Illusion of Gaia
Graphics
The graphics of Illusion of Gaia are really excellent for a Super Nintendo game. The amount
of detail in the various areas is really amazing. The designs of the towns vary a lot, which
makes it really interesting every time you get to a new area. For example, the first town
you see is small and typical for an RPG. There is some nice detail in the buildings, but
nothing that remarkable. However, as you go on, you see one town that's entirely
underground, one that's deep in the desert, and some even more unusual designs.
The various dungeon areas look just as good, possibly better. There's even more variety
with these. You'll explore a castle dungeon, a jungle area with giant vines and
plants, and an abandoned city on the ocean.
The character you control looks very
good, as well. The reason I'm not specific is because your character changes forms
throughout the game. There are one of three possible bodies for him during the course
of the game, each with drastically different designs. There will be more detail on this when
I get to the gameplay. Everything area you see in the game, with the exception of the
overworld, is in a standard overhead perspective, similar to most other games in the genre.
However, I think that Gaia's graphics are much nicer than most, possibly because there is
so much more detail in the characters and monsters than in other games, like Zelda 3.
The overworld is very plain looking, and uninteresting. It looks like a simple drawing
of a map with almost no color at all. However, you only see it briefly when travelling
from place to place, and are never able to travel around on it without the computer
controlling where your characters move. This is likely the reason why they didn't make these
graphics nicer. Since you really don't have to look at it that often, that graphical flaw
doesn't really matter too much. Perhaps a better way of doing the overworld would be something
similar to FF Tactics or Grandia, where you moved the cursor to the place you wanted to
go, and were taken there quickly. But if the current method was the only one they wanted
to use, it would have been a really nice touch to add some color to it and make it look
like the characters were really travelling, not just walking on a map.
Game Play
This game really feels a lot like Zelda 3 once you get to the first dungeon area. You have little blue orbs that represent your life instead of hearts, but the concept is exactly the same. What is really great about Gaia is that it combines the action and puzzle solving of Zelda with the story and interesting towns of a regular RPG. The result is a game different from most out there, and one that you can get into very easily.
You can press the ''Start'' button to access a map in places inhabited by enemies. This map will tell you how many enemies are in the area, and how many treasures there are. If you defeat all of the enemies in a particular area, one of your attributes will increase. For example, if you defeat all of the monsters in a room, you may become stronger, have your defense raised, gain more orb/heart pieces, etc. If you decide to skip past these enemies, you may find yourself too weak to progress with the game. This actually happened to me when I first played the game, and wasn't really paying enough attention. I found myself too weak to defeat the first real boss of the game. It was a real pain to start over, so it's very important to pay attention to this. And besides, fighting enemies is not a tedious thing at all. It's actually very fast paced, since it's in the style of the Zelda Series, and most people should find it pretty enjoyable.
You have access to something called ''Dark Space'' through portals scattered throughout towns and dungeons. These are basically Save Points where you can recover, save your progress, and sometimes transform into various forms (Will, Freedan, and Shadow.) These different forms each have advantages and disadvantages. ''Young Will'' is the main characters normal form. In this body, he can fit into smaller places, but his attack and defense aren't very good. ''Freedan'' is a much more powerful character, and because of his long sword, he can hit switches that would be out of reach for Young Will. Freedan is unable to fit into small areas however, so it's impossible for him to get past some traps. Shadow, the final form, can pass through floors to find hidden areas. You will need to transform to him often to solve various puzzles.
As a side task for players that like a challenge, there are 50 Red Jewels hidden in various places throughout the game. In most cases, you cannot go back to find ones that you missed, so if you plan on finding them all without cheating, you must be especially observant, and take your time. It seems to me that it's nearly impossible to do this without playing the game several times. As you find them, you can take them to the Jeweler Gem to get various status boosts and other secrets, including his ''Final Secret'' once you get all the jewels. Luckily, there is a list included in the game's instruction book, so there is still a way for you to see Gem's final secret if you don't want to go through the trouble of finding these jewels.
Story
In Illusion of Gaia, you play the role of Young Will. Will's father, Olman, was lost at the Tower of Babel on an expedition when Will was very young. The story doesn't really compare to games like Final Fantasy 6 and Lunar, but it's good enough to make the game interesting. There is a lot of humor, but also some more serious parts as the game goes on. It doesn't seem to make perfect sense at times, and often, the characters don't seem to be speaking like normal people would. This is probably because the translation was rushed. Even so, the overall theme of the story really appeals to me. There aren't many incredibly plot twists for most of the game, but I think most gamers will enjoy it.
Music
This category is a very difficult thing for me to judge. I thought that most of it was very good, even compared to some of the better known RPG's out there. It always seems to fit the mood of the situation, whether it's something pleasant or darker. Sound effects, such as enemies being destroyed, Freedan's Sword slicing through the air, etc., are very good. You can probably find some of the music to listen to on the internet, so if this explanation isn't enough for you, you can check it out there.
Conclusion
This game never received a lot of praise, but is one that I've played time and time again. There is a good mix of action and exploration. Most gamers will find it fairly easy, but there are some pretty tough areas like Mu and Ankor Wat. It shouldn't cost very much, so if you liked the Zelda Series, or if you're just looking for another game to play, this might be a good choice. Just don't expect an elaborate story, and you should be satisfied.
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