Illusion of Gaia for SNES - Review | hungrygoriya 

Story simplified: Basically that evil comet comes to Earth in regular basis and destroys the civilization and turns humans into primitive but leaves all the ancient structures behind. The power of that comet remains in the ancient structures and turns every creatures into monsters. Will discovers the secret about that comet in the ancient structures and destroys the comet, and civilization continues on. The ending shows what it is like when Will and his friends are in modern time after the comet was destroyed.

What I loved about this game is how it changed the way I looked at history, and consequently the world. There may not be magic or evil comets, but the ruins of history tell stories of bright accomplishments and dark atrocities. Even in mundane things, there is wonder to be found.

For me this game was about all the real world mysterious locations: Incan ruins, the Nazca Lines, Angor Wat, the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian pyramids, and the legendary Tower of Babel.

"A story with more holes than a golf course with a gopher problem..." Pure gold

This is one of those very rare 'special' games where the direction, art design, music and story combine perfectly to create something exceptional. It's a charming tale with genuine emotional moments and many memorable moments.

Great review! I've always wanted to play this game as a big fan of SNES RPGs, and this looks so interesting from all you've played!

All the red jewel locations were available in the manual that came with the game. I played this on the SNES back when it came out. It came with an awesome shirt, that unfortunately was worn so much that the fabric ripped. I always got all the red jewels just so I could take on the secret level/boss.

Great game! Hope we can play it on the Switich some day. btw in europe (Holland) the game is called Illusion of Time :)

Excellent review. Thank you Goriya. *Crosses fingers and hopes for a FFVI review when you finish it.

THe music and dungeons in this game are the main attraction. Larai Cliffs alone, my god is phenomenal.

This game is intensely nostalgic for me. I actually loved it because of the dark themes when I was a kid. It felt so different from any other game I’d played around the time because of how relentlessly dark it could be sometimes. I remember what you’re talking about with the characters, Kara in particular is cemented in my mind as a selfish little brat. Seeing so many real world locations in a fantasy alternate universe was really cool, and I would have never known about places like Angkor Wat or Mu if not for this game. I’ve been meaning to replay it. I wonder if there’s a retranslation patch…

Illusions of Gaia has so much soul. Words can't describe my feelings for this game. Let's not forget about that ending dialogue "Earth's look had changed, but, glowing in the sky, it was as beautiful as ever. Buildings replaced the forests, rivers became roads, but the villages held only smiling faces. But the Earth was the only one that looked sad." (ugly cries)

I loved this game. One of 4 RPGs that got me into the genre, along with 7th Saga, Shining Force, and Super Mario RPG.

I first bought this game as runner-up choice when I couldn’t get Chrono Trigger. It became one of my very favorite SNES games.

I grew up playing this game a lot with my brother and friend. At the time, you just didn't have better action RPGs than this, Link to the Past and Soul Blazer in the US. This is a game that, because of its short length I still try to return to as an adult. Also the music is just perfect!

I can see where you come from on the characters. I felt they were all very likable after a few hours spent with them. They start with major flaws but they are children who are forced to grow up along their journey. They grow, change, and get over their childish ways as they mature. There could definitely have been some more character development, but this was one of the first that had any sort of character growth on this level. Perhaps it was because I played it when it first came out but a lot of the heavier parts really stuck with me. The characters didn't discuss it much leaving me to think through my own feelings on the issues and come to my own conclusions. I appreciate that it didn't hold my hand. In either case, thank you for the review!

This was one of the first snes rpgs to be released in Spanish, and I played the hell out of it when it came out in 1995, with its big box and that players guide included. The Spanish translation was really good and it really immerse you into the story. Probably playing it as a kid had a huge impact and it's different than playing it as an adult, but I think Illusion of Time is definitely a great game with lots of special moments, good characters and amazing music. Sorry to hear you didn't connect with it :(

There's one moment from this game that'll always remember. The incredibly slow description of the food ration you find in the castle's basement. You... found... a... roast! ... leg! ... of? ... yak!

Being stuck on the raft was just so incredible deep as kid

I loved the music in this, and that "polished" SNES look.

I remembered it get super dark as a kid but I couldn't remember exactly how. This refreshed my memory lol. In retrospect I also think it might have been cool if you got some flashbacks into the life of the dark knight that you turn into... maybe his personality starts to bleed over into your own or whatever. Maybe he has an ancient grudge to settle against some being that killed his family and set him onto the path of darkness or something, and you have to make your fairly innocent RPG hero goals align with his darker desire for revenge, or whatever. That might just be because he bears a passing resemblance to Ashram from Record of Lodoss War, who was a super compelling dark knight character.

I got a totally different experience out of this game as a kid. Maybe I was just so used to filling in the gaps and imagining the story which you had to do on many early RPG's or there's basically nothing there. This game for me was such a grand adventure and really made me interested to learn about the real life locations that you'd visit. I definitely agree that I didn't leave the game happy at the end, and still to this day I consider this a really dark game where you watch a group of friends, that was similar to my group of friends, basically fall to pieces as they are put into these situations. It's not heart wrenching like say Lufia 2, but I consider this game's themes to be quite sad. I didn't play Terranigma as a kid, but I did play it a couple years ago when I finally added it to my collection. It was the first game I've played in close to 20 years that made me really feel like that again. I highly recommend it.

Such an excellent job you did with this, GG.. as someone who doesn't really know this game, I feel informed about the game and given a very fair and unbiased review with great pacing. Well done!

I just found your channel the other day, and while I largely agree with a lot of your criticisms, I'm an 80s baby and view most of these games (almost all) through a lense of nostalgia. Illusion of Gaia was a game unavailable to me via retail so I ended up buying it outright from a blockbuster after numerous rentals and several playthroughs. I own it to this day. And, with utmost respect and civility, if you ever wanna argue about Final Fantasy 3, my #1 favorite game of all time, I'll be around. That said, I love your channel

I played this game for the first time last year. I really enjoyed it, I wish I could of played it when I was a kid.

I think the problem with a game like this thats clearly a product of its era is the limitation that you really had to be there i.e. a kid in the 90s playing this at the time. I can tell you it was a very deep and emotional laden game. I was around 10 when I played this. I was hanging in my brother's room where the snes was, and my brother nonchalantly tells me he borrowed this game off his friend who said it was something I might like. I was like, wow ok, your friend thought of me like that. Put it in not knowing what to expect and was taken on a roller coaster of a journey, where most media aimed at me treated me like a child, this game felt like it had a deeper message to convey. I dont think this game in the modern time would pack the same punch - especially with all the media and information we are exposed to. About the themes in the story you say are just glossed over, I have to respectfully disagree. I think the game presents its many story threads intentionally so you must ponder or stew on it until the climax where it all comes together. I think in the West we are usually told bluntly how to feel, but the writers of this game throw it on the player to ask, how do I feel about these kids that have been forced all their lives to make this rug. How do I feel about my friend's pig who just sacrificed himself so we could eat. It ties into a core theme thats presented in the game i.e for something to exist there needs to be sacrifice.

I've only played this game once and was debating another playthrough, but thanks to this review I don't feel like I'd be missing anything. You covered everything greatly! Thank you

First off, I never saw Lilly and Kara as love-triangle rivals. Lilly just so happens to be female, while Kara has the biggest character arc in the story. I can't say it's executed well, but I get where you're coming from. Also, I understand the whole spin ability being a little wonky. If you really want to know why I like Illusion of Gaia, it's because it was one of the first games I played with a deeper story than most games. In comparison, A Link to the Past was more interested in telling its backstory than anything else. But mostly, it's the gameplay. If you stack it up to Secret of Mana, this is much more playable in the fact that you don't get spammed to death.

I've never beaten this game, but I used to play it a lot as a kid. That is a great review, I really need it to play it again cause when I was a kid I wasn't able to understand English so much. Even with its downrights, I think I will still like the game xD And wow, Terranigma is so much better

Angkor Wat is a real slog without the gamer guide, but incredibly atmospheric for the time.

I remember owning this game when it first came out but I never beat it I don't think? It didn't leave a huge impression on me. Great video.

I feel like soul blazer is one of the most under rated games on SNES, and soul blazers sound track was just amazing!

An absolute classic....

This game is legitimately my 2nd favorite game of all time. So it really makes my jaw drop seeing so many people in the comments say its not good and when you mentioned the issues you had with the story I felt like you came off harsh. Especially since it clearly didn’t connect with you and I pretty much completely disagreed with every thing you criticized the story for.

Well-written and well executed review! I liked that you did not just shower this game with praise but instead gave it your honest opinion. It helped me decide whether or not I should seek out this game. Do you think you will review the two other Quintet/Enix action RPG's on SNES "Soul Blazer" and "Terranigma" anytime soon?

Fun game! Back then most of the dark themes and tough situations went over my head, but I did think it was neat that the game used dark power for good instead going the stereotypical dark power is evil route. That was the single most interesting thing that stood out to me besides the game play and lot of the music, until I got older and realized how much of a hot mess the writing really was. lol Even so, it was a fun game for me, but after having played it once as an adult, I just had no desire to go back to it for the same reasons with the writing you pointed out.

Got it on release in elementary school for good grades. First game to ever make me cry

I played this game (Named Illusions of Time in Europe I think) in German when I was a kid; yes we had to settle for EU translations back then since Iran did not have these games "or consoles" back then... Thankfully due to my inability to speak German (or English at the time), I pretty much made up 50% of the story & drama to my own liking haha.. Good times!

I really liked this game growing up, and I agree that the side characters were pretty weak. The only one I really recall making any impression on me was the pig who sacrificed itself for the main character... I liked that pig.

OMG! I want to buy this again!!!

Gaia for the win and playing this game as a kid is alot diffrent then playing this game as a jaded adult.... I remember getting this adventure when I was 11 and it was EPIC

You're not encouraging me to play this.... You started to get into spoiler territory, so I stopped the video, but from what I've seen, it shares many similarities with Soul Blazer in regards to how the enemies don't respawn, etc. It actually looks pretty cool at some parts. I'll hafta eventually play it.

I do have a big love for a lot of the SNES adventure & RPG titles. I was a big fan of Soul Blazer, so when I heard this one was from the same company and was similar I had to play it. Well although Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma are all apparently what is called the Gaia Trilogy I find they play a bit differently from each other. They do share some themes and elements. All of them often touch on some mature themes. Well the later two takes place on a world Similar to ours. I think the only major connection between the first two is the whole secret you obtain when you find all the jewels. With that rant out of the way, I personally like Gaia the least. It isn’t a horrible game. I find it doesn’t hold up compared to the other two. The adventure through a world with names from real world paces was a great idea, but that ending … ya I get the idea but it was trying to be deep. Enix was really into that Anyways, thanks for the videos 😊

9:32 I was eating a bacon sandwich when I watched this part. Your pig friend gets cooked and eaten? I wouldn't expect that in an RPG.

This is the only one of the 'Quintet trilogy' that I've never played. I loved Soul Blazer but for some reason this one went under my game rental radar back in the day. I'll still check it out at some point, but after watching this I'll probably go in with tempered expectations when I do.

Huh. Well, I guess you did review this one! And maybe it doesn't hold up as well as I remember from when I was a kid. I'll still have to replay it to be sure, as I have a good friend who replayed it recently and can't stop raving about it -- but you've given me an interesting new perspective to bear in mind when I do. These days, I mostly just play MSX games, as alluded to in my comment on your Legacy of the Wizard review, and there's not much I played in my youth that I can think of to recommend to you that you haven't already covered. But thinking outside the box a bit... have you played Legend of the Mystical Ninja on SNES? I'm sure you have, right? If not, that's DEFINITELY one I would recommend wholeheartedly. It's such an interesting blend of platformer, semi-RPG, and goofy minigame collection, and aside from its own sequels and predecessors (few of which got released outside of Japan), there's almost nothing else quite like it. I feel like you'd really enjoy it, based on the reviews I've watched of your content thus far. Other NES favorites that fall a bit outside your usual purview, but might be worth a look and review sometime in the future, are The Goonies II, and Solstice. Solstice in particular is a game that I feel doesn't get nearly enough respect -- people always claim it's "too hard!", but it's really not... you just need to take your time and get a feel for your surroundings. It's a game that rewards patient, systematic exploration, and the areas you explore are surprisingly diverse and interesting (and incredibly atmospheric, due in no small part to Tim Follin's mindblowing soundtrack!). It's also a bit of a rarity, as those European-developed isometric puzzle platformers mostly never came out in North America, making Solstice stand out a bit more on that side of the pond than it would've in Europe, or even Japan (where a fair number of the classic isometric games got prominent MSX ports, or even Famicom ports). Oh, and Goonies II is just rad. Every Goonies game has been at least somewhat excellent, with Goonies II being the best of the bunch IMHO, and one of my favorite games of all time. It's not without its flaws, and it's definitely got some doozies, but on the whole, it's a bloody fantastic game that I personally rank up there with Legacy of the Wizard, Faxanadu, and Crystalis. Anyway, once again... good content all around! Will be looking forward to checking out more of your videos still. EDIT: OH, WAIT. I know of an NES game I can recommend to you that I rarely ever hear anyone talk about, but is 100% in your wheelhouse: Tombs & Treasure! Man, that game was a classic of my childhood, and like Legacy of the Wizard, is another surprising Falcom game that actually got licensed and released stateside back in the day (it was originally the Famicom port of Asteka II: Templo del Sol). It's a pretty rad game, and easily the best version of Asteka II, with a TON of story added that's honestly quite good and shockingly well-localized for the time. Super-duper cool game that really should be talked about a lot more than it is! Especially for fans of games like Shadowgate and the like.

I remember so well playing this game, by the time I ended I told to myself "no other rpg/adventure game will top this" then ff6 came out. But still, this is for me on par with A link to the past, it has a way better story, a tie on the soundtrack, and great levels too, a masterpiece of a game.

I had this as a kid. I played through it a few times but I never felt compelled to come back to this game. I enjoyed the combat but I would rather have the cereal eating allies of Phantasy Star 2 (at least they help a little) than Will's group of flunkies. I did enjoy the review and I couldn't remember why I haven't played this game since I was a child. Now I do. 😁

I liked how all the side characters were so terrible to be around, they are a bunch of school kids pushed to travel the world with very little comfort. You end up being the dad of the group since you go through all the real struggles.

I grew up with Illusion of Gaia, and even when I was a kid who loved every game ever, I could never really live this one. Maybe it was the forced linearity without any way of going back or the really underdeveloped characters and story, but despite mostly kind of liking the game, I never remember it that fondly. I especially hated how you'd just get endless text in random spots (especially in the final dungeon) because the devs couldn't organically work the story in the rest of the game in a well paced manner. Similar things happen to a lot of games like Secret of Mana and Star Ocean, but those games have a lot more going for them to make up for their shortcomings (like the music and graphics in Mana and just about everything other than the story in Star Ocean) unlike Illusion of Gaia.

I had a blast playing through Soulblazer a few years ago but I was disappointed afterwards when I picked up Illusion of Gai. I never finished it. Did you ever complete Teranigma?

You use Premiere right? I'd recognize that page curl transition anywhere.:P Great video! I never did finish Illusion of Gaia, but I really enjoyed the combat and the unusual level design. A lot of the maps almost look like they're side scrolling.

Very good review. I played Illusion of Gaia back in the day and I found it decidedly disappointing. I think your point about the whirlwind nature of the adventure is the chief culprit. No particular situation was ever satisfyingly analyzed, and the end result was a sort of "meh... okay." The musical aesthetic was good, but like in Secret of Evermore, the story and characters did not equal the tone and pretense. I thought, overall, that Soul Blazer was a better overall experience and that Illusion of Gaia is an example of a game that is decently good but which has become overrated. Anyway, good video!

I know this game is just a worse, more linear _"Soul Blazer",_ but this game will always be my favorite game in the Quintet Trilogy. Although, I've never played _Terranigma…_ Regardless, this game is so surreal and so much fun. I played it so much when I was a kid. I even had the shirt. I miss my shirt, ha hah.

Love this game!!

You reviewed the hell out of that! I really like this game, nearly every aspect of it is good. But there is 1 part that I got stuck at and could not pass. I'm sure I was just missing something small and stupid but I spent so much time trying to figure it out I decided ultimately that that I hate this game lol

Amazing graphics, still to this day!!!!

The second form is only accessible late in the game, eh? Are you saying we.... Gotta wait for shadow! 😛

Although I don't dislike Illusion of Gaia as much as you seem to, I agree with a lot of the points here. I always impatiently waited for chances to play as Freedan since he's just better than Will, and not introducing the second transformation until right at the end of the game seems a weird choice. I didn't mind the characters so much, but their unnecessarily long dialogue did contribute to my overall feeling about the game, which was mild boredom. It all just felt a bit flat to me and never really engaged me.

I agree with all this. perhaps to help understand WHY as a kid it was better... imagination. when kids with bad graphics, we were imagining stuff between the lines still. ;) today, this game I can't play long. it's just not how I remember it.

This is one of those games that I remember absolutely loving when I was young but playing again as an adult, I just found it "okay." Fun at times, but most of the puzzles slowed things down too much for my taste. Coupled with a story that's ALL over the place, I don't find myself playing this one much these days.

I enjoyed this game, but I think it could have been longer. They could have expanded on some of the topics and maybe had areas where you needed to use the other characters.

Never heard of it. Looks reasonable. Your critique seems fair.

The greatest RPG I've ever played. Only zelda was able to fill the hole this one left me with.

I always liked this game. I bought it new back in the day and I played it religiously. Yeah, the adventure is too linear. Yeah, you only have one playable character. I don’t like when you can’t over-level the characters like in this game but, the story was dark and weird and for me, that made it interesting.

I'd love a remake. Though is it a RPG? I guess i never really considered it one. Absolute best soundtrack on the whole SNES though. The piece that plays after you beat the end boss always seemed like it needed lyrics so I wrote some.

Did you ever try Terranigma?

I still got this game. Its a decent game

Came into this one thinking "Alright, here comes a shining review of my favorite SNES game," only to see it slaughtered. BUT, it's a very good and thoughtful critique, and I probably am looking at it through nostalgia goggles. I guess in a lot of ways IoG is the Sheltered Adolescent's Primer To Grown-Up Topics. I'll always love it, but I can totally understand how an adult newcomer would find its treatment of those topics as trivial and noncommittal.

Superior hill conquering abilities lol

Sorry I. Missed so much videos

"I couldn't reliably get spin dash to work"... ok. Have you considered the problem is you?

Hm... I don't like that the interior rooms are in perspective like that... It's kind of a neat thought but also kind of jarring? It's partly because the sprites don't scale to match you moving into the background and because the outside areas are top down.

You probably wouldn’t like the “reward” for getting all 50 red jewels: a very difficult and aggravating optional boss battle.

I guess you could say you were 😎 Disillusioned Meme-ing aside, I feel like this is a game that could REALLY use the "Definitive Edition" treatment: Retranslate everything, expand on the story, explore the themes more in depth and give Will, Shadow and Freedan more distinct differences in gameplay

From what you've said in this vid I'm surprised you haven't played Final Fantasy 6

I played it back in the days and my review would be the same. I was not a kid when I played it so the more adult themes had no shock value for me. I am glad I played it but I don't feel the need to replay it (ever) and there are much better RPGs on Super Nintendo. I played Secret of Evermore right after and had much more fun with that game. Not a perfect RPG but I really like the audacity and the fact that it was different.

Love this game. I had gotten this sameday FinalFantasy7 for Playstation came out. After work. I would switch between the 2. Beaten this game in 3 days after getting it. Would had been sooner if FinalFantasy7 wasn't as addicting. I had never beaten FF7. Got stuck on the elevator boss. Game gotstolen before I had a chance to figure it out.

I think I prefer SoulBlazer. I've never played Terrrienigma(sp?). I've already wanted it. SoulBlazer was a game I played over and over and over again as a kid. And I'll play it occasionally now. I didn't play Illusion of Gaia as a kid so the clunky feel and story didn't grab me.

Cool video! I especially like 5:31 and 10:02. Screw Lily tho.

Although the graphics and look of Illusion of Gaia are amazing for the SNES it wasn't as fulfilling as Soul Blazer its predecessor. I did enjoy the playthrough but don't really want to really pick it up and play it again. I have heard glowing praise for the 3rd game Terranigma but never really had a chance to play it. I like the action RPG elements and I tend to save those health herbs until the very end of the game as well. Because of past experiences where you have to run a boss gauntlet with only 1 life bar or something similar like a Mega Man game. The ending left much to be desired and it did feel pretty flat. Maybe that's why I liked Tales of Phantasia so much because it was bold and the English patch was funny. If you really put a ton of hours and playtime into a game I think you deserve a great ending. That's just my two cents anyway. Maybe it's the idea of Soul Blazer where you unlock and make the world free and open up as you play is a great feeling compared to the opposite with Illusion of Gaia.

really one of the best snes RPGS. I thought the character design and story was the best part of the game. The English translation is not great, that may have something to do with it.

I'm glad you seem to be very critical of this game. I really dont get why people seem to like it so much. its full of problems. snes reddit put this game 48 on the top 100, this is just wrong. I know its vote based but jeez. its above alladin, killer instinct, mega man x3, mk2 and goof troop to name a few

This game came out when I was 9, at just the right age for all the hype in magazines like Nintendo Power to hit me dead on. I rented it a few times and it became my favorite game, though I didn't own a copy until almost a decade later. Replaying it as an adult is a very different experience from when I was a kid, when seeing things like the slaves who had to work on a carpet for 40 years or the starving cannibals who were fed by Hamlet's noble sacrifice made me feel like it was a deep and amazing world that made me think and stuck with me for years. Now it barely feels playable, with a bad translation and a goofy story. It's disappointing, but I'll always remember how I felt playing it in grade school.

Pardon my french...but holy sh*t! The game wanted you to return a child slave to their slavers in an Snes game?! Wow Nintendo...do you remember the hearings on violent video games in 1992? When Nintendo accused Sega of selling evil to kids. According to Howard Lincoln their games have "family standards" and "would never allow any mature themes in their games." One year later... Howard Lincoln: "We need genocide, pro-slavery, suicide, and cannibalism right stat now! We're very behind people! Hey, do we have room for some child soldiers?" ;)

I enjoyed it well enough back then, even collected all the red orbs, but I think this was something Enix had to poop out to be able to make Terranigma. Overall I think it's the weakest of the 'series' and the 'heavy plot points' are a hamfisted attempts in making it deeper than it is. But I enjoyed a few of them too, like the shipwreck and russian glass lol.

This one I hired form the video shop was mutable times to finish it not as fun as crono trigger

Really enjoyed this one for the action, but the dialogues parts bored me to death. Even when I was playing it as a kid, I hated these parts. Since I havent seen all your videos, I dont know if you did Soul Blazer, but if not, I have to recommand it. A lot of people consider it the lesser game of the Quintet serie, but to me, its the best one. Its really short and simple, but it has a charm, especially with the graphics and music. That is one I often like to come back to.

After playing terranigma when I was young shortly after it's release, I revisited it recently and managed to get through it, now knowing a lot more about geography, still a good game, but a bit too easy to accidentially use items when running, jumping and attacking. Shortly after the replay I went back to Soul Blazer, and it was a fine game but it was really showing it's age, then I had high hopes fro Illusion of Gaia, but this game is just utter crap, it's just an interactive book, and if you accidentially push on any arrow to see if you finally are allowed to move, you miss half the page.

I have mixed feelings for this trilogy of games. I played Illusion of Gaia in emulator several years ago, and I remember liking it, overall, but the story certainly didn't impress me and quickly forgot everything about it. Instead, those stupid vampires are one of the things I remember the most. Some years later I played Terranigma a bit, but didn't like it. I got stuck in many spots and quickly became bored. I feel this game is overrated and only revered because it's rare and expensive. On the other hand, I ADORE Soul Blazer, which was more intuitive and more rewarding, as you unlock new areas by freeing souls. You revive entire towns bit by bit, and it's very satisfying. It's no doubt my favorite in the trilogy.

I like Soul Blazer better, but I like this better than Terranigma.

I made the unfortunate mistake of playing this after I had beaten Chrono Trigger, what a night and day difference. confusing story, characters I didn't feel any connection to and often times I was bored

I've tried a number of times to get into this game, but it loses me every time.

I'm out. I refuse to play any game with cute pig self sacrifice.

I can’t stand how awful the critique of the two female characters are. You wouldn’t be friends with them or if they we’re dating a friend of yours?

I never understood the hype for Illusion of Gaia. Soulblazer is one of my favorite game and I did play Illusion of Gaia as a kid, it always felt like a worse version of Soulblazer, they tried harder with the story and combat, but it's just... boring and the characters are annoying.

This is a biblical legendary game. You don’t know what you’re talking about!