Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (Super Nintendo, 1992)

US RELEASE DATE: October 5, 1992
EUROPEAN RELEASE DATE: "Mystic Quest Legend," 1993
JAPANESE RELEASE DATE: "Final Fantasy USA: Mystic Quest," September 10, 1993

Story (From Wikipedia): "The fictional events of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest take place on a single continent of an unnamed world, which is divided into four distinct regions: Foresta, Aquaria, Fireburg, and Windia. The welfare of each region is determined by the state of one of four shining crystals: earth, water, fire, and wind, respectively.

For centuries the Focus Tower had stood at the heart of the world. It had been a center for trade and knowledge, and the world's people met there to peacefully settle their differences. But on one warm summer day, powerful monsters stormed the Tower, stole the four crystals, and then took off with the magical coins that kept the Tower's doors unlocked. The monsters began consuming the power of the crystals; they grew in strength while the world, conversely, began to decay. An old prophecy tells that at the time the "vile four" steal the power and divide the world behind four doors, a knight will appear to vanquish the darkness. A fifth crystal, the Crystal of Light, ventures out in search of the prophecy's knight."

Essentially, Square set out to make a game for the "Western" nations that would be a simple RPG. One must realize that in 1992 the RPG market had not exploded to the level that it had by the time of the release of "Final Fantasy VII" (1997). Thus, Square wanted to make an RPG that was approachable by gamers of all skill levels. The question is: did they achieve their goal?

The game is set up so that there is essentially no overworld. Players travel from location to location via set paths and, between locations, come across "Battlefields" (that have up to 10 monster fights), where they can accumulate experience. Players can never have more than 2 people in their party (themselves and one other member) and they never can buy new equipment (they only receive "upgrades" as they go along. Spells essentially work like they do in "Final Fantasy" and "Final Fantasy II" where they can be used a set number of times before being depleted. Finally, players can see their opponents while in dungeons, but unlike games such as "Lufia and the Fortress of Doom" and "Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals," these monsters are stationary and do not move.

In the end, this provides for a game that, in my opinion, is too simplistic (even for those who are not hard-core RPG fans).

If you are a collector who wants to own all of the games in the "Final Fantasy"/"Mana" series, this is definitely one to pick up. However, if you are looking for an excellent RPG to pick up and play, this may not be the one for you...I give it a 3/5, or an "average" score.

This often overlooked gem is among one of the best Final Fantasy games I have ever played.

Most FF's have the same formula, but Mystic Quest mixed it up a little. It was a pretty gutsy move for 1992 and a company that didn't have many games out yet. The monsters are visible and can easily be avoided, so you don't face random battles. You are able to real-time weapon change, which means that you can switch between all of your weapons by pressing L or R, and use them to affect the surrounding environment. Your armor is accumulated as a whole and automatically equipped. When you find a treasure chest, you can go back to the world map, re-enter, and the treasure chest will be full again, negating the need for item shops. Every direction you can go is displayed on the world map, meaning you don't spend all that time mucking about trying to find your way to your next destination. When you die, you are asked if you wish to restart the battle, minus anything you might have used before - you'll fight the same monsters, minus the 5 arrows you used against them the first time. You have several different magic levels, and you are alotted a set number of casts per level; once you get Life, for instance, you'll be able to cast any White Magic 30 or so times, and once those are used up you'll have to rest to regain them (no pesky MP ratings). It is also an over-the-shoulder type of battle, so you won't be on the right of the screen with your enemies on the left. You'll have battle tournaments of ten rounds each where you can win prizes for defeating everything. And lastly, you can jump.

If you are looking for something different from the typical RPG, this is a great game for you. I was very impressed with it, and I even enjoyed the music. The "Victory Fanfare" theme of this game is the greatest out of any FF game.

I'm a big fan of Final Fantasy games, and had played this one before - but it had been a number of years, so it was fun to do it again.

This game is really good for "beginner" role-playing game type video gamers, it has nice graphics and good hints so that play even without the accompanying booklets is possible.

If your a "big time" role-player, you might find it a bit boring. But I enjoy the fighting format (sometimes referred to as "turn-based" - where your character and the enemy take turns "throwing blows" and the hand-eye coordination required for fighter-type video games is not necessary), and find this version of Final Fantasy just as fun as the others.

I've been a long time fan of Final Fantasy, and this was the one from the 16 bit days i was missing. While lackluster compared to the main series, this spin off has it's own charm and own merits. It's simply a fun and easy play.

The graphics are what you'd expect from an early 90s game. The overworld looks similar to Final Fantasy 2/4 on SNES, but the enemy sprites during battles are very colorful and detailed for the time. The boss especially are great to look at, especially as the sprite changes to reflect damage taken. The battles themselves are easy to deal with, as your partner can be controlled automatically.

The story is where this game loses most die hard rpg fans, as it's incredibly dull compared to other Final Fantasy titles. However, I found it to be a charming reminder of the days when a game's story was only explained in the manual.

All in all I liked this game, if only for it's nostalgia. If you grew up with SNES and missed it or are younger and just dig classic games I recommend checking out.

If you are a true Final Fantasy Fan then you simply can not go without this game!!! It may use old SNES graphics but it has definitely always been on my collectibles list!! The first of what became MANY Video Games for me. The characters are memorable and the fact that certain characters can only use certain weapons makes it more challenging. The dungeon maps were very creative for the time of its release. Not to mention NO OTHER FINAL FANTASY HAS THE SAME BATTLE SYSTEM! I only wish it had been among some of the others that were remade!