Had I continued my trend of daily updates for this blog, I feel it's inevitable I would have discussed every single game I was playing along the way. Because I did not continue that trend, many of these games have not so much as elicited a single mention in my entries. In fact, the only game I've played this year that has received significant coverage is Persona Q and even then the vast majority of my playtime for that game was from 2014. My review for Breath of Fire II was also published this year, but I finished it back in December. I haven't decided yet whether I'll continue writing those long form reviews, but I certainly have decided that I'm going to resume updating this blog in general.
Let's take a look back, then, at the games I completed in January and February. First on the list was Persona Q, which I've already discussed in some detail, but shortly after that I played through the SNES classic Illusion of Gaia with my co-op partner. Now, Illusion of Gaia is not a multiplayer game, but having mostly run out of co-op SNES games to play, my co-op partner and I decided it might be fun to play through something single player and take turns. It's something I've done a few times in the past, although mostly with games I've played to completion before. I remember fondly playing games like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI online through ZSNES with old internet pals--but Illusion of Gaia was different because we were both experiencing it for the first time.
My original suggestion was to start with Soul Blazer, first in a trilogy that included Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma by developer Quintet. My co-op partner vetoed that idea because he'd watched much of a Let's Play of the game that made the gameplay seem very basic and uninteresting. Reluctantly, I agreed to start with Illusion of Gaia. It was, after all, a game I'd been meaning to sit down and play for many years. Without my co-op partner's assistance, I may not have had the motivation to do so.
Illusion of Gaia is an action RPG in the tradition of Zelda II. It frequently feels very much like a sidescrolling game of that era even though segments where free range of movement is available are common. The RPG elements are light, although there is a reasonable emphasis on plot and characters. Common traits like levels and experience are strangely absent, replaced by a system in which vanquishing all the foes in a particular area will reward you with a boost to a certain stat. The gameplay itself is simplistic and largely boils down to spamming the attack button while the protagonist, Will, smacks people with a flute of all things. Will does acquire a variety of special skills on his way, principal of which is the ability to shapeshift into one of two powerful alternate forms.
At the beginning of Will's journey, it's revealed just about right away that he has telekinetic powers. These powers are never used for combat, but instead for minor puzzles along the way--and also to snag distant treasures dropped by defeated enemies. These mysterious powers were apparently granted to Will after a visit to an ancient tower with his father Olman (Old Man?) some time ago--an event for which he retains no memories. Along his journey, Will and his crew of friends (called the Seaside Gang) will discover the nature of those events at the tower and come to terms with the evil threatening to engulf the world.
Of course, Will's friends serve only as moral support as they have no actual impact on the gameplay. Will finds himself alone for the entirety of his travels in dungeons that serve as analogues to real world historical locations. One dungeon takes place in an ancient pyramid, for instance, while another on the Great Wall of China. Terranigma features similar real world locations, but under the guise of resurrecting a dead world. In Illusion of Gaia it makes less sense, although I'll be the first to admit my memory of the game is fading a tad.
Illusion of Gaia features a lot of interesting characters and a plot that is strange and largely incomprehensible. It has simple gameplay albeit with an interesting shapeshifting component--and extremely challenging (often frustrating) bosses. It's a game I'd recommend to any SNES enthusiast, but I couldn't strongly recommend it for any other reason. It's sequel, Terranigma, is the superior game and it's pretty likely I'll talk about it soon.
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