Game Debate #110: Quest 64

[Reed Rothchild | 9,574]

[Gloves | 11,825]

Gave it a 6. I've played it multiple times through to the end, have collected 100% of the "collectibles", and have even found myself feeling like playing again. This is admittedly due in part to nostalgia, but I do like the somewhat unique combat gameplay.

I also actually really like Aidyn Chronicles, so there may legit be something wrong with me.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,574]

Considering how much I like the WRPGs on the SNES, I'd probably really like Aidyn as well.

[mbd39 | 2,029]

Never played, never will.

[DefaultGen | 5,427]

I’ve never played Quest 64. Just here to say Aidyn Chronicles sucks the big one.

[Gloves | 11,825]

40 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

I’ve never played Quest 64. Just here to say Aidyn Chronicles sucks the big one.

You suck the big one!

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

I also gave it a 6. I haven't played it for over a decade, but I remember having fun playing through it. I'm sure there are many better games, but I didn't think it was bad by any means. 

[Tanooki | 4,950]

I'm currently and may end up the only 7 on this one, but honestly, it really is a very good game, but it has flaws, it's not excellent.  It's just far from bad too, yet a lot of people have kind of fallen into the sheep mentality of, if you see a few people dump on something, it sucks, or perceived as sucks, so you jump in and it perpetuates the issue.  I will admit I currently don't own it, wish I did, but I'm largely hands off on N64 right now and buying online too.

Quest 64 is an interesting game for various reasons, but one would be while FF7 was touted as the first 3D RPG game, and given the makers, it's felt that way, but console wise Quest actually is, Q64 everything is 3D, even the combat is while turn based done in a huge round arena of play.  Each turn you take you can move within the space of the circle and do one of four styles of magic (or mix for effect two of them)...or just run in and thump the enemy with the staff to save/slowly regrow your MPs.  Defense is similar, you can move away from an attack attempting to dodge, works fairly well depending on what magic is used too which is nice, so you're really reliant on paying attention, not button mashing drudgery.  That though is also the weakness, you could in theory if you level up enough, just run in and thump everything using minimal magic either a range hit before you get in clubbing range(wind or earth would be good) or just a heal spell if needed) which can get boring and repetitive.

Now another interesting point of the game, the world gets you, and what I mean is, it's not another asinine JRPG trope where you're out to save the world, save the town, people know you're there to help...and they rob you blind on supplies, gear, spells, etc.  The world here supports you.  That means inns don't charge, and the item shop gives a restorative when you visit, it's that simple.  Downer is, you don't have weapon and armors to buy/upgrade, it's all down to just physically improving your actual stats from combat and finding placed in the world max MP boosts you can selectively dump into one of the four elements (though the selection is not a downer, that's nice.)

Visually it's pretty, but pretty middling on the system, detail is good, but not awesome, just not minimalist and blurry like some others from the era which halfassed it like Bomberman 64, Iggy and a few others where it's just blurry, muddy, and low detail.  It's just not high detail and sharp, varied, like a 1st/2nd party game or higher end Konami/Capcom affair.

It's worth playing?  Yes, but only if you're understanding the mechanics and want to be fair towards it.  If you're going in having the preconception it's a poor game and as bad as the sheep trolls online say it, don't bother.  It's a good game, just not a great one, and not terrible either, you could do far worse with the little others on N64 like Shadowgate, Aidyn, etc.

If you want to save some headache finding the spread around magic upgrade wisps, Prima(?) did a guide, it's online in PDF format.

[RH | 4,965]

Ooooooooooh kaaaaaaay….

This is NOT a great game.  It makes Mystic Quest look like Shakespeare.

I had this as a kid and I also had a PS1 and other RPGs at the time.  I played this game 100% and I didn’t have any ill feelings going into it.  In fact, I really, really wanted to LOVE it because I liked the graphics on the N64 better than the PS1 and I always wished the N64 was the real RPG machine.

But that didn’t happen. This game is uninspired. Everything about it feels basic and bland.  The magic was weak compared to alternative mechanisms in other games, towns were minimalistic, there was little strategy in anything and the story was almost non-existent and completely felt phoned in.

I agree that people like joining mobs of hate, especially when a popular YouTube reviewers reviews a game and hates it but it’s not a good game, regardless of the anti-hype, especially compared to the JRPGs of that generation.

I’ve always felt that this isn’t a “bad” game.  It might sound like that’s what I’m claiming, but I’m not.  It’s just a really bland game that’s uninspired.  I 100%ed this game because I wanted it to be good. But it wasn’t.  I didn’t hate it though.  It was just completely and entirely forgettable and once it was done, I shelved it and never cared to play it again. In fact, I was never a guy to trade or sell my games because I never knew if I’d want to go back to them at some point but, this one, this one was easy to let go for the $10-15, or whatever it was, I got at Funcoland.

I gave this one a 4.  It is the definition of a “Meh” game to me.  I can completely understand people being nostalgic for this one, especially if they were young when they got this game and didn’t have a PS1, but when you compare this game to any other RPG from it’s generation (or even two generations prior) it just doesn’t offer anything great. 

Edited July 14, 2022 by RH

[Lynda Monica | 350]

I'll steal a joke from the Games Done Quick playthrough and say it's one of the top 5 RPGs on the N64.

[Gloves | 11,825]

1 minute ago, Lynda Monica said:

I'll steal a joke from the Games Done Quick playthrough and say it's one of the top 5 RPGs on the N64.

*Counting on fingers*

...

...

Heeeeyyyyyy!

[fcgamer | 4,752]

I'd be interested in hearing how @OptOut feels on this one.

I've seen the mediocre / bad reviews on this game, though I've always been curious about it, even back in the day. Hope to play it sometime.

[OptOut | 8,892]

21 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I'd be interested in hearing how @OptOut feels on this one.

I've seen the mediocre / bad reviews on this game, though I've always been curious about it, even back in the day. Hope to play it sometime.

Never played it, although I'm sure I'll get around to it someday!

It's not near the top of my list though, I'm not into RPG's.

[fcgamer | 4,752]

31 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Never played it, although I'm sure I'll get around to it someday!

It's not near the top of my list though, I'm not into RPG's.

That's your task for the year, to finish this one

[NostalgicMachine | 245]

3/10 for me.

[B.A. | 1,139]

Loved RPGs on the SNES, couldn't wait to finally get one on N64.  Drove to Best Buy on launch day, finally got home and could not have been more disappointed.  2/10

[spacepup | 2,411]

Quest 64 is such an.... interesting game.   Loving RPGs all my life, when I first tried it I had high expectations (those magazines tricked me!).  I'll admit, that when playing it as a kid, I didn't necessarily think it was completely *horrible* as it had a certain charm to it, and I enjoyed the Nintendo 64 style around that time.

However, as much as I try to look at games on their own, I was also playing SNES RPGs and PS1 RPGs around the time, and Quest just felt very....lacking, *especially* compared to those.  It felt very uninspired and generic, and it just never grasped me.  I definitely didn't finish the game, and probably didn't get very far at all to be honest.  Maybe it got a little better as you went on?  I don't know, but I'll admit it's not something I'll go out of my way to ever pick back up.

I gave it a 4.

[drxandy | 3,236]

I member renting it with a friend for a weekend as a youth and it wasn't the worst thing ever but we agreed we were glad it was a rental. I still don't have it in my 64 collection yet because of the bland memory.

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

1 hour ago, spacepup said:

Maybe it got a little better as you went on?

My recollection is that it doesn't change that much, but it's been so long and I find this thread pretty interesting, so I think I may actually do a playthrough so I can get a more modern take on it. If I do I'll report back here.

[TDIRunner | 2,771]

There have been a lot of Game Debates for games that I've never played, but this might be the first one for a game that I hadn't even heard of.  I was able to guess which system it was for, but I still had to lookup what the game was.  After seeing it, I know it's a game that wouldn't have been for me, but I also see why it might have been appealing to some during that time.  

[mbd39 | 2,029]

1 hour ago, spacepup said:

Quest 64 is such an.... interesting game.   Loving RPGs all my life, when I first tried it I had high expectations (those magazines tricked me!).  I'll admit, that when playing it as a kid, I didn't necessarily think it was completely *horrible* as it had a certain charm to it, and I enjoyed the Nintendo 64 style around that time.

What magazines hyped Quest 64? I remember avoiding it because of weak reviews.

[glazball | 172]

I remember it being the first RPG on the N64 so of course I had to play it.  I honestly can't remember many specifics about it though, other than spamming Water Pillar (which looks like "caterpillar") a lot.  It was completely middle-of-the-road but did have some charm and one day I'll peek at it again for some nostalgia.  Those early days of the N64 were fun.

[RH | 4,965]

1 hour ago, mbd39 said:

What magazines hyped Quest 64? I remember avoiding it because of weak reviews.

Nintendo Power, of course!

Yeah, they hyped it.  Not super hard but it was a "really RPG" coming to the N64.  I had an NP and PSM subscriptions at the time, so Nintendo was directly my only influence for N64 titles.

I can't remember how they treated it on release, but before release it was a game that got at least a couple of mentions. As an RPG lover, I know I bought this one without reading reviews and probably within the week of launch.

If this was the only RPG of this style I'd ever played, I'd probably would have loved it.  But if you were a Nintendo fan and only had a SNES and an N64, and you were waiting for the advent of RPGs on the N64, well, this game would have caused you to shed tears.  Considering how the SNES went out on Chrono Trigger, to only have this be hyped and come out a few years later, that'd be quite a disappointment.

Edited July 14, 2022 by RH

[MagusSmurf | 577]

Looks like Nintendo Power was "honest" enough to give this game a 6.3 upon release. That wasn't the game's highest mainstream critic score either.

Howlongtobeat says Quest 64 is only about 12 hours long. It can't be that horrible!

Played a lot of bad-to-mediocre 8 and 16-bit RPGs over the past couple years, might as well throw in a 64-bit one too. To ebay!

Edited July 14, 2022 by MagusSmurf

[Lynda Monica | 350]

Tanooki gave me an eyeroll. I'm sorry.

For what it's worth, I actually owned this game at one point during the Wii and DS era, and quite enjoyed it. I still gave the game a 4, as it's true there are way better alternatives. However if you understand the mechanics, it has a simplistic old school charm about it. I quite enjoy when RPGs aren't bloated with an overbearing story, and focus on gameplay. Games like the first two Pokemon games, the first two Dragon Warrior games, and of course Quest 64 where the desire to improve your character takes priority over a hammy story are games I wish there were a lot more of.

I know this delves into historical significance territory, but Quest 64 also gets some innovation points for not doing the same style of combat as 2D RPGs. I respect that it attempted to make a combat style using the possibilities a 3D space could offer, and the fact that it works and is entertaining is worth noting too.

I don't think it's a fantastic game, but I agree with Tanooki that people hate on it way too much. While it's easy to dismiss, I think it's an N64 game you should play through at least once if you have any interest in the system.