[Review/Discussion] Illusion of Gaia

[CJC]

ERM made mention of the Jeweler Gem as a Super-Boss in this thread (http://armageddongames.net/showthread.php?95460-Super-Bosses-Memories-and-Frustrations&p=894492&viewfull=1#post894492), so I thought I'd start a discussion about the Illusion of Gaia to see what people liked, what people didn't like, and what they would have done differently. I'll start.


So that you do not have to read walls of text that you don't care for, I've compartmentalized this post into spoilers. Read what you like and ignore the rest. Each section will have detailed information about the plot of the game, and will contain spoilers, so if you have a copy and you haven't played it yet (which would be weird, since the game is from 1994), then don't read this.

First, a synopsis of the important characters:
-=SPOILER=-

And a synopsis of the plot:
-=SPOILER=-


What I liked:
-=SPOILER=-

What I disliked:
-=SPOILER=-


And now, the big one...
What I would change:
-=SPOILER=-


And that's my rant. For those of you that read it all, thank you for your time. Any thoughts? Any counterpoints? What would you change about the game, if you could?

[Brasel]

I loved this game. It's always been one of my favorites. I agree with you that Shadow was introduced too late in the game. One thing you didn't point on that I always thought really made this game stand out was the music. The soundtrack was really good.

[CJC]

You're right, I totally spaced on that. I tried to edit it in, but I hit the character limit. So pretend this post is part of the 'What I liked' spoiler.

What I liked:
-=SPOILER=-

[erm2003]

Loved the review here, great job CJC!

Illusion of Gaia was one of the first games I got for the SNES. I was able to get my hands on a copy after reading a review in Nintendo Power (R.I.P.). It seemed very Zelda-like yet the concept of changing into completely different characters to advance through dungeons and mazes was intriguing. IoG did not disappoint. It's really a solid game and when I had my first play-through, I thought it was quite challenging. I used to hate going through Mu and Ankor Wat because they were the most challenging parts of the game for me, but now when I replay it I rather enjoy them. Each area has such a great uniqueness through the graphic style and the music. It really set a good tone for each area. It was also a fairly long game and I had a good sense of accomplishment after finally getting through the whole thing.

Oh and just to add...
-=SPOILER=-

[Glenn the Great]

I played Illusion of Gaia after having played Terranigma and Soul Blazer, because I enjoyed the other two games a lot and wanted to play the entire trilogy.

Illusion of Gaia stands as the lowest of the three, in my opinion. Not a bad game, but there are too many other RPGs on the SNES that it can't hold a candle to.

[mrz84]

I played it once via emulator. I can't rememer much since it was a decade ago, but I remember it being pretty good at the beginning.

[Brasel]

The battery doesn't work on mine anymore. I'll have to block out a weekend to at least beat it in one sitting.