Quest 64

## Source

***Quest 64***, known as ***Eltale Monsters*** in Japan and ***Holy Magic Century*** in Europe, is the first installment in the short-lived *Quest* series, originally released on June 1st, 1998 for the Nintendo 64.

## Storyline

*~Celtland~
These are apprentices of the Melrode Monastery, among them the young apprentice, Brian.
Thanks to a treaty among the three Kingdoms, the people live in peace and prosperity.
One night, however, the monastery fell under an evil spell with the theft of an ancient book.
Because of the theft, Celtland now faces dangers it has never before known.*

Brian, an apprentice magician from the Melrode Monastery in Celtland, is sent off to find his father who had been investigating the theft of Eletale's Book and a plot to wreak mass destruction. Along the way, Brian must collect the four elemental gems, which are in the possession of four powerful foes, and defeat the final boss.

## Gameplay

As with many RPGs, Brian explores various towns, the overworld, and enclosed areas that serve as the equivalent of dungeons, fighting enemies along the way. Combat happens in the same area as the enemies were encountered; movement range and the arena's bounds indicated by blue and yellow rings, respectively. Running away from a fight is accomplished by ending your turn outside the yellow ring. Unusually for an RPG, there is no money system. Items are either dropped by enemies after defeating them, found in treasure chests, or given to you by townspeople if you have none of that type.

Spell-casting, an activity done often, is accomplished with the C buttons on the N64 control pad. Each button is assigned one of the 4 elements; more powerful spells can be created by mixing. Intriguingly, the final result depends on the first element selected, but not the order of the second or third (if used). An example: A single Water element produces a Water Pillar Lv. 1 spell; adding a second Water element gives the bigger, stronger Water Pillar Lv. 2; starting with Fire, then adding Water gives Hot Steam Lv. 1. The A button interacts with objects and people; B is used to re-center the camera if it is in an unhelpful position; Start pauses the game, displaying a collection of status screens. The analog stick moves Brian; the shoulder L and R buttons invoke quick-use menus. The D-Pad and Z-trigger are not used.

Elements are everywhere in Celtland; usually in out-of-the-way nooks. Positioning Brian next to one and interacting allows an instant increase to one element of your choosing. Spell availability is partly gated by how strong the elements it uses are, so choose wisely - you cannot undo these upgrades later. Elemental power also increases after enough spells have been cast in battle, much like how getting hit improves your defense, and avoiding attacks raises your agility. As a result, there is no experience level system or experience points.

## Development

*Quest 64* was first shown at Nintendo Space World, and was marketed as the first official RPG on the Nintendo 64 platform. This created a great amount of hype and expectation for the game.

## Gallery

North American Front CoverNorth American Back CoverEuropean Front CoverEuropean Back CoverJapanese Front CoverJapanese Back Cover
## Notes & Trivia

* There are many gameplay alterations between the Japanese and American/European version.
* A sequel was planned by the developers. However, due to financial difficulties Imagineer was facing, the game never came to fruition.

## See Also

* *Quest: Brian's Journey*
* *Quest: Fantasy Challenge*