Dumb American Gamer Likey Mystic Quest
Written: Feb 08 '07 (Updated Feb 10 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Music, platforming elements, just plain fun
Cons: Short, easy, little customization
The Bottom Line: Mystic Quest is a fun entry level RPG that is not a stain on the Final Fantasy Franchise, Its very very fun.
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| stubs985's Full Review: Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest for Super Nintendo |
Now this is a game that has a special part in my heart. Mostly due to the fact that I am fairly certain that this was the first RPG I ever played, kind of sad huh? Actually to all the haters out there I have two strong words for you, Play It. I don’t care what the haters say, this is a fun game and is NOT the worst Final Fantasy Game ever made.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was designed by Square in Japan, although it was specifically geared toward the U.S. audience. Square realized that only a small minority of Americans played Japanese imported RPGS, and attributed this to the genre’s level of difficulty. They probably should have actually done a little more research into this instead of just assuming that American gamers were to dumb and impatient to play an epic RPG but with that misguided thought in mind they began development on Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, or Final Fantasy USA: Mystic Quest as it was known in Japan as a slight to American gamers.
Mystic Quest, as I will refer to it throughout the remainder of this review was marketed as a beginners or entry level RPG, in an attempt to broaden the genre’s appeal in America. The game includes several elements familiar to the main series, which were either simplified, or removed all together in order to make the game easier. It also included some action-adventure elements meant to broaden its appeal to U.S. gamers, which was a neat idea. Unfortunately Square had miscalculated tremendously and Mystic Quest failed to bring RPGS into the mainstream the way they hoped it would, something that would not be accomplished until the release of FFVII.
Aside from all of that bitterness over the game’s marketing objective, which essentially was an insult to all American gamers I did like the game. I was young when this came and therefore was not expecting an epic sequel to Final Fantasy II/IV. I recommend that if you play this game that you judge it on its own merits and not consider it a Final Fantasy Game.
Story
The story is incredibly simplistic, our main character, Benjamin is out exploring when an Earthquake suddenly destroys his village. Afterwards an old man that charges him with fulfilling the knight’s prophecy confronts him. A disbelieving Benjamin accepts this charge and is off on his adventure to save the world. The main point of the game is for Benjamin to release the four crystals of the earth, one associated with each region of the world, to focus tower to restore order to the planet. Each crystal is associated with an element, which without the crystal is causing havoc in its particular region. The story is extremely linear and must all be completed in a particular order to move forward.
Benjamin meets a couple of allies along the way that aid him in his quest at various junctures. At no point do you have extra characters to choose from, it’s always Benjamin and his one ally. As old allies leave invariably a new one comes to take their place. These characters have very little development, however Tristam, is an undeniably cool adventurer who throws ninja stars! They do however have some funny little personalities and I found most of the characters to be tolerable to very enjoyable.
All right so the story is definitely not up to snub for a game with the words Final Fantasy printed on its cartridge, however a good game doesn’t always need a strong story. Most of any RPG is spent playing, and the story always happens at intervals. A good story can be killed if the gameplay is not well executed, and Mystic Quest is immensely fun to play.
Gameplay
I’ll start by talking about navigation, first with how you move about the world map. In this game you are not permitted the freedom to explore that you have in most RPGS. Instead you can only move from area to area in up to four directions, North, East, West and South. Your sprite will appear on the world map over the town or dungeon that they just exited, surrounding them will be arrows indicating what directions they can move in. If an arrow is glowing then you can move in that direction to the next location along the path. If the arrow is grey, then you cannot proceed in that direction until you have completed a task in that area you are standing on. Focus tower is at the center of the world and serves as the gateway between the four different realms. This is kind of lousy in some respects but, it eliminates any battling on the world map, a part of traditional RPGS that, tends to grind on my gears.
The Mystic Quest answer to world map battles is the battlefield. These locations are spread out throughout the world. Some of them are mandatory to advancing while others are optional. At these fields you have to defeat a certain number of monsters to clear it, usually ten and then you get a large reward either an item or money.
Additionally you will encounter some devices that transport you to other areas, these devices are located randomly throughout the game and in some cases they can cut down on travel time while in other cases they can bring you to new locations.
When you are actually in a town or dungeon there are some action-adventure elements that have been added to the ordinary RPG exploration. One neat thing is that your weapons can actually be used in several cases to perform tasks. There are four different types of weapons, swords, axes, bombs and claws. Each weapon can be used at certain instances to reach certain areas and discover hidden areas. For example bombs can be used to blow up caved in entrances, axes to chop down trees blocking your way, sword to poke things to open them, and the claw in the latter part of the game serves as a grappling hook. Also your character can jump. Which is something that wasn’t that common in RPGS of the time. All this means that Mystic Quest has for more puzzles than most other RPGS of the time, these have to solved in order to move forward and can often take some time to figure out. These platforming elements really help take away from the grind that many RPGs can become, especially in larger dungeons.
The battles in Mystic Quest are not random, instead enemy sprites appear in the stage. The sprites are stationary but often obstruct the way forward or a chest that you may want to open. Players are given the option of engaging the engaging the enemy in battle. From there things are pretty straight forward, there is a battle screen with your two characters and the enemies. You life bar is initially represented by yellow life bar, but can be changed to numerical fractions which are much easier for me.
You have the option to either attack physically, cast magic, run or defend. There is no turn based element or real-time basis for battles. Who attacks first is based purely on who is faster. The other player in your party can either be controlled by you manually or by the computer, I found the computer is usually pretty competent and would often just let it do the work for me. You have the option of using anyone of your four weapon types, although bombs are limited, you can carry up to 99 of them. Certain weapons work better against certain types of characters. Claws tend to do less damage but can cause status effects and more often cause critical damage. If you play the game straight through the battles can get pretty hard in some places. When you enter a new region you are often pathetically weak when you arrive and have to simply survive until you level up and acquire some new equipment.
The four weapon types and armor are not very customizable at all. Whenever you get something new it automatically supplants your old stuff. You rarely ever have to buy weapons or armor they are instead just acquired or found throughout the course of the game. Although, you do acquire gold pieces through battling and they can be used to buy some weapons and armor and also curative items.
Magic is acquired, not learned in Mystic Quest. It is either found in treasure chest or is a reward for achieving part of the game or clearing a battlefield. Characters also do not have a certain amount of MP instead as they level up they gain the ability to cast a certain spell more times per battle. A new spell often only be castled twice when it is first gained.
Have you ever had to go somewhere or do something and had to either turn off a game and lose progress or risk leaving the system on for hours while you were gone just because you were no where near a save point? Well I know I have and Mystic Quest as part of their simplification/stupification of the genre has done away with save points, you can save your game at any time. I personally liked this very much.
Graphics Sound and Control
Graphically this game obviously does not stand up to what we see in games today, however it was extremely vibrant and detailed at the time it was released. The dungeons and towns are beautifully rendered and all of the platforming elements are very well done. I particularly liked in the battle screen how the monsters and bosses would deteriorate in appearance as they sustained damage.
The music in this game is absolutely excellent, some of the towns and dungeons have some of the coolest music that you will ever hear in a video game period. The battle theme is also particularly good, which goes along way in deciding whether leveling up and moving through a dungeon will get boring or not. The sound effects are also neat in kind of a quirky kind of way, especially the little noise Benjamin makes when he jumps or pokes things with his sword.
Controls in this game are extremely simplified and straight forward, nothing to brag about and nothing to get mad or frustrated about.
Fun Factor
This is a category that does not appear in any of my other reviews but I felt it was necessary for this one. Mystic Quest is 100% corny and easy, but it is also 100% fun. I can’t quit describe why it rules but it has an attitude all of its own that just wreaks of coolness and simple fun. When you have a sweet treasure hunter character that throws ninja stars then you probably have a fun game.
Final Recommendation
Mystic Quest is nothing like the other Final Fantasy Games on the SNES. It is a entry level RPG that is in no way epic or difficult. It is however one of the most fun gaming experiences you can have on the entire system. Its a light fun game with amazing music and a decidedly more American feel. Play the game if you need some simple fun in your life, its not too long or consuming but it is also not going to disappoint. This is a perfect game for all levels and ages and should be experienced by all. Unfortunately it is becoming harder and harder to find these days and is now somewhat of a collectors item.
8.5/10
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
stubs985
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Member: Dan
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Back to Reviewing again, I'm sure no one noticed i was gone.
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