Story:Illusion of Gaia is an incredible game that tells the story of a boy named Will, who goes on an adventure to locate his father and ends up saving the world!
Overview:Illusion of Gaia was created in 1994 by the talented folks at Enix. Enix created a fantastic sequel to the game Soul Blazer. Illusion of Gaia plays a little like Zelda, but it has a style all its own and set its own little trend through its amazing story that leads to the epic conclusion.
Graphics: Although nothing to brag about right now, the graphics for its time were actually quite good, featuring a Zelda-ish perspective and the enemies were wonderfully detailed on the bosses. The Dark Space really shows off the graphical effects and the Dark Knight Freedan and Shadow also detail some very smooth animation although there is some slowdown during some parts. Slowdown was never too bad and arguably good for a game in the SNES era.
Sound: The game's strongest point was in the sound department. The music is very peaceful and surreal. The audio is rather loud and the tunes are very humable. You will find yourself humming the tune to South Cape hours after you turn the game off. The sound effects are also rather good, but they get kind of repetitive. Still the sound is the best feature of Illusion of Gaia.
Gameplay: The gameplay is top-notch for the game. The controls are tight and very responsive. The slowdown that occurs when Will gets a new item actually tends to produce a cool blurring effect. Basically, Will attacks with the weapon he has in his hand whether he is Will, Freedan or Shadow.
Another cool thing about the gameplay is that you get to play as either Will, Freedan, or Shadow at certain points in the game. It enables so much more action when in the battle scenes as long as you find the Dark Space portals. The controls always remain simple, utilizing only four buttons on the SNES controller.
Verdict: Illusion of Gaia is an incredible game that touches very deeply at certain points. The story is phenomenal and it all comes to a fantastic, if not predictable, close that leaves the player with a real sense of accomplishment. Those unlucky enough to not own the game should put up a search for it because it is one of the better games of the SNES generation.
Score: 10/10
