Quest 64

Quest 64 was the first RPG released on the Nintendo 64 taking place in a fantasy world.

Overview

Quest 64, developed by Imagineer and released by THQ in the United States, is considered the first RPG for the N64 released stateside. It saw a worldwide release,although it was called "Eltale Monsters" in Japan and released by three different publishers (imagineer in Japan, THQ in the United States, and Konami in PAL territories).

While a sequel was announced and canceled, two other titles in the franchise were released for the Game Boy Color. These were Quest RPG: Brian's Journey and Quest: Puzzle Challenge.

Story

Brian Talking to an NPC

The main protagonist is a young Spirit Tamer apprentice, Brian, who is studying Melrode Monastery, located in Celtland, a island of beauty of magic. His father, Lord Bartholomy, has left the monastery in search of the Eltale Book when it has gone missing. The Eltale Book is a sacred book that contains teachings concerning the spirits. Should one not worthy open the book it would be disaster, especially Mammon, a particularly nasty character who, it turns out, has gotten his hands on it.

Like the book, Lord Bartholomy has gone missing. After a month without word from his father, Brian sets out in search of him. While the Eltale Book is key to the plot, Brian's search is primarily for his father, although retrieving the Eltale Book and saving Celtland is all part of the adventure.

Gameplay

Brian traveling the overworld

Quest 64 is considered an RPG, although it straddles the fence between a true RPG and an Action RPG. There is no party system or intense number crunching that is characteristic of the genre. It is certainly less action oriented than a Legend of Zelda or similar action RPGs, with no reaction based gameplay in the overworld and all battles are instanced and turn based, and while they contain menus negotiated with deliberation and patience, you have more real time control over Brian.

There is a larger world map that offers a variety of terrain and features. Monster encounters can happen anywhere barring towns. Towns are similar to those seen in other RPGs, containing Non-Playable Characters that forward the story and flesh out the game world, and places where resources can be acquired.

Battle System

Brian has Hit Points and Magic Points (HP and MP) which govern his behavior in battles. Hit Points make up Brian's life, and should they be depleted, Brian will be returned to the last save (saves are made at inns) with 1 HP (HP can be recovered at the inn). Magic points allow Brian to use specific skills, and should the MP be depleted, skills cannot be used. Brian can recover MP by initiating physical attacks.

There are four types of skills that can use and they correspond to four elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Each type of skill has a variety of skills associated with them, all of which are appropriate to specific circumstances encountered in battle (distance, type of enemy, etc).

Boss fight

Battles occur in a yellow octagon area, and should you move Brian to the exterior, he will escape the battle. A blue octagon will surround Brian signaling his turn. This octagon is the area in which Brian can move during a specific turn. Upon moving, Brian can perform an action (physical attack, skill, or use of an item), and then it is the enemy's turn. They will have a blue octagon appear around them and they are restricted to their octagon much like Brian.

Experience is accumulated through behavior in battles. This happens in three respects. When you attack you increase your attack level. Agility is increased by avoiding enemy attacks, and defense is increased by being hit by enemies. Other than these three aspects there is no level up system that is found in other RPGs.

Game Name	Quest 64
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64
Publisher(s)	THQ Konami Corporation Imagineer Co., Ltd.
Developer(s)	Imagineer Co., Ltd.
Genres	Add a new genre Role-Playing Adventure
Themes	Add a new theme Fantasy Anime
Original US Release	June 11, 1998 need a fuzzy date?
Original US Release	know the real date?
Aliases	Holy Magic Century Eltale Monsters

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