A maligned and underrated title
Quest 64 was the N64's first RPG. While it has weaknesses, it should not be uttered in shame as one of the console's worst games. There is a lot of fun 3rd person, mostly turn-based gameplay here. There are colorfully animated 3D monsters, some exploration and learning, and some choices on how to develop your magic. The criticism stems from comparisons to other N64 RPGs of the time. Quest's storyline and character development are about as developed as, say the 80's Bard's Tale - just navigate the dungeon, beat the boss, find a few useful items along the way, and get to the next save point. There are no relationships, grand decisions, or even puzzles worth mentioning. There are no fancy treasures to find or buy, neither ancient sword nor mystic sceptre will weigh your character down. Your avatar's magic and physical skill with his trusty monk staff will evolve with a Final Fantasy II like system where rather than getting experience points, the character's abilities grow by doing. Random encounters can get very tedious, but that's not unusual. The main character is just a child, and most of the monsters are like animated children's toys or disgruntled extras from the Care Bears movie - so Resident Evil zombies here. Yet despite this, Quest has a brightly childlike feel that goes with the whole Nintendo family friendly brand. If this had been an entry into an older RPG, it would have been seen as a 3D facelift of basically a late 80s turn based RPG. Given the relatively inexpensive price of the game in the present day as a retro game, its a fine value. Why not invest a few dollars, and enjoy a few evenings of tossing smoking hot fireballs of doom at menacing giant pastel butterflies frolicking malignantly in the sun dappled gummy gum gumtree forest.
Reviewed by: Jeff Dalzell from Maryland on 5/31/2012
3
