The legacy of Final Fantasy (and to a lesser extent Dragon Quest in the West) is impossible to overstate, with Squaresoft’s SNES RPGs in particular still undisputed as the pinnacle of classic 2D JRPGs. For this reason, any modern attempt to recapture the look of these games will inevitably be caught in their shadow – with often unfortunate results. Quartet is the latest title to attempt to recapture the nostalgic feels, but also draws inspiration from the modern Square-Enix Octopath Traveler series. The result is a fantastic old-school JRPG that should be on every fan’s wish list.
Quartet’s pixel graphics are a modern iteration of the 16-bit style and capture the tone and look very well. Obviously, they don’t necessarily scale as faithfully to a 4K output and I personally preferred playing handheld on my Switch 2 as it seemed to suit the aesthetic better. There is, however, an excellent level of pixel detail, with distinctive characters and a range of environments in which to explore and fight. Later in the game, you’ll also unlock a Final Fantasy-style airship, and the world map perfectly mimics classic Mode 7 effects from SNES games.
One of the most surprising aspects of the game is the soundtrack. There’s a ridiculous variety of moods and tones here, from panic-inducing battle tunes to jazzy city melodies and even a barbershop quartet hidden in the basement of a building. I found myself revisiting areas once I could move freely just to listen to the pieces and will look to pick up the original soundtrack to add to my writing playlist. The sound effects are adapted to the chosen aesthetic and the sounds of weapons in combat have good importance.
I mentioned above that Quartet is an amalgamation of the classics Final Fantasy and Octopath Traveler, with the former being the main influence for the setting and narrative. Quartet takes place in a world that is equal parts focused on magic and technology and the areas and characters reflect this dichotomy. You’ll travel from monster-infested swamps and sacred ruins to the aforementioned sci-fi hangers-on and airships with a variety of locations ensuring nothing becomes stale or boring. Perhaps one of the most memorable locations is a Wild West-inspired location that features outlaws, gunslingers, an iconic theme and dusty, barren environments, while end-game missions will take you to mysterious underground sanctuaries.
Octopath’s inspiration comes in the form of the characters and structure of the Quartet. To start the game, you can choose from four different opening chapters in any order you want. Each character is then joined by a support member (and sometimes others temporarily) so that by the time your party comes together, there are four distinct pairs that you can freely mix and match to form your four-person battle team. This actually leads to half magic users and half melee, but all have an assortment of abilities that can be combined to swing battles in your favor.
The four main characters represent the four elements – another loyal FF influence – and elemental damage plays a huge role in the combat mechanics, as do the different weapon types. This makes combat a matter of strategy and tactics where choosing the right character can make all the difference. It’s very easy to swap any of your teammates so you don’t have to rely on guesswork to get the right team. The tactical aspect is heightened by the complex interplay between buffs, debuffs, elemental properties and turn order and it’s incredibly satisfying when a plan comes to fruition.
Most of Quartet is fairly linear, with little opportunity for exploration outside of some optional paths for bonus items. There’s also no grinding potential until the end of the game, as random battles have been replaced with mostly static enemies visible on the map. This is a welcome choice as it means the focus is on combat strategy rather than excessive leveling and therefore defeat results in a change in team choices or attacks rather than a long slog. At the end of the game, things open up and a choice of character quests become available, which mixes things up a bit.
On the usual difficulty level, Quartet is well balanced with boss fights providing a decent challenge but nothing that should prove frustrating. Casual and Hard options are also available if you want to make the experience more story-driven or challenging. The game also contains the usual assortment of optional bosses and areas for completionists. Once the world opens up both narratively and mechanically, it makes perfect sense.
