Mystic Quest Legend
| Mystic Quest Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Square | ||
| Publisher | Square | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 October 5, 1992 September 10, 1993 October 1993  |
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| platform | SNES , Virtual Console | ||
| genre | role playing game | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Gamepad | ||
| medium | Cartridge | ||
| language | Japanese, English, German | ||
| Age rating |
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Mystic Quest Legend was released in 1992 in the USA for the Super Nintendo under the title Final Fantasy Mystic Quest . In Japan the title appeared in 1993 under the name Final Fantasy USA: Mystic Quest ( Japanese フ ァ イ ナ ル フ ァ ン タ ジ ー USA ミ ス テ ィ ッ ク ク エ ス ト , Fainaru Fantajī USA: Misutikku Kuesuto ). Since " Final Fantasy " was not known to European players at the time, the allusions to it were deleted and the title was changed to "Mystic Quest Legend" (released in 1993), since the game Seiken Densetsu was already published in Europe under the name Mystic Quest .
The game was produced for the then RPG-weak US market. RPGs weren't very popular in America and Europe at the time of their release, so the game was designed as a tutorial of sorts to help get those markets into the RPG genre. The trade press agreed that this goal failed or was only achieved with Final Fantasy IV.
A re-release for the Wii Virtual Console was released in 2010 , September 24 in Europe, October 18 in the US, and December 21 in Japan.
action
According to a prophecy, at a time when the world is about to end, a hero will appear to save it. Therefore, magic crystals must be rescued from the hands of demons in order to free the countries from natural disasters.
The crystals are guarded by strong guards who have to be defeated after a long search and many easier intermediate battles. Each guardian has powers that are assigned to the element of the corresponding crystal. When this is done, the Demon King must be sought and defeated. These tasks are given to an unnamed hero by an old man. At the beginning, however, the game offers the possibility of giving the protagonist a name. He is supported by four different characters, Kalia, Tristan, Phobia and Rubens, whom he meets in the towns and villages and who accompany him a part of the way. Other important but not playable characters are Spencer, Phobia's grandfather, Igor, Aaron, Otto and his granddaughter Norma.
The story is guided by the search for Captain Max, Kalia's father, who is studying the prophecy. The search begins on Mount Doom and leads again and again to the focus tower, which forms the center of the world, as well as the countries Foresta, Aquaria, Feuerburg and Windia.
Game system
The game is kept very simple, puzzles, for example, are limited to simple switch and slide puzzles or other simple actions. You can interact with the environment with the help of weapons, you can press switches with swords, blast stones or fragile places with bombs, climb with claws and later use it like a grappling hook and finally you can flip levers with axes or blow up various things. In addition, the hero can jump over short distances. There are lintel or tunnel puzzles, but with them the solution is obvious and there are no wrong turns.
Paths are given on the world map and new ones are added when you have completed certain tasks. They usually consist of short running routes and waypoints. Waypoints are for example the focus tower, temples, battlefields, villages or dungeons.
The opponents in the individual levels are visible from the outset (exceptions are foggy or icy areas, in which the monsters can appear surprisingly, unless you have an object that cancels this effect). So you usually know what kind of monster you will be dealing with before the fight. They are immobile and therefore usually block exactly the paths that you have to take to complete the level.
Saving is possible anywhere, as long as you are not talking to other characters or fighting.
Combat system
The combat system is relatively simple, as there are a maximum of only two members in the party, the second character can optionally also be controlled by the computer, a maximum of three enemies can appear in the battles. The special feature here is the possibility to improve the attributes and abilities of your own character (by "leveling up" or purchasing new equipment). Most items of equipment also create immunity to certain elemental attacks or status changes. There is a bug: If you get an item that is weaker than the one you put on, the status values are reduced, i.e. H. only the latest equipment is counted, but this does not apply to weapons.
The additional character (the character who joins the protagonist ) always remains at the same level, no matter how many monsters are defeated; he is clearly stronger than the protagonist, i. H. the two will have roughly the same level when they split up. Furthermore you can change the weapon of the protagonist.
The additional character, on the other hand, has a fixed weapon, which usually cannot be changed.
All spells can be used on opponents or the group, each group has its own magic points. Some enemies have magic shields that reflect attacks.
The number of different spells can be increased by finding new spells in chests. The additional character has a set number of different spells, but no new ones can be added.
The possibilities in combat consist of attack, spells, objects, defense and escape. The fights are turn-based, you can switch weapons in each round using the shoulder buttons. Here, too, the game is very simple, as a lost battle can simply be repeated. If a figure dies in combat and the fight is won, it has a power point again. There is also the possibility of an escape attempt in boss fights, but this usually fails.
Some bosses have weaknesses that allow them to be killed directly in one turn, e.g. B. the bone dinosaur is immediately defeated if you resuscitate it, since it is undead.
There are no sidequests, only temples or fights that can be visited voluntarily and only in a few cases provide advantages in the form of new items, mostly there are only experience points or money.
Graphics and sound
The graphics are kept quite simple, the optical quality is about the standard of the last generation of NES games, such as B. Super Mario Bros. 3. Different opponents are created by swaps, the movement effect by scrolling, whereby the hero, as in Final Fantasy 1-5, always remains in the center of the screen. The enemies have damage models that are based on different sprites, but they do not show any injuries. Instead, they change the display in mostly silly ways, e.g. B. the goblin first wears a hat and then a mohawk. Small enemies have two different swaps, bosses have three, and the same goes for enemies based on you. End bosses have 4, with some the style of fighting changes with the representation. Some levels have additional optical effects, such as B. animated backgrounds on the ship or semi-transparent surfaces in the ice cave. It is the first descendant of the Final Fantasy series in which all items have their own images in the menu.
The soundtrack is dominated by electric guitar elements, especially in fights, at the volcano and fortress level. Organs are also very present. The motif of Upper World Music is often reused and thus serves as an element that carries the story. The ninja Tristan is the only character (if you skip the fight with the demon king) who has its own signature music.
The soundtrack was re-released on CD along with the game in 1994 in the United States.
Differences between the German and the US version
In the German version, major changes have been made to the plot, the dialogues and the names of attacks and opponents. So was z. B. the soporific attack Lullaby ( lullaby ) changed to " folk music " or the confusing Spooky Voice to " Alpenjodler ", with opponents Specter (a white ghost) became "horror diaper".
So the changes in direct gameplay are humorous in nature. The situation is different with the plot, here negative characteristics of the characters have been removed or the plot has been modified so that it is suitable for children, i.e. H. Scary and violence-glorifying texts were changed or removed, whereby the action-relevant actions remained the same, but sometimes have nonsensical motives. Phobia bursts Spencer's tunnel out of frustration because she doesn't know where he's going.
In the gameplay, status-changing attacks have been changed to the extent that the effect of the attack is only displayed on the hero or the additional character if the attack is successful; if the attack fails, only the message appears that the character is resisting the attack and no longer the type of attack.
It is noticeable that Tristan's character has changed completely. In the German version he is no longer greedy for money, but helpful.
After his fall, Rubens is only sick and not crippled. In addition, Rubens' quotes from Schwarzenegger films have been removed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ MYSTIC QUEST LEGEND ™. In: Virtual Console. Nintendo of Europe, accessed August 11, 2011 .
- ↑ Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. Nintendo of America, accessed August 11, 2011 .
- ↑ VC フ ァ イ ナ ル フ ァ ン タ ジ ー USA ミ ス テ ィ ッ ク ク エ ス ト . In: Virtual Console. Nintendō, accessed August 11, 2011 (Japanese).