his/her body length per step. Also, Brian in this game walks faster than normal RPG characters.

Challenge/Puzzle: 7.4
The biggest challenge in this game is at the beginning of the game and when you fight bosses. In the beginning, you have about only 20 MP, so you’ll have to go back to towns and rest after you have fought about six enemy groups. Some enemies are tough because of their nasty attacks, but they can be avoided if you escape.

I have classified the puzzle into two categories: Knowing what to do next and know where the next destination is. Once I was stuck on knowing what to do next, and finally figured out that I need to go back to the ship to continue my quest.

Fun and Satisfaction: 8.8
This game is fun! When you complete a mini-quest, such as when you just saved a Princess, you’ll feel proud of yourself. Enjoy each quest, and you’ll find satisfaction in what you accomplish. Other fun comes from leveling up your element skills. However, some people get satisfaction just from defeating enemies. In this game, figuring out how different combinations of elements can produce an awesome attack gives you pride. There are lots of ways to feel fun when playing the game, including listening to its music and moving a character around.

Percentage Breakdown: Story=10% Graphics=20% Game Design=20% Music/Sound=15% Play Control=7% Challenge/Puzzle=8% Fun/Satisfaction=20%
Overall Rating: 8.6

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/22/01, Updated 10/22/01