Illusion of Gaia don't stop comin' and it don't stop comin' and it don't stop comin' and it don't st

[@stevemanart]

In the spirit of the video, I watched it at x1.25 speed

[@Caspicum]

bless you

[@maltheopia]

One thing I really loved about Illusion of Gaia, as pointed out from Jason Graves' review, is that the game is much more nuanced than 'industrialization and advancement is evil, return to monke'. As opposed to, say, Chrono Cross. One thing that it points out is that eternal harmony with nature and contentedness with the simple life is in itself a harbinger of future inhumanity (the angels you meet). Another thing it points out that the simple life isn't exactly desirable, and it contains its own horrors -- namely disease, slavery, and starvation. And, of course, there's the overriding point the game makes that human advancement should not be a reward for good morals (i.e. humans should only progress technologically if they do so morally as well, otherwise you get hi-tech orcs; a common trope). That humans can only become morally better by progressing, that technology and advancement is a prerequisite to a better breed of human--and that by destroying the foundations of advancement, Retvrning to Monke doesn't give you a noble savage, it gives you a selfish and violent peasant driven by survival and fear. See: the tribe of bucolic, once-peaceful foragers reduced to cannibalism.

[@medikor9190]

Man I miss the age of RPGs being around 20-40 hours long. I'm far more inclined to replay a shorter game than I am a 100+ hour long slog.

[@Rihcterwilker]

The public nowadays would complain that it is short and not worth their money.

[@Caspicum]

I've been thinking about shorter RPGs a lot lately, and how if you fully removed the gameplay, you'd be left with about 5-10 hours of cutscene. Then if you removed the cutscenes, you'd have about 5-10 hours of fights and exploration. Where's all this play time going? What're we doing wrong? Is it us? Legit, FF4 is maybe an hour of story events and 12~ of gameplay. Are JRPG players the problem?

[@DekuLord]

Absolutely agree. I've been thinking more and more than a video game should be under 10 hours in most cases, with longer genres like RPGs stretching it out to around 20-30. @Caspicum I don't think it's just JRPGs. All big budget video games seem to be either 100-hour bloated messes or perpetual live service games designed to suck in your time indefinitely. There's indie games with a smaller scope, but if you've ever heard of the company making it's gonna take 100+ hours.

[@DreamWhale]

This just makes me want you to do a Pokemon Colosseum video more.

[@Ratgraz]

Kino choice.

[@deejay3297]

Bring bak ngrmon!

[@larsg.2492]

But it's "Illusion of Time". 😢 Great atmosphere and music, crazy story. This was such an important stepping stone for Quintet to get to Terranigma, which offered such an increase in scope that it makes you dizzy.

[@HorkSupreme]

Has some of the best music, didn't realized how crazy some of the dialogue was until I was older. The transformers are awesome.

[@neostratagem8130]

Just mention this game to my friend the other day because I have been itching to play it again!

[@Caspicum]

Now is the time, the universe has spoken

[@Kayas]

I kind of like these shorter retrospectives on games you've played recently. It benefits from your fast paced and witty writing. Great video as usual

[@Caspicum]

ty ty! I'm always worried about the 'point' of a video. I feel like I need to say a lot, and it's hard to say a lot in a short period, but shorter snap videos about a small part of a game are definitely my favourite kind of video to make.

[@neostratagem8130]

Nonsense I want more illusion of gaia 😢 video

[@Chichaetomate]

just like the game fast passed and to the point heck i even didn't realized the video ended but it was a good one

[@ForumArcade]

Lufia! Lufia! Lufia!

[@Kuikkamies]

Gotta say, The Creation of Heaven and Earth Quadrology is damn good.

[@BusesAreFatCars]

What's that?

[@stevemanart]

@@BusesAreFatCars ActRaiser, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma. They're all games from Quintent about the creation and cultivation of the world. ActRaiser is a combination Action-Platformer and God Sim, and the other three are evolving a top-down action--adventure gameplay style. ActRaiser II is technically a part of the a quintology, but people often leave it out since its more of a hard mode remix on the action-platformer levels of ActRaiser.

[@BusesAreFatCars]

@stevemanart Interesting. Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware that Actraiser was related to the other three.

[@Kuikkamies]

​@@BusesAreFatCars The Quadrilogy is Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma and The Granstream Saga. These four games share similar themes and play elements. ActRaiser is not part of it.

[@maltheopia]

@@Kuikkamies ActRaiser's thematic elements are more in line with the rest of the QUINTology than a couple of entries on your list. Most notably, Illusion of Gaia, which is in terms of narrative odd game out of the franchise. At least when you ignore a certain bonus dungeon cameo--which is honestly more of a punishment for your morally grey behavior. Hm, one of the most based metafictional premises for a dungeon ever, when I put it like that. But anyway. Illusion of Gaia. Illusion of Gaia sticks out notably from the other games because A) for better or for worse, humans are ultimately the true architect of the story, with divine/cosmic forces either being passive or antagonistic. Even though Wil is supposed to be this next evolution of human, he's presented as a vanguard of the next generation, not some Superman/chosen avatar/angelic figure on high rescuing the world like the other games B) IoG has a much more jaded look towards the simple, peaceful, bucolic life than other games in the series and -- both further reinforcing the final point and most importantly IMO -- C) the game is not about restoring a broken planet unless you count the last-minute confrontation with Dark Gaia; indeed, a large part of the game's grimness is how the characters are forced to accept their helplessness in the greater flow of history ("Remember, some people are just born to misfortune.")

[@Nocturn3]

RIP Hamlet. May you be sanctified for your actions also dammit, I wish there was a retranslation patch because the OG script is beans

[@helloidharbl6753]

Hamlet was delicious.

[@TheInverseable]

There's one in the work, google it.

[@helloidharbl6753]

I had a patch that did a great job. This was a decade ago and that site is gone. Not helpful but yeah there are people who put in time to make it better.

[@Nocturn3]

@@TheInverseable Just did! Came out last month with a demo build. I look forward to giving it a go provided I still remember it exists once the full build is released

[@fredbedlam]

This isn't an Alundra video, you're on your last warning ⚠️

[@Caspicum]

I was gonna use Alundra footage in place of Suikoden 2, but I had no Alundra footage on my drives. Idk where i put it, but it's gone. Guess I have to replay it to capture that again

[@deazee2288]

Illusion of Gaia hit me like one of those games that should it came out in the recent years it would be worshipped through hell and back like undertale

[@gingerrevenger]

I had this as a kid, damn those vampires. Though I think I prefer Soul Blazer and Terranigma, this was the one I have nostalgia for. Another great SNES 'hidden' gem in the same style but with more substance would be Brain Lord, brought to us by the psychopaths who made 7th saga.

[@VivversX]

I love how this video is just as to the point and succinct as the game you're talking about.

[@Caspicum]

I was worried the video wasn't saying enough, but I wanted to keep it in the spirit of the game. It'd be pretty rich to talk about how bloat is bad and then have a 25 minute video about a game which isn't much longer.

[@VivversX]

@Caspicum I agree, it was a good decision. I remember finishing the video and going on with my day for a bit. Then that thought randomly HIT me, and I just had to come back and write a comment lol.

[@Llenne]

This is one thing I noticed while playing Breath of Fire 3 for the first time last year, the pacing of the game is so good that it just kept me playing. Dungeons until towards the end were always the perfect length and by the time I started to get tired of a dungeon it would end, dungeons at the end I can deal with being longer since the game needs to try and properly challenge you at some point (though the game had a lot to abuse towards the end). Just forget that whole sushi quest exists and the pace is probably close to perfect for me, I also loved the idea of the Desert of Death and didn't mind it at all and my only complaint is they didn't try to fuck with me enough during it to make it more interesting, it also had a great song and I will not be calling it a bad part of the video game.

[@Caspicum]

You're right about the sushi quest, it's such a quirky inclusion but just comes off frustrating since the instructions are so vague and the penalty for doing it wrong is so severe. You right though, Desert of Death is premo. All you gotta do is walk a bit North and a bit East and you're golden.

[@SamuraiSam]

One of the first games I ever played! Cool to see the perspective of someone who beat it as an adult

[@wolffster25]

Illusion of Gaia was really easy to get into and understand. It also had interesting moments but I still prefer Terranigma more that game just left more of an impact on me overall honestly the Quintet game are all unique and great experiences worth playing through.

[@Caspicum]

From what I can tell, most people seem to say Terranigma is THE Quintet game, but I've legit never played it. I want to change that, but you know how it be.

[@neostratagem8130]

Soul blazer is pretty awesome too

[@FormalGibble]

I think I get what you're saying. Within the last week or two I've been replaying the god of war games. I've already finished FIVE of them! Hell I ended up playing through the first one twice just to get the platinum trophy. I only played the 2018 one once and one of the things that I remember the most about it is constantly looking at the gear move pages trying to come up with a way to get number to go up. In a need to add more depth to the series they kinda also lost some things I really liked about it such as it's break neck pace. I had a similar experience with assassin's Creed origins and it's dlc. By the time I was done with everything the game said I had played for 90 hours (a lot of that time was spent looking at the gear screen, thank God that game had a great song for the menu). I then replayed through the Ezio trilogy, not just the main story but like everything those games had to offer and each game was roughly 20 hours long. I got to experience 3 games in less time than it took to get through one game and it's dlc and honestly had a more fun time with the older titles. I know people want games to be worth what they spend on them but there's more to value in a game than just it's length.

[@projectmessiah]

I've never beaten IoG but I like it quite a bit, I agree with most of what you said though

[@Sam-dd3rf]

I finished one piece odyssey. it does not get better.

[@Caspicum]

Oh you poor soul. Such a bummer too, One Piece deserves great games and it's not getting them.

[@TenguLeaf]

Great video! Funny to see this pop-up as I just beat Terranigma, which was also made by Quintet. Terranigma built on a lot of the story themes and gameplay mechanics in Illusion of Gaia. Though of course, this also means a slightly longer total playtime and some slower paced sections. To me, Terranigma feels a bit more refined and "complete". Highly recommend both games if just for the soundtracks. Now I just have to beat Soul Blazer to complete the Quintet Trilogy! I... accidentally mixed-up Soul Blazer with the similarly named Sky Blazer, not made by Quintet. Sky Blazer is also one of those games that doesn't overstay its welcome. A really solid side-scrolling action game with just enough stage gimmicks and power-ups to keep you entertained for its

[@danfortuna1984]

"I want to stick it through this time" is a common phrase i use with my girlfriend

[@lordmcsmith]

I feel this more and more as I get older. In the past, I could grind out 20 - 30 hours of Pokémon in a week, not accomplishing anything, just messing around with the world and the mechanics. But as an adult with bills and a job and people to take care of, I have a lot more appreciation for games that give me the full experience in an amount of time I can appropriately budget for. A lot of indie developers nowadays are good at taking the formula from classic games and distilling them down to more manageable packages.

[@sadmeat8937]

I love this game so much. Glad to see you cover it.

[@BusesAreFatCars]

Your thumbnail reminded me of an old(ish) British Grime/Rap song called Forward Riddim. Also known as Pow!

[@michelvanderlinden8363]

For a very long time this game was in my top 3 favorite games. The story is interesting in places, but for some reason that 17-minute long ending (inc credits) just hits me the right way. And that soundtrack, my god. Talk about A-game for the ending theme and credits. Its far from perfect, feels rushed in places, and has a monumental "what fucking fever dream is all of this" feeling in places. But its just fun.. so fun. Another pleasant video casp :)

[@sorkai2]

it dont stop comin

[@aeternisgloria]

you should try terranigma next

[@DS342]

Was always so bummed out about how nobody I encountered online ever knew or cared about Illusion of Gaia. It's got a memorable soundtrack,simple and efficient combat,and covers topics shockingly darker than you would ever expect NOA to allow on SNES. Completing the game-long gem side-quest requires the player to actively participate in the trans-Atlantic slave trade,alongside direct and uncensored beats of murder,cannibalism,and suicide. Terranigma added an extra step or two to complicate it's combat and that's the only title of the Quintet Trilogy that anyone talks about. Can hardly even find remixes for it that aren't nearly old enough to drink in the US. Terranigma remains the only entry in the trilogy I've just never been able to bring myself to finish and sits up there with Secret of Mana and Super Metroid in the list of games everyone loves except me.

[@OniLink99999]

Really good analysis of something I never really thought too deeply about with Illusion of Gaia. And I had exactly the same experience with One Piece Odyssey XD

[@Caspicum]

I've had a few people say they had the same experience playing One Piece Odyssey. I thought it was supposed to be good!

[@OniLink99999]

@@Caspicum Me too! I assume it gets better, but who knows XD Anyway, always great to hear a fellow Aussie on KZbin mate - thanks for all of your wonderful videos 😄

[@greenpoolball5136]

This video is an illusion until casps' next video on brave phantoms

[@gasparsigma]

One of my favorite games I've never finished

[@Caspicum]

That's funnily enough kinda how this video started!

[@HansAlRachid]

This video had me thinking of Ys I & II Chronicles as well as the PSP version of Ys III - the later entries in the series tend to get a bit long in the tooth, but those three in particular _move_ when they need to. Real breezy and fun, can't recommend those games enough. I've always had Illusion of Gaia (or the whole Quintet quintet, really) on my to-do list, I really ought to give these games a shot.

[@Scerttle]

6:05 Oh, I get it lol

[@MegaHarv]

To further support how the game speeds you through the experience. Apparently if you miss any stat boosts in any dungeon, when you defeat the big boss in an area, you get all stat boosts you otherwise may have missed, so at least you can't put yourself in an unwinnable situation due to an accidental low level game.

[@Caspicum]

I was wondering what happened but my collector brain wouldn't allow it.

[@thesacredbeast2000]

Gaia is great, but I always have to vouch for its predecessor Soul Blazer, you can talk to doors and chairs what else could you possibly want.

[@Caspicum]

Soul Blazer is comfy, but it's another one I've never gone too far into. I love the concept though.

[@stormstrider]

Now the sequel, Terranigma, was awesome

[@Caspicum]

It's been on my list for a long time, but that time rapidly approaches

[@Sivrn-Val]

Wanna know a game that will really make you question what the hell the Devs were smoking? Bahamut Lagoon.

[@Sarahm2261]

Oh it this game, I played it and I immediately got stuck at the second dungeon cause im stupid and never touched it again. Truly a illusion of gaia moment

[@Caspicum]

We probably got filtered at the same part ngl, I wouldn't've been much further than that in my og runs

[@Sarahm2261]

@Caspicum good to know the rpg master also had trouble like I did. Hope you have a good day.

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Quintet really made some excellent games ever made (that still hold up today) and then disappeared.

[@EmporerEmblem]

Given that Act Raiser got an actually decent remaster, it would be kind of nice for the other Quintet SNES games to get similar treatment. They're such a pleasant little corner of that console's library that just kind of exist, surviving off of their reputations (maybe not Robotrek, never heard anyone talk about it).

[@BusesAreFatCars]

This is a perspective I hadn't heard on this game before, though you are correct. So many games these days seem to be trying to artificially inflate their play time with pointless bloat. I remember Illusion of Time (that's what it was called here in Europe) had none of that. The story moments and gameplay challenges it had meant something. If 20 hours was added to the game then they would have meant less.

[@juicenozzle2575]

"occasionally challenging" I can't get past the first boss but can beat zombies ate my neighbours lmao

[@NicolasFuoco]

If anyone after watching this video is interested in playing Illusion of Gaia, the retranslation released online recently is a must. The original translation is quite butchered, with dialogue being in the wrong person, characters responses being opposite of intended, and just straight up omitting certain lore and backstories. Regardless, amazing game, lovely to see it get the recognition it deserves!

[@livingconstellation6003]

Next Terranigma

[@OG_McLovin]

Amazing game and truly great soundtrack. SCREW the red gem quest though, bane of my childhood.

[@thisguyyoudontknow4653]

My favorite part of Illusions of Gaia was when the main character cheated in russian roullete and murdered a man and everybody pretended that it was a good thing. SNES games were pretty wild looking back lol.

[@Caspicum]

If you pick the wrong one, you lose a gem life thing too, which is insane

[@Clancyism]

I'm actually currently playing One Piece Odyssey myself right now and I'm struggling so hard not to just drop it. Like I enjoy the combat but holy crap is everything about the game so slow and backpedally that it's such a slog but I also don't want to feel like I wasted my money, sunken cost fallacy and all that. Another great video though.

[@operator8014]

How tf did this drop without me getting notified??

[@Caspicum]

I had two thumbnails in active rotation, so you might've seen the other one which was kinda bad ngl.

[@peterbeaulieu8089]

Never played Illusion of Gaia, but I 100% agree with your points here. I started doing a playthrough of the Ys games a while ago and had a similar experience. I love the older Ys games because they're short and condensed experiences. But I was really disappointed when I got to Memories of Celceta, because I started to notice bloat that's so common in other RPGs. I've gotten so burned out on RPGs (and gaming in general) over the past few years because it feels like my time is always being wasted. Meandering plots and pointless side quests to pad the run time. Crafting systems with no value. Grind for the sake of grind. It's not like there isn't room for these things in gaming, but it seems like developers rarely consider how they add to the experience. I think a lot of the problems that contribute to bloat are so engrained in the design language of video games that new devs add them to their games almost instinctually. But I feel like I see more people complaining about the length of RPGs these days so I'm hopeful that the popular opinion of longer = better is slowly starting to shift.

[@Caspicum]

There's definitely room for longer games, but you've gotta have a really complex system in mind that's still gonna be rewarding to interact with 30+ hours in. There're some games I even think could be longer because of how unexplored their character progression is versus the run time of the story, like Grandia, but they're the vast, vast exception. Outside of a few edge cases, I agree with you 100%.

[@JimPanzeeEsq]

Yes, please hire some editors, Japan.

[@herebedragon]

You ever play the original Illusion of Gaia, Soul Blazer?? I love that game

[@Caspicum]

A little bit here and there, I think I got past the first boss and dropped it. Very much an Illusion of Gaia situation. I'll go back to it one day, I was thoroughly enjoying it.

[@WorthlessWinner]

you must hate pokemon if you hate hand holding early on

[@Caspicum]

I actually have a video where I slag early hand-holding in Pokemon, and measure how long it takes to get Pokeballs in each. I put that shit on a chart, bro. I like Pokemon, but yeah, the early handholding kills me.

[@TheDiscoGenre]

Hilariously breakneck pacing is the best part of the worst Wild Arms game (WA4 is very corny mid 2000s anime slop, but it will not waste your time; its as long as a GBA/SNES JRPG)

[@br.d8956]

I love RPGs, but years ago it was pointed out that the visual flair at the arrival of EVERY battle was immersion breaking & often very annoying. I understand that it was meant to disguise the transition to a battle scene, but even Chrono Trigger managed to avoid that while maintaining the rest of genre conventions.

[@br.d8956]

Great video! Goddamn, I should have lead with that!

[@Caspicum]

Chrono Trigger got so much right, it's insane. I know the general discourse puts Chrono Trigger on a pedestal, but it genuinely deserves it, that game transcends the term masterpiece. I will say though, even the original Dragon Quest was snappy, JRPGs just got obsessed with flashy nonsense and lost the plot...

[@br.d8956]

Hm! That's true, even with the (absolutely hilarious) faux middle english OG-DQs battles are mercifully quick.

[@shadou1234567]

So much modern games have such a loooong tutorial forced into your face that i totally understand the vibes of old games who gave you allmost nothing and you just go for it. Heck, i play games that are more similar to arcade games of just get on play and get out then long adventures ones just in fear of the feeling of wasting my time in forced tutorial or exposition that dont add anything. just adding a quick story, went to a friend to play the new mario party. First time you open the game THERE IS A MASSIVE CUTSCENE UNESQUIPABLE that we could not understand how looong it was. Thankfully once its over the rest of the game is decently enought paced

[@Caspicum]

Bro an unskippable cutscene in a Mario Party game, that is bad. That's so bad. What were they thinking? I know it was easier for old games to offer you less guidance, as they were generally less complex, a big chunk of games were just platformers with a jump button and maybe a second function, but even when complex games arrived, we figured it out. And sometimes we didn't and our mind was blown 20 years later when we figured out we were playing our favourite games wrong. Now there's no chance of that. Damn shame too.

[@LordValzy]

Played it as a child, enjoyed it but it never was truly much better then Soul Blazer and never remotely as good as Terranigma (even tho that also has some flaws).

[@ydnaivi9435]

do you still hate anime? :v random question but that is what i remember from your channel if you dont mind me asking that, its been a while

[@Caspicum]

I don't hate it, it doesn't repulse me or anything, it's just boring, I can't watch it. Games that lean too hard on the tropes and structure of anime are mostly bland and generic, so there's a mild distaste.

[@Twy87]

Why are you doing these short-form critiques instead of working on that 11+ part deconstruction of Alundra you clearly promised us back in 2017?

[@Caspicum]

You are correct but my sights are on a lesser-covered game for that massive video. I want to do Alundra but everyone's been riding Alundra's dick lately it's tiring

[@JoLiKMC]

The story of this game is easily the worst part about it. Even if you're paying absolute critical attention, it's absolutely *rubbish.* It may be because the main writer, Mariko Ōhara, was most familiar with the sci-fi genre at the time. She was very proud of what she came up with, though. So… good on her, I guess?

[@johnsmith-jw1do]

I remember being surprised when I got to ankor wat because it was the first time I'd ever seen black people in a video game. I thought they might do something cool or have a special significance but they just tied me up and ate my pet pig =(

[@stefanoberli5920]

Having played Terranigma, this just seems worse in every aspect.. Never been able to get past the first hour or so..

[@stevenlockhart9255]

I have grown to absolutely hate cutscenes in games. More than one in a row, and I’m skipping them. More than 3 in 10 minutes and I’m putting it down.

[@Caspicum]

incredibly based

[@Pompadour_Pug]

As I've gotten older my time's been taken up by more and more responsibilities, and I've learned to appreciate quality over quantity, a lot of older game titles have become increasingly refreshing to me, and newer games fiercly repulsive. Silent Hill 2's remake is a good example as what was an extremely tight narrative from beat to beat becomes a cancerous ever bloating experience that seems desperate to waste your time, and by the end I'm simply exhausted. Arcade titles have started making more sense to me, and I've gained a greater appreciation for older survival horror's tight design that incentivises replayability with short pithy playthroughs and a lot of new game + weaponry for spice. Mechanical mastery of shorter, more replayable experiences that reward knowledge, are highly dense and never piss away your time for the purpose of "value". We're in an age with free time waster games, and have been for the last 10 years. If you want to piss away your time you can do it for free with a lot of good selections. If I'm paying money I want value from compact experiences. This is likely why titles like Chrono Trigger appeal to me: you never need to grind, the story's always moving, and the pacing rarely slows down. Might give Illusion of Time a try if what you're saying is true; seems like my kind of jam.

[@Caspicum]

bro don't get me started on chrono trigger, I could play it back to back forever and never tire of it. idk what kind of magic juice that put in that formula, but I can't think of a single game on that level. I used to think arcade titles were kinda pointless, since you played them, moved either > way or ^ way, and it was over, but that was my JRPG brain. I think Metal Slug changed that, and I've never looked back. Even DMC3 seems bloated to me now, where the first game is worse in a lot of ways, btu still way more fun to clock. You should give Gaia a try at least, I think you'll dig it.