The first thing to note is this game's composer, Masamichi Amano, was an actual orchestral, film and anime composer! This was his first stint in games. The music is generally excellent - a lot of times in games, classical-influenced music gets stuck in cliche (think of your typical mediocre town song from a JRPG). You can tell he's drawing on a wide range of experience and that makes it a fun listen

What's neat about Quest 64 is how it's sort of prototypically 'open world', its world an imaginative mix of MMORPG open-ness, 3D towns, dungeons translated from their 2D counterparts. Is it repetitive with its endless battles? Yes. Is it tense in uninteresting and interesting ways? Yes! There is sooo little relief going through long areas like boil hole or blue cave, where one fuck-up means redoing it...

I think the hiding level-ups around the world and towns is really neat still. Also, the game not being hampered by an equipment system helps bring the battles into focus, as does the limited inventory and items in the game creating a unique texture. There's the sense of being a young, underprepared magician.

Sure, you can also use skill points in the wrong element and get stuck with bad builds! That's kind of the fun... and everyone just does the earth avalanche + magic barrier build in the end, so...

The battle system isn't executed perfectly (lining up attacks is tough, dodging is sometimes counterintuitive), but it was experimental and pretty fun most of the time! Not to mention 'seamless'..that buzzword.

I actually think the game is quite beautiful at times, using the low-poly and texture limitations to its advantage. The beanstalk at the end of Cull Hazard, the blues of Nepty's HIdeout, the expansive caverns of Blue Caves. They have an imaginative painterly quality that would be replaced by realistic lighting half the time nowadays...

On top of it all, there's such a quietness to how you progress in this game - only getting a few lines of dialogue from bosses, kings of towns, and the game being quiet otherwise. There isn't much going on in the story, but the point of Quest 64 is the quiet, difficult adventure, and I think the bare story works well in that way.

Taking a quick glance at reviews for Quest 64 will show you that a very vocal minority of players badly want to convince you that this game is unfairly judged, a secret gem you've all been sleeping on because of bad word of mouth. Look, I can kind of understand why people make this argument for Castlevania 64, after all it is a maligned entry in a beloved series, there was always going to be fans lining up to defend it, and occasionally you can see the skeleton of a good game rattling around in there. Making excuses for Quest 64 is like saying you don't think your dog's crap smells that bad, which is why you let it shit indoors. In all fairness, Nintendo 64 fans have like, 20 or so games that are actually worth playing, they have to convince themselves that there's more than that. I ought to know, because I am one. I bought this game. I am no better than those I throw rocks at.

Quest 64 puts you in control of Brian, an aspiring mage who has to save Not Ireland from the evil Mammon. That's uh, all there is to it. There's not much of a story in Quest 64, the wikia for the game barely has more than two sentences of information to provide context to Mammon's backstory and motives. The gameplay is similarly starved for complexity. The battle system relies upon four core elements from which Brian draws his strength, though the pool of spells each element provides you is extremely shallow and never really amounts to much more than "You have a rock spell for damage. You have a rock spell for more damage. You have a rock spell for the MOST damage." I swear to you it's even less involved than Pokemon Red/Blue, a game that was by its creator's own admission meant to be children's first RPG; there is nothing to sink your teeth into here.

There's not even a currency system in the game, any items you obtain are just given to you. Probably the most interesting mechanic in Quest 64 is its experience system, which is essentially a watered-down version of Final Fantasy II's. Brian's stats build the more each stat is relied upon, which basically translates to letting Brian get his ass beat so his defense and health goes up. On paper it sounds ridiculous, but in practice it's just tedious. But then, Quest 64 is tedious by its very nature so I guess that tracks.

Even basic progression through the story amounts to doing the same thing over and over again, and it's never interesting to begin with. Some bad guy steals a spell book or other magic item from the lord of the current town you're in and this has prevented anyone from traveling to the next town, including you. Beat up the area boss and return the item then go to the next village where you will do the same exact thing. The whole game is this. Dungeons are empty and exploration is mindless, there's no interesting gimmicks to keep you invested while battling your way to the boss, and while I have nothing against dungeon crawlers inherently (I like the SNES Shin Megami Tensei games for chrissake), the lackluster battle system and virtually non-existent sense of progression makes the game a total chore.

There exists a mod for this game called Quest 64: Hard Mode which seeks to fix numerous issues with the core game. I am reminded of Project 06, which similarly tries to right some of Sonic 2006's wrongs, and that brings me to a fun little thought experiment I've been mulling around for a while. I call it The Hedgehog of Theseus. At what point do you fix too much of a notoriously bad game that it no longer shares the original's identity? In the case of Sonic 2006 I would argue making even one loading screen last a second less is changing too much of its soul. It is a bad game, it is for some the bad game, and I believe the only way to truly appreciate it is to experience it as it is.

Similarly, by trying to rebalance Quest's stat and experience system, by giving Brian a more varied list of spells, by adding more complexity and making every effort to create a more engaging game, you're straying further and further from what Quest 64 is. It's a bit paradoxical, but Quest 64 is interesting because it's so boring, a version of it that plays better would arguably make it even more banal. I'm not completely against the practice of modding games, good or bad. Streets of Rage 3 has mods that actually make it worthwhile, Contra: Hard Corps is amazing as-is but is improved by restoring hit points, but there are certain games whose identities are so inextricably linked to the state they released in that to assemble them into something better completely misses the point.

Quest 64 is a bad game. Long live Quest 64.

Imagineer coined a uniquely minimal (level-less, item-limited, currency-less and party-less) form of JRPG with Quest 64, whose light storytelling, vast 3D areas and day/night cycles brought them closer to computer-RPGs than to its console-born siblings. What is undoubtedly CRPG-like - however, is their flexible upgrade system. Stat-leveling in the vein of FFII (i.e. earned from various parts of combat) is joined by collectible skill points distributed between 4 elements (which unlock new spells of that type and increase their power). Their combinations - from balanced spreads to a dual-type hyperfocus, governs the player's build with their own merits and limits. That sense of freedom well-complements their turn-based battles; seamless, responsive on-map gameplay with confined movement/dodging that's heavy on the spellcasting, reined in a little by elemental weaknesses and resistance. These two features rescue a work that otherwise would be dull and clumsy, as its lengthy overworld & dungeons plus a general dearth of content (other than a handful of pickups) make for some patience-testing trips. As a result, gameplay oscillates between moments of snappy, entertaining semi-action and sheer torture.

This brief project is many things at once, and - depending on taste, some conclusions are more prominent than others: A few great ideas placed on weak foundations. A half-baked mess. An interesting compromise between action & tactical gameplay. A novel fusion of Western/J-RPG languages, or even a grim omen of their genre's future; of the overscaled, empty worlds that progressively defined the next generation onwards. At the very least - though, a fascinating artifact of its era.

Quest 64 is one of the most flawed games that I've ever loved. I can't deny that it has a lot of frustration points: the battle system is terribly imbalanced, the story is nearly non-existent, and it has some actually miserable dungeons. But despite these flaws, I think some of its design ideas are kind of brilliant.

For one, it's lamentable how few RPGs have copied the idea of hiding "skill points" in the overworld/environment. They're a far more enticing link between the exploration & action phases of the game than your typical random treasure chests. I mean, by this point I've memorized where all of the spirits are, but in my earliest playthroughs I would gasp in excitement whenever I found one.

The element system, while imbalanced in practice, is pretty well-realized from a design sense. The four elements have distinct gameplay incentives and are functionally intuitive (water is the healing element, earth is defensive, etc). By prioritizing specific elements, you're rewarded with early access to far stronger spells, but you'll have more of an issue countering enemies/bosses of those same elements. And for its time, the hybrid turn-based/real-time action battle system was so clever!

It's tragic to me that Quest was rushed to market in the race to be the first RPG on the N64, because there are the foundations of something amazing here. The inspired game design, the unique setting, the period-appropriate instrumentation of its soundtrack, the charming monster designs - I can only feel that Quest deserved better than it got.

Quest 64 is a bit of an odd case for me. When I was a kid, my dad would often take my brother and I to the local flea market. When we were there, we'd pore over the various selections of used video games on display. We never had much money, so we had to be pretty selective about what we would buy - either save our allowances to get something a little better or try our luck with a cheaper game. One day, we ended up picking up Quest 64. I seem to recall being somewhat drawn in by the artwork on the front - and it was assuredly cheap, which I'm sure was a contributing factor. As far as my memories of playing it go, however, I don't have many. From my recollection, I played the first section of the game at least a dozen times, but I don't seem to remember much of anything past the first boss. All in all, it was nothing but another foggy memory of one of many N64 games that never quite managed to hold my attention.

But I did remember it. And it was something of a pleasantly nostalgic feeling when it would pop back up into my mind from time to time. I did some reading up on it not too long ago, about how the game was rather highly anticipated for being one of the first RPGs on the infamously RPG-starved N64. I remember reading that it wasn't received very well, although it did score some modest sale numbers. And I do remember reading that there was a lot of content left on the cutting room floor - party members, story elements, more RPG-ish systems like currency, and so on. I even read that the game was eventually released in Japan with some minor improvements, and that there was some planning done for a sequel before it became apparent nobody was really frothing at the mouth for one. I brought it all up to my brother, who shared my feelings about it: Even if we didn't seem to remember the game being especially good, we did have some fond memories of it. I had to go back and play it again and see if maybe I was missing something. And now that I've seen the credits roll, I can finally say with a mind unclouded by time... Yeah, the harsher criticisms back in the day were not entirely unwarranted. But it isn't all doom and gloom. I'll talk about it for a little bit.

This is a game from 1998 with a fairly straightforward story, so I haven't bothered tagging this review, but I will be spoiling details going forward. Keep that in mind if you want to go into it blind.

I'll give a quick summary of the game's story before I really dive into this. Our protagonist is a young monk named Brian, who lives in a monastery in a quiet village called Melrode. His father, Bartholomy, has not been heard from in a month. Bartholomy left the monastery in search of the Eletale Book, a tome of magical power beyond human understanding that was stolen away. In the wrong hands, the Eletale Book could bring ruin upon the world of Celtland. Brian sets off in search of his father, and the book as well. This is about as complicated as the plot gets. You will come across a fair number of characters on your quest, some of which are recurring, but most are not. It's obvious from the intricacy of their designs that a good handful were intended to have more relevance to the plot, but they by and large serve as signposts to give you story tidbits and point you in the right direction. The game throws a couple of curveballs towards the end, but they don't have much of an impact because of the lack of context surrounding them. I'll touch more on all of that later in the review, but overall, the story is pretty standard RPG fare: young hero sets off on a quest to save his homeland. To its credit, the game does keep this basic plot quite unobtrusive, which is actually one of its better points. Many games in the genre will inundate you with lore and dialogue in service of similarly under-nuanced narratives. Quest 64 doesn't waste a bunch of your time with cutscenes and melodrama. Not to say it's especially respectful of your time otherwise, but we'll get to that as well.

I'm going to take this moment to talk about the things that I enjoy about Quest 64. First and foremost, its vibes are immaculate. It's got that distinct "mid-to-late 90s 3D game" aesthetic, with lots of chunky polygons and bright colors. Celtland wasn't drop-dead gorgeous for its time, to be sure, and it isn't going to blow anybody away now. But it is charming and expansive, with lots of little nooks and crannies to explore. Towns and cities are quaint and cozy, and just about every building in the game can be entered, containing surprisingly detailed interiors. The NPCs populating these burghs have a notable amount of diversity - even though many of them share the same basic models, I almost never saw the same face twice. The more "important" characters are quite well-designed and have a lot of charm. A couple of standouts are Princess Flora and Leo D'nardo, who were apparently intended to be able to accompany Brian on his quest at some point in development. Brian himself is adorable and I never get tired of seeing that stupid ahoge bounce around. The enemies you'll encounter are likewise a strong point for the game, featuring a lot of interesting designs and rarely relying on simple recolors to give the illusion of variety. The game's core systems are fairly novel for its time, even if not entirely original. The main focuses are the elemental magic system and the way the game stages battles. Brian can cast spells from the four classical elements (fire, water, earth and wind). He can unlock new spells by putting points into these elements, either via leveling up or finding one of the many "spirits" hidden throughout Celtland. What results is a branching spellcasting system, which you navigate using the C-buttons. Once in combat, you are placed into a "battle area" of sorts, represented by a large white octagon. Meanwhile, you and your enemies on your turns are surrounded by a smaller octagon. These octagons represent the full range of the battlefield and the area in which you can move on your turn, respectively. You take turns with the enemy group casting spells and attempting to evade attacks, and you can either move closer to your enemies to engage them more directly or leave the battle area altogether to escape from the fight. Encounters in the overworld are still random, but at least this way, you are guaranteed to escape from any non-boss fights as long as you can reach the edge of the arena. It's a much more interactive way of performing standard turn-based RPG combat and honestly feels surprisingly fresh even in 2023. I wish more RPGs would adopt a similar approach. Stats are not gained in the traditional manner, either - rather than having your numbers increase with each level you gain, stats are improved by performing the associated task, much like in Final Fantasy II. The more you run around, the higher your agility becomes. Casting spells frequently increases your mana pool. Taking a lot of hits in combat leads to you becoming more durable. On paper, it's a way of allowing you to develop a favored playstyle naturally. And of course, the music is quite nice. It's not my favorite OST ever by any stretch of the imagination, but there are a few ear-worms that I've caught myself humming even years after the fact.

And with that, I think I've run out of nice things to say about the game. Let me tackle the combat first, because it's obviously the meat of the game besides running from place to place. Everything that I described before is great in theory, but in practice is a bit of a mess. The spell system is a neat idea, but never reaches its full potential. Balance is a big issue and is assuredly the most frequent complaint you'll hear about when people discuss the game. While the manual does explain what kinds of spells you can expect from each element, it doesn't explain what level of utility you can expect to see from them in the long run. And I can summarize it fairly succinctly as such: Water has the healing spell, and Earth has a barrier spell that makes you temporarily impervious to magic attacks (read: 99% of attacks in the game). By comparison, Wind and Fire offer some decent attack spells and some fairly situational or underwhelming buffs and status spells. I'm sure you could beat the game with Wind and Fire given enough forethought and patience. But the handful of benefits in those two elements ultimately pales in comparison to the aforementioned boons that Water and Earth offer. If you were to play the game start to finish, making a respectable effort to find the hidden spirits and doing a bit of level grinding, you could have two of those elements maxed out by the end of the game. If you, being uncertain of where the best spells lie, were to evenly distribute your points between each element, you could severely hinder yourself simply by virtue of not having access to the best spells of each element. To me, that's more than a little counterintuitive, and it is definitely a deterrent from experimentation knowing you could make life a lot harder for yourself by not pooling your resources into two specific elements. What's more, the elemental spell system doesn't go quite as deep as it could to begin with. The spell variety isn't great, with some of the core offensive spells simply being bog-standard attacks of increasing size and power. There isn't a whole lot of creativity on display amongst the available abilities, which again takes away from the joy of experimentation. There is no overlap between the elements with regards to the spells you can cast, and while your standard rock-paper-scissors elemental system is ostensibly in place, it doesn't really matter too much when you're picking your favored elements based on their best spells as opposed to any bonuses one might give you in a specific fight. The combat system has its own share of problems, too. In theory, being able to move around during combat would allow you to evade attacks in much the same way as one would in a more action-centric game. However, in reality, most of the enemies you encounter will have attacks that either home in on you or come out too quickly for you to react. You don't have the ability to move until the attack is already on its way, which takes away a lot of the strategic potential that should be afforded by this free movement, even when using one of the spells or items that lets you move more quickly. There's no dodge or block button, or parry mechanic - all things that might have added a decent level of strategy, but ultimately your options in evasion amount to moving left or right as soon as you're able to and praying you don't get hit. Even things such as terrain are ultimately meaningless - rarely will you ever enter combat in places that aren't simply flat ground, and since most enemies use difficult-to-avoid ranged attacks you are more likely to be hindered by any kind of cliff or barrier than you are to be helped by it. To top it all off, passive evasion is a thing in this game. You're expected to position yourself properly to make sure your spells land, but that still isn't a guarantee that you'll actually hit your target - you can still see a big MISS jump out at you even when you watched that two-ton boulder fall directly on their head. This can be incredibly frustrating at times, as it adds randomness to what is superficially a skill-based combat system. The other systems surrounding all of this don't do the core gameplay any favors, either. Much like in Final Fantasy II, grinding stats through doing sounds way cooler than it actually is, especially given how painfully slow the growth rates are. Even then, the benefits are difficult to gauge, as their overall effect on gameplay is minimal. Being able to tank one more hit or being able to run to the escape zone a little bit faster isn't nearly as important as having the spells that will let you win your fights in the first place. What's more, the game lacks a traditional buy-sell RPG economy, with all of the items you find in the game either coming from chests, NPCs who freely hand them over, or enemy drops. Chests don't replenish, NPCs will only give you an item if you don't already have an identical one in your inventory, and enemy drops are so infrequent you could go the entire game without getting one. The end result is that if you're having difficulty with the game, you could use up a great deal of your resources without any feasible way of recovering them, which is not going to make your life any easier. On that note, the relatively short list of items in this game is mostly useless, as aside from the HP/MP restoratives which can be a lifeline at later stages, all of the benefits items can provide are either too niche or unreliable to be of any use or can be replaced by an equivalent spell. And yes, even in spell form they are seldom any more useful. Rare items like a golden amulet that temporarily doubles your defense are pointless when there is a spell in the game that can make you effectively invincible. In spite of all that, you'll probably still more likely be loath to use them because of the aforementioned issues; you won't want to expend your items when it's uncertain if you can get extras later on.

And to wrap up the gameplay: It's just a slog, man. The first half or thereabouts of the game is paced relatively well, with areas that are a bit too big but are forgivably so, and the enemies and bosses being mostly manageable. However, as you move into the latter half it becomes painfully apparent that the devs were intent on stretching the game as thin as they possibly could. The dungeons at this point become lengthy and linear caverns which lack any meaningful features to help you keep your bearings. One area in particular pretty much was just a long cavern that I think went on for a solid 20 minutes. In a game where enemy encounters can come from any direction and will require you to adjust your position, this can sometimes result in you unintentionally heading back the way you came and having no way of knowing until you unmistakably end up at the last room you can recognize. Being able to get the player lost when they can only go in a straight line is quite the accomplishment. Enemy encounters are unbearably frequent and any concept of a difficulty curve flies out the window - late game foes deal unreasonable amounts of damage and your best healing spell is not up to the task of keeping you topped off mid-fight. You'll likely spend most of your time fleeing from these encounters, as there is no meaningful benefit to winning them. Grinding stats is better done against weaker enemies that pose you no threat, and grinding levels is largely unnecessary because exploration will provide you with all of the element points you could possibly need. And again, you will seldom receive items as a result of winning battles. Bosses are largely just damage checks and do not require any meaningful degree of strategy to overcome. Shield yourself, heal yourself and throw your biggest spell until they die. And the worst part is that the game isn't particularly difficult if not for Brian's squishiness. Dying is a slap on the wrist - you get sent back to the last place you saved, with nothing lost, except for whatever items you used up along the way. The tragedy, then, is that you have to go all the way back to wherever you were before. That walk back to the boss room is going to sting with the constant random encounters. All in all, complaints that can easily be made of many older RPGs, but ones that are all the more irritating given how little Quest offers you to keep you going.

Yes, the story doesn't ever develop in any meaningful way. Brian moves from town to town, knocking down bosses who have stolen four powerful elemental gems. Turns out those gems are the key to unlocking the potential of the Eletale Book, and the significance of all of this is not revealed to you until the last minute. Up until then, you're led to believe that King Beigis, the monarch of Brannoch Castle, was vying to collect the elemental gems and use the power of the Eletale Book to become undisputed ruler of Celtland. To this end, you've been "manipulated" by Shannon - an easily-missable NPC who frequently appears along your path to give you cryptic guidance - into gathering those gems and bringing them to Beigis. But in actuality, Shannon is the puppet of Mammon, an otherworldly being who seeks to escape from the realm he is trapped in and wreak havoc upon Celtland. His ultimate goal is to claim Brian's power for himself to facilitate his ascent. Ultimately, you beat him and you are given a few brief words from Shannon before getting a simple text scroll and then the credits. It's not much of an ending, but then it wasn't much of a story, either. You encounter Brian's father just before the final bosses, and get a single set of dialogue from him before moving on. This in spite of the fact that the whole quest was as much about finding him as it was about saving the world. Really, that's the problem with everything in this game - it begs to be deeper, to be explored further, but you aren't given anything. So many concepts and characters are introduced to never be brought up again. Everything is explained and wrapped up in the last hour or so of gameplay, and then it's over. The Japanese version of the game apparently does add some new text and cutscenes, and on top of the other additions does sound like it would be a little more enjoyable. But the game itself is just so fundamentally flawed as to be incredibly difficult to enjoy in the first place. When I watched Mammon explode into the same red flash every enemy you defeat does, I was relieved - not because I was now able to savor my victory, but because I could say I had beaten Quest 64 and thus never had to touch it again.

In spite of everything, though, I can't bring myself to hate Quest 64. There is a definite appeal to it, and seeing that a lot of people still harbor some affection for the game even after it has been objectively obliterated by the passage of time is kind of... Heartwarming. I think most of us can agree that Brian deserved a better Quest, and knowing all the things that could have been makes what we did get all the more bittersweet. Imagine a Quest 64 if Imagineer had another year or two to work on things. Maybe Flora and Leo could have been party members after all. Perhaps the combat system could have been further refined and expanded upon, making it much more enjoyable. A lot of fine-tuning on the top end, maybe a little more story content, more content in general - I doubt it would have been a runaway success, but perhaps it would have been a bit more warmly received. Even still, 1998 was a massive year for gaming. We had absolute titans like Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid coming out, as well as other RPGs like Suikoden II and Panzer Dragoon Saga. Quest 64 never stood a chance, and I honestly think a lot of the positive reception it did get was largely because it was an alright RPG for the N64 - a platform with barely anything else to compare it to. Set side by side with its contemporaries on the Playstation, I think it would have been eaten alive. But that was then, and this is now. Quest 64 hasn't necessarily aged much better than a lot of the games from that era, and we have the benefit of hindsight to view it more fondly now that none of us has to be the poor sap who spent full retail picking up what they thought was going to be the next big thing for the Big N. I have a special place in my heart for Brian and his big stupid ahoge, and even though I highly doubt we'll ever see him again, he'll still live on in our memories.

Despite the blatantly unfinished nature of the game, there is fun to be had in Quest 64. The battle system is unique and fun to play around with, and the stat building is tuned just right to never necessitate grinding. The music is also rather good, and due to being one of the only N64 RPGs, the game has a unique aesthetic in the genre that has its own charm.
However, the game suffers in most other areas. The dungeons are overlong, and the ones that aren't straight lines can get very confusing due to both a lack of landmarks/puzzles, or the camera confusion following a random encounter. The game's story, while containing the occasional piece of witty dialogue, barely goes past the old "save the four macguffins of the elements" plot, with only a couple interesting wrinkles near the endgame. This leaves the world of Quest 64 feeling very empty and lifeless, despite having some interesting lore buried deep down that one can ascertain from the limited exploration. And while the combat is fun at first, high level spells (which can be gained rather early on) can trivialize most fights, including the final boss.
Quest 64 is by no means a bad game, but it is a bland one. It only runs for about 10 hours (my playthrough was around six and a half), so it comes and goes quickly. I feel bad for it, due to it being rushed out the door and its sequel cancelled, but only glimmers remain of what the game was meant to be, and it should only be played by those curious about the N64's most well known RPG.
EDIT: "Most well known" might be a bit of a stretch, fair. A better way to put it might be most well known 3rd party RPG?

Quest 64 is the most hated game nobody played.

The gameplay is almost entirely about positioning yourself around monsters so you can survive the game but some broken mechanics also mean letting yourself be hit by weak monsters over and over again to build HP levels.

It's not great, but the last few chapters of this game are actually really interesting and do some really neat stuff.

This game is far more notorious for being bad, and that reputation is largely overstated. It has framerate issues (especially in the final two towns) and is a bit aimless at times, but the music is great, and the character/creature designs are actually really neat.

The game had a rocky development, and it shows, especially at the end of the game, but this isn't even in the bottom half of N64 games quality wise.

This game is my most guilty pleasure.
I like it despite I know is VERY flawed.


...Damn...

...I really like it.

Similar to Donkey Kong 64, this was a game that was also stuck in my backlog for a very long time. I don't remember exactly when I got Quest 64 but I remember starting it around 2012-2013-ish which was not too long after my initial unfinished DK64 playthrough. Similar to that game, I had around 2 unfinished playthroughs before I decided I would put an end to the journey through it once and for all years later. Despite what a lot of players and critics think, I find Quest 64 to be a guilty pleasure of mine.

Quest 64 is the textbook definition of basic. Most of the areas you explore look basic, the NPCs are generic, the fact you only have 4 elements to cast spells from, the story (or what little there actually is of it), and even the MC's name are all so plain and average it would put most people to sleep. However, I'm an average person with a sometimes below-average taste in video games so it isn't too surprising I would enjoy it. Mini rant aside, its simplicity is also one of Quest's greatest qualities.

Before I get deeper into the game, the first thing I'd like to mention is how pretty the graphics look for its time. It's classic N64 eye-candy and played a big role in my curiosity in trying this game out. Quest 64 has 4 types of spells, water, rock, fire, and wind. Each of them have attacks that are of those 4 elements, but some additional perks like being able to heal or weaken your enemies' defenses are linked to leveling up certain elements. It isn't much, but having more doesn't always equate to being better. There are two ways to level up your spells, the first way is to do it the regular way by fighting enemies and watching your spirit/exp build up and the second is by searching for spirits scattered all around the game's towns and overworld. Collecting spirits is a clever way of leveling up as it not only benefits you for going slightly out of your way but also heavily reduces the need to grind. You also gain more MP by using spells and HP by either using your staff to attack or by taking damage. Since you will be doing that by simply playing the game, you won't have trouble building those stats and should have more than enough HP & MP by the time you reach the endgame. Quest 64 is pretty short for an RPG. It only took me about 8-10 hours long and it doesn't overstay its welcome for very long. Even though I appreciate a lot of what Quest 64 does, it still has some obvious problems.

The spells are not well-balanced at all. Besides leveling up wind for the first boss, it & fire become pretty much irrelevant for the rest of the game. A lot of RPGs have broken spells and abilities but for a game as simplistic as Quest 64, they definitely could have found a way to make each element useful. The characters have virtually no personality. It may not have the most complex story or anything, but I wish that the MC, his dad, and the villains had at least SOME personality and more information about them. The overworld and dungeons also could have included more details that could indicate where you are or/and also add a little more variety to them. I couldn't count how many times I got lost despite its linearity. This was a problem that greatly contributed to why it took me so long to beat the game.

It's certainly no Final Fantasy killer but Quest isn't as bad as people say it is and it had the potential to become a good franchise had the sequel have gotten released. For those who are new to RPGs or just want something that isn't very complex, Quest 64 isn't as terrible of a choice as one may be led to believe.

Quest 64 is probably one of the most badass names for a video game you could come up with. It doesn't need a subtitle or anything to draw you in, because it's that raw. When I was given this cartridge as a kid, I genuinely thought it must have been one of the greatest games ever made with such a blunt title.

Quest 64 is a JRPG without party members, equipment, or a currency system. None of the towns or dungeons are particularly unique. The plot is about going to find 4 elemental orbs and a powerful book that keeps the universe held together. Despite being overall unremarkable and lacking compared to other games in the genre, to this day I feel like its simplicity is kind of charming.

Combat is unique, being turn-based, but with a limited area of free movement where you can actually dodge attacks in real time during enemy turns and position yourself for different spells. There's a lot of background story told through dialogues with NPCs. Environments, while generic, largely look pretty good and are often quite colorful.

I've seen a lot of people call this game lazy, but I think it's the opposite and the team unfortunately just wasn't able to achieve their true vision for the game. Not a masterpiece by any stretch, but not as bad as it's often made out to be.

The minimalist approach to practically everything in this game could easily be mistaken as a conscious design choice. There are a number of unique NPCs that I believe were likely originally additional party members but the feature eventually got nixed, which just proves to me that this game was originally more ambitious, at least in one regard.

There’s also something to say for how isolated this can feel at times. Not only because of the single party member but because of so many long narrow paths in dungeons that I guess enemies couldn’t fit into. Just some liminal creepiness whether intentional or not.

Edit: Finished. That was one of the longest 11 hour games I've ever played. Don't even necessarily mean that as an insult, it certainly felt like a "quest."

Part of me wants to try the "upgraded" Japanese version to see if it improves the overall feel. It's not like there's much story to follow anyway.

I’m glad I played this, regardless of whether I enjoyed the entirety of it, as it’s a truly incomparable experience.

i feel like this is a game most people i know have played via renting at blockbuster back in the day, but never actually finished or enjoyed

oh boy, what a mess. i love the game's art style and some of its music, but ultimately a lot got lost in the translation to the NA version. for those unaware, the leveling up system in the JP version works much better and actually increases your stats as the developers intended. for whatever reason, this is broken in the NA and EU versions, leaving your character drastically underpowered by the end of the game.

speaking of the end of the game, they just cut out the ending cutscenes from the non-JP versions and replaced them with a screen of text! wow, i sure wish i spoke japanese and had a JP copy of this game so maybe i could experience what it was actually supposed to be like. oh well!