So What's So Horrible About Final Fantasy Mystic Quest?

[Daria]

It seems like ever since I got into emulation, and then video game communities in general I've been hearing about how terrible a game Mystic Quest is. How it's a beginers RPG for children.

I was at EB, oh ages ago, before the Hurricanes and most of their snes stuff was marked down to $5 on top of another buy two get one free sale. So I picked up FF Mystic Quest, Yoshi's Island, Nobunaga's Ambition: Lord of Darkness, Eye of the Beholder and Actraiser for under $20.

Fast forward to this wednesday and I finally get a chance to test these games. Start playing Actraiser because I've heard so many good things about it, only to discover it sucks. I mean it's a good idea, kind of a cross genre "Black and White" but the platformer bits are genaric and hard as hell.

Eye of the Beholder's ick. I don't know why I bought it, should have learned my lesson from the GBA version.

So I pop in Mystic Quest, one thing I immediately notice is that the script's actually pretty good. Huge contrast to Final Fantasy 4. The characters sound very natural when they talk, you don't see that often in comercial 16 bit games. The game's also uses a lot of bold bright colors, but I rather like them. The world map navigation's odd to say the least, like Super Mario World, but it's not the first game I've played to use that system (see Crusader of Centy). Combat system is more Dragon Warrior like then Final Fantasy but hey I like Dragon Warrior.

The difficulty level at first seems "broken" the game likes to give you these partners that are at a higher level then you are and consequently do a lot more damage, but around the time they join your party the monsters tend to become stronger so I find it actaully evens it's self out and I've found a couple battles where I died a few times.

Money's kind of a joke I'll admit, you can raid chests in town and they "refill" as soon as you leave. Needless to say I never have less then 99 of bombs or cure potions.

I really like the Zelda elements. Your character can "jump", push blocks, use bombs, pull switchs, climb walls.

I guess I could say the game's really built around all these different little features (when you die in battle you can immediately restart the battle minus any items you used before you died) some of which pan out (you can search out optional "monster lairs", complete 10 battles and gain additional magic, exp, items and money) and some of which don't (while I hate random battles, monsters apoear on the screen and are stationary, once you kill them they're gone and the dungeon is empty.) But I wouldn't go as far as to say the game's terrible. It's different, and I'm sure if Square hadn't experimented on titles like one the games most people do love probably wouldn't have been the same.

I was just expecting something a lot worse I suppose.

http://img46.exs.cx/img46/4918/FFMQ2_BIG.gif http://img46.exs.cx/img46/282/FFMQ4_BIG.gif
http://img46.exs.cx/img46/4750/FFMQ5_BIG.gif http://img46.exs.cx/img46/3666/FFMQ6_BIG.gif

[morphx]

It wasn't horrible I jsut noticed it started to annoy me the further I got in it. Not fun, not hard just annoying.

[Kroogah]

It's meh. Though I agree that the hype makes the game out to be truly awful.

It was made by Square to be a beginner's RPG/RPG for stupid Americans (on the Super Famicom, the game's title is Final Fantasy USA) so, as a stupid American that hasn't played many RPGs, I kinda dig it. Any game where treasure chests refill themselves but dungeons don't is fine by me.

[Lone_Monster]

I do like Final Fantasy Mystic Quest myself. I don't understand why people don't tend to like this game either.

[Daria]

(on the Super Famicom, the game's title is Final Fantasy USA)

Wait, that kinda sounds like the game was developed by Square America (like Secret of Evermore) and then released in Japan.

*goes to look into that*

Edit: Well it appears to have come out in the US in '92 and Japan in '93. So that would explain the name.

[Gamereviewgod]

Wow. Didn't like Actraiser? Sure it's a little generic, but the graphics and music just keep you playing. I didn't think it was that difficult either. :/

[slip81]

I never tried this game myself because of how bad I heard it was. But now after hearing you talk about it I think I may pick it up and give it a whirl next time I see it at EB or something. It's never exspensive, and it sounds like it would be worth the $5.99 EB will be charging.

I have to agree with you on Actraiser and Eye though, those games are blah.

[-hellvin-]

Final Fantasy USA. Almost insulting. Ive never played the complete copy of the game I bought a year ago and don't think I ever will. This damn box haunts me.....28 of them! 28 freaking FFMQ boxes! WHY!?!

[Daria]

Wow. Didn't like Actraiser? Sure it's a little generic, but the graphics and music just keep you playing. I didn't think it was that difficult either. :/


My fingers could simply be so acustomed to RPGs that they've grown sluggish and unresponsive. Or I simply suck at the game.

Seriously though I can't get past Act 2 of Fillmore. :/ Stupid Skeleton Minotaur thing.

[MegaDrive20XX]

On this topic, why is it when Mario 2 (US) and FFMQ (US) get ported....Japan has to label it "Super Mario USA" or "FF USA"

It's like a warning to the japanese buyer...."THis game may suck, but we do not refund your yen! Have a good day :)"

[Daria]

Final Fantasy USA. Almost insulting. Ive never played the complete copy of the game I bought a year ago and don't think I ever will. This damn box haunts me.....28 of them! 28 freaking FFMQ boxes! WHY!?!

I'll gladly take one of those off your hands. >.>

[Fuyukaze]

The biggest reason I didnt enjoy MQ was that I bought it thinking it would be on the same level as FF 1 and FF 2(4). What I got was very short and very basic. The graphics were decent, but at times it felt extremly easy.


Actraiser was a good game for its time. The music was top notch, the graphics were great, and while by todays standereds is very generic, for its time it was one of the best. I never had any problems with the difficulty of the game though.


You never mentioned your thoughts on Nobunaga's though. Very good game. Nice price as well.

[Daria]

You never mentioned your thoughts on Nobunaga's though. Very good game. Nice price as well.

I'm going to have to find a manual for Nobunaga I think. Well both of those (I have LoD and the original). I'll probably like them because I love Genghis Khan for the NES, but again the game looks too complicated to just pick up and dwelve into.

That said I also bought Inidio, but not on the same trip, now THAT game kicks a lot of ass. And I love how KOEI mixed in some of their strategy elements into a traditional RPG. I was interupted while playing it though, so I think I'll restart the game after beating MQ.

[thehistorian]

Ahem..

When Nintendo decided to release a Super Mario Bros. 2 in the US, they took a Japanese game called Dream Factory: Doki Doki Panic, changed some sprites, and they had a new Mario game in record time.

They deemed the Real SMB2 (Our "Lost Levels") to hard for Americans...

As for FF:MQ, I liked it and always will. I orginally purchased on it's release week to play over Thanksgiving as I didn't have to work and I was home alone.. .

[Sylentwulf]

I thought it was a good game, but it was what it was, a dumbed down RPG. I need to meet these americans that think RPG's are too hard.... I can't remember the last time I played a difficult RPG, probably the DW series when I was like 15 (give or take 4 years)

The ultimate bosses in FF7 were kinda hard I guess, if you didn't read up on how to beat them first, or get yourself to uber-powerful-hyper99specialsizesuperlord.

I HATE when people say RPG's are hard, and then proceed to tell you how they got to level 99 :roll:

[SoulBlazer]

Damn, how can you hate Actraiser?!? That game is on my Top 10 list of greatest games ever made. :) The music is top notch, the graphics still look good to this day, and it's a wonderfull blend of action and sim game play, something that has not been done again to the present -- at least to my knowledge. I had that poster on my door when I was a kid. 8-)

Nice score on the second Nobunaga's Ambition game, though. That game is uncommon and I've never seen a copy sell for less then $15. Nonbunaga's Ambition is another one of my classics -- can still recall playing it back in 1987 for the NES -- and loving it to pieces. It made me pick up everything else Koei has released to this day. The game on the SNES is a updated version of the NES game, but Lords of Darkness is kind of like a remix of it. I think it's a little better then the original, and MUCH better then Nobunaga's Ambition II for the NES, which was average.

But I do agree with you about Mystic Quest. I know the game is kind of simple, is aimed at kids, etc. but it does have some challenge.

Here's something I have'nt seen a lot off -- the manual had a form in the back where you could send it in for a free hint book for the game, only shipping needed. I still have mine in mint condition. And I've hardly seen any of them on EBay. They can't be rare.....can they? :/

[pixelsnpolygons]

It's not a bad game, it just seems rather simple - which can be a good thing at times, and a bad at others. It looks and sounds pretty good - certainly better than that Lord of the Rings game Interplay released.

[Fleck]

You'll never hear me hate on FF:MQ either. I think that most of the people that hate it so bad had some sort of expectation that a game like that is never going to fill. I bought it randomly (I'll admit it, because it had FF in the title), but played through it and enjoyed it. I have never understood the strong feelings people have against it. It really can be a fun game to play through.

As far as Actraiser goes, give it a chance. Play it for at least another area before throwing it away. Once you get your fingers back into shape and learn the controls a bit better, it won't be near as hard. It's a very fun game. I wish it could have had a better sequel. Well, I shouldn't say that. I should say that I wish the sequel had incorporated the sim aspects as well.

[Azazel]

If you think Actraiser is hard you should try the sequel if you haven't already.

[SoulBlazer]

Oh, God, YES, to both those last posts. Actraiser II SUCKS compared to the original. Now THAT is a hard game. :angry:

[pookninja]

i think mystic quest is a fun little rpg.the game gets a little bland after playing it for awhile,but it is still a decent rpg.the music is cool,too.

[Mr. Smashy]

I generally enjoy RPGs that are engaging, challenging, and take me more than a day to complete. Mystic Quest didn't meet any of this criteria for me.

Coupled with it bearing the Final Fantasy name and therefore being subject to comparison with Final Fantasy II on the SNES (still my favorite game), let's just say that playing it felt like a complete waste of time.

[EricRyan34]

I have never played it, but I plan on giving it a try soon though.

[DDCecil]

I love FF: Mystic Quest. Fun little RPG w/ excellent (make that Godlike) music. Plus its the only game that has rapping Seahags!

I'm a huge fan of Actraiser and it has some of the greatest graphics and music for any SNES game - and it was an early release!

We can all agree that Eye of the Beholder sucks, though.

[thehistorian]

Oh, God, YES, to both those last posts. Actraiser II SUCKS compared to the original. Now THAT is a hard game. :angry:

Personally I think SoulBlazer is pretty much the true sequel to ActRaiser. Hell it even uses the same sound effects.

Think about it...

[TRM]

I enjoyed Mystic Quest when I first played it. Looking back on it, it really wasn't as great of a game as say, Final Fantasy VI. But it was fun for what it was, and I may have to play it again one of these days.

This game is one of those titles that I was a big fan of in 8th grade.

[pookninja]

I love FF: Mystic Quest. Fun little RPG w/ excellent (make that Godlike) music. Plus its the only game that has rapping Seahags!

I'm a huge fan of Actraiser and it has some of the greatest graphics and music for any SNES game - and it was an early release!

We can all agree that Eye of the Beholder sucks, though.while i have never played the snes version,eye of the beholder for the sega cd is a fairly good rpg/dungeon crawler.i would say its a great game,by any means,but it dont suck either.

[Sibs]

Oh man. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is still one of my favorite games today. It was my first RPG and I loved that game to death. Sure, it didn't live up to Final Fantasy II(IV) or III(VI), but it's still an excellent game. The gameplay was simple and relaxing and the music is still some of the best I've ever heard for any video game. I also enjoyed the different elements in the game, like pushing statues, jumping, chopping down trees, using the dragon claw, etc.

I just never understand why people will put down a game like this because they HAVE to compare it to the other Final Fantasy games...

[Sylentwulf]

I just never understand why people will put down a game like this because they HAVE to compare it to the other Final Fantasy games...

Well, because it was a final fantasy game.

Personally, I think Mario Sunshine sucked HORRIBLY. If it hadn't been a mario game, I would have said it was a pretty decent, if not flat out GOOD game.

If you're gonna put your name on something, it has to live up to it.

[Aussie2B]

(on the Super Famicom, the game's title is Final Fantasy USA)

Wait, that kinda sounds like the game was developed by Square America (like Secret of Evermore) and then released in Japan.

*goes to look into that*

Edit: Well it appears to have come out in the US in '92 and Japan in '93. So that would explain the name.

I'm pretty positive that Secret of Evermore never came out in Japan in any shape or form. Pretty sad too, considering it's a really fun little game (probably one of the best American-made games I've played). As for Mystic Quest, while it did come out in the US first, make no mistake, it was made by Square of Japan.

Anyway, I like Mystic Quest. I've played through it at least a couple times. It's nice to go through over the course of a weekend. Heck, it's worth playing just to listen to the music and watch the little dude shrug over and over. I personally think the whole "But it's too easy! It's designed for kids!" complaint is a bunch of BS. I think Square shot themselves in their own foot by putting that "Beginner's RPG" stuff on the packaging. Of course, it absolutely is an easy game, but can people really suggest that most US-released RPGs are significantly more difficult? Most American RPG players just want to watch a story, so difficult gameplay is only a hindrance to them. I honestly can't say that Mystic Quest is much easier than most RPGs I've played. I think I had a more difficult time getting through Mystic Quest than I did with Final Fantasy 7. :/ If someone wants to complain that it's too short or doesn't have enough depth for their tastes, that I could understand, but trying to suggest that most Squaresoft RPGs are oh-so-much more difficult is ridiculous. o_O

[MegaDrive20XX]

I just never understand why people will put down a game like this because they HAVE to compare it to the other Final Fantasy games...

Well, because it was a final fantasy game.

Personally, I think Mario Sunshine sucked HORRIBLY. If it hadn't been a mario game, I would have said it was a pretty decent, if not flat out GOOD game.

If you're gonna put your name on something, it has to live up to it.

I agree with you on that...Mario Sunshine made me almost kill my GameCube with the frustrating "bonus stage" areas after they take away the water bong....yeah...that's right..that's a friggin bong for sure...that much water....he aint drinkin that, that's for damn sure

[SoulBlazer]

SoulBlazer is kind of the SPIRTUAL sequel to Actraiser, but Actraiser II really is the official one. They are made by the same company and have some things in common, but the gameplay is totally different.

Spirtual sequels were common back in the SNES days....

And you may think given my username that I love SoulBlazer, but I think it's only a good game. ;) I just always liked the name and picked it when I went online back in 94, and have used it since.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Wow. Didn't like Actraiser? Sure it's a little generic, but the graphics and music just keep you playing. I didn't think it was that difficult either. :/

I second that. I don't know how you could of hated actraiser, but hey it's your opinion and i respect that. Just to let you know, if you think the first one is hard the sequal will bring you to your knees. It is quite possibly one of the hardest games I've ever played


Personally I think SoulBlazer is pretty much the true sequel to ActRaiser. Hell it even uses the same sound effects.

Think about it...

Thats most likely because they were both made by enix around the same time. Soulblazer was more of the beginning to the terra (?) series that began with SB and ended with Terranigma.

[TRM]

A Bit more about the Mystic Quest USA thing. I had heard that the game was to be a US exclusive, but the Japanese people couldn't stand the thought of the US getting a game that they did not get---so they bitched and their wish was granted, and it was dubbed FF USA

[kainemaxwell]

Final Fantasy USA. Almost insulting. Ive never played the complete copy of the game I bought a year ago and don't think I ever will. This damn box haunts me.....28 of them! 28 freaking FFMQ boxes! WHY!?!

I'll gladly take one of those off your hands. >.>

I'll take one too!

[unbroken]

i dont think some of you guys understand. ffmq was ment to be a basic rpg with a crap storyline/graphics. If i remember correctly square made this to be a entry level rpg for americans with a cheap price tag(20$ or 30$? at release), and i think it did a perfect job at doing that. I love this game, but its just one of those games that gives you a headache if you play for too long. And i dont know why, but i bought this game when it came out, and its probably one of the hardest rpg's i have ever played compared to all the other FF's.

[Daria]

(on the Super Famicom, the game's title is Final Fantasy USA)

Wait, that kinda sounds like the game was developed by Square America (like Secret of Evermore) and then released in Japan.

*goes to look into that*

Edit: Well it appears to have come out in the US in '92 and Japan in '93. So that would explain the name.

I'm pretty positive that Secret of Evermore never came out in Japan in any shape or form.

Oh I know it didn't.



Pretty sad too, considering it's a really fun little game (probably one of the best American-made games I've played).


The thing that sucked about Evermore was it could have been a really great RPG if they hadn't rushed the production, it's really a shame they butchered the ending and cut out most of the Medieval level. :/

Although my favorite American made console RPG (and I only make this distinction because I can't really compare console RPGs to PC RPGs, I love them both for different reasons) has to be Shadow Madness, while the gameplay's a complete FF rip-off, and the graphics an eyesore, I fell in love with the dialouge. Which reminds me... it was written by Ted Woosley.

Who *double checks* co-wrote Mystic Quest. Which is probably why I like it so much. Not that MQ has the best script ever mind you, it's just better then what else was around at the time. It was an era of low expectations I suppose.

He really gets a bad rap due to FF2, as I understand it space on the cartridge was so tight there wasn't much he could do to salvage the dialouge besides inject it with zany humour.

[SoulBlazer]

You mean an AMERICAN was responsible for that God-awfull translation in FF4? O_O

Dear God! I'm glad FF6 was about 95 percent perfect as opposed to 50 percent for FF4. LOL

Oh, and Mystic Quest was NOT sold cheap. I clearly recall seeing it in stores for $50, same price as every other SNES game.

[Daria]

You mean an AMERICAN was responsible for that God-awfull translation in FF4? O_O

Dear God! I'm glad FF6 was about 95 percent perfect as opposed to 50 percent for FF4. LOL

Actually Woosley did Final Fantasy 3 too, and Chrono Trigger for that matter.

[badinsults]

FFMQ is a very bad game. The best part of it was the music, which was awesome. The gameplay was repetitive and uneventful. I got near the end and then waited an entire year to pass it.

[SoulBlazer]

Interesting. As much of a FF nut that I am, I never knew that. :) So he blames lack of cart space for the piss poor translation of FF4? Really, that does'nt hold much water. I mean, if you take a line from the original release and then compare it to the fan translated Japanese ROM or the official translation of the game on Final Fantasy Collection, it's the SAME number of words in most cases. :roll:

Oh well. Most expensive game I ever paid for -- $70 when I got my SNES in December 1991 -- and I never regreted it, bad translation aside. ;) It's STILL my top FF game to this day.

In any case, back on topic -- I LIKE the music from FFMQ (enough to have some on my HD) and need to keep a eye on EBay to see how much those hint books go for.....

[Daria]

The gameplay was repetitive and uneventful.

Aww... I think you just described ever snes RPG ever made. :P

[Jorpho]

SoulBlazer is kind of the SPIRTUAL sequel to Actraiser, but Actraiser II really is the official one. They are made by the same company and have some things in common, but the gameplay is totally different.

My understanding has always been that SoulBlazer, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma formed a "trilogy" of sorts.


Interesting. As much of a FF nut that I am, I never knew that. So he blames lack of cart space for the piss poor translation of FF4? Really, that does'nt hold much water. I mean, if you take a line from the original release and then compare it to the fan translated Japanese ROM or the official translation of the game on Final Fantasy Collection, it's the SAME number of words in most cases.

Well, FF4 went through the whole dumbing-down EasyType thing, didn't it?

Oh, and let's not forget that the European name of Final Fantasy Adventure/Seiken Denetsu 1/"Secret of Mana Zero" for Game Boy was also Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.

[Daria]

Interesting. As much of a FF nut that I am, I never knew that. :) So he blames lack of cart space for the piss poor translation of FF4? Really, that does'nt hold much water. I mean, if you take a line from the original release and then compare it to the fan translated Japanese ROM or the official translation of the game on Final Fantasy Collection, it's the SAME number of words in most cases. :roll:

Well wait. Let me do the guy justice and actually pull up the article I got that from. I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. Plus fans translators don't have a strict schedule and Nintendo censorship breathing down their necks. Just read this article (couldn't find the other) says Woolsey had 5 weeks to fully translate Secret of Mana. That's not much. :/

Edit: Ok couldn't find it. But this was still an interesting read. >.>

Courtesy of the now defunct GIA:


Ted Woolsey chat transcript
[04.23.99] » Ted Woolsey of Crave Entertainment chats on EB World, delving into Shadow Madness, his work at Square, and the proper way to spell his last name.

The famed former translator for Square was interviewed Thursday night on EBworld.com, what follows here is a full transcript. Keep in mind that Ted's last name is indeed spelt "Woolsey" -- a typo within EB World's chat engine assigned Ted a misspelt username. For another dose of Q&A with the spoony bard himself, check out the GIA's own in-depth Woolsey interview. For now, enjoy the wonderful question selection of the moderator...

Ted Woosley says Hi All.

EB Moderator says Ted is here, so let's get started!

Lido says Ted, is there a sequel planned for SM?

Ted Woosley says We are already in the early stages of working on concepts for a sequel.

Takami says Mr. Woosely. how did you come up with the story behind Shadow Madness?

Ted Woosley says The story was put together by a handful of designers. Once they had an overview I came up with characterizations. It was a group prodject.

Pablo2 says Mr Woolsey, you stated that in your previous translation of SNES titles were plagued by memory limitations, so with SM, is it gunna be more text-heavy a la Xenogears?

Ted Woosley says Yes. We were not held back by any memory limitations.

Ted Woosley says what more in the prerendered enviroment the prerendered background the prerendered objects have script attached to them and this way the enviroment tells the story as wel.

PS2RULES says Ted, is crave planning on developing any game for the PSX2, maybe a shadow madness game?

Ted Woosley says Yes we're talking with the design team and we are excited about the prospect of making a playstation 2 game.

William Defoe says Mr. Woosley, what do you think is the biggest draw of SM: the graphics, soundtrack, characters, locales, or a combination of all of the above?

Ted Woosley says The story is the biggest draw. We worked hard on the characterization.

Ted Woosley says For me the most important aspect of the RPG is the story I believe SM has a very engaging story. Just like readers buy a sequel to a book the gamers will buy role playing games and enjoy the sequels.

alex5688 says ted,about what is the average time to beat the game?

Ted Woosley says The average gamer will take about 40 hours finish. But those wish to find out the side quests it could take 50 or 60 hours.

TheFreak says Ted, I've heard a lot about Shadow madness being a "Final Fantasy 7 Clone". Did you design the game with Final Fantasy in mind?

Ted Woosley says The technology used to make the game Final Fantasy VII. But if you play SM you will see the differences. SM darker moodier tone and uses fewer longer cinimatic sequences (FMV)s

Takami says If SM makes it big, is there a possiblitiy of merchandise, SM action figures for example? : )

Ted Woosley says Yes we'd love to create action figure to support the title.

ErMaC says Ted - Did you do any censoring of your story? Were there things you would have liked to include but decided against because of content?

TheFreak says Ted, umm....Just a quick question....Woolsey or Woosley?

Ted Woosley says Woolsey

Spoony Bard says Mr. Woosely, if this is not too personal a question.. could you tell us why you left Square to work with Crave?

Ted Woosley says Square asked me to move to LA to work on FF7. So when i got there my wife and i did not feel comfortable raising our children there. An opportunity arose in Seattle and I was lucky enough to stay here in Seattle. Born and raised.

Fujisawa says I believe that since you've worked with translating some of the finest RPGs, you can do an excelent job on the story. But as far as fun, is the game over all that fun to play???

Ted Woosley says You betcha.....I believe ther are enough plot twist and challenges and puzzles so that it will keep most players happy for the 40 hours

TheFreak says Mr. W, Of all the games you've translated, which do you think is your favorite?

Ted Woosley says I like Chronotrigger the best. I like the characters and game design was beautiful.

Lido says Ted, Shadow Madness' soundtrack sounds superb so far. Will Brad Spear be working on other internally deveopled titles with you?

Ted Woosley says Thanks for the compliment and Brad has done a great job. Matching the music to the action taking place on the screen. He will be working on prodjects in the Craveyard.

Lido says Ted, what do you think of Square's way of telling stories; the cinematic way?

Ted Woosley says I think Square does a beautiful job telling stories, but thier way is just one way. I think any game that takes 40 or 50 hours to play take a lot of imagination on the part of the player, so what it comes down to is the story. SM does not rely on long cinamatic sequences, but rather on story telling and plot. I think both ways are valid.

bill defoe says Is it true that you had only six weeks to work on the translation of Secret of Mana?

Ted Woosley says No, actually it was 5 weeks...

Ted Woosley says Most of it was spent in Tokyo...

Ted Woosley says Everday when I can into work I would translate the text that was written the day before...

Ted Woosley says so it was a frustrating project...

Ted Woosley says but the game design was beautiful, overall I think the English translation worked OK for me...

Spoon Daggers says Mr. Woosley when I played the demo I found the controls frustrating and some of the battles tedious. How different it the actual game from the demo?

Bart says in regards to gameplay, is most of SM player-controlled or is there a large amount of cut scenes and FMV?

Ted Woosley says Most of it is player controlled...

Ted Woosley says we used FMV's throughout the game, but they're shorter and carefully inserted into the gameplay.

bill defoe says How much of an emphasis did you have on the combat system? From what I played on the demo, I was unimpressed. Are there any plans to work on the battle engine before the game's release?

Ted Woosley says We did a lot of work on the battle engine after the demo. There are now 3 levels of difficulty in which you can play SM. You can change degree of difficulty....

Ted Woosley says SM is designed to have fewer battles but more difficult battles. the idea is to emphasize the story and the adventure while intergrating the battles.

Fat_Chocobo says Mr. Woolsey, do you have a fan club? Can I join?

Ted Woosley says Your making me blush.....

AndrewK says What college degrees do you feel are best suited for working in the gaming industry? I know there's more than the degree you get, but how important is the specific degree?

Ted Woosley says It really depends on what you want to do in the gaming industry. A college degree is important for programing. As game consoles get more complex programers will have to become more savy....

Ted Woosley says If you want to make art you will have have some training as we. Not to say you need college. If you enjoy writing you can find entry into the industry though your creativity.

AndrewK says What are your thoughts on the Colorado incident and the involvement of video games? Some places are reporting that the two killers loved shoot 'em up games and took out their frustrations that way.

Ted Woosley says I dont know how to react to that incident in Colorado....It was horrible.....I

bill defoe says How do you feel the graphics rate up against other games coming out on the Playstation?

Ted Woosley says SM has 80 areas in the game. Some of wich are forrest, towns and cave and alike. Because of the diversity of enviroment there is a cross section of different types of visuals..

Ted Woosley says so as you journey through the game you will see the juxtaposition, but in the end most players will enjoy the wide variety of enviroment in this game.

EB Moderator says We have time for one more question..

Pablo2 says Why was the choice made in SM to make the map look like...well, a map?

Ted Woosley says We did various treatments of what the overworld map was going to look like. During this process one of our artist who is a gifted watercolor painter....

Ted Woosley says came up with the look and the style of the overworld we decided to use. Her images were so powerful we decided to haver her do painting of the entire overworld and underworld.

Ted Woosley says Thanks everyone....

Jorpho: Yeah. Europeans got Mystic Quest as: "Mystic Quest Legend" or some shit.

[Promophile]

The gameplay was repetitive and uneventful.

Aww... I think you just described ever snes RPG ever made. :P

Eh I don't think so. FF6 and Chrono Trigger are good examples of fun gameplay. I also found Earthbound to have fun gameplay, although you can argue that its battle system is primitive. It more than made up for this with its INSANELY unique story / setting / sense of humor.

[Azazel]

Fun Gameplay and Chrono Trigger and FF3/6 certainly don't go together.

[SoulBlazer]

Thaks for the article, Daria. Interesting read. :)

I've always believed that the crummy translation in FF4 (yes, it was the EasyType version in Japan, but the text is the same) was due for several factors -- inexperienced translators, lack of time, and Square just not carring much in those days. ;) After all, FF4 was the first game that SquareSoft released themselves instead of having it go through Nintendo or someone else, and RPG's had'nt caught on in the States in 1991 yet. I never knew that Ted worked on the translation of the game, then.

The 'official' translation of the game on Final Fantasy Collection is just about the same as the fan translations of the patches. The only differences are the words they picked in some cases to convey something. But I bet you 100 of us could translate a story and have it sound different either way. ;) I'm just glad the game got released the way it should have been.

Nintendo DID make Square do a couple small changes with the gameplay for the original SNES release -- for example, when Cecil and company rescue Rosa, they hug instead of kiss -- but most of the differences are between the Hard and Easy versions of the game they released in Japan. (More combat options in Hard, for example). So we not only finally got the game with a good translation, but with a much harder gameplay -- and I recall thinking as a kid that the game was STILL rather hard. :D

[badinsults]

Actually, FF2 is not based on FF IV easytype. Final Fantasy IV easytype had more items, i believe, and also had a different end boss. Plus it was released after FF2.

[SoulBlazer]

What are you talking about? FF2 IS FF4 EasyType. The game DOES have more items and the combat was toned down some. Both versions were made in Japan, the Hard one for 'regular' players and the Easy one for newcomers, since RPG's had been big in Japan for quite a while. But for some reason, Square picked the Easy one to bring over to the States -- probaly due to the fact they figured that we could'nt handle a 'hard' game. :roll:

You are correct in that Easy came out after Hard. But remember the game was originaly released in Japan in the spring or summer of 1990 (I can't recall the exact date right now). FF2 was released in the USA in December 1991.

[Jorpho]

http://donut.parodius.com/?func=trans&platform=snes&gamekey=433

[JSFox]

I liked it for the short time I owned it.... :/

That is all.

[Nesmaster]

About a week ago, I started Mystic Quest also. Let me tell you that i logged about 10 hours into the game in 2 days. I just couldnt put the damn thing down! I havent touched it for a bit, but when i stopped i was almost done anyways. Theres only one thing i hate about MQ, and that is the damn preset enemies. Theres just too many of them. Other than that, i really like this game :)

[Habeeb Hamusta]

Wow. Didn't like Actraiser? Sure it's a little generic, but the graphics and music just keep you playing. I didn't think it was that difficult either. :/

I have Act Raiser 2 and I don't think the music is that good. Also, I think it's a pretty tough game but I do like it. Is #1 just way better?

[SoulBlazer]

Sorry, I should have stated that in MOST aspects -- the important ones -- FF2 is the same as FF4 Easy. Sure, they made a couple small changes, but the difficulty level is the same.

Actraiser is a MUCH better game then it's sequel was. Actraiser is a classic, one of the only games that blends platform stages and sim playing in it. Helped by great music and good graphics, even today. I did'nt find the platform parts of the game to be TOO hard, although some of the bosses can give you fits.

After you finish the game, you can play Proffesional mode, which all of the platform stages ONLY, and without magic, if I recall correctly. Now THAT is a challenge. :)

It was games like this that came out in that first 'golden year' of the SNES -- Actraiser and FF2, along with Super Mario World, F-Zero, Pilotwings, Contra III, Super Castlevania IV, and others -- that convienced me the system was worth it and made me the envy of my friends. Some of the best games ever made, and some of my greatest memories.

[kainemaxwell]

very cool article, thanks Daria!

[DigitalSpace]

I played through Mystic Quest years ago and throughly enjoyed it.

People don't see it as a true FF game. I wonder how things would have been different if Square had kept the FF name out of it - if things would have turned out for better or worse.

On a side note, for a short time in my childhood, I honestly thought this was the first Final Fantasy. :embarrassed:

And Actraiser is one of my favorite SNES games - I really wish Enix had taken the opportunity to make the sequel everything the first was and better, instead of making it a disappointing and frustrating all-platformer game.

Eye Of The Beholder was complete shit, though.