Illusion of Gaia

""Gaia" is a fun game to play, this is certainly no Illusion."

To say that Enix of America had a questionable resume during the Super NES days would be an euphemism. Electing to localize average games (7th Saga and Paladin's Quest) over the fifth instalment of their flagship series, Dragon Quest V, one might wonder just what the hell EoA were thinking. Thankfully, they opted to release a few games outside Japan that were innovative and addictive (Actraiser and Soul Blazer). One of those games was Illusion of Gaia, a localization that seemed to have been pushed by Nintendo, hence the “Only for Nintendo” on the North American boxart.

Illusion of Gaia is the second instalment of what is known as the Soul Blazer trilogy, a series of action/RPGs developed by Quintet during the SNES days and overseen by Enix (of Japan). The other two games of the trilogy are Soul Blazer trilogy, which was released in 1992, and Terranigma, that ironically never saw the light of the day in North America due to the closure of Enix's American division. (The latter was still released in Europe.)

Illusion of Gaia was a bit different from Soul Blazer. The story is about young Will who leaves on a life-changing quest to recover the six lost mystic statues in order to prevent a dangerous comet (aptly named Chaos Comet) of destroying the world...The main premise sounds generic, but it gets surprisingly deep as you go along. It deals with friendship, ethnicity, life after death, sects, etc...I found the plot a lot more involving than that of Soul Blazer. It is, however, even more linear than Soul Blazer (in that you can't revisit all the dungeons you have done later in the game), but it offers a deeper plot and memorable characters (just a shame that the ending literally spits on the very foundations of the game and is just difficult overall to digest...you'll see what I mean when you play it).

It (almost) entirely eliminates the monster lair and town rebuilding system and takes a more "Zeldaish" approach.The dungeons are much more clever than those in Soul Blazer, while they are not as complex as, say, Zelda: A link to the Past. The true innovation in this game is the leveling up system. You see, the main character has three stats: HP, Power, Defense. My eliminating all the monsters in a room of a dungeon, a pre-designed stat will go up by one point. By clearing up a room of monsters, you don't have to worry about running into the same monsters again until you have completed the dungeon, unless you have been defeated and you have no more continues left (more onto that later) and you have warped back at the beginning of the dungeon, or you revisit this particular dungeon, which makes the dungeon backtracking (there is some, but it not to the point of exhaustion) a lot easier and less annoying.

As you defeat monsters, you will gain orbs (either mini-orbs, which gives 1 point, or bigger orbs, which gives you 5 if I remember correctly). Once you gain 100 points, you are given an "extra life". When you are defeated by a monster, you are not truly "Game over" per say, but if you have an extra life, you will be warped at the entrance of the room you were in.. If you don't, you're warped at the entrance of the dungeon and you have to face the enemies again. Take note that if you are in a situation in which you are warped back at the entrance of the dungeon, you will have the same stats that you will have gained up to the point you have been defeated. Also, the stats are NOT cumulative, meaning that you cannot gain any more stats in a room that you have already cleared up.

Another interesting concept in "Gaia" is the character-switching system. As you make your way through dungeons, you'll quickly understand that Will's powers alone aren't enough to conquer through dungeons. In save points, you will be give the opportunity to use the powers of two great warriors of Gaia: Freedan and Shadow. Freedan is a powerful knight with a HUGE sword that will easily make his way through swarms of enemies. He is also crucial in certain parts in dungeons as he is the only character who make long-range fireballs to activate certain switches. He is more powerful than will and is a great asset when fighting bosses. The other warrior, Shadow, is a mysterious character who, with the help of an item called "Aura" , has the ability to morph into non-material matter and go through floors and go reach below rooms.

It is not to say that Will is completely useless. On the contrary! Will has the ability to make a tornado attack (which feels completely unnatural to execute, by the way. more onto that later), as well as a slide attack which allows him to go through narrow spaces that his alter-egos wouldn't be able to reach anyway (why doesn't Will simply crawl to pass through the holes is beyond me, but...anyway..it's just a game...). Also, he can use a powered-up attack that allows him to break weak walls (think Pegasus Boots in Zelda: A Link to the Past, although Will can only execute it at a limited range...).

These abilities for each character is interesting, because they each have a role to play at solving a particular puzzle in dungeons. Some of these puzzles may include defeating enemies in a room in order to proceed any further (an element that was borrowed from Soul Blazer). You may have, for example, to use Freedan to defeat an enemy that is otherwise unreachable to Will and Shadow.

Now, here comes the tricky part...the controls. While there is an interesting number of abilities in the game, not all of them are easy to execute. Will can dash, but it involves pressing the directional button TWICE in order to do it (Castlevania: Circle of the Moon had the exact same annoying design flaw). While running is certainly a welcome addition, it gets REALLY annoying to do after a while. Another example of so-so controls is the tornado attack. You have to press the "Charge" button and when Will is ready to execute it, you have to quickly press the L AND R buttons repeatedly, AND then the control pad. It got on my nerves quickly at the point that I never really used it in the game, besides a couple of points in which it is either required or strongly recommended (thankfully, it doesn't happen often...).

The game's brightest point to me is the soundtrack. Each tune perfectly fits with the environments you are exploring. The tracks are aptly long to fit with the game's rather big dungeons. And don't get me started on "Memories", which is to me the most tear-jerking piece of music of the entire trilogy. Really no complaints here. It's a job well-done.

The sound effects are a mixed bag: They are good, but they sound so...1990. Some of them are directly taken from Actraiser and Soul Blazer. The new stuff, however, is well-done. That noise/wind effect that sometimes occur when you solve a puzzle is awesome.

The breakdown:

Story; 8/10
Surprisingly good plot and characters, some shocking twists and dungeons based on actual ruins of our worlds. Just a shame the ending kinda ruins it all...

Gameplay: 8/10
Interesting concepts that never takes away the fun and addictiveness of the gameplay. One might wonder however if the game needed to be that linear...

Challenge:7/10
“Gaia” provides an interesting challenge in that you can't over-level in this game. Some bosses will pose a challenge if you don't take time to kill every enemy in dungeon rooms. However, there is nothing that cannot be completed by the average player. The puzzles, while clever, don't require as much thinking as the ones in Zelda: A link to the Past and the battles are not too difficult. It is a well-balanced game that can be completed by everyone.

Controls: 7.5/10
They're fine until you have to execute Will's later abilities...

Music/Sound: 8.5/10
Great soundtrack. Definitely my favorite in the Soul Blazer trilogy. Good sound effects, although some of them feel too nostalgic for their own good, but fans of Soul Blazer and Actraiser should feel right at home with them.


Illusion of Gaia is an fun and interesting game, that is just overshadowed by its predecessor in terms of originality (sure, multiple characters is cool, but it's not as if it had not already been done in another game, such as the excellent Sega Master System game Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap) and the bigger and less linear Terranigma. Still, it's a fun game in the same vein as Zelda III, albeit not as good nor complex.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/12/07

Game Release: Illusion of Gaia (US, 09/01/94)