This piece is a lighthearted retrospective review of Quest: Fantasy Challenge for Questiversary 2025, with guest commentary from @quest64official
Happy Questiversary! Wait, what?
It's June 2025, also known as the advent of another Questiversary! In celebration, commemoration, and hopefully not consternation, I've decided to dive into Quest: Fantasy Challenge, a puzzle-action game set in the Quest 64 universe.
For those not yet in the know--which is hard to imagine, what with everyone gathering around the Questiversary Tree to sing Questiversary songs and exchange Questiversary gifts, as is tradition in most countries around the world--Questiversary is a month-long celebration of Quest 64's North American release in June 1998.
Credit for such an oddball idea can be given to none other than Quest 64 Official, the (self-proclaimed) "only account dedicated to letting people know what's fresh and new in the world of Nintendo 64 and Quest 64, a game that hasn't changed for 20+ years." Chances are, if you're a reader here, you're probably familiar with @quest64official and their shenanigans across the internet.
Great news: Mike, the mind behind Quest 64 Official, has agreed to collaborate on this special Questiversary piece here on Better Lete Than Never! The biggest Quest 64 fan on the planet (and probably the moon too) will share some personal insights and commentary throughout the article as we discuss Quest: Fantasy Challenge for the Game Boy Color.
Sort of like this!
Lete (Better Lete Than Never): So, what order did you play the Quest games in? Was Fantasy Challenge the last one you checked out?
Mike (Quest 64 Official): Obviously Quest 64 was the first game I played, and the one that got me into this rabbit hole. It wasn't until years and years later... when I was in my 30s, that I started collecting physical games and discovered Fantasy Challenge and Brian's Journey (and the regional versions)
Mike (Q64O): I bought a copy of Fantasy Challenge complete in box for like $9, so that was my second play in the series. Brian's Journey came last.
Keep an eye out for bits of the interview throughout the piece! Without further ado, let's begin at the beginning.
Lete, that's Dig Dug.
I began my journey with Fantasy Challenge by... not playing Fantasy Challenge. At least, not yet. First, I'd want to learn the tricks and quirks of the arcade games that inspired it, to be able to give Fantasy Challenge itself the best chance it can to shine.
So I walked up to the (proverbial) arcade cabs for Dig Dug and Mr. Do! to partake in a couple of rounds each. What'd I learn?
Dig Dug
Dig Dug is easy to pick up, but watch the onscreen demo before dropping on some quarters. It'll teach you some techniques such as baiting enemies into mineshafts to crush with boulders, or partially inflating an enemy just long enough to walk past them while they're harmless.
After just a few sessions, you'll find yourself making risky moves and dodging near-misses to grab pickups, chain boulder attacks, and clear stages without any lives lost. Everything moves intentionally, including your player character (amusingly, named Dig Dug). Dig Dug thrives off its simplicity.
Lete (BLTN): While we're here at the Dig Dug cab... do you have any memories with this game? Either the arcade game or home ports?
Mike (Q64O): When I was really really young, my aunt lived near a restaurant called the Fin & Feather and my extended family would occasionally go there for birthdays and stuff. They had a Dig Dug arcade machine near the bar that I played literally every time I went there. (laughs)
Mike (Q64O): Around that same time my family got an NES and my Mom bought Dig Dug 2 for that, which if I remember correctly is the game where you cut chunks off of islands instead of digging underground. She was pretty disappointed that it wasn't the same game but we had fun with it nonetheless.
Lete (BLTN): That's awesome! My own memories of Dig Dug are mostly of the port found on Namco Museum Battle Collection for the PlayStation Portable, which came way, way later!
Lete (BLTN): Anyway, let's get a move on to the next game in the history!
Mr. Do!
Where Mr. Do! differs is how you win. You can clear a stage by beating all its enemies, but it's just as viable to collect all the cherries spread throughout the map instead. If you're lucky, you can even pick up a diamond that will instantly clear the stage.
According to sources, Mr. Do! coin-op arcade machines would actually outsell Dig Dug in the United States. This seems odd at first: how could the derivative game which came out right after Dig Dug sell better than it, especially since so few people remember Mr. Do! today? Pop a quarter into a Mr. Do! cab and the answer becomes clear.
This game is, full stop, awesome. It uses Dig Dug's gameplay as a base, then adds a ton of unique gameplay features atop. Mr. Do! is hardly a Dig Dug clone. If Dig Dug is focused on a pure cat-and-mouse maze chase, Mr. Do! is about multitasking everything happening in its chaotic screens. You have a handful of mechanics like the cherry pickup multiplier, your bouncy long-cooldown projectile, and bonus enemy spawns that can reward you towards an extra life if you like some additional risk. It's a lot to handle all at once, and dying usually comes from forgetting about one of the multitude of mechanics for a split-second, spelling your doom.
I'll admit, I was skeptical about Mr. Do!, but it's quickly become a new arcade favorite of mine. Dig Dug rightfully remains an arcade icon to many (myself included!), but don't pass up a chance to play Mr. Do! either!
Can we talk about Quest: Fantasy Challenge now?
Lete (BLTN): In six words, could you describe what it is you do as Quest 64 Official?
Mike (Q64O): "Freelance Algorithm Manipulator, Nintendo 64 Style"
Lete (BLTN): Now in four words, to make it "6 4" (heh), describe Quest: Fantasy Challenge.
Mike (Q64O): 4 words: "2D Quest Death Simulator"
Our little arcade detour is important to the topic of Fantasy Challenge for a couple reasons. First, it sets the groundwork for understanding how Fantasy Challenge plays: like Mr. Do! at its core, but streamlined down to match the simplicity of Dig Dug. This is far from coincidence: Fantasy Challenge has got arcade blood flowing through it, and don't let the fantasy setting of Quest fool you!
Second, it was an excuse to tell you to play Mr. Do!
Anyway, we've hopped in the car to return from our trip to the arcade, still buzzing from the fun we've had with Dig Dug and Mr. Do!. You take out your Game Boy Color, maybe attaching a little worm light to get some illumination as the sun sets outside. Slotted into the GBC is the cart for Quest: Fantasy Challenge. You power it on and begin to play. We are finally ready.
Meeting Brian
This is the game. Your goal: collect the gems (referred to as "elements" in the manual) that litter the stage as you avoid the mounting threat of enemies that spawn from the center of the level. Just like Mr. Do!, these elements are your main objective. Collect them all and you clear the stage. Alternatively, you can beat all the enemies until they stop spawning or pick up the "twinkling element" rare spawn, either of which will also earn you the clear.
Instead of boulders or apples, you have treasure chests. They're heavy enough to crush enemies and will sometimes spawn power-ups when opened. Brian's also taken some lessons from Mr. Do! himself, borrowing his bouncy, floaty projectile that one-shots normal enemies but takes an eternity and a half to recharge. Think wisely before casting.
This is a slightly simplified version of Mr. Do!, through and through! Right down to the food items that will trigger bonus enemy spawns for the daring players confident in their skills. You'll get the gist of Fantasy Challenge in its first stage or two. However, the game will continue to throw you new stuff in the form of different enemies, varying power-ups, and the occasional boss battle throughout the 20-stage main game.
So, how does it feel to actually play?
Lete (BLTN): Do you have any stories about your personal experience playing Quest: Fantasy Challenge?
Mike (Q64O): Not a very exciting story but... I got really deep into Fantasy Challenge and Golf Clash (the mobile game) when my youngest child was born. He wasn't a big fan of Dad compared to Mom, so when she was gone I wasn't allowed to put him down or he would voice his displeasure.
Mike (Q64O): Let's just say those two games are not the most relaxing games to play as you're trying to remain still and quiet while your son sleeps so you don't invoke his wrath. (laughs)
Fantasy Challenge not a relaxing game? Whatever could you mean-
"2D Quest Death Simulator"
Do the Brian Shuffle
The very moment I took control of Brian at the start of Level 1, I felt one of Fantasy Challenge's defining traits: a very slow movement speed. By default, Brian moves at what I'd generously call "a leisurely stroll," noticeably slower than both Dig Dug and especially Mr. Do!, who move about at a much snappier pace.
Initially, I wasn't too concerned at Brian's slow walk: maze-chase games often make the player just a tad slower than their enemies, forcing you into some split-second decision making to stay one step ahead of your pursuers. Fantasy Challenge is, at its core, very much Mr. Do! in its multitasking: you have to choose how to balance collecting elements, avoiding enemies, and snagging power-ups.
The devil's in the details: how it's all balanced. Brian's movement isn't just "deliberate," but outright sluggish. Control in this game always has a touch of frustration when Brian doesn't seem to have the same sense of urgency, or control, as his arcade brethren.
WE GOTTA POWER
Fantasy Challenge's most unique feature is its power-ups! Along with the expected invincibility amulet and the Eletale book itself (which amusingly serves as a screen nuke), you have a much-welcome movement speed boost(!) and enemy debuffs to give you the upper hand. The classic elemental magic from Quest 64 returns as well, in the form of spell upgrades that replace your normal projectile shot. For example, Earth element makes your shots homing, while Water grants a piercing effect to your attacks.
Power-ups offer a nice refuge from your pea-shooter spell and crawling movespeed, but are hard-earned. Crack open some treasure chests, hope the right power-ups spawn, and rush down to pick them up before they disappear--or an enemy gets you first. It's a lot of work for buffs that last just a few moments and disappear when you end the stage, but the improvements they grant often feel necessary in order to clear the stage with any level of grace.
Boss PRESSURE
Seems like the perfect opportunity to use some power-ups to even the playing field, but boss stages invariable do not contain power-ups, which means that every boss in the game requires you to fight as vanilla Brian. Sluggishly-moving, slow-recharge peashooter-spell-casting, one-hit-and-done Brian. Losing a life graciously doesn't reset the level, so you can brute-force bosses by taking potshots and occasionally trading hits if you have the extra lives to spare. If.
To the game's credit, each boss is a little different, with unique attacks to learn and avoid as you play the ultimate distillation of Dig Dug-style cat-and mouse. You desperately path around to keep yourself safe and try to get a clear shot at the boss, all while the stage's dirt (your safe spots) continues to deplete.
There's no doubt that bosses in Fantasy Challenge are high-intensity, high-pressure gauntlets. But maybe too much so. There's so little room for mistakes that these fights feel overly punishing. By the time you get to the second or third boss, the modest novelty of each fight might not feel like enough to justify them.
The Upside
All right, so calling Quest: Fantasy Challenge frustration-free wouldn't be quite accurate. But there's still plenty to love in this little oddity of a game.
Puzzle-Action!
The gameplay's strategic aspect comes out strong, really pushing the player to make smart decisions on the fly if they want to clear stages cleanly, without losing any of their limited lives. Each of the game's 20 stages are self-contained puzzles, laid out with unique tunnels and items that you have just a moment to make sense of and plan for. And, inevitably, you'll have to stay on your toes and revise that plan as enemies move around or priority power-ups appear.
If someone were unfamiliar with the term "maze chase game," I could still comfortably call Fantasy Challenge a "puzzle action game." It tests strategy and reflexes in equal measure.
Best in Show
Oh, the way this game looks and moves? Wonderful! Quest: Fantasy Challenge's sprites, menus, and interstitial art all look great, especially when played in Game Boy Color or Super Game Boy modes. Even taking screenshots of this game was a delightful experience, since the game is impressively photogenic.
A good part of the appeal of progressing through Fantasy Challenge's stages is seeing what new enemies you might face, what the next boss might be, or what rare item could show up from an unassuming plain treasure chest. But personally, I'm a huge UI and typography geek, so my favorite graphics were the menus and logo art!
The presentation of the game feels polished overall, with the only exceptions being a repetitive soundtrack and some odd graphical glitches when played in GBC mode.
"C!GA GEMOYEN LSHU NICS!"
omg it brian
This part is the very definition of subjective, but after growing familiar with meme-man Brian (that is, Quest 64 Official's comedic version of him), I was excited to play a game starring the lovable little guy. The ahoge hair tuft atop his head is distinct in even his smallest sprite in this game, and the short animated vignettes in between levels show off some fun art.
I understand this is literally just the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the screen meme but what can I say? It genuinely added to my enjoyment of the game and lent a sense of humor throughout my time with it. And good humor is going to be your strongest ally when tackling Fantasy Challenge.
The Endgame
Say you finally make it to the end of Fantasy Challenge's 20 stages, beat the final boss, and get to the score screen. What next? True to its arcade roots, the game throws you back into the mix for Loop 2, with Level 21 being a harder version of Level 1, and so on.
See, Fantasy Challenge isn't really a game that you beat. It's a score-attack game, with levels and mechanics that you practice, practice, practice, until you can make it further, faster, and with more points. That's where Fantasy Challenge's longevity comes from, and whether you like that style of game will ultimately decide whether it has any staying power for you.
The Wrap-Up
With that, we've made it home with my first ever look at a game from the Quest series, and the first Questiversary celebration here at Better Lete Than Never.
Sure, Questiversary is about the games. But the other half, the bigger half, is about the community of dedicated video-game-loving people all brought together by a quirky Nintendo 64 game that people used to not talk much about.
Now, through one of its handheld spinoffs, I'm proud to consider myself part of the fun.
