Illusion of Gaia - SNES

“Normally people have five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Will's abilities seem to be a sort of sixth sense.”

From time to time a gamer will trip across a rare gem which he never forgets. One of those titles which leaves a permanent mark on the mind of the player. Whether it be the game's setting, plot, or just the good old fashion fun factor, some games just seem to really stick. Through its mature subject matter, enthralling world of ancient ruins, and simple yet effective and addictive game-play, “Illusion of Gaia” for the Super Nintendo proved to be one such title for this player.

The first time I played this game I was only eleven years old. The genre, while not entirely new to me, was, in my experience at the time, fairly limited in scope. Certainly other games offer the same, or even better game play; some games offer a higher quality of graphics and many are more well recognized. However, one thing which no other title of the genre offered at the time was a story which was as gripping, albeit somewhat cheesy.

At this point in my gaming career I was only a year or so in to my lust for all things RPG, and was grasping frantically at any game which chose to represent itself as a fantasy title. Needless to say, the box art for this game, with its stone cut lettering and background depicting a beautiful blue and green planet was enough to hold my attention fast. Lucky me, the contents of this box were more than enough to live up to the outward presentation.

Anybody who was young during the SNES days can attest: the sight of a fresh, unscathed grey cartridge, complete with dust cover is enough to excite. However, there was one immediately noticeable and wonderful difference about this game. Unlike most other games of the era, this one came packed with an exceptionally thick instruction booklet which doubled as a sort of mini-player's guide. Certainly short of the glory of the Final Fantasy series, which at the time was packing in maps and other such goodies, this booklet was welcome deviation from the usual fare. I was always one who enjoyed flipping through the instructions of a new game.

As for the game itself, Illusion of Gaia was fantastically gorgeous. The settings were really something to take in. Whether it was a town on the coast, complete with seagulls flying overhead and secrets tucked away in every available nook; or a captivating ancient ruin, rife with blood thirsty critters, the visual aspect of the game never grew old for me. Certainly the graphics were not the most technically advanced for the time, but it was clear to see the attention with which the settings were crafted.

The music in the game, as I recall, was largely successful in setting the mood for the scene. Whether it be a calm tune to convey a sense of safety, or a harsh, rapid beat depicting urgency, the music rarely failed to deliver. This was a key factor in the emotional connection the game made with me, and this sort of connection is something I have rarely encountered in video games to this day. My favorite track in the game must be the Sky Garden track.

The game play is fairly straight forward: Weapon in hand, beat things up. Where this game separates itself from the more popular titles in the genre is the method for doing so. The player has access to three separate identities within the game. The protagonist, Will, is a young boy from the coastal town of South Cape. Joining him, or perhaps more accurately, joining with him are the spirits of two otherworldly warriors: Freedan and Shadow. By swapping between these three identities as the environment dictates, the player is tasked with pursuing the truth behind the ruins scattered about the world.

Through the adventure, the player will have to navigate fictional representations of real world ancient wonders. Incan Ruins, Egyptian Pyramids and even Angkor Wat appear as dungeons which must be overcome in order to reach the fabled Tower of Babel. Along the road the player will be tasked with clearing out many fantastical locations, some based in reality, others not. My favorite dungeon of all of these is the Sky Garden: a floating maze set in flora and stone. The unique aspect of this dungeon was that it was two sided: top and bottom. Actions performed on one side of the dungeon would alter the environment of the other; and to change sides the player must have Will jump from the edge of the dungeon seemingly in to open sky, only to be pulled to the floor on the flip side of the dungeon instead of plummeting to his doom.

By far, however, my favorite aspect of this game was how it handled mature subjects such as loss and death. Around every corner there is danger, and this game does not try to shy away from that fact. Among the first of many such instances is when the player finds the decayed remains of an adventurer desperately grasping a hand written letter. Only later do you come to meet the person to whom this letter was addressed: a woman, anxiously awaiting the return of her husband who left in search of treasure years ago. Other such examples are those of fear, desperation, murder, and even a case of children being sold as slaves. Such content was unheard of to me in those days. This game refused to approach such matters wearing the much employed “kiddy gloves” of the era, and this is one of the greatest sticking points this game has for me.

These are just a few of the reasons I enjoyed this game so throughly. There is a bit more to it than just that, but I think I will leave it up to you guys to figure it out for yourselves. Have fun, people.