ERM made mention of the Jeweler Gem as a Super-Boss in this thread, 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: showWill
A blonde-haired teenager who washed up in South Cape after a failed expedition with his father to the Tower of Babel, Will owns a strange flute he found in the tower that lets him move objects without touching them. He is the primary protagonist of the story.
In the course of the story, Will gains the ability to transform into two ancient warriors: Freedan and Shadow. It is strongly implied by the optional boss that Will is a homunculus, giving the explanation of how his body is able to restructure itself in this manner. If this is the case, then his father likely found him in the Tower of Babel. There is some inconsistency with this, however, as his grandparents Bill and Lola make no reference to his 'adopted' status. Perhaps they do not to protect him, or perhaps it was an oversight.
Will has 'Psycho' powers that let him break walls, slide through low openings, and launch himself off of hills. He is the weakest of the three playable characters, but sports the most interesting abilities. When Will charges with the attack button held down, he glows green.
Freedan
Freedan is the Dark Knight, an ancient fighter housed in the darkspace that Gaia allows to take control of Will's body. He does so by forcing will to sleep and then reshaping the form into his own image.
Very little is revealed about Freedan in the course of the story. In fact, he only ever speaks once, when he is first introduced. Still, for most of the game he is the primary choice for combat, as he inflicts twice as much damage as Will does.
Freedan has 'Dark' powers that let him attack distant enemies, shake the ground, or (supposedly) protect him from attack. He is the middle-strength playable character, but his range and versatility make him more useful than Shadow. When Freedan charges with the attack button held down, he glows red.
Shadow
Shadow is a Shadow Warrior (Surprise!) who gains access to Will's body after he is exposed to the intense light of the comet in the pinnacle of Ankor Wat (no, it's not misspelled, that's how it's labeled in the game). Shadow takes control of Will in a manner similar to Freedan.
Shadow is an entity made of pure energy, and his body can become liquid to slip through cracks. Like Freedan, he only ever speaks once in the game. Shadow can only be used in the last two dungeons, the Great Pyramid and the Tower of Babel (though the latter is a boss-blitz, and thus not technically a dungeon).
Shadow has no special powers. He only possesses an item that allows him to turn to his liquid state (the aura soul, which is supposed to be his mind... though why touching it would make him liquefy is a bit confusing). He is intended as a replacement for the Dark Knight, but his limited range and lack of abilities make him an inferior choice.
Gaia
Gaia is a glorified save-point and health battery. It makes comments related to the task at hand, but they are usually vague and not helpful for the puzzles. Based on its voice, I would have it pegged as a machine of some variety, possibly tied to the vaguely referenced homunculus status of Will. Gaia is meant to be a guide against the coming darkness, but provides little insight on what is actually approaching. I was quite suspicious of it for that very reason.
The ultimate villain in the game is called Dark Gaia, and is a consciousness piloting the comet. Coincidence?
Cast
There are a slew of other characters that fill minor roles in the game. They are mostly used to establish the setting and act as Will's cheer squad. One in particular (Princess Kara) is depicted as Will's other half, and is needed in the Tower of Babel to teach Shadow the Firebird technique and subsequently defeat Dark Gaia. While the rest of Will's party is pruned away as the story progresses, Kara (and Erik, who appears to be comic relief) are the only two that linger until the very end, and Kara is the only one to enter any of the dungeons.
And a synopsis of the plot:
Spoiler: showWill, a boy in South Cape, is called to the castle after Kara, the annoying princess, sneaks out of her tower and hides in his house. Will is suspected to possess a crystal ring, which his father was sent to locate in the Tower of Babel, and the King demands it be relinquished. Of course, he doesn't have it (well, he does, but it's stuck inside the flute and he doesn't know that), so he's sent to prison. He escapes with the help of a blue-haired girl named Lily, and he flees with his friends to the Incan ruins, in the hopes of finding the golden ship and escaping the continent.
He is also pursing these ancient artifacts called Mystic Statues for no adequately explored reason (at least until the end of the game, and even then...).
The game alternates between ancient ruin and city, all the while exploring this pseudo-historical fantasy world (areas based on real locations, highly fictionalized events). It is revealed that a comet is approaching the planet, and the light of this comet causes people and creatures to evolve rapidly (usually turning them into monsters). This revelation occurs in the third-to-last dungeon, however, so it could be construed as a deus-ex. Will (or more accurately Shadow) is meant to collect the mystic statues in order to combat this comet and save the world. By defeating the comet, though, he causes the planet to advance rapidly and transform into the modern world (yeugck. I'll explain my problems with this in the 'what I dislike' and 'what I would change' sections). Everyone's memory is then erased, plopping them in this new world with no recollection of the adventure.
What I liked:
Spoiler: showGameplay
The game employs an unusual method of character advancement: when a room is completely cleared of its enemies, the player receives a predetermined boost to health, defense, or strength. Since areas cannot be revisited once they are completed, it gives play a sense of urgency (as stat boosts can be missed permanently). It is actually quite difficult to find all of the enemies in the game, due to some hidden rooms. A particularly hard area to clear perfectly is the Pyramid.
Bosses are not influenced by your stats, so only health matters against them. They are also incredibly difficult to defeat.
The combat in the game is also quite compelling due to this mechanic. You cannot stack your odds by farming, so every enemy you fight will be difficult in respect to your current statistics. And if you ignore them, the next area will be even more taxing. You must choose carefully when you wish to play as Will and when you wish to play as Freedan, since both have their advantages and disadvantages in the game's dungeons.
The premise of ancient heroes taking control of a protagonist's body was also quite original and engaging. It was a good story element.
Music and Graphics
Click here to jump to the third post
What I disliked:
Spoiler: showShadow
Shadow gets almost no play time, and his lack of special abilities makes him inferior to Freedan (despite him being labeled as the 'ultimate warrior'). He was introduced far too late into the game. Also, his name is kind of lame.
Freedan's Dark Barrier Ability
Dark Barrier must have been glitched or something, since it doesn't appear to serve any purpose whatsoever. It is described as providing him protection, but the two rotating mirrors do not deflect any projectiles and don't even really damage nearby enemies. Their duration is laughably short as well. There's just no reason to ever use the ability.
Freedan's Dark Friar Powerup
When you reach Mountain-Top Temple, you should have enough red jewels to acquire the Dark Friar's powerup. Even if you do not, you can acquire a potion of dark power in the shop by waiting in line. The effect? When Freedan launches a fireball from his sword, you can make it explode, sending explosions spiraling out counterclockwise in all directions. My objection? It makes the game a cake-walk. Seriously, this power is so broken it makes me want to cry.
The ending
Having fantasy worlds turn into the real world is tricky business, and without careful application it comes off... lame. I think the plot lead to a much more believable ending, and the version that made it into the game was a cop-out.
The Mystic Statues
The Mystic Statues, or rather the macguffins you collect at the end of each ruin, felt tacked onto the game. Their purpose was not explained until the last five minutes of the story, and even when you obtained them they simply fell into your possession. Look, you found a mystic statue! Whoopee!
And now, the big one...
What I would change:
Spoiler: showShadow's Name
Shadow is not a good name for the shadow warrior. They needed to come up with something more original. My thought was something like Shain, which is close but not so on-the-nose.
Dark Barrier Mechanics and Acquisition
I want Dark Barrier to do what it is described to do. That is, I want it to create some sort of shell around Freedan that deflects projectiles. It also needs a longer duration to be worth using.
I would also move the acquisition of Dark Barrier to Angel Village, to both allow for Freedan's use in that dungeon and to make room for my adjustments to Shadow.
Shadow's Introduction
Shadow is introduced far too late in the game. In my rewrite, I would remove Freedan from the Great Wall of China and replace him with Shadow. That particular dungeon would be an amazing place to explore his melt-through-floor ability, and combined with Will's Psycho Dash it would make for a great puzzle-exploration dungeon.
This would require a slight re-write of the plot, exposing Will to the comet's light in the Great Wall instead of at Ankor Wat. It's an easy explanation to make, though, especially considering the giant centipede living beneath the wall. Perhaps in that world is was constructed to keep the people from wandering beyond it, into a dead-land where the comet's light ravages everything it touches.
Also, the color of Shadow's text needs to be swapped to gray, to emphasize his otherworldly nature and to distance him from Freedan.
Shadow's Abilities One: Shadow Aura
I would remove the Aura as an item, and instead trigger its effect when Shadow presses attack while blocking. Shadow Aura would be introduced in a dark-space, immediately next to the one where Will learns Psycho Dash. In addition, I'd add areas to the Great Wall where Shadow can melt through the floor (if not allow it for the entire dungeon).
Mountain-Top Shrine
I would reconstruct Mountain-Top Shrine as the first dungeon to feature all three characters. It is a combat-intensive area that would not need much adjustment to make room for Shadow. Likewise, he is not broken in this area as many of the enemies move over unwalkable spaces, and are thus only vulnerable to Freedan.
Note: Ankor Wat would remain unchanged, to remain as the Freedan dungeon and to make up for his replacement at the Great Wall. This is also to avoid player frustration if they choose Shadow and then find that they need Freedan to navigate the dungeon.
Shadow's Abilities Two: Shadow Explosion
Dark Friar's upgrade would be cut from the game, and its code applied to Shadow. In Mountain-Top, he'd learn how to charge with the attack button, and releasing a charged attack would send spiraling fireballs out from his center. This keeps the amazing (if not broken) ability in the game, while limiting its range. It would also make Shadow a better choice for the boss in the Pyramid, as he should have been.
Shadow's Abilities Three: Shadow Firehawk
The Firehawk ability was nice, but only being able to use it for the last boss was annoying. Shadow should learn this technique at the bottom of the Tower of Babel, and it should be listed in the inventory.
Pinnacle of Ankor Wat
The spirit of Ankor Wat should warn you... someone close to you is not what they appear. This adjustment is for my changes to the ending.
Neil's Plane
Neil offers to drop you off at the Tower of Babel on his way back to South Cape. He should also give you options to fly to the previous regions of the game, so that you can revisit areas you may have missed things in. This is simply a bailout for players who happened to miss only one Red Jewel, and thus lose out on the secret dungeon.
Tower of Babel
This dungeon was a boss rush, but I feel it was too short. I wanted to have to climb the Tower, instead of just being warped up from elevator to elevator. Some sort of intermediate zones along the exterior, requiring the expert use of each character's abilities, would have been a nice touch.
The Ending
Here's my altered ending:
Gaia is the one who sent you to collect the Mystic Statues... because Gaia wanted to use them to draw the comet closer and force the world to evolve. You see, Gaia and Dark Gaia are actually the same entity, and you've been its puppet for the entire game. You must confront Gaia on the comet to stop this diabolical plot, but the damage is already done. By the time you return to the Earth it is irreversibly altered. It is the modern world the original game depicted, but you are the only one to remember what happened before. Whether or not this is a good ending is up to the player to decide.
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?
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