History VideoGame / NeoQuest

-->-- Tagline for ''[=NeoQuest=] II''

** The opening splash screen of the game is a two-fer: Mr. [=InSaNe=] is dressed up like [[Franchise/TheMatrix The Archietect]], with enemies from the game beside him and the caption [[USefulNotes/PlayStation2 "Live in your world, get eaten by a Vampire Bearog in mine."]] below.

* AerithAndBob: Compared to the site at large, all the main characters are this. Their names (save for Rohane) were taken from the members of an ''VideoGame/EverQuest'' guild.

-->'''Mokti:''' Oh, you know how little brothers are... he wanted [[StarWars adventure, excitement. Bah! A Swamp Edge citizen craves not these things. He is reckless.]] Well, I hope he comes home soon, anyway.

** In ''II'', you can beat the game without fighting the Miner Foreman, the Leximp, Meuka, and Hubrid Nox. The only penalty for doing so is missing out on experience, item drops, and some plot details.

* SkippableBoss: Four bosses in this game (Miner Foreman, Leximp, Meuka, Hubrid Nox) don't obscure the path forward, and you can proceed without fighting them at the cost of giving up potential loot and experience. In the Leximp's case, you also miss out the nearby town's facilities if you don't defeat him.

* AGlitchInTheMatrix: [[spoiler: Your first clue to the reality of this RPG.]]

** Hubrid Nox's dungeon. Though its floors are small, there's ''nine'' of them, and the random encounters can easily wear you down on the way. A prominent NQ guide once described it as "nine levels of solid [[=NeoQuest=]] torture".

*** Faerie City can be rather time-consuming, especially because the player needs to traverse it back and forth to chase down the [[CowardlyBoss Faerie Thief]]. Not helping is that it's a fair distance from the closest town.

* MirrorBoss: The 4 Faeries. The Earth Faerie mirrors Rohane (has Critical Hits and Stunning Strikes), the Fire Faerie mirrors Mipsy (Direct Damage, Group Direct Damage), the Dark Faerie mirrors Talinia (sort of; it's the one that inflicts status effects, even if Velm gets some of them on your team) and the Water Faerie mirrors Velm (Healing, Group Healing).

* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:King Terask II, the new-and-improved Terask v2.]]

[[folder:''[=NeoQuest=]'']]

* SchmuckBait: Newbies asking "will they make a NQ III" are given the link to NQ 3D.

[[folder:''Neoquest 3D'']]
* CanonDisContinuity: Is æ'Neoquest 3D'' really part of the series?

The first game (''[=NeoQuest I=]'') tells the story of a rather dashing young Lupe. He is transported back in time [[ExcusePlot for some reason]] to Ancient Neopia (1,000 years ago), and has to fight the members (some former) of the Circle of Twelve, incuding Xantan, the Archmagus of Roo, Gors, and eventually Jahbal, in order to save Neopia. You can unleash the power of five different types of Magic Wand, make new ones out of materials such as Bearog teeth and Lupe claws on the grand quest.

[[folder:''[=NeoQuest=] I'']]

The first game ([=NeoQuest I=]) tells the story of a rather dashing young Lupe. He is transported back in time [[ExcusePlot for some reason]] to Ancient Neopia (1,000 years ago), and has to fight the members (some former) of the Circle of Twelve, incuding Xantan, the Archmagus of Roo, Gors, and eventually Jahbal, in order to save Neopia. You can unleash the power of five different types of Magic Wand, make new ones out of materials such as Bearog teeth and Lupe claws on the grand quest.

As for the second game ([=NeoQuest II=]), it starts out with a very artistically similar plot. You control a young Blumaroo, Rohane (and eventually, an Acara, Mipsy) as he makes his way throughout Meridell to stop the acts of Ramtor, who has crowned himself king after dethroning King Skarl from power. That doesn't sound like much compared to the first game... until you get to the FirstEpisodeTwist.

The third game, Neoquest [[ThirdIs3D 3D]], isn't as well known as the first two, and it shares virtually no gameplay mechanics from either of them. Instead, it's a TextAdventure, following most of the conventions of the genre. And its plot focuses solely on [[MundaneMadeAwesome opening a treasure chest]]. The parts of the key to open it are scattered all across the surrounding area.

[[folder: First two games]]

[[folder: Neoquest I]]

[[folder: Neoquest II]]

[[folder: Neoquest [=3D=]]]
* CanonDisContinuity: Is Neoquest 3D really part of the series?

* InteractiveFiction: Unlike the other two, 3D is completely text-based.

* DifficultySpike: After you beat the Spider Grundo, your next destination is Balthazar's Grove which holds your next rest point, situated right next to the [[WolfpackBoss Four]] [[MirrorBoss Faeries]]. Afterwards, you have a long trek through Nox Mountain Range and the Esophagor's Swamp with no new rest points in between, and if you do try and tackle Nox himself on the way, your supplies can easily wear out.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Averted for the first game, but the second has ''literal hundreds'' of 'em!

** NeoQuest I also had a “Not bloody likely!” from the Gatekeeper.

* DeadPersonConversation: After you kill Faleinn, you get to talk to her ghost.

* CutsceneViewer: The game allows you to view the end-chapter cutscenes at any time via a button in the menu. There's no in-universe explanation for this.

As for the second game ([=NeoQuest II=]), it starts out with a very artistically similar plot. You control a young Blumaroo, Rohane (and eventually, an Acara, Mipsy) as he makes his way throughout Meridell to stop the acts of Ramtor, who has crowned himself king after dethroning King Skarl from power. That doesn't sound like much compared to the first game... until you get to the FirstEpisodeTwist: [[spoiler:Rohane is actually not from Meridell, nor did he actually save the kingdom. That was a computer simulation aboard a starship of whom he's captaining. He was trapped in the program by a virus who later turns out to be the final boss, King Terask, and the ship he is on is headed straight for the sun. The only way to deactivate the program is to complete the other levels of the game, with the help of the other members of his crew.]]

* UnwinnableByMistake: Possible on Evil! difficulty. The only way to trigger the Mastermind fight is to beat Jahbal. If you lose to Mastermind, you can't challenge Jahbal again. This isn't a problem on [=InSaNe=], where dying resets the game, ''but''...
** UnwinnableByInsanity: The same thing happens if you flee from Mastermind (or [[spoiler:Xantan Reborn]]) and since all monsters are gone once you defeat Jahbal, you can mess up your game on either of the higher levels.

* ObviousRulePatch: As noted under UnwinnableByInsanity, in the first game it is possible to render the whole game {{Unwinnable}} if you flee from Mastermind or Xantan Reborn since they don't appear on the map like other bosses, but are triggered by another event. To prevent a similar situation happening with Terask II, it is impossible to flee from him.

** The opening splash screen of the game is a two-fer: Mr. [=InSaNe=] is dressed up like [[Film/TheMatrix The Archietect]], with enemies from the game beside him and the caption [[USefulNotes/PlayStation2 "Live in your world, get eaten by a Vampire Bearog in mine."]] below.

* StarterVillainStays: The very first boss of the game is a sludge monster known as Xantan the Foul. [[spoiler: If playing on Insane difficulty, he is revealed to be the TrueFinalBoss having returned as Xantan Reborn.]]

* AGlitchInTheMatrix: [[spoiler: Your first clue to the reality of this RPG.]]

* SwordAndSorcerer: Rohane and Mipsy, until Talinia joins their team. Some players are inclined to believe that Rohane and Mipsy are also a BattleCouple.

* {{Roguelike}}: [=InSaNe=] difficulty will seem like this, with its FinalDeath rule in place. Made worse that all of the enemies have 2x health.

* FinalDeath: If you die on [=InSaNe=] mode, you have to start the whole game over, rather that starting from the last save point. Also applies to [=NQ2=].

** [[HarderThanHard InSaNe]], which takes its name from Neo's most prominent PHP programmer: Mr. [=InSaNe=][[note]][[InsistentTerminology It's typically spelled like that]][[/note]]. FinalDeath is in full effect on this difficulty, along with even higher HP counts.

* GenreRoulette: In a unique way. The first game is very similar to a classic Eastern RPG, while the second takes its cues from the Japanese; a perfect contrast amongst the genre. And the third is something compeletely different.

As for the second game ([=NeoQuest II=]), it starts out with a very artistically similar plot. You control a young Blumaroo, Rohane (and eventually, an Acara, Mipsy) as he makes his way throughout Meridell to stop the acts of Ramtor, who has crowned himself king after dethroning King Skarl from power. That doesn't sound like much compared to the first game... until you get to the FirstEpisodeSpoiler: [[spoiler:Rohane is actually not from Meridell, nor did he actually save the kingdom. That was a computer simulation aboard a starship of whom he's captaining. He was trapped in the program by a virus who later turns out to be the final boss, King Terask, and the ship he is on is headed straight for the sun. The only way to deactivate the program is to complete the other levels of the game, with the help of the other members of his crew.]]

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler / LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler: The [[SublimeRhyme revelation of the computer simulation]] is treated as a complete surprise at the end of the first chapter. But if you've played Neo for a long time, you're likely to know it's coming]].