I remember looking into the history of this game a while ago. It went through a major development hell going through about three different iterations. Each iteration basically restarted the project. They eventually had to just make SOMETHING and this is what we ended up with. It's pretty sad, some of the cut ideas were pretty neat such as the multiple playable characters. In fact, the sea captain viking dude you meet at one point was gonna be one of them.
The game faced three huge problems. One it was an early 3D game, two it was an early 3D game for the Nintendo 64 so the space they had was really limited and three, what you just said.
Proof that sometimes having an agreed upon goal and a project lead pushing a vision forward is important, especially when the initial inspiration was purely financial like filling a niche not being fulfilled on the N64.
As a kid, I always really liked Quest 64, I loved exploring for the little floating orbs to level up my magic... but even back then I kept thinking it was so bare bones. No shops/money, just the free bread system, it made the game feel shallow even for my child mind. Loved the music though. I also enjoyed the combat system, it reminded me a lot of Parasite Eve, another game I enjoyed.
As a kid I genuinely loved this game when I first got it... And even as an adult I regret no longer having the cartridge. Part of it is nostalgia, but mostly it was an enjoyable game for what it was. About the only real complaint I can give is the plot and dialogue were rather generic, but honestly it wasn't bad by any means... Just... Not as good as it could have been. I still find myself missing it and hope to be able to play it again someday.
Rock is the most broken element. You can beat the whole game with just Avalanche and Magic Barrier. Wind is also pretty OP such as Wind Cutter lv. 3 (tip: cast it while facing backwards to get the most hits) As mentioned, Water is only useful for the healing spell. Sorry, Fire mostly sucks…
nice wind cutter tip. I knew it was nuts but didn't know why it wasn't doing better for me lol. I didn't use rock but started taking it at the end for the defensive skills and got avalanche right before the last boss and busted him in 4 hits because RNGesus shined his light upon me lmao
Thanks for covering Quest 64 Jirard. If anyone is interested in a detailed breakdown of the game's development history or a more positive analysis, I did an extensive series over the game that's available on my channel. Quest 64 has big issues and definitely isn't for everyone but it has a quirkiness to it that draws people in. There are also a lot of positives that are often overlooked like it's world, character design and soundtrack.
Seriously, the soundtrack slaps pretty damn hard. Loved this buggy, awkward, unbalanced mess of a game back then, got it... not-quite-legitimately more recently and replayed it, and it was still fun. Grindy, sometimes tedious, but still fun.
before i even watch the video: Quest 64 was a charming game with good ideas let down by the fact that it's blatantly unfinished in nearly every aspect. it's a severely lacking game, but i love it to pieces and is my number 1 pick for a dream remake edit after watching: yep, criticisms are totally valid. i'm gonna go off on a tangent instead- you know what this game did to me? whenever i'm given an 'elemental' mage and they just have the boring trinity of fire, lightning, and ice, i get pissed. when i'm told 'elemental', i wanna be able to magically throw rocks at people. ice? nah, ice can be an option, but you better heat that shit up and let me splash fools. and if you give me a staff to just hold on to without letting me effectively smack people with it you are officially not invited to my birthday party
re: *" blatantly unfinished"* I remember reading somewhere that originally there were going to be multiple playable characters (instead of just one), but I don't remember the reasons WHY it got scrapped in development. 🤔
Hey! A guy named Schooliedee is remaking it. Just search "Schooliedee Quest 64" if you want to see what he is working on. The first area up to Solvering will take a while to be done but it's neat to see
Probably just me looking through my rose tinted nostalgia goggles, but I loved Quest 64. I got started on when I was staying the summer with my dad for visitation in '98 and for whatever unknown reason I can't remember I didn't bring my console. When he was at work in the steel mill, I had to stay with my grandparents and I was bored to tears. The local rental store had a 64 available for rental and one of the games I never heard of they said just released was Quest 64, so that's what I grabbed. What followed was two weeks of pure enjoyment and hoping that my grandparents didn't unplug the 64. No save slots on the cartridge and the rental had no memory card. Even now as a dude nearing 40 and knowing it was critically panned I still enjoy the game.
Quest 64 was an amazing game and one that my brother and I played to death. We walked into the final boss with maxed out EVERYTHING and just stomped him into dust. Looking back, it's because we had nothing but time and no other games at the time, but it was still a fun game that I chose to revisit a few years ago. The base is there, the opportunity to achieve RPG greatness, hidden in the dirt of that game are true gems that, if done today, could be brought to a brilliant shine. It was a game of experimental systems and ideas, but if given a chance, I know it could grow into a game that people today would love
I played through it like last year, it was repetitive, but definitely fun. Figuring out what all the magic can do, exploring for upgrades for your magic. For how little there is in the game, you can get a lot out of it
I remember being a kid renting this game from the store, i love rpgs one of the rare westerners who tried to play as many as he could at the time. i got stuck like half way through the game baffled that this one boss in the middle of a forest would NOT DIE, i found out later that my stats were wonky and my magic was too weak because i have a habit in rpgs of raising everything equally. So by complete accident i near locked myself out the rest of the game because i didnt play it as intended i guess, thats just bad game design
I remember being one of the few people that had such a fondness for this game when I was growing up. I have great memories of being 13 or 14, playing it for a while and going out back to swim in our pool for a while. Then coming back in to continue playing it. It was one of the first games I think I 100% completed at the time too.
Repetitive games gotta be broken up with other activities or you'll burn out. Reviewing something like this on a deadline must've been horrible for games critics.
Aidyn Chronicles and Ogre Battle 64 are the two best. It's crazy to me no one ever talks about Aidyn or Ogre Battle 64. Those two where a much more mature and immersive experience as a young teen than Quest 64. Quest 64 was kiddish for me even then.
Aidyn is so underrated. I get why though. The art style is bland and kind of ugly, and the early game is very tedious. Once I gave it a chance, it was one of the most atmospheric and surreal games I have ever played. I have played through it maybe 8 times in the past 20 years. Something about it keeps me coming back
I never played Ogre but I played both Aidyn and Quest 64 and Aidyn always felt like Quest's older, uglier, more mature brother and I love it. I wish it got more love because it is legit a fascinating game.
I feel like a lot of the "worst game/rpg ever" reputation of Q64 came from your demographic, or at least the one you described. How do you go from Chrono Trigger to this and not be deeply disappointed/offended?
I've always loved RPGs where the character grows based on how you play and I personally thought this game had some really interesting ideas to achieve that. It's just too bad that it wasn't given the TLC it needed.
Dew Prism (Threads of Fate) worked in a semi-similar way. Taking damage caused HP to grow, and using magic caused MP to grow. Attack and defense unfortunately had to be "purchased" instead of growing by player action. Ultima Online also utilized this "use to grow" system, and Elder Scrolls games as of recently. A lot of games still use the 'level to earn points' system, where you unlock abilities through a purchase tree. It's organized and allows players and the developers to implement it more cleanly in code and function, but it doesn't feel natural. I prefer my character to learn new abilities via the world itself, either from books, NPCs, or through observation. Not from a pre-existing skill tree that somehow exists within the aether inside my character.
@@MommaDusk I appreciate actually looking at it. Like, yeah, we all know its not gonna win Best Game Ever. But, like Jirard said, its fun for a few hours until it gets repetitive. And back in 1997 or whatever, 9 year old me appreciated it!
My strongest memory of Quest 64 was picking it up second hand because it looked like a cool RPG, putting it in, and finding out I had no clue how to play the game and I didn't even have a memory card to save my game. I always wanted to know more about it as a kid.
Lmfao, that was what happened with me with the memory card. I was enjoying it, learning about it, so since I didn't have the memory I used the next best thing: A game shark. I sat there for 8 hours straight drinking pepsi and playing it until I beat it. lol
Mine was renting it for an overnight, leaving my poor 64 on for a 24 hours, and still feeling like i was at the begging after 4-5 hours. I had a fun enough time to remember it as a unique little oddball game.
@@robsonclark9678 Yoo! I always tried that, but it was at my sisters and they needed the TV. :( I'm glad you got some good memories out of it just like I did.
"Renting it from Blockbuster and being to young to know what to do" describes my experience with this game to a tee. And the fact that it was immediately eclisped by Ocarina of Time meant I was NEVER going to finish this.
I remember how, as a kid, I really liked the way the game was laid out in terms of its map. The encounter rate felt horrendously high, but I liked the fact that there was a decent distance between towns/cities. It actually felt like you were on a journey when going from A to B. It's just unfortunate that every other element of the game was bland as hell. I never did finish it, but hearing about it just had me shrugging.
Brian could become a Danganronpa protagonist with that huge cowlick. It’s such a big part of his design that they kept it in the GameBoy Color demake and the spin-off game, Quest: Fantasy Challenge.
Always love the background games you show on each episode. This one has to top it. Sport game, fight game, rpg game, and platformer game. 10/10 would complete again.
I remember playing Quest 64 so many years ago, and never owning it, renting it repeatedly from Blockbuster. I kept being completely confused on what I needed to do, and never truly making significant progress, yet feeling compelled to keep coming back to it, because I just found it so darned fun at the time. After watching the video, I can say with certainty I NEVER reached the end, or likely even got close, but man, for the time, it blew my mind and kept me hooked, even if I never got to finish it. Great work on the video Jirard, looking forward to the next one.
I had a similar experience. I played it a couple times. Never got beyond the first forest. But I also never forgot this game. It's just ingrained in my brain
I had no idea people hated this game! It was always one of my favorites growing up, even if it was too hard for a babu gamer like me :P So happy you decided to do a video on it!
Yes! It was an amazing adventure. It even still holds up today! I always have the tune to the 2nd town stuck in my head at random points in my life too haha 😂
ok I'm convinced Jirard's beard gives him psychic powers or something cause I've literally been watching videos on Quest 64 for like a week now and thought to myself "I'd love a Completionist video on this!"
I'm always a little disheartened that nobody brings up the incredibly ambitious but mediocre Aidyn Chronicles when talking about N64 RPGs, especially when it basically revamped the combat system of Quest 64 by introducing a party of multiple characters, and factoring in terrain elevation and charcter positioning.
I'm glad someone out there gives this game praise, I liked this game a lot when it was new! I used a mix of Wind/Water and mainly hit my enemies with the staff. I felt like I was the only one that had a good time.
I went nearly pure wind mage when I played. Used just enough water for healing magic and just leveled the crap out of defense and agility. That way I didnt worry about bosses. I ignored earth entirely for the challenge and I actually enjoyed it. I love how wind magic feels so rediculously OP later on with just the base Wind Cutter lv 3
aidyn chronicles: the first mage... probably one of the most unique RPG games i have ever experienced especially in terms of leveling. and it can be rather difficult
I really liked the game at the time. For one, we had the 'better' title of 'Holy Magic Century', so I was more intrigued by it. However, the more deciding factor was that I had the 'right' age for it. I understood enough about the game mechanics to play it, but didn't want to cheese it with the magical barrier. Hell, at that time I didn't even KNEW about it. It was all new and I didn't have the internet to look it all up. That way, every new spirit I gained it was a new discovery if I got a new spell or not. While I certainly can agree with your review looking at it today, I think for the targeted audience and the time, it was a great game. It wasn't targeted at adults or anyone who wanted to optimize everything. I took my time with it and explored every nook and cranny to finde those bubbles, so I leveled as I go. I explored the cities and buildings in search of chests and talked to the populace. I really can't understand all the negative reviews that game got. Imho you can't just see any game isolated, you need to take into consideration when it came out, what the targeted audience was and what restrictions it had. Two of which you talked about, but 'forgot' the audience.
I honestly love this game. It is meh in so many aspects, and frustratingly broken in others. It's one of those games that is so close to be being good if more polish and time was given, but it is what it is. I still remember it fondly, yet that doesn't mean I don't recognize just how bad-mediocre this game is.
"RPGs are big games that need a lot of *POWER* behind them that the N64 just didn't really have..." - Um, false? "Not only was the Playstation just a flat-out *BETTER* hardware experience..." - False again? It literally had nothing to do with "power" or the PS1 being superior hardware, the N64 was technically superior than PS1 in several areas while weaker in others. It had everything to do with CD-ROM format vs Carts. Storage capacity was the primary limitation of the N64, with carts hold 64 MB of data compared to CD's holding 650 MB. Manufacturing costs of CD's were $1 USD (about $2 in 2021) vs N64 carts costing $30+ (equivalent to $52 in 2021)... hence why early N64 games often cost $80 at the time ($130+ today). These were the primary driving factors in a nearly universal migration of 3rd parties from Nintendo to Sony. Not "power" or better hardware specs, simply a better/more cost-effective development-friendly environment .
Good job, you literally stopped to comment without listening to the whole sentence. Plus, the higher power of the N64 was made sort of obsolete by how its components work. Not to mention the cost of dev kits which was, at least in the early years one of the biggest issues devs, especially smaller ones, had with the n64. including but not limited to how overly complex it was to Programm for it and the headstart of Sony. Which makes the n64 look way weaker considering the time between those two consoles releases.
I would say that the good game hidden within comes down to playing a restriction type run where you cannot use water or earth spells. Playing through while only relying on Wind and Fire makes it more interesting.
I love this game Always thought it had so much potential to be amazing It made me want to learn how to mod games to fix the issues and add a few things to it
My dad bought me this game at a pawn shop for like $20 when i was like 7 (29 now). And what you said at 9:07 was spot on. I got to the castle and could never get any further due to not having the memory pack. The forest scared me but i ended up buying it again a few years back and it seemed much more bland than I remember it being. I had a lot of fun with it as a kid. The elements were awesome fire being my favorite. The enemies looking intimidating. The music giving me this feel of epic adventure. I liked it so much i wanted Brian in the Smash roster, not my first choice but you get what i mean. Im one of the very few that hopes we get a remake of this game. Looking back, this game is very nostalgic and takes me back to my crt tv, playing crisscross applesauce with a bowl of cereal on a Wednesday afternoon in a sunny fall day. Im so glad you covered this game Jirard, I thought i was the only one that knew of this game, thank you.
My experience with Quest 64 was exactly like yours, Jirard. Rented it over and over, had no idea what I was doing, but I still somewhat enjoyed it. I managed to get close to the end but never beat it. YEARS LATER, I've replayed it twice and finally beat it! Yeah, it's REALLY showing it's age, but I still got enjoyment out of it. Some of the music was really fun and quirky, and I like the ideas in the battle system....they just needed more time "in the oven" so to speak to really get fleshed out and executed better.
You know I think the "best" RPG on N64 was probably Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage even tho it's really difficult and had it's fair share of bugs and glitches.
I'd love to see another attempt at this game. So many cool ideas here that are fairly unique still. Will probably never happen but this game and Zelda 2 I'd love to see modern remakes for to polish them up given how much potential they have
@@Terranigma23 Plus Mina The Hollower is going to be taking some of that Zelda 2 inspiration as well (but that's still more than a year away). Oh, wow, never heard of Phoenotopia before. Hmm, so there was originally a 2014 flash game? Too bad I missed out on that. Maybe I'll check out Newgrounds in addition to the Steam demo.
@@Shalakor yes I can't wait for Mina. Phoenotopia Awakening is the remake of the popular flash game Phoenotopia. It's a really huge remake with a lot of new content and graphic update. Between 35-45 hours of content. It's really good. Also the soundtrack is quite catchy. 😁
I love watching you play older games. I'd love to watch you complete the shadow hearts series .to complete the first one you have to do extra things just to get the last fusion . First time playing my brother and I missed our chance and now we're make 2 saved files while playing rpgs incase .
I beat this years ago...I exploited it though. I left the game on with the joystick tilted and the more u run the higher your agility. So my agility hit 99 and was impossible for enemies to hit me lol. It was ok I guess...
I was about 12 when this came out. I was poor, I only had a 64 because it was given to me. I saw the commercials for the game and was totally taken in by them. I remember saving every cent I could find, I literally ended up paying for part of the cost with rolls of pennies. I got home only to realize I couldn’t save, needing to further invest in a memory pack to do so. I would play the game for a few hours, turning it off reluctantly each time and loosing my progress. Eventually I did get a memory pack and forced my way through the game. I had invested so much time I couldn’t waste my efforts up to this point. Yeah the game isn’t truly broken and there are some cool things, but I remember my total disappointment when I finally beat it. There were no branching paths, no secrets, just a bland game. I still have the game and a working 64, but after giving so much to the game already I will never spend another minute with it.
Gauntlet and Ogre Battle were the rpgs i played the most on N64. Both series definitely need love and a return to look. Yes Tactics Ogre is getting the love but the original Ogre battles need a remastering as well
Couldn't the "Holy Magic Century" thing refer to that the game takes place in a time of "holy mages"? Since their magic system is pretty spiritual with the four elements thing. Lots of organ music and what not. Love the game though it's flawed.
I remember playing this a few years cause I always thought it looked cool but was hesitant from the reviews. I tried it and was really enjoying it and couldn't understand why critics ragged on it at the time. But then I was trying to figure out how to level up and stuff and then I started to get bored and not enjoy it as much.
Me and my Dad liked this game when I was growing up. I liked it because of the music and the battle system, he liked it because he actually enjoys grinding, and didn't get tired of leveling the character up. It also helped that I share a name with the protagonist, lol(spelt different, but still funny regardless) Nowadays, I'd probably find the game to be long and drawn out on it's own, but at the same time I can see many ways of improving it that honestly wouldn't be too hard for someone versed in N64 romhacking. Honestly it's only a few values and such that need changed, and of course it should be done on a translated version of the Japanese version of the game so as to preserve the extended cutscene at the end.
I remembered this game fondly, and came back to stream it a while ago. Honestly, it's not as bad as people make it out to be, but it's not an amazing game either. Combat's unique even today, and was honestly incredible given the hardware. But like a lot of games on the n64, it was a tech demo effectively. It was 'could we do this with this hardware' or 'is this possible on any hardware?' So, not a lot was put into the content. Honestly, I'm glad they didn't do a q64 sequel, but I always wondered what this game would look like on a modern engine with the writing and features we have today.
Fun Fact: Final Fantasy wasn't called "Final" because of a potential shutdown. They originally wanted to call it "Fighting Fantasy" but there was a popular BookRPG series of that name at the time, deciding that they wanted the initials "FF" They simply picked another word that starts with 'F'
This has to be the most positive review on Quest 64 on UA-cam. Super impressive. Either Jirard lied through his teeth about this or he could find optimism in anything. I am in awe.
Maybe I need to go back and play it again. I have nothing but fond memories of the game. I replayed it dozens of times over the years growing up, and it was always fun.
Didn't the completionist get an interview with Shagira miamoto, or whatever the Mario creator is named? And got an advance copy of Starfox Zero? And was one of the only people to be positive about that game? I think he has a tight connection to Nintendo, and doesn't want to risk it by being negative. Or maybe he's like the LJN defender, and he just doesn't mind flaws in games as much as most people. Who knows.
Loved this game when I was a kid. Was one of the first RPGs i played and hooked me too loving RPGs. The combat was and still pretty unique and would love to see the combat system come back. This game deserves to remade and expanded to make a more complete game.
I do love the idea of getting better stats by taking (semi related) actions. Connects you more to your growth! I remember Breath of Fire 3 had a cool quest where you had to train a wimp to stand up to some local ruffians on his own (I think he paid you or something). The way you trained his stats was to battle him. His stats raised like this, hitting him boosted def, letting him get hits in raised his attack, etc. Felt very cool, and always wished other rpgs could find a way to make it work.
I remember playing it when I was a kid and then again when I was older. I definitely had a better experience as an adult with this game than as a kid. It wasn't all that bad but it did get repetitive.
Ah...nostalgia. I remember Quest 64 with a mixture of loathing and fondness. It came with my N64 as part of a sales bundle, so it was one of my first games on the console. I spent hundreds of hours mindlessly grinding and...I shamefully admit to enjoying it, even seeing what I could survive while training my defense.
I think this game deserves a remake. I mean, the battle system alone seems like it would be amazing in a VR game. It's turn-based, but you have a defined area to run around in, and it would be pretty cool to physically duck and dodge to evade enemy attacks in combat. The leveling system could do with a bit of adjusting. Maybe something sort of like Pokemon's EV system. You level up traditionally, but the game's stat system raises hidden stats in the background to boost your stats, not majorly but enough to make your character feel more unique to your own play-style. So, if you use mainly Earth magic, then you'll slowly put points towards an Earth stat that boosts that element 25% when maxed out. If you start using fire, you'll slowly lose points in whatever element you use the least as they're siphoned off towards Fire. So, you'd have a specialty, but the traditional leveling and stats system provide enough of a floor that your other elements don't become totally useless. Speaking of the game's stat system, that's probably why you felt so comfortable using physical attacks. Your physical staff attacks determine their power from all of your elements, so it'll almost always deal more damage than the spells would.
This game actually has a lot of nostalgia for me. As one of the kids who could only have ONE system, that being the N64, we didn't have access to Tactics or FF7 and I was a weeb at heart before knowing it, wanting that JRPG that never came to the system. This was the closest we could get. It checked a lot of boxes and actually creates a pretty good sense of adventure in that context. So I totally agree with this review. It's a shame it wasn't fully realized as the combat was really cool and could have been so much better. The fact that you could move while enemies attacked to dodge spells and such even though it wasn't technically your turn was pretty unique. Idk, glad this video exists to those who discounted it from the get go. However - a friend eventually showed up who had a playstation and I got to play FF7 and FFIX, and now IX is probably one of my favorites of all time up there with OoT. Good review.
I wasn't big into RPGs when this game came around. I was mostly a Sonic, Mario and Mega Man kid, so by the time Nintendo 64 came around, my only big RPG I really had experienced with Zelda Ocarina of Time. Now I would never say Quest 64 is anywhere near that level, but I actually really enjoyed it as a kid. It did eventually get a bit too difficult for me and I don't think I ever beat the game, but it was fun and was really my first foray into magic in an RPG and honestly, I think my love for the mage class probably really grew here(I do recall playing Gauntlet Legends a bit on the NES a bit and loved magic). The character design was a kid, like I was. He had a cape(That moved!), which I loved since Batman, he had a staff(Donatello anyone?) and that victory animation was awesome back in the day(it still looks pretty good considering the hardware). The game was hard, but it did manage to make you feel pretty powerful as the game went on and the towns would get bigger and more colorful. For a kid who went from Sega to N64, it was a huge open world game to run around in. And I agree with Jirard, the music was great. Like most gamers, my collection grew after this and I got a Playstation, graduating to Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX which of course is a huge step up from Quest 64 in terms of complexity and scope. But Quest 64 left an impact on me and I still think about it sometimes to this day.
I have fond memories playing Quest 64 with my cousins many years ago. It may not compete with the titans of that time, but I still loved Quest 64. Grinding for stats in the game gave me an odd sense of satisfaction and calmness. Most of my play-through sessions consisted of sometimes maxing out HP and a couple of elements (commonly Earth and Water). When my work shifted to online, I was left waiting for clients for long periods of time. I decided to play Quest 64 again as a result. This allowed me to have a play-through with all stats maxed out. The in-game timer stated 75 hours on the save file, but I suspect the real life time was greater. Maxing out to 500 MP and obtaining 200 elements were the most difficult.
...I never even got past the first kingdom... I LITERALLY didn't know what to do to get stronger spells to fight the basic monsters that already had spells that could kill me in two shots.
It's only recently that I learnt there was so much hate for this game...this, named holy magic century in my region, was one of my ALL TIME FAV games on N64 as a child. My mum and I used to play it with a lil diary that we'd use to keep track of all the stats of each enemy, what combo of magic was good against what, maps out each section etc...it was the best time...I think I've come back and completed this game at least 5x over my years growing up. It's a game I just hold so dearly to my heart and it's just amazing to hear people talk about it like it was trash like....not to me it wasn't? It was better times...not being influenced by other people's opinions on the internet...lol
I loved Quest 64 as a kid. It's got a great setting with a rather unique combat system. It is fun at the beginning, and it's satisfying to hit those crazy spell levels. The grind can be tedious at times, but it wasn't all bad. I found that most benchmarks could be grinded *together*. It's actually fun in its own right trying to map out progression thresholds to avoid unnecessary grind. Hitting specific benchmarks for certain bosses is satisfying. Nothing will ever compare to my first experience with the first boss as a kid. It was intimidating with the falling rocks ending in a quick loss. Frantically running around trying to dodge them is something I will never forget. Plus, my siblings liked watching the big boss fights and encounters in new areas; they just didn't stick around for the grind. :P
This game is ridiculously nostalgic. The music still rings in my head as soon as I see or hear "Quest" I remember the first time I went in the forest and as a kid I ran away alot. Got to the boss and got 1 shot like 10 times.
I've always thought this game could be incredible if it were modded to have an in-depth "spell invention" system. Maybe it could be accomplished by varying different ratios of the elements.
Quest 64 is so near and dear to my heart and I'm so happy people still talk about it. I really agree that people saying it's the "worst game ever" are just... exaggerating. It really has a lot of charm and it may not be the best RPG, but it had the bones to become something great. Unfortunately, it just kinda didn't. But that doesn't mean it's a nightmare. I have to disagree on the gameboy game, though. I own it and have played it - it actually goes into way more detail with the story and characters than 64 does. The battle system is janky and the music is limited and repetitive (which is a shame, as Quest's music is pretty nice in my opinion!), but it has like... a story. That you actively engage in. Characters join your party (though they don't fight with you... lol). If you ever get a chance to play the gameboy game, I do actually recommend it! Also there's another gameboy game called Quest: Puzzle Challenge which is hot stupid garbage and I cannot believe it exists. There's like 2k comments on this so I'm sure I'm not saying anything new-- but I had to comment since this game means so much to me! :) I even bought a complete in box Japanese copy that I can't play. Just to display (someday!).
I've always thought itd be super interesting to see Pokemon Combat fuse with Quest 64 combat. Not the RPG elements, but the pokemon moves, where you can move in your circle and dodge stuff or position yourself for your attacks.
I want to specifically dispute its uniqueness. Its leveling system raising stats based on what you do was first done with Final Fantasy II, and was rarely done since for a reason. Furthermore, its battle system is somewhat unique, but certainly calls upon games like Chrono Trigger and SRPGs like Fire Emblem - moreso the GBC game specifically than the N64 game.
I genuinely love your videos. I really like the way your intros have progressed through the years, your effects are really cool. Not in a way that makes your previous intros outdated, or less enjoyable to watch in any way, but in a way where it sort of enhances every older version. Anyway, keep it up dude. Thanks for the enjoyment!
Hey, glad to see this much-maligned game get a fair shake. It's not bad! It's just... Very Okay. And wildly unfinished, as people have explained in the comments. The JP version having a bunch of updates kinda gives away how the NA version was rushed out to (poorly) compete with OOT. Someone actually made a massive Quality-of-Life romhack/randomizer thing for Quest, called "Merrow". If anyone wants to experience this game again, it may make it a lot more palatable.
As a kid I loved this game now this is from someone who couldn't afford to play many games and didn't even have a the memory card needed to make a save file I would rent this over and over again and have to leave it running for a week at a time. that being said I can only really remember 2 things about it loved exploring and finding out the different spells and that I hated the last area because I didn't know I wouldn't be able to go back.
I had a similar experience. In the late 90s, I rented this game a lot without being able to save my game each time for lacking a save pack. Good times.
Quest 64 / Eletale Monsters / Holy Magic Century was a charming little game ( "little" is emphasized here). It's the kind of game I would encourage a starting dev to try and make on their own. No major plot twists, just some random battles with a fun little battle system where you can play around with elements, no loading times, no input lag, and for the love of Xenoblade, no unreal-engine assets dumped all over each other, and no attempt at "realism". It would have been great to see Squaresoft and Enix extrapolate on their SNES knowledge with the N64, rather than go all-in on Sony's cinematics, loading times, and y'know all the going bankrupt and having to cannibalize each other to become SquareEnix.
The reason JRPG's were not released on Nintendo 64 is because of the size limitation due to Nintendo being behind the times and still using carts. Square were even gonna release FF7 on the 64 until they saw they were still using carts. So they went to Sony who used cds.
Hi there, I worked for Sega at the time the N64 was released. The reason that was floating around for the reason Nintendo didnt have RPGs for the 64 was that contracts were up with Nintendo. Nintendo used to have gaming companies sign up to 10 year contracts locking them in, they would only let companies produce so many games and while yes the PS had a lot more room to work with when it came to storage capacity. They were just sick of Nintendo's strangle hold they had over them, also making decisions on what could be put into their games
1:55 Earth can be more than dirt. It can be plants, like tea leaves or sassafras roots. Earth, water, fire, and wind. You could have just made a cup of tea instead.
I still have my physical copy and it’s great. It’s simple but can be challenging. Beautiful graphics for it’s time, great soundtrack and an awesome enemy roster. I started by fighting every enemy I come across. I then grind an hour or so just before the first boss at the gates in conor forest. After beating the first boss, I zing by dondoran flat as I don’t like fighting 3 eyes who roams it (Give me the creeps). I go through the caves and into the next town. I grind for another hour while occasionally testing my strength on the second boss. After the first and second boss, it’s basically a cake walk while upgrading earth and water. I stopped fighting every battle when I reached blue cave. Overall: decent game that would keep you at least occupied if you’re bored and interested in it.
I remember that my brother was trying to get max level in everything in that game, just hoping to find a secret(and better) ending. At the end he got 50 (the max level) in 3 of the 4 elements, but in one of them ended with 49; and battle was no longer giving him experience. I was wondering if Jirard was going to mention that, but no, he didn't. Also, there is a big secret area in the desert, when we found it, he concluded that if they were willing to hide something like that from most of the players, they probably were willing to put a better ending behind a completion wall.
This reminds me of the ancient "RPGs" of old. NES and 80s micro computers, almost story-less experiences of raw gameplay, incredibly confusing system you'd only learn through trial and error with brutal difficulty. Usually way too hard for child me to understand and would inevitably give up, but would always stick in the back of my mind that I could push a little bit deeper into the game, maybe I could get a little further, find something interesting inside.
I *love* Quest 64~! It might be due to it being my first RPG, a good little romp of a game that eased me into a very interesting battle system with how you combined the elements to make different magic attacks. I know it's not *great* compared to other RPGs, but it still has that nostalgic hold on my heart that makes me love it. I also love the music, character designs, and how the stat growth mechanic is structured.
Ngl, looks pretty well done. A lot of 3D games from that era suffered from clunky cameras and jarring walking animations (my apologies, I'm not sure how to describe them). Had I known about this game back in the day...:(
The real problem at the time was the artificial requirement of games being fully polygonal. I liked bits of Quest 64 -- I think there's a good game buried in it, enough so that I gave very genuine thought to learning enough coding to be able to do a "remake" of the game (as a spiritual successor with a different name, of course). But I just never fully committed to the idea. But the thing is, the N64 could have had far more RPGs... just 2D. You could do some very nice "pixel art" on the N64 that would be moderately "hi-res" compared to what came before, and you could do some rather fancy effects as well. But at the time it seemed like heresy to _not_ make a game fully 3D even if it meant you were making a far inferior game to what you could do otherwise. I mean, you could do something like Octopath Traveller (but even more sprite-based) that honestly would have probably sold quite well if it was just a solid RPG because of how starved the N64 was for that genre. And that in turn may have prevented to massively long gap where non-polygonal games were considered all but forbidden.
That intro was epic, especially teh part where you leveled up and grew a beard X3 there is a song for that, it is called "Obey the Beard" by Psychostick
I think you nailed it when you said nothing was going to look good next to Ocarina of Time. I really, genuinely loved this game as a kid (it was known as Holy Magic Century over here across the pond) and have very fond memories of it. I found the first main boss fight, the robber in the woods, very hard. I liked the kobold rabbit things. I never finished it but I really enjoyed it. I think I'd still quite like it to be honest, though it's been years. It had a lot of charm and I still remember the music fondly. It says a lot about nostalgia and how few games overall there were for the n64 that such an overall forgettable game stands out, and could have a whole video about it.
I liked this game as a kid, and I still liked it when I finally beat it in my 20s. I did manage to soft lock on an island though by showing up under leveled, beating all the random encounters, and getting stuck on the boss. I had to ditch the save file there.
I'll always have a soft spot for this game, even if it does definitely drag on towards the end. Props for sticking to your guns on using Fire, insofar as it's what I'd consider one of the elements that raises the difficulty of the game (the other being Wind). It's hard for me not to go Earth/Water every time, though; I'm never not taking healing magic, and Earth does literally everything else you could want. High damage spells? Rocks fall, enemies die; check. Damage reduction? The nigh omni-barrier you mentioned; check. MP recovery? As long as you can take one or two hits, the spell Confusion's got you covered, of course; check! The abruptness of the final act twist speaks volumes to me of how much effort needed to be spent where. But I cherish my time with the game, flaws and all. Perfection is a myth, after all, and video game development is hard. ...If they ever decided to do a reboot/remake of it though, I would wholeheartedly hope they call it Holy Magic Century. That name _rules!_
I remember looking into the history of this game a while ago. It went through a major development hell going through about three different iterations. Each iteration basically restarted the project. They eventually had to just make SOMETHING and this is what we ended up with. It's pretty sad, some of the cut ideas were pretty neat such as the multiple playable characters. In fact, the sea captain viking dude you meet at one point was gonna be one of them.
The game faced three huge problems. One it was an early 3D game, two it was an early 3D game for the Nintendo 64 so the space they had was really limited and three, what you just said.
Proof that sometimes having an agreed upon goal and a project lead pushing a vision forward is important, especially when the initial inspiration was purely financial like filling a niche not being fulfilled on the N64.
imagine if they could remake this game the way it was originally Intended and with everything from all versions on modern consoles
@@raxadian 1998 isn't what I would consider to be an early 3D game.
@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 What WOULD you call 1998 at this point? MID? No, mid starts around 2000.
As a kid, I always really liked Quest 64, I loved exploring for the little floating orbs to level up my magic... but even back then I kept thinking it was so bare bones. No shops/money, just the free bread system, it made the game feel shallow even for my child mind. Loved the music though.
I also enjoyed the combat system, it reminded me a lot of Parasite Eve, another game I enjoyed.
As a kid I genuinely loved this game when I first got it... And even as an adult I regret no longer having the cartridge. Part of it is nostalgia, but mostly it was an enjoyable game for what it was. About the only real complaint I can give is the plot and dialogue were rather generic, but honestly it wasn't bad by any means... Just... Not as good as it could have been. I still find myself missing it and hope to be able to play it again someday.
Yep I loved this game at 10 years old. It doesn't hold up the best as an adult but this game is beloved by... some.
deserves a expanded. based on the Japanese games (bringing in the portable game) and reimplement some stuff lot in Dev Hell
this is me
me to
Same, I don't think I got past the castle cause I kept getting lost since I was really little then
idk if its just me. i love this game. i play through it every 2-4 years. its nostalgic af to me. it's pretty epic imo.
I agree to that
Same here
Rock is the most broken element. You can beat the whole game with just Avalanche and Magic Barrier. Wind is also pretty OP such as Wind Cutter lv. 3 (tip: cast it while facing backwards to get the most hits) As mentioned, Water is only useful for the healing spell. Sorry, Fire mostly sucks…
Maxed out water, waterfall EVERYTHING
nice wind cutter tip. I knew it was nuts but didn't know why it wasn't doing better for me lol. I didn't use rock but started taking it at the end for the defensive skills and got avalanche right before the last boss and busted him in 4 hits because RNGesus shined his light upon me lmao
Earth is just...
Fuck, you can tell there's no balance in a game when one move essentially makes you *immortal*.
Fire is fairly broken when combining power staff level 2 with Vampires touch. Nowhere near as broken as earth tho.
Thanks for covering Quest 64 Jirard. If anyone is interested in a detailed breakdown of the game's development history or a more positive analysis, I did an extensive series over the game that's available on my channel.
Quest 64 has big issues and definitely isn't for everyone but it has a quirkiness to it that draws people in. There are also a lot of positives that are often overlooked like it's world, character design and soundtrack.
Highly recommend "Quest 64 : Development and Huge Ambition" , incredible to se what the game could it be
Seriously, the soundtrack slaps pretty damn hard. Loved this buggy, awkward, unbalanced mess of a game back then, got it... not-quite-legitimately more recently and replayed it, and it was still fun. Grindy, sometimes tedious, but still fun.
Hey Lvl Jake, nice to see you here. Glad Quest fans still exist. Thanks for the content my friend.
@@Jasler7 I haven't heard from you in forever Jas thanks for reaching out good to hear from you!!
Can highly recommend all of Lvl Jake's Quest64 essay videos. They go very deep into both the world and the game's development!
before i even watch the video: Quest 64 was a charming game with good ideas let down by the fact that it's blatantly unfinished in nearly every aspect. it's a severely lacking game, but i love it to pieces and is my number 1 pick for a dream remake
edit after watching: yep, criticisms are totally valid. i'm gonna go off on a tangent instead-
you know what this game did to me? whenever i'm given an 'elemental' mage and they just have the boring trinity of fire, lightning, and ice, i get pissed. when i'm told 'elemental', i wanna be able to magically throw rocks at people. ice? nah, ice can be an option, but you better heat that shit up and let me splash fools. and if you give me a staff to just hold on to without letting me effectively smack people with it you are officially not invited to my birthday party
This or Hybrid Heaven would honestly be dream remakes for me. Used to say Seiken Densetsu 3, but they did that one!
re: *" blatantly unfinished"*
I remember reading somewhere that originally there were going to be multiple playable characters (instead of just one), but I don't remember the reasons WHY it got scrapped in development. 🤔
Hey! A guy named Schooliedee is remaking it. Just search "Schooliedee Quest 64" if you want to see what he is working on. The first area up to Solvering will take a while to be done but it's neat to see
Probably just me looking through my rose tinted nostalgia goggles, but I loved Quest 64. I got started on when I was staying the summer with my dad for visitation in '98 and for whatever unknown reason I can't remember I didn't bring my console. When he was at work in the steel mill, I had to stay with my grandparents and I was bored to tears. The local rental store had a 64 available for rental and one of the games I never heard of they said just released was Quest 64, so that's what I grabbed. What followed was two weeks of pure enjoyment and hoping that my grandparents didn't unplug the 64. No save slots on the cartridge and the rental had no memory card. Even now as a dude nearing 40 and knowing it was critically panned I still enjoy the game.
Quest 64 was an amazing game and one that my brother and I played to death. We walked into the final boss with maxed out EVERYTHING and just stomped him into dust. Looking back, it's because we had nothing but time and no other games at the time, but it was still a fun game that I chose to revisit a few years ago.
The base is there, the opportunity to achieve RPG greatness, hidden in the dirt of that game are true gems that, if done today, could be brought to a brilliant shine. It was a game of experimental systems and ideas, but if given a chance, I know it could grow into a game that people today would love
I agree with you
I played through it like last year, it was repetitive, but definitely fun. Figuring out what all the magic can do, exploring for upgrades for your magic. For how little there is in the game, you can get a lot out of it
I remember being a kid renting this game from the store, i love rpgs one of the rare westerners who tried to play as many as he could at the time. i got stuck like half way through the game baffled that this one boss in the middle of a forest would NOT DIE, i found out later that my stats were wonky and my magic was too weak because i have a habit in rpgs of raising everything equally. So by complete accident i near locked myself out the rest of the game because i didnt play it as intended i guess, thats just bad game design
I remember being one of the few people that had such a fondness for this game when I was growing up. I have great memories of being 13 or 14, playing it for a while and going out back to swim in our pool for a while. Then coming back in to continue playing it. It was one of the first games I think I 100% completed at the time too.
Repetitive games gotta be broken up with other activities or you'll burn out. Reviewing something like this on a deadline must've been horrible for games critics.
Aidyn Chronicles and Ogre Battle 64 are the two best.
It's crazy to me no one ever talks about Aidyn or Ogre Battle 64. Those two where a much more mature and immersive experience as a young teen than Quest 64.
Quest 64 was kiddish for me even then.
Aidyn is so underrated. I get why though. The art style is bland and kind of ugly, and the early game is very tedious. Once I gave it a chance, it was one of the most atmospheric and surreal games I have ever played. I have played through it maybe 8 times in the past 20 years. Something about it keeps me coming back
I never played Ogre but I played both Aidyn and Quest 64 and Aidyn always felt like Quest's older, uglier, more mature brother and I love it. I wish it got more love because it is legit a fascinating game.
Absolutely agree with you both, it is truly a gem!
LOVE AIDYN!
I think Ogre Battle 64 was the largest N64 game ever by cartridge space. 384MBit
OMG IT'S HAPPENED. I have an unreasonable affection for this game for absolutely zero definable or defendable reason.
I feel like a lot of the "worst game/rpg ever" reputation of Q64 came from your demographic, or at least the one you described. How do you go from Chrono Trigger to this and not be deeply disappointed/offended?
Same tho
@@EvilApple567 some of us were just hungry for ANY rpg we could play on our only 3d system. I also loved Ogre Battle 64 for the same reason
I thought it was going to be a 3d chrono trigger. I played it one hour and returned it to blockbuster.
@@EvilApple567 A lot of things that are “the worst ever” are usually just mediocre, but are compared to the best thing ever.
I've always loved RPGs where the character grows based on how you play and I personally thought this game had some really interesting ideas to achieve that. It's just too bad that it wasn't given the TLC it needed.
Dew Prism (Threads of Fate) worked in a semi-similar way. Taking damage caused HP to grow, and using magic caused MP to grow. Attack and defense unfortunately had to be "purchased" instead of growing by player action. Ultima Online also utilized this "use to grow" system, and Elder Scrolls games as of recently.
A lot of games still use the 'level to earn points' system, where you unlock abilities through a purchase tree. It's organized and allows players and the developers to implement it more cleanly in code and function, but it doesn't feel natural. I prefer my character to learn new abilities via the world itself, either from books, NPCs, or through observation. Not from a pre-existing skill tree that somehow exists within the aether inside my character.
I spent so much time playing this game as a child! I love this game, regardless of how meh it can be.
Same. I still love the game, and I'm glad Jirard didn't just say it was a bad game.
@@MommaDusk I appreciate actually looking at it. Like, yeah, we all know its not gonna win Best Game Ever. But, like Jirard said, its fun for a few hours until it gets repetitive. And back in 1997 or whatever, 9 year old me appreciated it!
Same here, it is objectively terrible, but I still enjoy playing it.
My strongest memory of Quest 64 was picking it up second hand because it looked like a cool RPG, putting it in, and finding out I had no clue how to play the game and I didn't even have a memory card to save my game. I always wanted to know more about it as a kid.
Lmfao, that was what happened with me with the memory card. I was enjoying it, learning about it, so since I didn't have the memory I used the next best thing: A game shark. I sat there for 8 hours straight drinking pepsi and playing it until I beat it. lol
Mine was renting it for an overnight, leaving my poor 64 on for a 24 hours, and still feeling like i was at the begging after 4-5 hours. I had a fun enough time to remember it as a unique little oddball game.
@@robsonclark9678 Yoo! I always tried that, but it was at my sisters and they needed the TV. :( I'm glad you got some good memories out of it just like I did.
I played this game twice. Once as a kid and once in my late teens. Loved it both times
"Renting it from Blockbuster and being to young to know what to do" describes my experience with this game to a tee. And the fact that it was immediately eclisped by Ocarina of Time meant I was NEVER going to finish this.
I remember how, as a kid, I really liked the way the game was laid out in terms of its map. The encounter rate felt horrendously high, but I liked the fact that there was a decent distance between towns/cities. It actually felt like you were on a journey when going from A to B. It's just unfortunate that every other element of the game was bland as hell. I never did finish it, but hearing about it just had me shrugging.
Quest begins at Monastery of the Mages? So the game is about you running an errand for Mom? Mom wants you to go find dad and bring him home?
Brian could become a Danganronpa protagonist with that huge cowlick. It’s such a big part of his design that they kept it in the GameBoy Color demake and the spin-off game, Quest: Fantasy Challenge.
Always love the background games you show on each episode. This one has to top it. Sport game, fight game, rpg game, and platformer game. 10/10 would complete again.
I remember playing Quest 64 so many years ago, and never owning it, renting it repeatedly from Blockbuster. I kept being completely confused on what I needed to do, and never truly making significant progress, yet feeling compelled to keep coming back to it, because I just found it so darned fun at the time. After watching the video, I can say with certainty I NEVER reached the end, or likely even got close, but man, for the time, it blew my mind and kept me hooked, even if I never got to finish it.
Great work on the video Jirard, looking forward to the next one.
I did the same thing. I was young and never had any idea what to do really
I had a similar experience. I played it a couple times. Never got beyond the first forest. But I also never forgot this game. It's just ingrained in my brain
@@tylerbenjamin328 this was one of those games I really wanted to like and ended up with glover instead lol
@@tylerbenjamin328 but also renting games once a week from your local video store was a thing.
I had no idea people hated this game! It was always one of my favorites growing up, even if it was too hard for a babu gamer like me :P So happy you decided to do a video on it!
It's a terrible game.
You just have nostalgia.
@@zigfaust Yes, it is terrible. This game traumatized me during my childhood.
Me neither, i had this game & I LOVED IT, invested so many hours in it.
Yes! It was an amazing adventure. It even still holds up today! I always have the tune to the 2nd town stuck in my head at random points in my life too haha 😂
definitely nostalgia this game is ass
ok I'm convinced Jirard's beard gives him psychic powers or something cause I've literally been watching videos on Quest 64 for like a week now and thought to myself "I'd love a Completionist video on this!"
I'm always a little disheartened that nobody brings up the incredibly ambitious but mediocre Aidyn Chronicles when talking about N64 RPGs, especially when it basically revamped the combat system of Quest 64 by introducing a party of multiple characters, and factoring in terrain elevation and charcter positioning.
I love how hard Jirard is trying to stay positive.
Haha! Agree
Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage was a pretty solid RPG for N64
I'm glad someone out there gives this game praise, I liked this game a lot when it was new! I used a mix of Wind/Water and mainly hit my enemies with the staff. I felt like I was the only one that had a good time.
I went nearly pure wind mage when I played. Used just enough water for healing magic and just leveled the crap out of defense and agility. That way I didnt worry about bosses. I ignored earth entirely for the challenge and I actually enjoyed it. I love how wind magic feels so rediculously OP later on with just the base Wind Cutter lv 3
aidyn chronicles: the first mage... probably one of the most unique RPG games i have ever experienced especially in terms of leveling. and it can be rather difficult
I really liked the game at the time. For one, we had the 'better' title of 'Holy Magic Century', so I was more intrigued by it.
However, the more deciding factor was that I had the 'right' age for it. I understood enough about the game mechanics to play it, but didn't want to cheese it with the magical barrier. Hell, at that time I didn't even KNEW about it. It was all new and I didn't have the internet to look it all up. That way, every new spirit I gained it was a new discovery if I got a new spell or not.
While I certainly can agree with your review looking at it today, I think for the targeted audience and the time, it was a great game. It wasn't targeted at adults or anyone who wanted to optimize everything. I took my time with it and explored every nook and cranny to finde those bubbles, so I leveled as I go. I explored the cities and buildings in search of chests and talked to the populace.
I really can't understand all the negative reviews that game got. Imho you can't just see any game isolated, you need to take into consideration when it came out, what the targeted audience was and what restrictions it had. Two of which you talked about, but 'forgot' the audience.
Agreed
“A lot of people hate this game” Yo I can’t believe Jirard gave me a shout out like that
I honestly love this game. It is meh in so many aspects, and frustratingly broken in others. It's one of those games that is so close to be being good if more polish and time was given, but it is what it is. I still remember it fondly, yet that doesn't mean I don't recognize just how bad-mediocre this game is.
"RPGs are big games that need a lot of *POWER* behind them that the N64 just didn't really have..." - Um, false?
"Not only was the Playstation just a flat-out *BETTER* hardware experience..." - False again?
It literally had nothing to do with "power" or the PS1 being superior hardware, the N64 was technically superior than PS1 in several areas while weaker in others. It had everything to do with CD-ROM format vs Carts.
Storage capacity was the primary limitation of the N64, with carts hold 64 MB of data compared to CD's holding 650 MB. Manufacturing costs of CD's were $1 USD (about $2 in 2021) vs N64 carts costing $30+ (equivalent to $52 in 2021)... hence why early N64 games often cost $80 at the time ($130+ today).
These were the primary driving factors in a nearly universal migration of 3rd parties from Nintendo to Sony. Not "power" or better hardware specs, simply a better/more cost-effective development-friendly environment .
Good job, you literally stopped to comment without listening to the whole sentence.
Plus, the higher power of the N64 was made sort of obsolete by how its components work.
Not to mention the cost of dev kits which was, at least in the early years one of the biggest issues devs, especially smaller ones, had with the n64. including but not limited to how overly complex it was to Programm for it and the headstart of Sony. Which makes the n64 look way weaker considering the time between those two consoles releases.
This game is a core memory for me. I just love it even though it’s not great
I played Q64 growing up. The game definitely had it's problems, but it still holds a special place in my heart.
I would say that the good game hidden within comes down to playing a restriction type run where you cannot use water or earth spells. Playing through while only relying on Wind and Fire makes it more interesting.
Aidyn Chronicles, on N64, I believe, did RPGs A LOT better. Never finished it though, would love to see your opinion on that after this!
I love this game
Always thought it had so much potential to be amazing
It made me want to learn how to mod games to fix the issues and add a few things to it
That´s right set of mind Jirard, I never go with these hate trains, I always want to experience the game myself and form my own opinion.
Love Quest 64, one of my childhood favorites!
My dad bought me this game at a pawn shop for like $20 when i was like 7 (29 now). And what you said at 9:07 was spot on. I got to the castle and could never get any further due to not having the memory pack. The forest scared me but i ended up buying it again a few years back and it seemed much more bland than I remember it being. I had a lot of fun with it as a kid. The elements were awesome fire being my favorite. The enemies looking intimidating. The music giving me this feel of epic adventure. I liked it so much i wanted Brian in the Smash roster, not my first choice but you get what i mean. Im one of the very few that hopes we get a remake of this game. Looking back, this game is very nostalgic and takes me back to my crt tv, playing crisscross applesauce with a bowl of cereal on a Wednesday afternoon in a sunny fall day. Im so glad you covered this game Jirard, I thought i was the only one that knew of this game, thank you.
My experience with Quest 64 was exactly like yours, Jirard. Rented it over and over, had no idea what I was doing, but I still somewhat enjoyed it. I managed to get close to the end but never beat it. YEARS LATER, I've replayed it twice and finally beat it! Yeah, it's REALLY showing it's age, but I still got enjoyment out of it. Some of the music was really fun and quirky, and I like the ideas in the battle system....they just needed more time "in the oven" so to speak to really get fleshed out and executed better.
You know I think the "best" RPG on N64 was probably Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage even tho it's really difficult and had it's fair share of bugs and glitches.
I'd love to see another attempt at this game. So many cool ideas here that are fairly unique still. Will probably never happen but this game and Zelda 2 I'd love to see modern remakes for to polish them up given how much potential they have
I recommand you a lot the game "Phoenotopia Awakening" if you like Zelda 2. It's really good. 😁
@@Terranigma23 I am digging that art style thanks for the recommend! Put it up on my wishlist.
@@Rhakimdar nice, hope you will like it. :)
@@Terranigma23 Plus Mina The Hollower is going to be taking some of that Zelda 2 inspiration as well (but that's still more than a year away).
Oh, wow, never heard of Phoenotopia before. Hmm, so there was originally a 2014 flash game? Too bad I missed out on that. Maybe I'll check out Newgrounds in addition to the Steam demo.
@@Shalakor yes I can't wait for Mina. Phoenotopia Awakening is the remake of the popular flash game Phoenotopia. It's a really huge remake with a lot of new content and graphic update. Between 35-45 hours of content. It's really good. Also the soundtrack is quite catchy. 😁
I love watching you play older games. I'd love to watch you complete the shadow hearts series .to complete the first one you have to do extra things just to get the last fusion . First time playing my brother and I missed our chance and now we're make 2 saved files while playing rpgs incase .
I beat this years ago...I exploited it though. I left the game on with the joystick tilted and the more u run the higher your agility. So my agility hit 99 and was impossible for enemies to hit me lol. It was ok I guess...
I was about 12 when this came out. I was poor, I only had a 64 because it was given to me. I saw the commercials for the game and was totally taken in by them. I remember saving every cent I could find, I literally ended up paying for part of the cost with rolls of pennies. I got home only to realize I couldn’t save, needing to further invest in a memory pack to do so. I would play the game for a few hours, turning it off reluctantly each time and loosing my progress. Eventually I did get a memory pack and forced my way through the game. I had invested so much time I couldn’t waste my efforts up to this point. Yeah the game isn’t truly broken and there are some cool things, but I remember my total disappointment when I finally beat it. There were no branching paths, no secrets, just a bland game. I still have the game and a working 64, but after giving so much to the game already I will never spend another minute with it.
Gauntlet and Ogre Battle were the rpgs i played the most on N64. Both series definitely need love and a return to look. Yes Tactics Ogre is getting the love but the original Ogre battles need a remastering as well
Oh I hope orge battles get some love. My favorite game on that console was orge battle 64.
Ogre Battle 64 is a genuinely great game
@@UndergroundHorrorRap indeed. The series needs to see the old titles remastered.
Couldn't the "Holy Magic Century" thing refer to that the game takes place in a time of "holy mages"? Since their magic system is pretty spiritual with the four elements thing.
Lots of organ music and what not. Love the game though it's flawed.
I remember playing this a few years cause I always thought it looked cool but was hesitant from the reviews. I tried it and was really enjoying it and couldn't understand why critics ragged on it at the time. But then I was trying to figure out how to level up and stuff and then I started to get bored and not enjoy it as much.
Me and my Dad liked this game when I was growing up. I liked it because of the music and the battle system, he liked it because he actually enjoys grinding, and didn't get tired of leveling the character up. It also helped that I share a name with the protagonist, lol(spelt different, but still funny regardless)
Nowadays, I'd probably find the game to be long and drawn out on it's own, but at the same time I can see many ways of improving it that honestly wouldn't be too hard for someone versed in N64 romhacking. Honestly it's only a few values and such that need changed, and of course it should be done on a translated version of the Japanese version of the game so as to preserve the extended cutscene at the end.
These intros are becoming more epic over time. It's like getting hyped for a shonen movie trailer.
I remembered this game fondly, and came back to stream it a while ago. Honestly, it's not as bad as people make it out to be, but it's not an amazing game either. Combat's unique even today, and was honestly incredible given the hardware. But like a lot of games on the n64, it was a tech demo effectively. It was 'could we do this with this hardware' or 'is this possible on any hardware?' So, not a lot was put into the content.
Honestly, I'm glad they didn't do a q64 sequel, but I always wondered what this game would look like on a modern engine with the writing and features we have today.
I loved this game when I was like 7-10 years old. I'd love to go back and beat it
Fun Fact: Final Fantasy wasn't called "Final" because of a potential shutdown. They originally wanted to call it "Fighting Fantasy" but there was a popular BookRPG series of that name at the time, deciding that they wanted the initials "FF" They simply picked another word that starts with 'F'
This has to be the most positive review on Quest 64 on UA-cam. Super impressive. Either Jirard lied through his teeth about this or he could find optimism in anything. I am in awe.
Maybe I need to go back and play it again. I have nothing but fond memories of the game. I replayed it dozens of times over the years growing up, and it was always fun.
Didn't the completionist get an interview with Shagira miamoto, or whatever the Mario creator is named? And got an advance copy of Starfox Zero? And was one of the only people to be positive about that game? I think he has a tight connection to Nintendo, and doesn't want to risk it by being negative.
Or maybe he's like the LJN defender, and he just doesn't mind flaws in games as much as most people. Who knows.
Everyone knows the best N64 RPG was Aidyn Chronicles.
Because it was just Great Value brand Morrowind.
Loved this game when I was a kid. Was one of the first RPGs i played and hooked me too loving RPGs. The combat was and still pretty unique and would love to see the combat system come back. This game deserves to remade and expanded to make a more complete game.
I do love the idea of getting better stats by taking (semi related) actions. Connects you more to your growth!
I remember Breath of Fire 3 had a cool quest where you had to train a wimp to stand up to some local ruffians on his own (I think he paid you or something).
The way you trained his stats was to battle him. His stats raised like this, hitting him boosted def, letting him get hits in raised his attack, etc.
Felt very cool, and always wished other rpgs could find a way to make it work.
I notice you dont have the game hybrid heaven behind you on the shelf.
its a very unique turn based rpg for the n64 please check it out!
I remember playing it when I was a kid and then again when I was older. I definitely had a better experience as an adult with this game than as a kid. It wasn't all that bad but it did get repetitive.
Ah...nostalgia. I remember Quest 64 with a mixture of loathing and fondness. It came with my N64 as part of a sales bundle, so it was one of my first games on the console. I spent hundreds of hours mindlessly grinding and...I shamefully admit to enjoying it, even seeing what I could survive while training my defense.
I think this game deserves a remake. I mean, the battle system alone seems like it would be amazing in a VR game. It's turn-based, but you have a defined area to run around in, and it would be pretty cool to physically duck and dodge to evade enemy attacks in combat.
The leveling system could do with a bit of adjusting. Maybe something sort of like Pokemon's EV system. You level up traditionally, but the game's stat system raises hidden stats in the background to boost your stats, not majorly but enough to make your character feel more unique to your own play-style. So, if you use mainly Earth magic, then you'll slowly put points towards an Earth stat that boosts that element 25% when maxed out. If you start using fire, you'll slowly lose points in whatever element you use the least as they're siphoned off towards Fire. So, you'd have a specialty, but the traditional leveling and stats system provide enough of a floor that your other elements don't become totally useless.
Speaking of the game's stat system, that's probably why you felt so comfortable using physical attacks. Your physical staff attacks determine their power from all of your elements, so it'll almost always deal more damage than the spells would.
Jirard slowly turning into a wise wizard. Touches of grey look really good honestly man.
This game actually has a lot of nostalgia for me. As one of the kids who could only have ONE system, that being the N64, we didn't have access to Tactics or FF7 and I was a weeb at heart before knowing it, wanting that JRPG that never came to the system. This was the closest we could get. It checked a lot of boxes and actually creates a pretty good sense of adventure in that context. So I totally agree with this review. It's a shame it wasn't fully realized as the combat was really cool and could have been so much better. The fact that you could move while enemies attacked to dodge spells and such even though it wasn't technically your turn was pretty unique. Idk, glad this video exists to those who discounted it from the get go. However - a friend eventually showed up who had a playstation and I got to play FF7 and FFIX, and now IX is probably one of my favorites of all time up there with OoT. Good review.
Hope they bring this on switch online!
I’ll rather have ogre battle 64 instead.
I rather have the castlevania games on n64 then this garbo
Banjo Tooie first along with GB compatibility.
I wasn't big into RPGs when this game came around. I was mostly a Sonic, Mario and Mega Man kid, so by the time Nintendo 64 came around, my only big RPG I really had experienced with Zelda Ocarina of Time. Now I would never say Quest 64 is anywhere near that level, but I actually really enjoyed it as a kid. It did eventually get a bit too difficult for me and I don't think I ever beat the game, but it was fun and was really my first foray into magic in an RPG and honestly, I think my love for the mage class probably really grew here(I do recall playing Gauntlet Legends a bit on the NES a bit and loved magic). The character design was a kid, like I was. He had a cape(That moved!), which I loved since Batman, he had a staff(Donatello anyone?) and that victory animation was awesome back in the day(it still looks pretty good considering the hardware).
The game was hard, but it did manage to make you feel pretty powerful as the game went on and the towns would get bigger and more colorful. For a kid who went from Sega to N64, it was a huge open world game to run around in. And I agree with Jirard, the music was great. Like most gamers, my collection grew after this and I got a Playstation, graduating to Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX which of course is a huge step up from Quest 64 in terms of complexity and scope. But Quest 64 left an impact on me and I still think about it sometimes to this day.
I have fond memories playing Quest 64 with my cousins many years ago. It may not compete with the titans of that time, but I still loved Quest 64. Grinding for stats in the game gave me an odd sense of satisfaction and calmness. Most of my play-through sessions consisted of sometimes maxing out HP and a couple of elements (commonly Earth and Water).
When my work shifted to online, I was left waiting for clients for long periods of time. I decided to play Quest 64 again as a result. This allowed me to have a play-through with all stats maxed out. The in-game timer stated 75 hours on the save file, but I suspect the real life time was greater. Maxing out to 500 MP and obtaining 200 elements were the most difficult.
...I never even got past the first kingdom... I LITERALLY didn't know what to do to get stronger spells to fight the basic monsters that already had spells that could kill me in two shots.
Forget Frodo, forget Cloud, forget Gilgamesh and James T. Kirk and Beowulf and Jesus T. Krist, the hero we _truly_ need is… Brian.
My favorite part of Quest64 was always the music(and still is)^^
I love these older game episodes and learning about a game I missed as a kid. It's sort of like a fun history lesson.
It's only recently that I learnt there was so much hate for this game...this, named holy magic century in my region, was one of my ALL TIME FAV games on N64 as a child. My mum and I used to play it with a lil diary that we'd use to keep track of all the stats of each enemy, what combo of magic was good against what, maps out each section etc...it was the best time...I think I've come back and completed this game at least 5x over my years growing up. It's a game I just hold so dearly to my heart and it's just amazing to hear people talk about it like it was trash like....not to me it wasn't? It was better times...not being influenced by other people's opinions on the internet...lol
I loved Quest 64 as a kid. It's got a great setting with a rather unique combat system. It is fun at the beginning, and it's satisfying to hit those crazy spell levels. The grind can be tedious at times, but it wasn't all bad. I found that most benchmarks could be grinded *together*. It's actually fun in its own right trying to map out progression thresholds to avoid unnecessary grind. Hitting specific benchmarks for certain bosses is satisfying.
Nothing will ever compare to my first experience with the first boss as a kid. It was intimidating with the falling rocks ending in a quick loss. Frantically running around trying to dodge them is something I will never forget. Plus, my siblings liked watching the big boss fights and encounters in new areas; they just didn't stick around for the grind. :P
This game is ridiculously nostalgic. The music still rings in my head as soon as I see or hear "Quest" I remember the first time I went in the forest and as a kid I ran away alot. Got to the boss and got 1 shot like 10 times.
I've always thought this game could be incredible if it were modded to have an in-depth "spell invention" system. Maybe it could be accomplished by varying different ratios of the elements.
Quest 64 is so near and dear to my heart and I'm so happy people still talk about it. I really agree that people saying it's the "worst game ever" are just... exaggerating. It really has a lot of charm and it may not be the best RPG, but it had the bones to become something great. Unfortunately, it just kinda didn't. But that doesn't mean it's a nightmare.
I have to disagree on the gameboy game, though. I own it and have played it - it actually goes into way more detail with the story and characters than 64 does. The battle system is janky and the music is limited and repetitive (which is a shame, as Quest's music is pretty nice in my opinion!), but it has like... a story. That you actively engage in. Characters join your party (though they don't fight with you... lol). If you ever get a chance to play the gameboy game, I do actually recommend it!
Also there's another gameboy game called Quest: Puzzle Challenge which is hot stupid garbage and I cannot believe it exists.
There's like 2k comments on this so I'm sure I'm not saying anything new-- but I had to comment since this game means so much to me! :) I even bought a complete in box Japanese copy that I can't play. Just to display (someday!).
I've always thought itd be super interesting to see Pokemon Combat fuse with Quest 64 combat. Not the RPG elements, but the pokemon moves, where you can move in your circle and dodge stuff or position yourself for your attacks.
14:23 you know... Jirard's right , Fire is the best elemental magic.
I want to specifically dispute its uniqueness.
Its leveling system raising stats based on what you do was first done with Final Fantasy II, and was rarely done since for a reason. Furthermore, its battle system is somewhat unique, but certainly calls upon games like Chrono Trigger and SRPGs like Fire Emblem - moreso the GBC game specifically than the N64 game.
Not going to lie. Had to use a game shark for this the grinding took forever
I genuinely love your videos. I really like the way your intros have progressed through the years, your effects are really cool. Not in a way that makes your previous intros outdated, or less enjoyable to watch in any way, but in a way where it sort of enhances every older version. Anyway, keep it up dude. Thanks for the enjoyment!
As an Irish person living in Ireland, the description of my homeland as "Bright, green and fun to run around in" is 100% accurate.
Hey, glad to see this much-maligned game get a fair shake. It's not bad! It's just... Very Okay. And wildly unfinished, as people have explained in the comments. The JP version having a bunch of updates kinda gives away how the NA version was rushed out to (poorly) compete with OOT.
Someone actually made a massive Quality-of-Life romhack/randomizer thing for Quest, called "Merrow". If anyone wants to experience this game again, it may make it a lot more palatable.
As a kid I loved this game now this is from someone who couldn't afford to play many games and didn't even have a the memory card needed to make a save file I would rent this over and over again and have to leave it running for a week at a time. that being said I can only really remember 2 things about it loved exploring and finding out the different spells and that I hated the last area because I didn't know I wouldn't be able to go back.
I had a similar experience. In the late 90s, I rented this game a lot without being able to save my game each time for lacking a save pack. Good times.
Quest 64 / Eletale Monsters / Holy Magic Century was a charming little game ( "little" is emphasized here). It's the kind of game I would encourage a starting dev to try and make on their own. No major plot twists, just some random battles with a fun little battle system where you can play around with elements, no loading times, no input lag, and for the love of Xenoblade, no unreal-engine assets dumped all over each other, and no attempt at "realism".
It would have been great to see Squaresoft and Enix extrapolate on their SNES knowledge with the N64, rather than go all-in on Sony's cinematics, loading times, and y'know all the going bankrupt and having to cannibalize each other to become SquareEnix.
The reason JRPG's were not released on Nintendo 64 is because of the size limitation due to Nintendo being behind the times and still using carts. Square were even gonna release FF7 on the 64 until they saw they were still using carts. So they went to Sony who used cds.
Hi there, I worked for Sega at the time the N64 was released. The reason that was floating around for the reason Nintendo didnt have RPGs for the 64 was that contracts were up with Nintendo. Nintendo used to have gaming companies sign up to 10 year contracts locking them in, they would only let companies produce so many games and while yes the PS had a lot more room to work with when it came to storage capacity. They were just sick of Nintendo's strangle hold they had over them, also making decisions on what could be put into their games
1:55 Earth can be more than dirt. It can be plants, like tea leaves or sassafras roots. Earth, water, fire, and wind. You could have just made a cup of tea instead.
I still have my physical copy and it’s great. It’s simple but can be challenging.
Beautiful graphics for it’s time, great soundtrack and an awesome enemy roster.
I started by fighting every enemy I come across. I then grind an hour or so just before the first boss at the gates in conor forest. After beating the first boss, I zing by dondoran flat as I don’t like fighting 3 eyes who roams it (Give me the creeps). I go through the caves and into the next town. I grind for another hour while occasionally testing my strength on the second boss. After the first and second boss, it’s basically a cake walk while upgrading earth and water. I stopped fighting every battle when I reached blue cave.
Overall: decent game that would keep you at least occupied if you’re bored and interested in it.
I remember that my brother was trying to get max level in everything in that game, just hoping to find a secret(and better) ending. At the end he got 50 (the max level) in 3 of the 4 elements, but in one of them ended with 49; and battle was no longer giving him experience.
I was wondering if Jirard was going to mention that, but no, he didn't.
Also, there is a big secret area in the desert, when we found it, he concluded that if they were willing to hide something like that from most of the players, they probably were willing to put a better ending behind a completion wall.
This reminds me of the ancient "RPGs" of old. NES and 80s micro computers, almost story-less experiences of raw gameplay, incredibly confusing system you'd only learn through trial and error with brutal difficulty. Usually way too hard for child me to understand and would inevitably give up, but would always stick in the back of my mind that I could push a little bit deeper into the game, maybe I could get a little further, find something interesting inside.
I *love* Quest 64~! It might be due to it being my first RPG, a good little romp of a game that eased me into a very interesting battle system with how you combined the elements to make different magic attacks. I know it's not *great* compared to other RPGs, but it still has that nostalgic hold on my heart that makes me love it. I also love the music, character designs, and how the stat growth mechanic is structured.
Ngl, looks pretty well done. A lot of 3D games from that era suffered from clunky cameras and jarring walking animations (my apologies, I'm not sure how to describe them).
Had I known about this game back in the day...:(
The real problem at the time was the artificial requirement of games being fully polygonal.
I liked bits of Quest 64 -- I think there's a good game buried in it, enough so that I gave very genuine thought to learning enough coding to be able to do a "remake" of the game (as a spiritual successor with a different name, of course). But I just never fully committed to the idea.
But the thing is, the N64 could have had far more RPGs... just 2D. You could do some very nice "pixel art" on the N64 that would be moderately "hi-res" compared to what came before, and you could do some rather fancy effects as well. But at the time it seemed like heresy to _not_ make a game fully 3D even if it meant you were making a far inferior game to what you could do otherwise. I mean, you could do something like Octopath Traveller (but even more sprite-based) that honestly would have probably sold quite well if it was just a solid RPG because of how starved the N64 was for that genre. And that in turn may have prevented to massively long gap where non-polygonal games were considered all but forbidden.
That intro was epic, especially teh part where you leveled up and grew a beard X3 there is a song for that, it is called "Obey the Beard" by Psychostick
I think you nailed it when you said nothing was going to look good next to Ocarina of Time. I really, genuinely loved this game as a kid (it was known as Holy Magic Century over here across the pond) and have very fond memories of it. I found the first main boss fight, the robber in the woods, very hard. I liked the kobold rabbit things. I never finished it but I really enjoyed it. I think I'd still quite like it to be honest, though it's been years. It had a lot of charm and I still remember the music fondly. It says a lot about nostalgia and how few games overall there were for the n64 that such an overall forgettable game stands out, and could have a whole video about it.
I liked this game as a kid, and I still liked it when I finally beat it in my 20s. I did manage to soft lock on an island though by showing up under leveled, beating all the random encounters, and getting stuck on the boss. I had to ditch the save file there.
I'll always have a soft spot for this game, even if it does definitely drag on towards the end. Props for sticking to your guns on using Fire, insofar as it's what I'd consider one of the elements that raises the difficulty of the game (the other being Wind). It's hard for me not to go Earth/Water every time, though; I'm never not taking healing magic, and Earth does literally everything else you could want. High damage spells? Rocks fall, enemies die; check. Damage reduction? The nigh omni-barrier you mentioned; check. MP recovery? As long as you can take one or two hits, the spell Confusion's got you covered, of course; check!
The abruptness of the final act twist speaks volumes to me of how much effort needed to be spent where. But I cherish my time with the game, flaws and all. Perfection is a myth, after all, and video game development is hard.
...If they ever decided to do a reboot/remake of it though, I would wholeheartedly hope they call it Holy Magic Century. That name _rules!_
Oh so it's leveling system is like final fantasy 2 just slower.