Illusion of Gaia: - An Action RPG of Divine Quality
Written: Dec 30 '04 (Updated Aug 19 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fun Gameplay, Puzzles, Story
Cons: Story lags a Bit Near The End
The Bottom Line: Don't Be One of The Many To Overlook This Great Title!
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| jeremy1456's Full Review: Illusion of Gaia for Super Nintendo |
RPGs are my real passion as far as my gaming expertise goes. They come in all sizes and shapes, but the most memories I have with this medium come from the good old days of 16-bit gaming, where gameplay was more important than graphical prowess. The two heavy hitters from this era were Squaresoft and the lesser known Enix. The latter company is the developer of the ever popular Dragon Quest series, and though they weren't exactly in North America so well, they are easily one of the most popular developers in all of Japan. One division of the company worked specifically on a trilogy of action RPGs, and though none of the games were directly connected to each other, each was wonderful in their own way. The first of these titles is my favorite action RPG of all time; Soulblazer. The second, though not as highly regarded by myself, is still a game that holds a special place in my heart. This game is known as Illusion of Gaia. Now why is this game so special? Read on to find out.
Okay so here's a little background information on the game. It was released in 1994 by Enix, but was widely overlooked. Illusion of Gaia even came packaged in with it's own mini-strategy guide, but I'm still to this day the only person I know (in person) who has actually played through it. The game is an action RPG, meaning that while it does have RPG elements (item collecting, conversing with NPCs, stats with increases, etc.) combat is not restricted to the old fashioned turned base engine. This means that the engine is more hack 'n slash based, but it's a level beyond your standard dungeon crawler. You should be aware that Illusion of Gaia has a plot that is much more intricately told, and deeper than anything else released near it. This game really seems to have been a little ahead of it's time.
Story
The plot's main focus centers around a youthful auburn haired fellow that goes by the name of Will. He lives with his friends in a peaceful village, but one thing in particular stands out with him. This is his sixth sense. He has the power of telekinesis, and can move around objects with the twirl of his flute. Life is serene for Will until a chance encounter with a princess from a nearby castle. The King of this castle demands that Will hand over an object called the Crystal Ring, but our main character hasn't the foggiest idea what it is. After being imprisoned, Will is contacted by his lost father through the special little flute that he carries. The voice persuades him to journey to the tower in which the father disappeared. Thus begins a simple journey, which eventually unfolds to one of the most epically mind shattering story's that has ever been told through a video game.
Although Illusion of Gaia may share a few gameplay, graphics, and audio aspects with Soulblazer, the two are completely different experiences. Illusion of Gaia focuses more on weaving a complex storyline complete with much more character relationships, while adding a few more layers of gameplay to the mix. The end result, though not as entertaining as Soulblazer, is still quite the pleasing escapade. Just get ready for some thinking as you progress in the storyline, as the plot is so intense that you shouldn't be surprised if you learn a couple things about yourself as you progress.
One well explored theme to the story is character development. Will's group of friends travel with him throughout the story, and as such you'll notice a monumental amount of fleshing out that a few of them recieve. This last statement is in specific reference to the character Kara, who is at first developed as the selfish snob princess, but later plays a much bigger role in the end. I didn't actually find any of Will's friends to be of particular interest, but they do work decently at moving the storyline along, and also add some more cool RPG plot elements to the experience.
Gameplay
All action is displayed from the classic nearly overhead view. You can control Will in pretty much every accessible direction, though he can only face left, right, down, and up. Gameplay mainly consists of walking/running around and slashing enemies, with the a lot of interacting with NPCs to progress the story. Enemies have a set amount of HP, and as you slash these abominations you'll slowly wear it down to nothingness, at which point the creature will go to monster heaven. The worst element of gameplay is the fact that you cannot directly upgrade Will's weapon, you're stuck with the same flute through the whole game (unless you transform, but more on that later).
There are some welcome variations in combat that appear as you progress through the game. Firstly, Will acquires special moves throughout the journey, given to him by the Earth spirit known as Gaia. The little portals to Gaia are located everywhere, and are used as a point to save your game, transform Will into the two other existances, and sometimes Gaia will teach new techniques upon entering them. Such moves as a sliding technique, a quick dash, and a tornado spinning move can be acquired for Will. The two transformations also have their own set of moves, which makes it often necessary to switch between them to complete many of the game's puzzles. The special moves become repetitive with some of the levels because of how many times you'll be using them, and switching between characters in order to move forward, but this element does add some nice diversity to the core game.
Will's sixth sense allows him to sense portals to Gaia's little nook of the universe. The room Will is transported to contains three statues (once you unlock both transformations). By speaking to the two statues on the side, Will transforms into the two characters through power bestowed upon him by the Gaia statue. The statue in the center is Gaia, and speaking to him allows you to save your game. Upon speaking to one of the statues on the side, Will gains the appearance and special powers of the two different entities. Freedan is the first that will be acquired, and he is a very large knight with a long sword. The other transformation changes Will into a being known as Shadow, who has the power to seep down through cracks in the flooring. The ability to transform makes things more diverse, but at the same time the necessary backtracking detracks a bit from the fun experience.
The telekinetic abilities of Will are widely explored in the gameplay. Through these powers, Will can float items to him, and move some heavy objects. Most of the puzzles in fact, revolve around this ability of the main character. Each of the three beings can use the telekinetic ability, which is definitely a good implementation because without this, the backtracking would have increased ten-fold. The puzzles requiring the moving of blocks and such on to switches are really not that difficult to figure out, and the game gives sufficient but sometimes subtle clues as to what you should do next to open the way forward.
One of the major implementations to the game involves the collection of key items. The inventory screen has numerous slots at which you can place items. These vary in range from melodies for your flute (which have special uses), medicinal herbs, letters, keys, and much more. To help with managing space in the inventory, the game throws away key items for you after they are no longer necessary in the quest. This also helps a lot when the immediate path is not seen, as you won't spend your time testing out useless items for an effect. A lot of the time, dialogue or physical clues will give you a good idea of where an item should be used. Sometimes clues are incredibly subtle, for example, sometimes you must find cracks in the wall merely based off of if Will's hair is responding to a draft from the wall.
Travelling is perfomed by merely selecting a destination from a subtle menu. What's cool though is that upon selecting a place, the camera zooms in behind your characters as they walk to the area which you selected. What's more is that you can't always backtrack to places you've been. About midway through the game you cannot return to any of the old locales. One element I particularly like with other RPGs is the ability to go back and see sights you've already seen, and so I was more than a little disappointed when I couldn't return to quite a few of the older locations.
This is quite the long game, so you'll have to devote a lot of time into finishing it. One problem is that this title begins lagging near the end, and by the time it finally picks up an area or two before the finale, you might find yourself a little bored. The many locales throughout the game keep things plenty interesting. You'll be visiting underground paths, a pyramid, a haunted mountain pass, a lost golden ship, and even an undersea labyrinth haunted by the undead. The amount of backstory that some of these areas recieve is welcomes, and the game really carries a haunting atmosphere with it that isn't soon forgotten. Sometimes the game almost makes you feel like you're in a dream state, which is something no other game has accomplished for me.
Graphics, Sound, Control, and Replay Value
The graphics in Illusion of Gaia are fairly standard as far as the Super Nintendo goes. Some details are intricately drawn, while numerous others had less time put into them. The mode7 map effect is one of the more flashy elements going on in this package, but there are plenty of artistic designs that deserve to be pointed out. For starters, the golden ship is an amazing site, as is the bottom of the ocean. There's plenty of eye candy in Illusion of Gaia, but you won't really notice it in the beginning of the game. What may look like a standard package at first, gives way to an exceptional design as storyline progression occurs.
The music is also another layer to the haunting atmosphere. Some of the midi notes sound like real flutes in this game, which sounds really terrific in conjunction with the given songs. The music overall is just short of fantastic, with it's fair share of moody melodies, happy songs, and more. The Illusion of Gaia's soundtrack is easily one of my favorite overall pieces of composition. Sound effects are slightly weaker, and some seem to have been taken directly from Soulblazer. While this isn't a bad thing necessarily, they do sound a little outdated. The subtle beeping noise that corresponds with text being displayed is slightly annoying after a while, but it's cool how it changes pitch with each character as they speak.
Controls are very simple to master. The only thing you should have any problem with at all is memorizing the button combinations input for the characters' special moves. Probably the only control issue involves running, as you have to press the direction you wish to run twice, and hold it down upon the second press. Also, some areas require Will to get a running start down ramps to run up steep slopes. The awkward part of this is that with the added speed, it's difficult to direct Will around certain objects at times. Though it's not quite perfect, there is nothing in the controls area that should prevent you from playing.
Replay value is tremendously high for this title. First off, the main quest is fun enough that you'll probably find yourself playing through just to re-experience the storyline and gameplay. Secondly, the game features certain magical red jewels hidden throughout the world. If you miss them in certain spots, you can't go back to grab them later. You probably won't find all of these on your first time through, hence if you really want to reap the benefits of them you'll likely play through again. These jewels serve a purpose though. Upon gathering them, you'll recieve certain items and power-ups along the journey. The person who gives you these is located in every town. If you gather every single one of these than you will be given the option to play through a secret dungeon in the end. I personally have not yet found them all yet, but I may go back until I do. The strategy guide packaged in with the game gives the locations of each of them, which is a big help.
Final Recommendation
If you're a fan of 16-bit gaming (action RPGs specifically) than Illusion of Gaia is just for you. The only real problem this title faces is the fact that it really starts lagging about 2/3 the way through. If you can forgive the semi-boring part of the game, than there's absolutely no reason to hold back from getting this game. Also try Soulblazer, for the same console.
Overall Score: 9.2
Recommended:
Yes
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jeremy1456
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Currently Binging on Classic Games and Bad Horror Films.
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