Mystery Quest - The OST

Well, the music was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, but even that doesn't do the game any favors.

Cornshaq plays Mystery Quest - Part 3 of 3

Here's the ending for Mystery Quest. The ending is nowhere near satisfying, in all honestly.

All maps by zagato blackfist.

From Door 1, go right, and follow the path to the spring. Stand near the little wall to the left of it, and look up to use your spread shot. Shoot at the ceiling, and you'll eventually be able to get the Powered Helmet, which lets you break blocks by head-butting them. (This is also important, so go get it.) Use it to break another hole in the ceiling to the left, then grab the key to the left and head down to Door 2.

Head to the right and shoot at walls and make your way to Sign 2 and Door 3. If you need to, shoot the left wall after you enter for a moon to completely refill your Vitality. Then, go right and shoot at the Gargoyle. (Watch out for its firepower, as it will home in on you and follow you around! Thankfully, you can shoot them out of existence.) Get the key it leaves when it dies, then drop down and run to the left to reach Door 4. Head to the right to Door 5. Head right and destroy the Gargoyle to get its key.

Once you defeat the snail after Door 5, get the key, then head down and left to Door 6...but wait. Shoot the wall near the spikes before Door 6. Inside, you'll find the Symbol of Peace, which is the final symbol of the game. From there, go up and left, and enter the second door (Door A). Go up and break the wall to the right to get the key and enter Door A again. Now you can go left and enter Door 7.

Follow the path to Door 8. Jump over the water and enter the next door (Door 9). From there, go up one floor, go all the way to the left and enter Door 10. Use the helmet to bust open a hidden passageway underneath the potted flower, then jump on the awning around the flower and enter Door 11. Jump around on the blocks near the left wall on the floor below you, then pick up the nearby key. From there, go to the left wall, and jump and shoot. You'll be able to get over the wall and head down to the doorway with the stone awning. Now for the ending!

NICE TRY!

BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH

FOR WIZARD

TRY AGAIN

but we got the four symbols and we beat the game whaddya mean i get the bad ending what do you want from me game

Actually, you get the bad ending upon beating the game...the first time. Believe it or not, you have to complete the game not once, not twice, not even three times...but four times in one sitting. The icons for the four symbols are different on the second quest, but that's the only difference as far as I can tell.

After beating the game four times, you get this:

CONGRATULATION

YOU HAVE OVER COME

YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE.

NOW YOU ARE POWERFUL WIZARD

What is this crap.

Cornshaq plays Mystery Quest - Part 2 of 3

Oh, my. It's like laziness set in for the developers halfway through.

All maps by zagato blackfist.

Castle 2

Once you defeat the snail after Door 5, get the key, then head down and left to Door 6. From there, go up and left, and enter the second door (Door A). Go up and break the wall to the right to get the key and enter Door A again. Now you can go left and enter Door 7.

Follow the path to Door 8. Jump over the water and enter the next door (Door 9). From there, go up one floor, go all the way to the left and enter Door 10. Use the helmet to bust open a hidden passageway underneath the potted flower, then jump on the awning around the flower and enter Door 11. Jump around on the blocks above the book, then pick it up as well as the key nearby. The book is the Symbol of Knowledge, so yay! Two Symbols for you!

From there, go to the left wall, and jump and shoot. You'll be able to get over the wall and head down to the doorway with the stone awning. You're done here.

World Map

To the right of the second castle is the underground area. Welcome to World 2 on the World Map!

The next castle is in 2-H. This comes after an annoying wall jump where you have to hit the spring blocks on the wall from the side and leap up from there.

Castle 3

This is the exact same castle as the first one. There's just a green background, a few things are placed differently, and there are more enemies.

Follow the path to Door 1. Get the key and enter Door 2. Shoot upwards to get another key, then head back to Door 1 and go left from there to find Door 3. Go right, jump on the springboard, and follow the path to Door 4. Head left and destroy the dragon. then get the key and head left to Door 5. You will want to pick up the cape that you find on the way to the left, as it will keep your Vitality from going down while you're standing still.

Shoot at the left wall to grab a raft (which you can have one of at any given time), then head right and follow the path to sign #3, which leads to Door 6. Go left, slay the dragon, and get the key. Keep going left to Door 7. Go right, and shoot at the walls above the shallow water to reach platforms to get to the next spring. (Be careful to leave yourself some makeshift floors!) Once you reach the third wall that's in your way, make a floor there and shoot at the wall to the right. You'll be able to follow the path to Door 8.

Head left, kill another dragon, get the key and head left. When you reach the dead end at the top third of the screen, jump on the floor with the boots, then go left a little bit and shoot at the ceiling. You'll be able to get the Symbol of Family. Now stomp on the blocks underneath the chandelier and enter the stone archway to the left. You're out!

The fourth and final castle is in 2-A on the World Map.

Castle 4

This is the same as Castle 2. Just like last time, there are things in different positions and there are more enemies. There's also a white background.

Head up as you go right (be sure to grab the Mini-Hao) and enter the door near the sign with "1" on it. This is Door 1. 

Cornshaq plays Mystery Quest - Part 1 of 3

Hoo boy. It's one of them really confusing side-scroller platform thingies.

All maps by zagato blackfist.

Mystery Quest has a very simple premise to it: You play as Hao, a wizard-in-training. You have to go to four castles in order to find four symbols. When you find the four symbols, you'll be able to prove you are worthy enough to be a wizard.

World Map

Not much to say here. Just run to the right, jump around to get where you need to go, and shoot at enemies.

"Locate" tells you where you are in relation to the rest of the world map. The number "1" is above ground, while "2" is underground (more on that later.) After that is a letter from A to Z. A is the left-most part of the world, and Z is the right-most part.

"Vitality" is your life bar. Your vitality will slowly go down even if you're not taking any damage

The enemies, as annoying as they can be, are easy for the most part. Word of advice: shoot creatures as soon as you see them.

To run, you'll have to tap the B button repeatedly to fire the gun until you're at the speed you want to go. Once you reach that speed, hold B and move. This takes some getting used to, but it makes getting around a little faster.

The skulls in the floor will rapidly decrease your vitality when you stand on them. The springs (which look like three hamburger patties stacked on top of one another) will launch you high into the air when you jump on them.

Grab signposts, wizard hats and brooms for points.

You can stand on the top of trees if you need to get away from enemies.

If you uncover stars, you can grab them to refill a little bit of the Vitality gauge. You can find them by snuffing out candles or leaping into certain spots.

Shallow water will also rapidly deplete your Vitality. Thankfully, there should be platforms to get over it.

Castle 1

Castles are a little different. You'll have to collect one key at a time and explore to find the four symbols. You'll also have to enter doors, sometimes unlocking them with keys, to get to other areas. Thankfully, all the doors in the maps are numbered and will tell you where they lead.

The yellow blocks in the ground act like the spring tiles in the world map.

You can look straight up to shoot down floors, walls and ceilings and find hidden passages and items. The first map will show where all of these are. If you do look up, you'll have a spread shot that shoots in random directions as you fire. Position yourself carefully so you can hit the block you need to hit in certain situations.

There are yellow signs with arrows and numbers on them on walls that will guide you to where you need to go, but sometimes you'll feel a bit stranded.

When you see the mantis (the slightly larger green thing flying around), shoot at it as fast as you can and get the key it drops.

The scroll is the Roll of Magic. By grabbing it, you can double your attack power and break certain blocks.

The moon will completely refill your Vitality.

You can shoot at potted flowers for points.

The white block with the green circle in it will double your score.

The circle with "SOS" on it is a raft. It keeps you from sinking in the water and dying. Learn to swim, Hal!

The Hal doll (or Mini-Hao) will increase your maximum Vitality, but be careful. If you lose all your life, the Vitality bar will return to its original size.

The correct path (according to the doors as they are numbered on the map) is indicated by the numbers on the door, and the strategies here will assume you're reading the map in this blog. (The top half is "1", while the bottom half is "2.")

Follow the path to Door 1. Destroy the Mantis by shooting at it repeatedly, then get the key and enter Door 2. Once you get the Roll of Magic near the start, shoot the wall under it to the left to get another key, then head back to Door 1 and go left from there to find Door 3. Go right, jump on the springboard, and follow the path to Door 4. Head left and destroy the mantis, then get the key and head left to Door 5.

Shoot at the left wall to grab a raft (which you can have one of at any given time), then head right and follow the path to sign #3, which leads to Door 6. Go left, slay the mantis, and get the key. Keep going left. The Powered Boots break certain blocks when you jump on them. Get them, because you're going to need them. Keep heading left to Door 7. Go right, and shoot at the walls above the shallow water to reach platforms to get to the next spring. (Be careful to leave yourself some makeshift floors!) Once you reach the third wall that's in your way, make a floor there and shoot at the wall to the right. You'll be able to follow the path to Door 8.

Head left, kill another mantis, get the key and head left. When you reach the dead end at the top third of the screen, jump on the floor with the boots, then go left a little bit and shoot at the ceiling. You'll be able to get the Symbol of Money! Now stomp on the blocks underneath the chandelier and enter the stone archway to the left. You're out!

The second castle is at 1-Q on the world map.

Castle 2

Be careful around spikes. They'll eat away at your Vitality, and you'll sometimes be forced to walk on them. If so, leap in the direction you're going as you move to live a little longer..

Head up as you go right (be sure to grab the Mini-Hao) and enter the door near the sign with "1" on it. This is Door 1. Go right, and follow the path to the spring. Stand near the little wall to the left of it, and look up to use your spread shot. Shoot at the ceiling, and you'll eventually be able to get the Powered Helmet, which lets you break blocks by head-butting them. (This is also important, so go get it.) Use it to break another hole in the ceiling to the left, then grab the key to the left and head down to Door 2.

Head to the right and shoot at walls and make your way to Sign 2 and Door 3. If you need to, shoot the left wall after you enter for a moon to completely refill your Vitality. Then, go right and shoot at the Snail. (Watch out for the beams it shoots!) Get the key it leaves when it dies, then drop down and run to the left to reach Door 4. Head to the right to Door 5. Head right and destroy the Snail to get its key.