Illusion of Gaia

"An RPG with somewhat of a new style"

The first thing I noticed about this game is that it is different from other RPGs. I know that some have compared it to Zelda, but for me, it is not like Zelda in any way other then the basic format of the game. I don't see it as a Zelda clone at all. It just doesn't have that atmosphere that Zelda games have to them. This game is different.

In the beginning you are a boy named Will. Your life is somewhat normal, except that your father, an explorer, disappeared a while ago. You also have an ability to move objects with your mind and can play the flute well. Other then that Will does the things that other children do, go to school and hang out with friends. Soon there is a tragic event and you are invited to the castle. This is where the whole story starts.

Visual: 8/10
This game looks good when playing it. There are people in the towns that repeat, which is annoying a little bit. There are some things visually that just make this game neat. Just some small things, like Will's hair blows in the wind when you go down by the docks. The game looks good overall.

Audio: 7/10
The sound is okay. It is not great, though. The music feels very limited. The sound effects are pretty good, though, and they are the only auditory that make the sound seem all right.

Gameplay: 9/10
This game has some great points to it, and the controls are simple and easy to use. Sometimes you have to wait around for an event to happen. Also the ability to play as two other people is great. When playing through the game, each character will get three different abilities, so sometimes you have to change in-between them. Also this game feels original in its gameplay and does not feel like it is a clone of Secret of Mana or Zelda.

Story: 7/10
There are times when the story is great, and sometimes the story feels a little bit dull. Every once in a while there will be some funny dialog that make things interesting. Also there will be times when tragic events happen.

Replay: 7/10
This game is an all right game to come back to. I do come back to it sometimes, but at the beginning of the game it seems to take while for anything interesting to happen. Once you get rolling, this game is great!

OVERALL: 7/10
(Based mostly on replay and gameplay)
This game is a pretty good game overall. It has qualities that no other RPGs have. Also the story is okay to play through, and the little visual things really make a difference in how I view the game. This is somewhat of a different RPG, so if you are an RPG fan, you might not like it, or you might. I would defiantly suggest trying it out before you buy it to make sure if you like it or not. Otherwise, I would say that I liked the game overall and I could call it a good game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/03/01, Updated 12/21/01