Terranigma

"The pinnacle of 16-Bit gaming?"

We all know that the Super Nintendo offered a gaming library so full and rich with AAA quality titles that even to this day, the console´s popularity has not been decreasing at all with true video game fans. Surely enough, there were highlights in every single genre, no matter whether we are talking about Jump and Runs (i.e. "Super Mario World", "Donkey Kong Country"), racing games ("Super Mario Kart") or action games ("Contra III"). However, the genre that definitely stood out in this vast sea of top-games is without the doubt the RPG/Action-RPG genre. Seldom has there been a console with such a rich, diverse and memorable library of Role Playing Games, with only Sony´s PSOne and PlayStation 2 coming close to the splendor fans of the fantastic genre were being treated with on the 16-Bit wonder machine. Games like "Final Fantasy VI", "Chrono Trigger" or "Tales of Phantasia" speak for themselves, I think, and there´s no way you could find a more absorbing and entertaining experience as far as 2D RPGs go. However, much to western gamers dismay, a lot of these RPG gems by Squaresoft, Enix and co. were being released near the end of the system´s life cycle, preventing western publishers from bringing these huge and expensive to translate titles over the pond...and games like "Star Ocean", "Rudra´s Treasure", "Treasure Hunter G" and most notably "Seiken Densetsu III" remained in Japan to this very day, leaving no legal possibility for western fans to enjoy these classics. Fortunately, there was one late SNES action-RPG that found its way to the western world thanks to the sudden change of mind of Nintendo Europe in terms of RPGs on our continent, and so, Nintendo decided to translate a little known game named "Tenchi Souzou", the spiritual successor to the classic titles "Soul Blazer" and "Illusion of Gaia", developed by Enix in-house company Quintet. To this day, I am not sure whether was just sheer luck or a well thought decision by Nintendo to translate this title and bring it to Europe...but as a matter of fact, they happened to provide us lucky western gamers with the greatest SNES experience ever.

But first of all, let me tell you about one of the most important aspects in an (action-) RPG: the storyline. Unlike other titles in the same vein such as the Zelda series, "Terranigma" features a storyline similar to heavyweights like "Final Fantasy VI" or "Chrono Trigger", and since there are going to be some unexpected twists early on in the game, I will only give you a short description of the events triggering this grandiose adventure. Right after you put in the cartridge, you will be greeted by a beautiful intro that informs us of the evolution of mankind and the fact that the world consists of two equal parts: an overworld and an underworld, with the overworld having been devastated by a great disaster long ago. However, inside the planet, there´s still a handful of people living in the aforementioned underworld, in a small and peaceful village named Crysta, the only village existing in the underworld. There we are being introduced to the hero of the game, a young tomboy named Ark, who has been raised by the elder of Krysta. His life has been rather unexciting in his early years, with the only exception being the company of his girlfriend Elle (who will play quite a significant and surprising role later on). One day, all this changes, though, as Ark, always yearning for some adventures, opens a door the villagers were being told never to open. Inside the door, Ark finds some sort of a Pandora´s Box, with a small, pinkish and mischievous creature named Yomi living inside. However, Ark´s action caused everyone in Krysta to freeze, with only him and the elder remaining unharmed. Now it is Ark´s duty to unfreeze his fellow villagers by leaving his peaceful hometown and visiting the dark and barren underworld surrounding it, where five ancient towers are being located. Guided by Yomi, Ark must defeat the guardians residing within the towers, which will not only cause the villagers to return to their normal form, but also affect the overworld by restoring the continents as we know them. And believe me, this is merely the playable prologue of the game, as the real adventure is just about to start, but you better find out for yourself. In any case, I can already say that the events that are still to come in this game truly are astounding. The process of recreating the world is divided into several chapters, and each chapter features its own unique storyline, involving countless clever references to real life events and personalities of the past. Along the way, there´s also a good deal of character development, especially in regard to Ark himself, who´s steadily growing into a more serious and mature person over the course of the adventure, realizing his responsibilities and making some tough and painful decisions. There´s so much to the story in "Terranigma", but there just isn´t enough space to mention all aspects that made me weep in joy, but let me close this section of my review with the realization that the plot in "Terranigma" is absolutely intriguing and moving at the same time, and I am not ashamed to admit that the ending was so bitter-sweet that I had to shed a tear. There are only few games that are able to create such a tense atmosphere, but "Terranigma" fully accomplished this herculean task.

The gameplay is quite similar to related titles of the same genre like "Illusion of Gaia" or the Zelda titles, which means that the game features a real time battle system you have full control over, with no separate battle screen or any other restrictions. In general, the battles are quite similar to the game´s indirect predecessor "Illusion of Gaia", apart from the fact that you now have a proper level-up system just like in a regular RPG, with your stats steadily increasing and that you can now equip different weapons - again, just like in a "real" RPG. While fighting the many enemies you´ll encounter, you are also able to use magic in form of several magic rings that you can buy in shops - but to be perfectly frank, they´re completely useless apart from looking great and all. The fighting does not represent the main aspect of your visits to the various dungeons, though, as the adventure and puzzle aspect plays a similarly big role. For example, you can use different key items in order to progress through dungeons, like the so called bird claws in order to climb up rocky walls, and many more. The typical action/adventure formula of visiting towns and fighting through dungeons serves for the mainframe of the gameplay in "Terranigma", but fortunately, there are tons of things to do apart from the usual fare. Since it is Ark´s duty to restore the world, he is bound to have a certain influence on the events that are taking place, and that is indeed the case since you, the player, are able to influence not only evolution itself, but also the progress of mankind as well. For example, at one point, you are involved in a civil war taking place in fictional state named Loire (that´s supposed to be a reference to France, obviously), and afterwards, your help is required in determining the future of the new state by voting for a new president/prime minister, and depending on who you vote for, the country will either prosper or deteriorate. This is just one of the many examples on how you can influence the progress of mankind, and some involve you helping fictional inventors and adventurers resembling real life personae. That´s exactly what sets the game above the usual action-RPG fare, even more than the pitch perfect battle system, fair difficulty level and perfect level designs. Quintet provided us with pure gaming bliss here, and in my humble opinion, "Terranigma" manages to top even the almighty "The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past". And that´s saying a lot.

Looking at the visuals of "Terranigma", there´s only one possible conclusion one can draw: this is the pinnacle of graphics in 2D RPGs on the SNES, and Quintet´s masterpiece easily ranks among the absolute Super Nintendo elite consisting of "Chrono Trigger", "Tales of Phantasia", "Seiken Densetsu III", "Star Ocean", "Bahamuth Lagoon", "Treasure Hunter G" and "Rudra´s Treasure". These titles have several aspects in common with "Terranigma" that makes them such outstanding achievements in 2D RPG gaming, with the most obvious one being the character sprites. They´re extremely detailed, very well animated and please the eye with a lively and vivid look, and it truly is a joy to watch them. Even more impressive are the enemy sprites, with the clear highlight being the boss enemies: they´re huge, they´re menacing and they simply look awesome, representing everything a boss enemy should be. The same goes for the various surroundings including beautiful villages, forests, caves and several unique and fresh seeming places as well, most of which you should discover for yourself. The secret highlight in terms of graphics, though, are the cutscenes. Yes, that´s right, Quintet managed to squeeze actual cutscenes into the cartridge. Okay, maybe the word "cutscenes" is a little far fetched. Of course there won´t be any visual splendor on the same level as some PlayStation sequences like in "Final Fantasy VII", that much is clear. However, there are a few scenes that have been rendered by Enix, displaying the different stages of evolution initiated by the player, including pictures of snowy mountains, the birth of a bird or animals in the savannah, all of them being animated at least slightly, and they´re breathtakingly gorgeous for their time to say the least. All in all, "Terranigma" is 2D gaming at its very best in terms of graphics, and I have not a single complaint in this regard.

By now, it should be clear that "Terranigma" is at the very least an awesome game that astounds in every single aspects, but the pinnacle of this virtual masterpiece probably is its soundtrack. Words fail me to describe its sheer quality, but I am tempted to say the following. As far the ability to express emotions with music and the sheer audio quality go, "Terranigma" is unmatched on the Super Nintendo. It completely outclasses even "Final Fantasy VI". It even surpasses the legendary score of "Chrono Trigger" by the equally legendary Yasunori Mitsuda, and only "Tales of Phantasia" can rival the versatility of the awesome musical score here. Examples include the peaceful and dreamy melody of Krysta, the epic world map score, the terrific last boss music and the unbelievably sad and beautiful ending theme...this is indeed a soundtrack that is able to display emotions and situations with its various melodies, and Masanori Hikichi and Miyoko Kobayashi have created a set of songs that will not be forgotten by loyal fans of the game.

It really is difficult to describe "Terranigma" with mere words. It´s an experience unlike any other on the Super Nintendo, an adventure every serious video gamer has to go on in order to see what makes this game one of the best Super Nintendo games ever - maybe even the best of them all. Words alone simply cannot do this incredible milestone enough justice, and I think that "Terranigma" really can be considered to be one of the best video games of all time. In any case, it´s the magnum opus of Quintet every SNES gamer should check out.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/13/07