Mystery Quest (video game)

Last updated
Mystery Quest
MysteryQuestNABoxart.jpg
North American version cover art
Developer Carry Lab
Publishers
Platforms Family Computer Disk System, Nintendo Entertainment System
ReleaseFamily Computer Disk System
  • JP: May 1, 1987
Nintnendo Entertainment System
  • NA: April 1989
Genre Platform
Mode Single-player [1]

Mystery Quest [a] is a platform game developed by Carry Lab. It was published in Japan by Square in 1987, and in North America by Taxan in 1989. The game follows the journey of Hao on his quest to become a wizard.

Contents

Development and release

Mystery Quest was developed by Carry Lab Co. [1] The game was part of Disk Original Group (DOG), which was established in July 1986 to pool financial resources for the seven then-fledgling companies to develop independently for the Famicom. [2] [3]

It was released in Japan by Square for the Family Computer Disk System on May 1, 1987. [1]

Taxan presented Mystery Quest at the Winter Consumer Electronic Show (CES) along with Mappy-Land (1986) and Fist of the North Star (1987). [4] It was set for release an early 1989 in the United States, and was released in April 1989. [5] [6]

Reception

In Famicom Tsūshin the four reviewers were split on their opinion on the game. Two reviewers complimented as being fun with one saying it was similar to Super Mario Bros. (1985) while another said it appeared like an ordinary game at first, but you get more drawn in as you progress. The other two reviewers found the game lacking any unique features to make it stand-out. [2] In the German video game magazine Joystick earned their middle-ground ranking of "OK", saying that the graphics and sound were not outstanding, but the game remained fun. [8] [9]

In a retrospective review, Skyler Miller of Allgame dismissed Mystery Quest as a "lifeless platformer" that had cute graphics but had "seemingly endless levels" and had graphics that would appear date by 1989. [7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: ハオ君の不思議な旅, Hepburn: Hao-kun no Fushigi na Tabi; lit. Hao's Mysterious Journey


References

    1. 1 2 3 "ハオ君の不思議な旅". Square Enix (in Japanese). Retrieved October 15, 2025.
    2. 1 2 3 Famibo, Hotofuya; Mizuno, Bucho; Morishita, Mariko; Kanaya, Gascon (May 15, 1987). "新作ゲーム クロスレビュー" [New Games Cross Review]. Famicom Tsūshin (in Japanese). No. 23. ASCII Corporation. p. 9.
    3. ↑ "ファミコンソフトに進出、電友社など７社が組む。". Nikkei Marketing Journal (in Japanese). 24 July 1986. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
    4. ↑ "Nintendo Licensees Show Games; New Licensees Announced". Computer Entertainer includes The Video Game Update . Vol. 7, no. 10. January 1989. p. 10. Retrieved October 15, 2025– via Video Game History Foundation.
    5. ↑ "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
    6. ↑ Lobb, Ken (May 1989). "Taxan Videodiction". Electronic Gaming Monthly . United States: Sendai Publications. p. 37.
    7. 1 2 Miller, Skyler. "Mystery Quest". Allgame . Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
    8. ↑ "Wie wir Software bewerten" [How We Evaluate Software]. Joystick (in German). DMV Daten und Medien-Verlag Widuch. September 1989. p. 11.
    9. ↑ mm (September 1989). "Mystery Quest". Joystick (in German). DMV Daten und Medien-Verlag Widuch. p. 95.


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