Software:Quest 64

From HandWiki
Short description: 1998 video game
Quest 64
Quest 64
North American cover art
Developer(s)Imagineer
Publisher(s)
Director(s)
  • Ichirou Honma
  • Atsushi Ohsuga
  • Yasushi Kamegai
  • Tomokazu Hattori
Producer(s)
  • Atsushi Ohsuga
  • Kouichirou Sakurai
Writer(s)Tomoko Suzuki
Composer(s)Masamichi Amano
Platform(s)Nintendo 64
Release
  • NA: June 10, 1998[1]
  • EU: September 30, 1998
  • JP: July 9, 1999
Genre(s)Role-playing game
Mode(s)Single-player

Quest 64 (Holy Magic Century in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, Eltale Monsters (エルテイル モンスターズ, Eruteiru Monsutāzu)[2] in Japan) is a role-playing video game (RPG) developed by Imagineer for the Nintendo 64. It was released in North America in June 1998 by THQ, Europe in September 1998 by Konami and Japan in July 1999 by Imagineer. It is the first role-playing video game released for the system in North America.

After Quest 64's moderate financial success, a sequel was in consideration by the developer Imagineer.[3] However, only the sequel's story was revealed before it was ultimately cancelled. Imagineer released two other related games for the Game Boy Color: Software:Quest: Brian's Journey and Quest: Fantasy Challenge (a clone of Mr. Do!).

Plot

The game's story is set in Celtland, a fantastic medieval world that resembles Ireland. The playable character is an apprentice mage named Brian. Brian sets off to find his father, who has left the monastery of the mages - the player learns later that his father is looking for a thief who has stolen the "Eletale Book". The player must also collect elemental gems, which have been hoarded by powerful criminals, before confronting the game's final boss.

Gameplay

Similarly to Chrono Trigger, when the player character encounters enemies, instead of changing to a separate battle layout the game simply locks the player character into place and the battle proceeds.[4] The player character's spells work through elemental spirits, with each of the Nintendo 64 controller's four C buttons corresponding to one of the four classic elements (wind, earth, water, and fire).[5]

The game differs from most RPGs in that the experience system is not based upon a traditional "level-up" model. Instead, similarly to Final Fantasy II, experience is gained for specific stats based on how the player performs in battle. If the character gets hit a lot, for instance, defense will increase. Also, whenever the player finds a wispy white spirit, they can choose an element of magic to upgrade (from Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind). Leveling up these elements grants the character new attacks and strengthens existing ones.

The game has no money system, which is unusual for an RPG. Every item is either found in a treasure chest, dropped by a monster, or given to the player character free of charge (if the character doesn't have one already). If Brian runs out of HP, the game will return him to the last inn at which he saved. He retains all spells, items, and experience he has gained before death, but any items used before death will not be returned.

In-game time is tracked with a compass/clock in the HUD, and certain events may either only happen at night or only happen during the day.[5]

Development

The game was announced in early 1997, at which point it was to be titled Eltale (エルテイル) in Japan and Holy Magic Century in all other regions.[6] It was exhibited at Space World in 1997.[7]

Quest 64 was developed by Japanese company Imagineer, while THQ both translated it into English and published it in North America.[8] Despite its Japanese origin, the game would not be released in Japan until much later.

Because the North American and PAL releases of the game were considered too short and easy, Imagineer added new events and tightened some of the repetitive gameplay for the game's Japanese localization. Expectations for the game were high upon release, as it was the first true RPG on the Nintendo 64.[5][9]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings54%[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame2.5/5[11]
Edge5/10[12]
EGM3/10 4/10 3.5/10 4.5/10[13]
GamePro3.5/5[10][14]
GameRevolutionC−[15]
GameSpot5.4/10[16]
IGN5.9/10[17]
N64 Magazine71%[18]
Next Generation3/5[19]
Nintendo Power6.3/10[20]
Super Play (SE)70/100[21]

Quest 64 received mixed reviews upon release with GameRankings giving it a score of 54%.[10] Though praised for its high-quality graphics (IGN wrote "Quest proves beyond a doubt that compelling RPG graphics are possible on a cart") and inventive spell system, reviewers criticized it for lacking depth on all fronts: gameplay, storyline, and exploration.[16][17] GameSpot wrote "Quest 64's individual puzzles and challenges are similarly straightforward. Go to Town #1. Converse with townspeople. Discover that there's a villain scaring everyone and making it impossible to get through Forest #1 to Town #2. To boot, he's stolen Unique Elemental Magic Item #1 from Lord #1."[16] The general conclusion was the game was competent enough to charm gamers who had never played an RPG before, but too simplistic and trite to interest anyone else.[16][17]

Next Generation reviewed the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "In the end, Quest 64 proves the cartridge-based N64 can be a viable format for RPGs. However, while graphics and sound go a long way, the need for well-told stories and characters you care about has never been more apparent."[19]

References

  1. ↑ "PR - 6/10/98 - THQ Journeys Into Magical, Mystical Land of Role Playing Adventure with Launch of 'Quest 64'". 2004-04-16. http://www.thq.com/Corporate/PressReleases/press-51.asp. 
  2. ↑ "Buy Eltale Monsters". Play-Asia. http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-6r-49-en-15-eltale-70-ors.html. 
  3. ↑ IGN staff (January 26, 1999). "Quest 2". IGN.com. http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/27/quest-2. 
  4. ↑ "NG Alphas: Quest 64". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (35): 94–95. November 1997. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "The RPG Revolution". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (106): 94. May 1998. 
  6. ↑ "In Development". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (29): 55. May 1997. https://archive.org/stream/NEXT_Generation_29#page/n55. 
  7. ↑ "SPACEWORLD'97" (in ja). Nintendo. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n12/sw64soft/sw6402.html. 
  8. ↑ "Quest 64". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (102): 40. January 1998. 
  9. ↑ jbindeck2015 (2017-08-17). "Old School Cool: The Notorious Quest 64" (in en-US). https://www.denofgeek.com/games/old-school-cool-the-notorious-quest-64/. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Quest 64 for Nintendo 64". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamerankings.com/n64/198386-quest-64/index.html. 
  11. ↑ McCall, Scott. "Quest 64". http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=11669&tab=review. 
  12. ↑ Edge staff (August 1998). "Quest 64". Edge (61). 
  13. ↑ "Quest 64". Electronic Gaming Monthly (108): 135. July 1998. https://archive.org/details/electronic-gaming-monthly-issue-108-july-1998_20210613/page/n137/mode/2up. Retrieved October 3, 2025. 
  14. ↑ Scary Larry (January 1, 2000). "Quest 64 Review for N64". IDG Entertainment. http://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/n64/games/reviews/281.shtml. 
  15. ↑ Tim_Hsu (August 1, 1998). "Quest 64 Review". http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/quest-64. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Smith, Josh (April 28, 2000). "Quest 64 Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/quest-64-review/1900-2545042/. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Schneider, Peer (1998-06-11). "Quest 64 Review". http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/06/12/quest-64. 
  18. ↑ Price, James (August 1998). "Quest 64". N64 Magazine (Future Publishing) (18): 78–81. https://archive.org/details/n64magazineukcollection/N64%20Magazine%2018%20-%20august%201998%20%28UK%29%20%28Max-Rez%20version%29/page/n79/mode/2up. 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Finals". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (43): 111. July 1998. 
  20. ↑ "Quest 64". Nintendo Power 110: 96. July 1998. http://www.nintendo64ever.com/scans/mags/Scan-Magazine-352-101.jpg. Retrieved May 25, 2017. 
  21. ↑ Martin (November 1998). "Holy Magic Century" (in sv). Super Play. https://archive.org/details/superplay-9811/page/64/mode/2up. Retrieved October 3, 2025. 
  • Official site (via Internet Archive) Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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