D&D: Stronghold - 1 - The Blog Has Risen!

It is Easter season, and like Jesus, this blog has risen!

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Here at This Bard's Tales, I've had the pleasure of having one regular commenter. You know who he (they?) is! In order to please my regular readership, of one... or two or three, I purchased Dungeons & Dragons Stronghold from gog.com.

In an interesting break from the other Dungeons & Dragons games I've played, this game is a kingdom simulator, which uses D&D stronghold building rules. I've tried to find the book which contains these rules, but unfortunately an internet search for "D&D Stronghold" gets a whole load of stuff that does not relate to this game.

The cover to the complete compilation of the expanded original game rules. Source

First, I think it's important to start with a history of the D&D editions, because I've seen a wealth of misinformation about this subject on the web ("web" term used for amusement).

The latest edition of Dungeon & Dragons is 5th edition. However, this is actually the 5th edition of the "Advanced" rules. 1st edition and 2nd second edition were named "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" because, at the time, there was a separate set of basic rules. The "Advanced" moniker was dropped with the release of 3rd edition, because at that time, the basic branch had been discontinued.

2nd edition. This is the book that started it all for me.

Back to Stronghold. Stronghold came out in 1993, when the basic branch was still a thing, and thus its title "Dungeons & Dragons" refers to that ruleset. You may have noticed that the Gold Box games have "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons" printed on them. Many people who care about pinpoint accuracy, like myself, refer to the basic branch as OD&D in order to avoid any confusion about editions. To me, the most easily visible rules difference in the editions is that the races of elves, dwarves and halflings are classes instead of races. The demi-humans basically have their classes built-in. Elves are fighter-mages, dwarves are fighters, halflings are rogues (at least I think they are). Stronghold uses these OD&D rules. Apparently, there is a book somewhere that contains the kingdom building rules the game uses, but I can't seem to find out where they came from. Anybody out there happen to know?

That's all for now, a short post, but I want to get it out there. I've got plans to revive this blog, but it's going to be in a slightly different form to facilitate more regular posting. Instead of summarizing my gameplay (which can be draining) I think I'll just focus on what is most interesting about the games, their history, and their inspirations. Rankings will remain a part of the blog.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: Rankings

The box cover for the Japanese release of MQ, titled "Final Fantasy USA: Mystic Quest." The game is a rarity in that the Japanese version was released after the US one.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

1992

I feel I've exhausted the Mystic Quest soundtrack, so I'll link to a good history of the game.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest has the dubious distinction of being an (the only?) RPG developed in Japan for a US audience. It was Square's attempt to get the US audience to buy more of their RPGs, which were immensely popular in Japan, but not so much in the US. They surmised that perhaps the games were too complicated to be accessible to a mass audience in the West. FF:MQ was also the first Final Fantasy to be released in Europe. The plan failed, not garnering new players, and leaving most Western fans pissed they got MQ instead of Final Fantasy V. It wouldn't be until Final Fantasy 7, five years later, that the series would become a massive success in the West.

Thankfully, Square chose "Yes" on sending watered down games to the West.

The Director was Kouzi Ide, who was also director of Final Fantasy Legend III. Final Fantasy Legend was part of the SaGa series in Japan. Given that the SaGa series was Akitoshi Kawazu's baby, and that Ide doesn't even have the distinction of having his own Wikipedia page, I assume he was sort of the "C-team" director at Square. Final Fantasy Legend III is another inoffensive game that doesn't live up to its predecessors, so you have to give him credit for at least not taking a dump and ruining these franchises as sometimes happens when they get handed off.

A battle in Final Fantasy Legend III, for the Game Boy.

Two of the writers on Mystic Quest are notable. The first is Chihiro Fujioka, who is probably best known in the West for directing Super Mario RPG. He is also a member of Earthbound Papas, Nobuo Uematsu's prog-rock video game cover band follow up to The Black Mages. Check out one of their shows here.

Super Mario RPG, a surprising classic I haven't played yet.

The other notable writer is actually the translator, Ted Woolsey. While the historical video I linked to above paints him in a positive light, he is not necessarily well liked amongst fans, mainly for the liberties he took with Final Fantasy 6's script. His defense is that the translation, while different than the original, was necessary to convey the same feel in English, and also necessary to appease Nintendo USA's strict censorship policies of the time. I'm surprised this fact isn't mentioned on his Wikipedia page, but a quick 'net search should dig that up for those interested. I found the writing in Final Fantasy 6 a little too "comic booky" for my taste, but I didn't get that feel from Woolsey's other translations.

It says Final Fantasy III, but it was the 6th Final Fantasy. If you're reading my blog, you probably already know what that is all about.

Before we get to the rankings, it's worth mentioning that there was a kickstarter campaign for an HD remake of MQ. It appears the game was completed, however, it was a scam in the sense that the single designer of the remake claimed to have secured the rights to remake the game, but he had not. The law shut down the HD remake before it's release, and unfortunately the backers lost their money.

Let's begin!

Mechanics - Although the Gold Box games have a great engine, I have to give Mystic Quest more credit than Forgotten World and F:NWN because the implementation is so bad in those games. I feel about equal about the gameplay in Mystic Quest and FF13, but give the edge to Quest because I prefer turn-based systems.

5. Treasures of the Savage Frontier

6. Final Fantasy 13-2

7. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

8. Final Fantasy 13

9. Forgotten World

Nothing special, but it'll get 'er done.

Storyline - It's a very basic, no frills fantasy quest. Mystic Quest edges Treasures because of that game's ridiculous ending that is unrelated to the rest of the story.

5. Final Fantasy 13

6. Final Fantasy 13-2

7. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

8. Treasures of the Savage Frontier

9. Forgotten World

One important plot point is that... Captain Mac forgot his cap, and it's kind of a big deal.

Atmosphere - Not much to talk about here. It's a light hearted romp that worries little about verisimilitude. 10-2 is also pretty ridiculous, but I give it the edge because it's a much more complex world.

6. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

7. Final Fantasy 10-2

8. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

9. Forgotten World

10. FRUA: Neverwinter Nights

Highbrow stuff.

End Game - Although it's not going to win any awards, I did enjoy climbing the Tower (Castle) of Doom and revisiting the dungeon types I traveled in earlier. 13-2's final dungeons were okay, with it's spinning blocks. Although a trope, in Japanese RPGs especially, I am a big fan of the "boss rush" and multiple formed end boss, therefore, Mystic Quest edges 13-2.

3. Final Fantasy 10-2

4. Final Fantasy 10

5. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

6. Final Fantasy 13-2

7. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

Neither surprising nor original, but satisfying.

Difficulty - Although it can be annoying at times, overall it's an easy game. The hard parts of Mystic Quest apply more to the next category. It's hard to compare, but I'm putting it above 10.

6. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

7. Final Fantasy 13-2

8. Lightning Returns: FF13

9. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

10. Final Fantasy 10

Yeah you do, bro!

Balance - Mystic Quest definitely had some balance issues, as battles could turn out to be randomly hard, or even unwinnable, thanks to the ridiculous amount of disabling status effects. Normally this sort of thing is mitigated in Final Fantasy by having a larger party. By simplifying the game down to two members and leaving those status effects in, the game is made more difficult. At most you're losing a few minutes though, not 15 min or even hours, (looking at you 13-2 Gilgamesh...) so I've ranked it relatively high.

2. Lightning Returns: FF13

3. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

4. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

5. Final Fantasy 10-2

6. Final Fantasy 13-2

This sort of thing is not a rare sight in Mystic Quest.

Music - This is the one thing Mystic Quest is routinely praised for, and it deserves it! The metal influenced soundtrack is unique and cool. Although there are two composers for the game, Ryuji Sasai seems to be the one responsible for bringing this unique sound to the SNES. 10-2 also had a rock influenced soundtrack, albeit with more of a pop influence. There are a number of good soundtracks at the top of the pile here, it was a close race. Mystic Quest gets some extra credit because we are talking about the SNES, not the advanced hardware of the PS2.

2. Final Fantasy 13

3. Final Fantasy 10-2

4. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

5. Final Fantasy 10

6. Lightning Returns: FF13

Nobody knows how to rock like Doom Castle knows how to rock!

Art - It's basically just cutesy, super-deformed 16-bit goodness. The standout feature of Mystic Quest's art is how the enemies degrade into worse and worse states as you whack them. That feature is enough to edge Treasures.

5. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

6. Final Fantasy 10-2

7. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

8. Treasures of the Savage Frontier

9. Forgotten World

"I said a little off the top!"

Best Villain - There aren't really any options for recurring villains in this game. They basically show up, and then you kill them. I found Pazuzu the most interesting, even disregarding my nostalgia. He interacts with the player the most out of any villain in the game. He's certainly much more interesting than Dark King, who just comes out of nowhere. He beats a lot of villains, but it's hard to take down Gilgamesh.

3. Barthandelus (FF13)

4. Gilgamesh (FF13-2)

5. Pazuzu (FFMQ)

6. Freezefire (TotSF)

7. Shuyin (FF10-2)

Worst Villain - Dark King. He's not offensive, but he's obviously shoehorned in because it's expected. Least offensive on the list.

6. Asshole Soldier (TotSF)

7. Caius Ballad (LR:FF13)

8. Angry Old Pirate (F:NWN)

9. Thieve's Guild Guard (FW)

10. Dark King (FFMQ)

Best Ally - Nobody in this game is super-developed. Kaeli seems nice, and she can talk to trees.

6. Krevish (GttSF)

7. The Angel of Valhalla (LR:FF13)

8. Kaeli (FFMQ)

9. Centaur (FW)

10. Stoned Guy (F:NWN)

Worst Ally - Tristan. He kind of redeemed himself by giving Ben the Dragon Claw, but he's pretty much an asshole. Still not as offensive as Lord Nasher and Bartholomew, who did basically nothing.

6. Jabarkas (TotSF)

7. Jagaerda (GttSF)

8. Father Bartholomew (FW)

9. Lord Nasher (F:NWN)

10. Tristan (FFMQ)

Kaeli is poisoned and dying, and Tristan just wants to make sure he gets his money's worth for the Elixir he swiped right in front of Benjamin.

Best Enemy - Dullahan, because he has a HEADLESS HORSE! I can't think of a monster that particularly stuck out as being interesting to fight. The headless horseman with a headless horse can't quite beat out the wolf in the sheep shearing shop.

6. Jihl Nabaat (FF13-2)

7. Wolf in Sheep's Shop (FW)

8. Dullahan (FFMQ)

9. Zhentil Fighter (GttSF)

10. Crocodile (F:NWN)

Until you see him in battle... it's a little awkward.

Worst Enemy - Any of the stun lock enemies are the worst, but the lamias and their palette swapped relatives were probably the worst in this regard. Getting stun locked is annoying, but not as bad as a mammoth stomping in your whole party's faces. Especially since MQ lets you simply restart a battle you have lost.

6. Mammoth (F:NWN)

7. Lamia (FFMQ)

8. Guado (FF10)

9. Claret Dragon (FF10-2)

10. Tree Man (FW)

Lamias and a headless horse!

Best Mini-Game/Puzzle - Not too many to pick from. Pushing the ice pillars was neat.

3. Kraken Code (GttSF)

4. Cavern of the Stolen Fayth (FF10-2)

5. Hold 'Em (FF13-2)

6. Bakti (FF13)

7. Pushin' Pillars (FFMQ)

Worst Mini-Game/Puzzle - Once again, not many to pick from. The switches in Pazuzu's tower didn't seem to do much, so I'll pick them, however, I may just have missed how they work. It's not offensive.

3. Spherebreak (FF10-2)

4. Mirror Map (GttSF)

5. Hide-n-Seek (FF13)

6. Lucky Papers (TotSF)

7. Tower Switches (FFMQ)

Pazuzu waits... in his elevator. He's got wings, why isn't it just a shaft?

Side Quest - There isn't too much in the way of side quests, just a few items you could miss but aren't likely to, since they aren't far off the beaten path. I'm putting it below FF13 because although 13 really only had one type of side quest, I did enjoy doing them. One benefit of FFMQ having so few items is it is the first game I can label as 100% completed; all in the course of finishing the game the first time!

4. Final Fantasy 10

5. Treasures of the Savage Frontier

6. Gateway to the Savage Frontier

7. Final Fantasy 13

8. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

Full stock of items.

Overall - You've probably noticed a trend as I've been doing these rankings. Mystic Quest is not great, not terrible, mildly entertaining and mostly inoffensive. It's going in slot 6, because the others below it WERE offensive!

4. Final Fantasy 10-2

5. Final Fantasy 13-2

6. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

7. Treasures of the Savage Frontier

8. Final Fantasy 13

As a bonus, here's an Inconsolable style monstage of the bosses in the game getting beat downs.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Chapter 6: Mystic Confluence

For your listening pleasure: The Mystic Quest OST, starting with a stirring medley.

I won't even try to make excuses for how long it's been since I've made a post. Is that passively making an excuse? It's like a coach of mine once said "Excuses are like assholes... if you have one, you're an asshole." 

Across the Rainbow Road: Pazuzu's Tower

Ben gets a tip about the tower.

Across the rainbow bridge is Pazuzu's Tower, presumably where the Crystal of Wind is being held. There is an elevator which the tower's namesake uses to move around and taunt the hero. Flipping switches makes it so he cannot stop on certain floors, I think? Since you go up the tower than back down flipping switches, then eventually corner 'Zu on an upper level I never got this conceptually. I think I was probably trying to put more thought into the logistics than is necessary, or welcome, in a game like Mystic Quest. I still don't know if you can hit the switches in different orders and end up fighting Pazuzu on a different floor depending on how you do it.

I filled out the rest of my equipment and spell slots in the tower, acquiring Excalibur and the flare spell.

Pazuzu

Prelude to the battle with Pazuzu

The last evil fiend elemental crystal master (I'm not sure if, like other Final Fantasies, the group of four has a collective name) is the large anthropomorphic predatory bird, Pazuzu. Pazuzu takes his name and appearance from an ancient demon of Mesopotamia, brother to Humbaba of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Humbaba and Gilgamesh also make appearances in other Final Fantasy games). I'll link to this article instead of wikipedia, as the article not only references the movie The Exorcist, but also has Pazuzu having a serpent headed penis in the description of his appearance.

This is a screenshot of a statue of Pazuzu as it appears in The Exorcist. The image is reminiscent of an iconic statuette that depicts the demon, although with an erect phallus added for shock value, no doubt. Source.

In Mystic Quest, Pazuzu can activate a shield, which if I recall, will make him counterattack if he is attacked while it is up. It's a simple version of an effect used in many RPGs. I simply waited until the shield went down. This might be a significant puzzle for someone new to RPGs, but it was not difficult for me.

I remember Pazuzu capturing my imagination in a significant way as a child. I believe I received both a book about demons and FF: Mystic Quest on the same Christmas. I read through the book, then when Pazuzu appeared in the game, it had an immediate impact on my imagination, fueling my interest and discovery. Ah, to be full of that wonder again.

After defeating the King of Wind Demons (Pazuzu), recovering the Crystal of Wind and the last coin, the heroes are stuck. They need Captain Mac's ship, which is landlocked, in order to reach the Focus Tower and use the final coin. They blow up a tunnel with the help of a thunder rock, and fill the empty space on the world map with water. I'll gloss over this part in the interest of expediency. Checking the dates on my screenshots, it looks like it has been over three months since I completed the game, so let's keep this bread truck rollin'.

Before they go get the ship, Reuben shows up to inform Ben that he discovered a stairway to the top of the Focus Tower after he took his little fall from the rope bridge. They take care of business, and then Phoebe joins back up. This is unfortunate, because unlike Kaeli, Phoebe's weapon is still the same from way back when we were in Aquaria. Then it was very powerful, at this point in the game, it is not. This is the first point in the game where some creatures cannot be defeated by a whack from Ben's weapon and his companions. This is kind of annoying, because it requires a big change in strategy. I ended up using more magic later in the game, which is good in a way, but rather than feeling like a natural increase in challenge, it just seemed artificial. I don't think I really have a good way to describe it, especially being so far removed from playing the game. There is a fine line that game designers have to walk between having the game be challenging enough that is rewarding, but not difficult in a way that is frustrating or an exercise in masochism.

This is how the final villain is introduced. A prophecy? That's both interesting and original.

  Doom Castle

Doom Castle is the appropriately named final area of the game. We got a tease of it earlier while exploring the Focus Tower. The music for this area is one of the best in the game, since I already linked to the OST, I bring you this awesome dude for the pleasing of your aural canals. It looks like he does metal covers of videogame tunes, but this one is already metal, so it's like putting metal in your metal. F*** yeah!

The "castle" consists of floors in the Focus Tower, which have the appearance of the four original dungeons holding the crystals. The exit from each floor is guarded by palette swapped versions of the four fiends. This creates a "boss rush" that harkens back to the original Final Fantasy, more on that when I play that game.

Ice Golem is now Stone Golem, but he still melts, like Harrenhal.

Dark King

At the top of the tower waits Dark King. It would be proper english to call him "The Dark King." I prefer calling him Dark King as a proper name, because that's what the game seems to imply, and I find it humorous. In a twist that is not really original, but at least adds a little bit of creativity to the plot, Dark King says that he created the prophecy of the Knight of Legend; although he doesn't go into detail why. Even if his purpose was to get would be heroes to come to him to die, he probably set them up to get maxed out on equipment like Benjamin is. Once again, I'm probably thinking about this more than the writers did.

Dark King drops the bomb.

Mystic Quest continues another Final Fantasy tradition, that is, the final boss having multiple forms. At this point it's expected, but that doesn't make it any less cool, to me.

This is Dark King's fourth and final form.

S***... I guess he is the Dark King. However, the the is not capitalized so...

The Ending

After defeating the Dark King, Ben finds out that the old man on the cloud is actually the crystal of light; guiding him all along. What follows is a satisfying enough series of cutscenes that feature all of the characters in the game. In the end, they send Benjamin off on Captain Mac's ship to greater adventure. I find it kind of refreshing that none of the females are shoehorned into being his love-interest/companion for the trip.

The happy send-off.

Tristan shows up out of nowhere... and Benjamin sails off into the sunset.

Sorry I lied... the sun will set later...