FFMQ Intro
Over the years, Square Enix has managed to create some interesting spin-offs from it’s popular franchise Final Fantasy, such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy VII:Crisis Core. It actually goes all the way back to the Game Boy and SNES days. The Game Boy spin-offs were of the Final Fantasy Legend series, but what may be the most overlooked, underappreciated and simplified Final Fantasy iteration to date is Mystic Quest, a SNES title early in the console’s life.
If you haven’t played or even heard of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest before, then I’m not surprised. It was an attempt by Squaresoft, to release a Role-Playing Game for the ‘Entry Level’ gamer and create a buzz among US players in the franchise and genre that had already gained great attraction in Japan. Mystic Quest was not a huge success, but it was one of the first steps in creating a mainstream audience for RPG games here in the States.
FFMQ’s story is about a boy named Benjamin who is chosen to save his World that has been taken over by monsters. There are four different regions in the World, with each region that harvests elemental energy from a crystal which gives the land resources and life. The monsters that have invaded Benjamin’s World have stolen each four of these crystals, causing their respective region to become lifeless. It is at this point Benjamin’s fate is decided by some mysterious old guy, that magically travels on a cloud, who helps Benjamin escape an earthquake destroying his village and gives him the quest of saving all four of the crystals and bringing peace to the World. Sounds familiar right? Chosen hero. Four Crystals. Save The World. The basic premise of Final Fantasy just in a very simplified and casual form. The story never gets too serious or confusing to understand and dialogue between characters is quite short and comical.
Squaresoft wanted to make a linear and accessible game for young and first time players of the Final Fantasy series, and the end result becomes exactly that. The overall premise doesn’t stray too far away from it’s known RPG formula. Mystic Quest is presented in a typical top-down view throughout the entire game, when traveling and in battle. Unlike other Final Fantasy’s, there is no exploring or roaming in between cities and dungeons on the World Map. You simply select which area you would like to enter by moving Benjamin to it’s location. No wandering, no forgetting which way you came, and most notably, no Random Enemy Encounters.
When progressing through dungeons and forests, enemies will show up on the screen and battle is initiated when the player comes within contact with one of them. This allows the player, in some cases, to move around enemies instead of fighting but also allows players to level-grind to their heart’s content. On the World Map, in between different locations you will find areas called “Battlefields”. Battlefields are optional locations that allow the player to initiate a battle, mainly to gain experience and gold as you travel to new locations. Each Battlefield you can initiate up to a total of ten battles, and when all ten battles are cleared out the player is rewarded with either an item, extra experience or gold. So in a sense, Battlefields replace Random Enemy Encounters on the World Map by giving the player the option to fight or not.
One thing veteran Final Fantasy players will notice, is that you cannot manually setup Benjamin, or his companions, with equipment. At the start of the game you are given a basic shield and armor. Along your adventure when you find new weapons and armor it automatically replaces it’s weaker item. For most RPG games, this is unusual and unheard of. But for FFMQ, it’s linear approach to equipment characterization is seamless. The difficulty of the game relies heavily on how much you grind for levels, thus having stronger stats. At some times it can make the experience a bit bland, but in return you never have to worry about hoping you have the right equipment to progress. With Benjamin, he can carry 4 types of weapons (sword, axe, claw and bombs), each having it’s strengths and weaknesses depending on the enemy your attacking. His companions on the other hand will always have a set weapon.
The battle system is exactly what you’d think it would be coming from the Final Fantasy series. Upon encounter, you can decide to Battle or Run. Basic Battle commands are Attack, Spell, Item and Defense. You have the option of either controlling your companion or let the computer make their commands for them by selecting Auto or Manual at any time. Only three enemies at a time can be fought, making battles fast and seamless. Spells are not learned in traditional sense, but they are found mostly in dungeons, and are divided into 3 tiers: White, Black and Wizard, with Wizard spells being the strongest. Since there is no MP, each level of spells can only be used a certain number of times until they are replenished. Your basic attacks with weapons are usually enough to finish off most enemies, but I found spells to be the most effective when attacking multiple enemies at once, and of course, for boss battles.
The failings of Mystic Quest are at the mercy of linearity within the progression of the game. Most RPG’s, like the Final Fantasy series, are enriched with side-quests and extra locations for exploration. Here, that is not the case and is somewhat mind-boggling as to why there is no side stuff to do. The story is as straight-forward as an arrow. From the moment you start the game until you see the end-game credits, there is no break in the story. Once you’ve made it from point A to B, the story immediately shifts to point C to D, and so forth. It’s a unusual trait to find in a Final Fantasy, or any RPG for that matter, and in Mystic Quest’s case it could have REALLY used a side-quest here or there as the storyline contains nothing to sink your teeth into.. The Battlefields are a nice distraction, but not exactly a ‘fun’ distraction.
The soundtrack easily shines as the best aspect of Mystic Quest, and right off the bat, I know what your thinking: “The soundtrack trumps every other aspect of a Final Fantasy? On a 16-bit SNES game?!”. Yes it’s true. I could chalk it up to pure nostalgia, but once you put in 5-10 hours, the music just sticks with you. The entire soundtrack could still hold up to today’s musical standards, if fully orchestrated obviously. Limited ROM capacity on SNES cartridges seemed to never present too much of a problem for the composers of Squaresoft games, and Mystic Quest is no different. From the fast guitar riffs of the battle and boss themes to melodic ballads you hear in villages, it’s memorable tunes still rank high on my list of game soundtracks.
In retrospect, you could say that Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was a game that could only appeal to a younger audience. With all it’s simplistic features, it’s hard for hardcore RPG’s fans to really dig into and keep interest. With it’s straight-forward story, linear progression and non-traditional Final Fantasy aspects, it can definitely be a turn off. I, on the other hand, found it to be one of the most memorable and coolest games on the SNES. Underneath it’s overall simplicity, there is a light-hearted gem to be found in this Squaresoft spin-off. Where Mystic Quest fails, the easily grasped gameplay and memorable soundtrack still holds a firm place in mine and many gamer’s heart. Nintendo Wii owners can experience this classic on the Virtual Console for 800 Wii Points. If you’ve never played it, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Does it hold up? This is a tough one to call. I’ve loved this game since I played it as a child and could still continue to just out of pure nostalgia. If someone were to play it for the first time today, by RPG quality standards, I’d go out on a limb and say that it does hold up.
Does it Hold Up? 