Illusion of Gaia (Super Nintendo, 1994)

Illusion of Gaia is Enix's semi-sequel to Soul Blazer, and while the two games don't share the same story, they share the same core gameplay. Gaia takes place from a top-down view, Zelda-style. As you progress through the game you level up, go to new towns and dungeons, etc. Unfortunately, there is little variety in the abilities and items that you'll get, you won't be learning any spells at all, and you'll only learn a few extra attacks besides your basic sword strike, it's hard to figure why they didn't put more items and attacks into the game. The real-time control during combat is excellent, though, making battle pretty fun, and the game will throw many clever puzzles at you despite the scarcity of different items and abilities. In between dungeons you'll be reading many lines of slow, boring text, and interacting with your "friends", who follow you around the world but never seem to help you in any way. The story is bland and pretentious, and it never really amounts to anything.
Still, the game is sharp and well-produced, with good music and nice graphics, that, coupled with some good puzzles and control, keep the experience afloat. If you can overlook the poor story and the endlessly repeated songs, you might like this game a lot, i just think they should have scrapped the story and spent more time making items and some spells.

Illusion of Gaia is an overlooked classic for the SNES system. It is the second in the Soul Blazer series (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia both released in the US, and then Terranigma, released in the UK in PAL format).

The story is interesting yet simple. You're a young boy named Will who was with his father on an expedition at the Tower of Babel. After his father disappeared, he woke up in his hometown not remembering anything. A few years later the game begins and Will, with his new psychic powers, starts off on a quest to find out what happened. What results of that is traveling through ancient ruins, battling challenging bosses, and losing and gaining friends, ultimately finding that he is the only hope for the world. You may even learn a song or two. ;)

The gameplay is almost like the original Zelda games. You have an attack button and some special skills like moving objects with your mind and your flute. Let me say this now; the game will appear very easy up until the first boss. Boss battles are very difficult and require all of your skill to complete. This game is not for your average RPGer. You go through each ruin and a few towns collecting secret Red Jewels, Mystic Statues, and items as you travel.

The graphics are really high for the SNES system and are just beautiful and stunning. The music is very well done, up to par with Final Fantasy III (VI).

I highly reccomend this game to anyone looking for a unique RPG experience by ENIX, the creative minds behind STAR OCEAN and VALKYRIE PROFILE. You won't regret getting this game at its current Ebay price~

This is the second game in the series of action / adventure / role playing games by Enix created for the Super Nintendo console ( the first being Soulblazer, also released for the SNES ). This game is truly fun for all ages, with a solid storyline, great gameplay / graphics for the time of its release, and many challenging puzzles and extras hidden throughout the game. A truly unique game at the time of its release. So far, this game has stood the test of time - that being that i had this title when i was younger and sheepishly gave away my SNES upon receiving the acclaimed Nintendo 64. I only recently picked up a brand new SNES ( due to my love for 'old school' RPG's, and SNES had some of the greatest )and i rebought this title remembering how much fun i had with this game. My memory did not fail me, and it is exactly how i remember it to be - challenging, rewarding, and above all - FUN! Often overlooked, don't make the same mistake that many already have. Pick yourself up a copy!

This game is just as great now as it was 15+ years ago. This game is an unofficial sequel to the game Soul Blazer. If you are a fan of the Zelda games, or Secret of Mana, than this game is right up your alley.

Its not a very long game, maybe 30 or 40 hours to complete. But the story is good, you get to control 3 different characters (the main character has 2 alternate forms who have different special powers).

Good level design, some of the bosses are fantastic, such as the very first boss. Not a very difficult game, but definately a gem if you are an old school gamer.

Let me just say, the item came in near perfect condition.

Not many people know about the great Illusion of Gaia. Somehow this was one of the great RPGs of the SNES era that got overlooked, and I don't know why. The creators "Enix" sure did an outstanding job on this one. As many of you all know a few years later after the release this game, "Enix" joined with the mighty "Squaresoft" and created "SquareEnix".

Now let me get to the actual game itself. The gameplay itself is simply close to amazing, greatly comparable to that of "Link to the Past". The overall gameplay was a great experience, like the challenging puzzles and the somewhat different plotline than most RPGs out there. They also spiced things up with some really unique features that really let the game stand out, for example the ability to transform into another character avatar. The graphics are one of the best I've seen on the SNES, greatly comparable to FFIII(FFVI).

There really isn't much missing in this game I'd say. If you are a fan of Adventure/RPGs, are a fan of old "Zelda" games, and miss the SNES days. Now is your chance to check out Enix's Illusion of Gaia for the Super Nintendo.