Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest

Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest is a gaiden game in the Final Fantasy series, and is largely considered the black sheep of the series...at least until the PlayStation 2 era and beyond.

With simplistic gameplay that borders between novel and tedious, it still remains a modestly enjoyable experience, especially with the excellent soundtrack by Ryuji Sasai.

Unused Elemental Defense Graphics


Four small menu icons representing defense against earth, physical damage (including player axes, but not swords or claws), indirect attacks (including Phoebe's bow and Tristam's shurikens), and reverse drain. Reverse drain does nothing on its own, but if paired with drain protection it will cause the damage and healing dealt by drain-elemental attacks to be reversed.

Resistances against the attack types themselves exist and are used, but are enemy-only since no items, not even the unique ones equipped by allies, offer any protection against these four damage types. Furthermore, while enemies can have a weakness to explosives, it appears unaccounted for in these elements – if a confused hero attacks himself with a bomb, he won't resist it even with all eight.

Silence Status
One of the eight status ailments in the game, Silence is attempted to be inflicted by a couple of attacks, such as the Mage's Muffle. Regardless of resistance or lack thereof, it never seems to get set. Nevertheless, the status does exist, complete with accompanying effects.

CPU/PPU1/PPU2 information


Pause the game, then press Start+Select to display the versions of your SNES console's CPU, PPU1, and PPU2 chips. This only works on the first US release, not on either the Rev. A version, nor the Japanese release.

Revisional Differences
In addition to the above, the first US release also contains a sound processor bug that can cause a major freeze in any area that, ironically, plays the "Falls Basin" music. Said music also plays in the Mine and the Spencer's Place waterfall. Since the game can be saved at any point, this is only a minor annoyance.