Final Fantasy Mystic Quest hold a somewhat infamous position in the history of the JRPG franchise.
Intended to introduce Western audiences to the genre, it offered a watered-down take on the series and, as a result, has become something of a black sheep in the wider Final Fantasy family, with some even calling it the worst game to carry the name.
Despite this, Mystic Quest still has its fans – many of whom will no doubt have savoured their first taste of the JRPG genre via this very game – so you could understand why its stylish cover artwork might be of considerable interest to collectors.
However, "interest" is a tricky thing to put a price on, and it would seem that the person who is currently in possession of the original Mystic Quest artwork has a rather overinflated opinion of its worth.
As spotted by Digital Eclipse Editorial Director Chris Kohler, the art is currently being sold online for a whopping $350,000 USD.
While many have replied to the post with the opinion that the art is "gorgeous", the reaction has been almost unanimously negative when it comes to the price. One reply even doubts that any piece of Final Fantasy art would ever reach such a lofty selling price.
Are you the one crazy person in the world who might consider dropping $350,000 on this piece of art? Let us know with a comment below, but first, we have some magic beans you might be interested in...
[source bsky.app]
Comments 11
350 sounds about right.
Even Amano's water colors wouldn't be worth 350k seperate.
But probably worth several hundreds each regardless.
And to buck the trend ( as usual) my first jrpg was Secret Of Mana.
I stil have a soft spot for the game
Dont think I ever played this one.
Makes me wonder if they just chose the wrong currency, because 350,000 Yen (about $2200) is still high, but a lot more reasonable.
@PowerPandaMods
...That actually makes a lot more sense.
I like FFMQ.
Though my first game was FF4, MQ was still good for a repeated fun, breezy rental back in the day.
It might've been a very easy game to finish, but it still had its charms.
This piece straddles the art and video game worlds. Not an expert on art, but I think original pieces of art tend to demand much higher prices than rare video games.
But even with that, six figures does seem crazy. I seem to recall artists in The Art of the Box indicating they had sold original pieces of box art for 5 figures.
I know this type of thing is subjective, but “gorgeous” would not be the word I would use to describe this bland piece of marketing from Square USA.
@tektite_captain Striking is more the term. It is a good piece.
@KingMike FFMQ music is excellent. Lots of bangers.
I'm one of those fans that love this game.
Understanding that it's an entry-level RPG is key in appreciating FF Mystic Quest. It achieves what it's supposed to do: ease non-RPG gamers into the genre. There's no getting lost as the game is very linear. There are no random encounters (You can see the enemy and choose when to engage). Your HP and MP can be displayed as as numbers or as a life bars (like in action games). There's also some action moves like jumping, cutting trees with an axe, blowing up boulders with bombs and a grappling hook to help you get across. All meant to help action gamers get into RPGs. It's a very "cozy" RPG.
In terms of graphics, it's as good as Final Fantasy IV and V. If you like the battle screens of the Final Fantasy Legend (aka SaGa) games on the GameBoy, this is very similar but in color and 16-bit graphics. The sound is great and music is excellent. And the controls are responsive.
The only negative thing is the game is short and the story isn't exactly deep. And I do think the Final Fantasy name hurts it as people may expect a similar lengthy epic with plenty freedom and exploration.
It's an excellent game if you know what to expect and if you wanted to introduce someone to RPGs back in the day. An 8/10 for me.
As far as the art piece, that price is insane. I can't imagine even fans would pay more than a few hundreds...
Everything has a value on what people give it. Whether people take to that value is another matter. I mean Fantavision for the Amiga is supposed to be quite rare but people don't know it exists. 😁
That same seller sold Mega Man X3 for 450k and Alien Vs. Predator SNES for 250k, so it's not absurd given those comparables. There really is no Final Fantasy original art available. Amano does not sell his published work and collectors will pay up for one of a kind pieces of artwork for their favorite games. Bronze/Copper age Spider-Man covers can sell for six to seven figures, so why does this seem ridiculous?
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