'EverQuest' Nostalgia: 2 Decades Later

Recently I downloaded EverQuest from Steam as an escape from my usual gaming tendencies and to bathe in the warm, welcoming waters of nostalgia that came with it. Nearly two decades later and EverQuest is still going strong with new expansions and, of course, EverQuest II! What is it about this game from 1999 though, that reminds us of early Saturday mornings with a blanket draped around us like a cape, keeping us warm and toasty? I want to take a look back with you, and hopefully you'll regain some of the same warm memories, as well.

As soon as you hear the music from EverQuest you probably instantly form an image in your head, whether it be grinding in The Overthere, working on trade skills or falling off the damn bridges in Kelethin. And that's just the music! Let's sit back a minute and remember the most glorious piece of sound ever played: the ding! I remember turning up the volume every time that beautiful bell went off, and blasting it through the phone to my uncle or friend. It was the sound of accomplishment and progression. I will never forget the sound of the magical ding, and once in a while I'll turn it up on YouTube just to have that sense of magic for a fleeting moment. Take a listen to the EverQuest soundtrack above!

Zones and Cities (Race Wars)

I'm a sucker for Kelethin. Growing up, I wouldn't be any other class than Wood Elf! Now, though a little revamped, the cities and zones exist much like they did before. One player did a Qeynos to Freeport run, purely for nostalgia and to experience it one more time. I was running around in Greater Faydark and ran past Felwithe. Instantly, memories of playing with my buddy came back. I was an elf and we had our friend port him so he was closer so we could play together. That lasted for all of about 30 minutes, because he was playing an Ogre. Before we had time to do anything, my guards slaughtered him and that was all she wrote. The things you had to find out the hard way on EverQuest.

The Community

Hey, I need five bat wings. I know, I'll go check the auction house. Wait. What? That's right, remember even before EverQuest introduced the Bazaar? If you wanted to trade or barter with another player you had to "face to face." Though, when released, there was nothing like this, players founded the use of the East Commonlands tunnel to do just that! You couldn't link items in chat then, either. You would have to get out your rusty, trusty pencil, and write down the stats of an item on a piece of paper, type that into the chat window, rinse, and repeat! This is just a small sense of the community that came with EverQuest. When questing, nothing was laid out for you, and sometimes the only way of getting any further was reaching out to others for help. Today in most MMO RPGs, you could probably go through an entire game without speaking to anyone if you wanted, and that just defeats the purpose. I can still remember names of friends from EverQuest today, so Kenaisya, Lynienu, or Mangg, if you ever see this, just remember we played quite a bit together and I hope you're well!

Questing: Go look around for a few hours.

You know how in today's MMOs, the quest system can be as easy as point and click? Yeah, that's cute, isn't it? In EverQuest, it's much more problem solving, reading, and luck. You will need to first find a quest giver (they don't have neat exclamation points above their heads), finesse through the dialogue, and figure out what they need. A quest could entail killing someone, taking something, or even simply going to talk to another person. The original epic quest? Forget about it. For players like myself, I like not having everything spoon fed to me. Revisiting EverQuest was a nice break from today's "casual player" atmosphere every game partakes in. How many hours did you spend questing, or lack thereof? Original questing was far and in between.

Relive the Glory!

EverQuest is free-to-play on Steam and awaiting your return. Even if it's casual weekends or a rainy day, log in and feel the nostalgia of late nights, early mornings, or fun with friends. Hear the music that once filled your rooms and hear the enlightening "DING" of a new level. Go kick some skeleton butts!