Nintendo 64: |
Quest 64 |
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THQ
Role-Playing Game
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Quest 64 is no Final Fantasy. However, upon closer inspection, Nintendo 64's first RPG can fulfill quite adequately the job of calming down the hunger of an N64 owner looking for adventure of epic proportions. Being its second N64 game, THQ did quite well in bringing us one of the most popular genre (and my favorite type of game) to the 64-bit world. This game plays a lot like Mario 64, with RPG qualities and a better storyline than just rescuing a princess. You control Brian, an apprentice magician, in his quest (no pun intended) to find (guess who?) his father and the Eletale Book, which has been stolen. For without the book, the Kingdom of Celtland will go into eternal darkness and chaos and... whatever. |
Visuals |
The game's graphics are reminiscent of the ol' Mario 64, but takes a very fantasy scenic look. Landscapes include real-time renderings of trees, rivers, hills, bridges, rocks, etc. The only thing I am not very happy with is the sea, because it is just a flat and static translucent bitmap. In the towns, villages and castles, however, is where the game's graphics really stand out. Beautifully planned out and designed, they are fun to explore and to simply stare at. Also, every villager is composed of a different combination of polygons, so each one is different in terms of appearance, which I found a nice touch. The enemies also look nice, with a pretty high polygon count per enemy, all rendered right before your eyes. The magics and spell graphics are standard 3D RPG explosions, flashes and polygons, which kinda remind me of the Playstation game Wild Arms. |
Music and Sounds |
Cheerful-music haters beware: Quest 64 has your usual N64 cute music, and then some. The worst part of all is that apart from cute, they are also very catchy, as you'll most likely be humming and whistling the tunes to yourself after a little while, no matter how much you hate them. The music quality is only a bit better than MIDI quality, and are sort of a drawback from other N64 game's, like for example Shadows of The Empire's, beautiful and almost-CD-quality soundtracks. The sounds are standard RPG stuff. They include, among a lot more, doors clicking open and screeching when they close, the sound of the nearby ocean, thuds when hitting bad guys with your staff, the roar of an evil Mummy when it attacks, etc. But then again, sound has never been an RPG's most strong quality anyway. |
Merits |
Finally an RPG for N64! Need I say more? Well, alright. Quest 64 will keep RPG-fans out there who own an N64 quite busy for a while, at least until Zelda 64 comes along (hopefully this year). This game introduces a very interesting system of going up in levels and learning different magic spells. Experience isn't really something you get by just killing bad guys and then you go up in levels. This is how it works: Basically, experience is divided into five categories, and this number increases as you do different activities. The categories, or character traits, are: Hit Points Total, which you increase by hitting bad guys with your staff, Magic Points Total, which you increase by casting spells, Defense, increased by getting hit by monsters, Agility, increased by dodging attacks, and Magic Spells, which are divided into the Four Elements (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth), which you increase by attacking monsters with magic. Brian can cast a whole lotta spells, which you cast by entering different combinations of the C buttons, or elements. For example, to cast Rolling Rock, press C left (Earth) followed by C up (Fire) and then A to cast it. The game also has the wonderful N64 trademark of rewarding exploration and creativity. This is done by providing the player with the chance of finding special 'Spirits' which raise your level in any magic element of your choice, if, that is, the player can find them. And finding them all should keep any player pretty busy. Also, the game is a bit more challenging than your standard console RPG, which I really like. |
Flaws |
As I said before, this game is no Final Fantasy, Yes, that's true, Square has basically spoiled us RPGers for we find ourselves constantly comparing every RPG to any of the installments of the FF series. This is quite unfair indeed, we shouldn't compare every damn RPG that comes out with FF 'cause we'll get frustrated and will not give the game a fair opportunity to prove itself. If you give Quest 64 a chance, though, you will most likely like it, at least for a while. Among the flaws I can find, apart from the ones I've already mentioned throughout this review, are the inability to get other characters into your party. This is a one man party RPG, or shall I say one kid party? Also, there is a lack of town/villages/cities. Good thing they are big and well designed, though. At the beginning the game can be a bit tough, until you get the Healing spell that is, which makes the game a lot easier. However, Quest 64 might be quite kiddy for the blood-gore-carnage-destruction freak, for there isn't a single drop of blood in the entire game. You have been warned. |
