Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest - Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (Final Fantasy USA in Japan) is a role-playing game released by Square in 1992 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom in Japan) as a spin-off title of the Final Fantasy game series. The gameplay is comparable to that of other flagship Final Fantasy games, but differs in its inclusion of action/adventure game elements. Moreover, compared to other contemporary RPGs of the time, the game was simplified to appeal to wider audiences and included settings like “auto mode”, which caused members of one's party to automatically carry out the best actions in battle. The game focuses on the main character named Benjamin, who is tasked with saving the world. He ventures out to collect four crystals that govern the world’s four elements. The game was released to modest reviews and failed to generate very much excitement or praise within the Final Fantasy fan community. It was directed by Kouzi Ide and written by Chihiro Fujioka, Yoshihiko Maekawa, and Ted Woolsey. The score was composed by Ryuji Sasai and Yasuhiro Kawakami.
Story
The game takes place on an unnamed continent whose four regions; Foresta, Aquaria, Fireburg, and Windia whose fate rests on the state of four crystals. The game starts out with Benjamin in the ruins of what used to be his town, where he encounters an old man who tells him he must obtain the four crystals and return them to the Focus Tower at the center of the world. Eventually, Benjamin is pitted against evil Dark King, the leader of the vile four who all attempt to weaken the world by draining the crystals of their power.
Gameplay
Mystic Quest does away with many of Final Fantasy’s well-known staples, such as random enemy encounters, save points, manual equipment, and the party system. The player controls a character from a bird’s eye vantage point and traverses the map, interacting with NPCs and monsters. Traversing the map is restricted to travel between icons and set paths. Areas may be sealed off and inaccessible until a specific task, like completing a dungeon, has been finished. Once opened, the player can enter the icon and travel through battlefields, towns, and dungeons. Players have a variety of options outside of combat, such as using axes to cut down trees, detonating bombs on locked passageways, using grapple hooks, jumping, and even using weapons outside of combat.
The game offers a customization system. Instead of manually equipping armor and weapons, when a player obtains a stronger item, that item is automatically equipped. Weapons in the game range from traditional swords to axes, bombs, and claws. Each weapon has a unique set of characteristics that can be used to take advantage of a specific situation. Magic is unlocked from chests or by clearing battlefields and is divided into three schools. Each school has a unique MP count, and casting from that school consumes one MP.
Battle System
The battle system can be classified as conditional turn-based combat. The game does away with the random encounter system found in other Final Fantasy games. Instead, players are able to approach stationary enemies and choose to engage them, resulting in the appearance of a window-based battle screen menu with three commands to choose from: battle, run, or control. If a player chooses to run, they are returned to the normal screen, control allows a player to manually control their ally or choose for them to be controlled by the automatic system. Lastly, if the player selects battle, four more options appear: physically attack, cast a spell, use a curative item (like a Cure potion), or defend. Each character has a life bar, and when the main character reaches zero, the game allows for the character to continue or restart the battle, which causes a penalty in their attack power. Statistics for vitality, attack power, defensive capabilities, speed, magical prowess, accuracy, and evasion can be advanced by winning battles and gaining experience. Winning battles also result in the party receiving gold pieces, which can be used to buy armor, weapons, and curative items.
Battlefields are also scattered around the map. Upon entering a battlefield, a player begins combat and must defeat ten enemies to “complete” the battlefield, resulting in a reward of gold, a piece of armor, or a magic spell.
Characters
- Benjamin: The protagonist of the game that sets out to save the world. He is joined by four different allies throughout the story.
- Kaeli: A Foresta native who is able to communicate with trees. Her weapons of choice are axes.
- Tristam: A mercenary who used shurikens during combat. Benjamin’s most unreliable and worst ally and always looking out for his own interests.
- Phoebe: An archer from Aquaria that accompanies Benjamin to the final battle.
- Reuben: A man from the town of Fireburg. He wields a morning star in combat.