Illusion of Gaia

"The Number One Unplayed Game in America"

Hello everyone. I think Illusion of Gaia is a wonderful game, and I think everyone should give it a try. Believe me, you won't regret it. Well, here's my review:

Intro: Illusion of Gaia was released on the first of September in 1994. It was the second of the three games in the Soul Blazer trilogy, the first being Soul Blazer, and the third being Terranigma, which are both great games as well. You control a young boy named Will, or Tim, depending on where your game was released. One year ago, Will journeyed with his father Olman to the Tower of Babel. Olman and his party met with disaster, but somehow Will made it back to South cape, his home town. This is where you come in, and take control of Will for the duration of the game, but I'll get to the rest of the story later.

Gameplay: I like it. You don't need every button, and there are no complicated moves to memorize. There are some special abilities, but they are easy to pull off. The game is frustrating at times, but this happens very rarely. Maybe one or two of the bosses are annoying, but the game is very well balanced, not too easy or hard, and not too short or too long (if that is possible). One thing I hate about RPGs is a turn-based fighting system. Luckily this game doesn't have that, simply see an enemy, kill it, move on, similar to the Legend of Zelda games. Another great feature is that in a dungeon you only have to worry about yourself, as your friends stay behind in dungeons (with the exception of two levels, but you don't have to protect them). The control is easy to learn, and the gameplay is great. Also, I like the variety of the dungeons and boss battles in this game, which take place in almost every type of environment possible, from a castle, to a garden in the sky, to an underwater city, to the Great Wall of China, to outer space, and so much more! Simply astonishing.... 10/10

Story: My absolute favorite part of the game. After Will fills you in on the background of the game (see intro), we meet his friends, and then Will meets princess Kara, and the game takes off. Will's father asks Will to journey the ruins of the world and collect the six Mystic Statues, then bring them to the Tower of Babel. The catch? There is an evil comet headed for Earth that is going to change evolution, and it must be stopped to save the Earth, before it's too late. The wonderful thing isn't the actual story, it's the interaction of Will and his friends. This game is very emotional. There is love, and loss, which affects all of Will's friends. This game has a lot to do with change, and you can see it in Kara. After the defeat of the final boss, the ending sequence really tugs at your heart strings. If you don't care about a game's story, then you won't like this game as much. the story adds a lot to the game, as do a few minor side-stories. 10/10

Graphics: Well, this game has good graphics for the SNES. Not the best graphics I've ever seen, but they are very nice. For example, you can heal/save in a place called the Dark Space, which looks awesome. Also, there is a secret level, a mansion that looks really amazing, though you may not notice with all the enemies around. The background images are great, especially in outdoor dungeons. Really well done. 9/10

Sound: Wow, where do I start? The only aspect of this game that surpasses the music is the story. The songs in the dungeon backgrounds are fantastic. The music in the end sequence is great, and really adds to the emotion of the scene. Just wonderful. The sound effects are pretty good too. You don't have those annoying beeps from Zelda if your life gets too low, so they don't get annoying. The sound effects are nice, but the music is wonderful. 10/10

Play time/Replayability: You'll probably want to beat the game once to finish the story. After that, you could play it again in order to find and beat the secret level. Then, you will probably forget about this game for a while, but eventually something will trigger your memory and you will remember this game and want to play it again. That is the way this game works, and I love those types of games. The game might take you a while the first time through, but afterwards it's just fun to play. 8/10

Final word: If you can find this game, get it. If you can't, get the rom. This game isn't for everybody, but I recommend that everyone try it. I play SNES more than any other system, and this is my all-time favorite game. Please, give it a try. You won't regret it!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/04