The game that got me hooked on "Final Fantasy" might not stack up with the rest, but it remains nostalgic nonetheless.
So what's this game all about anyway? Well basically, you control a young man named Benjamin (technically the name that's used to refer to him, even though you choose the name at the start) who finds his town destroyed. During this ordeal he meets up with a mysterious cloud-riding figure that tells him about the quest he must embark on. Throughout the game, he stops by to give various hints and insight into what's going on around Benjamin.
The main story involves running around the world to revive the power of the four elemental crystals while meeting various characters who join Benjamin for a short time each. Character interaction isn't really anything special, and none of the them have special abilities to use in combat. Exploring on the overworld is done fairly simply, as you can only travel from point A to point B, whereby arriving at point B you can choose to enter the area or not.
Combat reverts back to the old turn-based system with the enemies (seemingly towering over you) at the top, much like Dragon Quest. There isn't really a whole lot to offer here. When you attack a cool-looking action flashes over the enemy with your weapon making a slashing motion. The Magic system involves white, black, and wizard magic, each of which spell has a certain amount of uses before it runs out, much like FF1.
Graphics are pretty standard SNES stuff for the time. The sprites look the same as FF2's overworld sprites did, but unlike FF2 it has the same battle sprites (although animated!). Enemies in battle show deterioration after a certain amount of damage is dealt, with larger enemies generally having three different visual "forms." A unique feature comes with the fact that you can actually SEE every enemy on the screen. However this doesn't mean you'll see just ONE enemy, or even the same entire group of that enemy in battle. This feature generally appeals to gamers who are looking for a change to the typical random battle style of RPGs.
I'm not going to lie here. Music is probably the BEST feature of this game. There isn't a single track that doesn't appeal to me now, nearly 14 years after first picking up the game. The boss and battle musics are some of the best tracks in any Final Fantasy game, while the mysterious windy sounds of the forest-area levels seem to add a lot of atmosphere. The sound effects aren't too shabby either. Depending on which weapon you attack with in battle you'll hear a unique sound pertaining to that weapon, such as the "THUD" of an axe or the "SWOOSH" of a swinging sword.
Overall, FFMQ doesn't really add much to the "Final Fantasy experience" so to speak, but it is definitely a fun game that will always have a place in my heart. If you have about 10 hours to kill on a weekend, I would recommend you try it out; just don't expect a whole lot from it.