Neoquest I

[Voskit]

I am thinking about starting NQI. I think I tried it a long long time ago, but I guess I didn't really get into it as a kid. 

How long did it take you to finish it? And do you prefer I or II? 

[smoss1]

I played NQI over the course of a couple of months. I took a few breaks in between while playing on the weekends. I would estimate that it took me >40 hours or so to complete both games while following a guide all the way through. It is quite an investment a time that is common with most RPGs. 

Both games are relatively similar in the basic mechanics of gameplay, but have different strategies to defeating bosses and obtaining/collecting items. I'll go through some differences of the games:

Before you start: It is a good idea to get a map and a guide. The way the games are designed do not give you a lot of character space to get your bearings. You can complete the game without these things but I won't promise you will complete it in ~40 hours.   At first, I tried to complete NQI without a map (big mistake). I quit after dank cave as it took me an hour to find my way out.

NQI: * mono a mono battling system* - You are alone in this game. You are self-reliant with combat, healing and magic. It's not a bad thing, it just requires different strategies to defeat enemies and bosses.

*ability to sneak around enemies* - Three ways to walk around in this game: Normal - run up into enemies normally, Hunting - run into enemies most of the time which is great for grinding and spam-clicking your way through the game as you move at a sluggish pace. 

*no money system, obtain weapons from trading raw materials* - enemies will drop potions to heal and raw materials to make certain equipment that you will need. You combine these by fetching the items required. 

*more grinding* - I do recall grinding more in this game. Its for the exp and trying to collect enough potions and raw materials. 

 

NQII: *building a party of four* - thoughout the game, you will find three other members to fight along side you. This can be helpful with certain necessities like healing and assistance in combat. But this also means you can run into up to 4 enemies at a time. 

*no sneaking mode* - This kind of sucks. There are only Normal and Hunting modes to walk in. 

*money system, buy weapons and items* - certain enemies also drop items like potions or seldom weapons, but most equipment you will purchase from the towns.

 

Cons of Both games: * Impossible to navigate for newcomers* - You need a map. It is extremely difficult to find your bearings. It is technically "possible" to navigate through the game without a map, but it will take you considerably longer.

*no audio, can be boring to grind* - This is probably expected with old Neopets browser games. But usually I would play music and watch a video in the background  to entertain myself. Everyone should have their own strategy to entertain themselves. 

*when you die on the first two difficulties, they put you back at the beginning* - all of your progress: stats and weapons are still there, but you have to make your way back to where you were in the games. 

 These are just the basic differences and my certain gripes and wishes of the each game. Personally, I prefer NQI a little more. It may have less story and you can't build a party, but I loved being able to control my character more without bumping into enemies every five steps. For all three modes, the sneaking mechanic is so helpful and I don't understand why they took it out of the second game. If it wasn't for this sole reason, NQII would be much less annoying in that regard, especially when you die and keep running into enemies that don't give you exp. That is also the reason why I prefer NQI slightly. 

I wish you the best of luck!

[Voskit]

Thanks for all of the information! @smoss1

I searched around and found some neat guides and maps. I see why you will really need it, it will take a really long time without. Probably too long. 

I think I would like the multiple characters in II, but the 'sneaking' in I makes it easier to get places if you're at a high enough level. Mayhaps could be irritating if you have to go through everything again. I am used to newer games like this, I know the moving is really slow. So that may put me off. 
Anyway, going to try. Starting with I. 

Again, thank you! 

[Hanso]

1 hour ago, Voskit said:

Thanks for all of the information! @smoss1

I searched around and found some neat guides and maps. I see why you will really need it, it will take a really long time without. Probably too long. 

I think I would like the multiple characters in II, but the 'sneaking' in I makes it easier to get places if you're at a high enough level. Mayhaps could be irritating if you have to go through everything again. I am used to newer games like this, I know the moving is really slow. So that may put me off. 
Anyway, going to try. Starting with I. 

Again, thank you! 

I'm assuming you found the In-Depth Neoquest Guide (idnq)? If so I recommend you Strangefire420's guide. Out of all the guides listed there, hers is the most comprehensive and coherent one in my opinion.

[Voskit]

8 minutes ago, Hanso said:

I'm assuming you found the In-Depth Neoquest Guide (idnq)? If so I recommend you Strangefire420's guide. Out of all the guides listed there, hers is the most comprehensive and coherent one in my opinion.

Yep. Thanks for the recommendation  I didn't choose yet, but I see the skills are already more explained in Strangefire420's guide.

[LunaS]

I just wanted to start back up on my Neoquest 1 game (after only 3 days of not playing) to find the only option being 'Click here to start a new game in Normal mode'

But I don't want to start a new game!!! 
Help?!!

[jellysundae]

1 hour ago, LunaS said:

I just wanted to start back up on my Neoquest 1 game (after only 3 days of not playing) to find the only option being 'Click here to start a new game in Normal mode'

But I don't want to start a new game!!! 
Help?!!

Ah...I think that's how it works, I'm SURE I saw that mentioned somewhere, but ofc I can't find where that was now.

[Hanso]

5 hours ago, LunaS said:

I just wanted to start back up on my Neoquest 1 game (after only 3 days of not playing) to find the only option being 'Click here to start a new game in Normal mode'

But I don't want to start a new game!!! 
Help?!!

I believe that can be fixed. From TDN's guide:

Quote

If you change active pets and click back in to NeoQuest you will then be prompted to start a new game for whichever pet you now have active. This is particularly important because NeoQuest games usually take more than a few days, especially the first time you play. To get back your original game's progress simply activate the pet you began the first game with.

 

[etrnldarkness]

Thanks for mentioning the guides. I played NQ1 back on my orignal account but haven't done it yet on this one. Although I have beaten and am working on NQII again. I am finding some guides I used in the past are no longer around and they were super helpful!

Goodluck with your task <3

LunaS - I do hope you are able to continue on!

[LunaS]

Thanks for the tips, I'll try that first!

[geoterza]

I liked NQ2 better than NQ1. 

That being said, I'm currently playing NQ1 on insane difficulty and I'm on level 31 now, so I'm feeling the grind.  I finished NQ2 on all three levels already.  I started in January and have been playing intermittently since then, though over the last week I've been playing quite a bit every day.  I think when I get out of the Temple of Roo I'll take a break for a bit again.  I've followed strangefire420's guide each time and so far so good.  If you play NQ1 on increasing difficulties, remember that there's one boss at the end on the easy game and 2 bosses on medium and 3 bosses on insane.  So save yourself some healing potions.