Fixed camera angles, at their best, serve as a way for the developer to highlight specific objects & challenges in a view which allows the player to comfortably navigate while remaining tense & mysterious. Perhaps that isn't something that everyone can agree upon, but in the case of this game, I think fixed angles, or any other camera for that matter than the one given to us, particularly in close combat areas, would have been better. What the game lacks in controls, camera, direction, objectives (glorified errand runner), & combat, it makes up for in some genuinely fun environments/setting, & some clever variety that no matter how frustrating the game can be at times, still has an air of charm to it. It's not completely unbearable, but it certainly isn't fun nor interesting.

Something we can all agree on, however, is that Blue Stinger is a christmas movie.

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.

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


...Damn...

...I really like it.

Game that solidified my love for JRPGs, very engaging story and very loveable and party of characters that each get their own arc and development. Game is absolutely stunning visually especially in HD. Soundtrack is beautiful and very catchy and have a lot of remasters of classic dragon quest tunes as long as you're listening to orchestral OST. So much side content and customizable options for your party making them feel more personalized while also still feeling like their own characters. Probably one of my favorite JRPGs of all time