Illusion of Gaia (SNES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Nintendo's 1994 action-RPG for the Super Nintendo, Illusion of Gaia.
Illusion of Gaia was Quintet's direct follow-up to their 1992 cult-favorite Soul Blazer, and it is the fourth game in the loosely connected, heavily spiritual line of 16-bit adventure titles that began with ActRaiser in 1991.
On the surface, Illusion of Gaia appears to diverge a fair bit from the heavy-handed, largely philosophical tone of Soul Blazer and the ActRaisers. By not casting you as God's proxy, the tone feels far more personal and intimate, but the story it presents focuses on themes and tropes that'll be immediately familiar to fans of the earlier games.
Instead of playing as an animated statue, Illusion of Gaia places you in the role of Will, an average teenage boy from the sleepy village of South Cape. He goes to school, hangs out with his friends, and occasionally gets yelled at for his mischief-making - he's everything you'd expect out of a young, wholesome protagonist from the 19th century.
Without going into the specifics, I will say that Illusion of Gaia's plot is great. By putting you in the role of a person that has lived his life in this world, Gaia steers wide of the detached, voyeuristic perspective of the earlier games. The "human" perspective that this story is driven by creates empathy for these characters rather than sympathy. You're no longer an angel of mercy delivered by the creator, but rather, you're a person who is given agency in the fate of the people you care about, and by extension, the world that created you. It's a huge narrative shift that makes Illusion of Gaia a very distinct, very memorable game, and it's what makes this is my favorite of Quintet's god games.
The game frames its story through relationships, and it's not afraid to break standard game conventions to define them. Of all the "moments" the game has, I think the one that stands out to me the most over the years is the scene where Will and Kara find themselves stranded at sea on a piece of driftwood. What would be a short cutscene in most games is here turned into a 10 minute setpiece that focuses solely on two people trying to understand each other once all sense of pretense is stripped away. It temporarily grinds the game's pace to a halt, but the game's refreshing focus on character development really pays off.
That's not to say all is rosy, though. The tone is usually good - the writing doesn't try for awkwardly elevated "Ye Olde Fancy Talk," and it maintains a pretty light, humorous feel throughout. There are some glaring translation errors, though, and occasionally a character says something that is either so off-color or so on-the-nose that it'll leave you wondering, "Wtf just happened?" Those issues don't ruin the experience, but they do make for an uncharacteristically poor localization effort by Nintendo - one that is even further compounded by the censorship. It's a testament to the strength of the original plot that the intent still comes through as well as it does.
The gameplay, in my opinion, is a huge step-up from Soul Blazer's. It's still a 2.5D action-adventure with RPG trappings, but the dungeons are far more puzzle-oriented. Each dungeon has a theme that introduces its own specific wrinkle to the gameplay (I loved flipping between the sides of the Sky Garden!), and Will levels up by collecting emblems that appear once he has cleared all of the enemies in an area - a huge improvement over Soul Blazers' grindy-feeling enemy generator system.
Perhaps the coolest addition, though, is Will's ability to visit "Dark Space" where channeling different representations of his psyche through his physical form allows him to transform into the dark knight Freedan, and eventually the shape-shifting Shadow. They each have their own unique moves, and you'll have to regularly switch between forms to clear dungeon puzzles. Speaking of which, the puzzles are excellent throughout. They're often fairly clever, and their difficulty scales nicely over the course of the game. There's nothing here that's painfully hard or frustrating, but it certainly has its devilish moments.
The game looks great with its big, well-animated sprites, distinct locations, and its fancy Mode 7 map screens, and there's a good bit of attention to detail. Just check out how Will's hair blows around when he's standing in the wind.
And the music is fantastic. There's a huge variety in the tracks, ranging from big symphonic pieces to eerie, woodwind-based atmospheric ones, but my favorite easily has to be the dark space theme that plays near the end of the game. So nostalgic!
I know that popular opinion says that Terranigma is the best of the Quintet games, but I disagree. It's good, but Gaia has always resonated far better with me.
ActRaiser: • ActRaiser (SNES) Playt...
Soul Blazer: • Soul Blazer (SNES) Pla...
ActRaiser 2: • ActRaiser 2 (SNES) Pla...
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

[@richarddavis8863]

I'm a waiter and I got to talking to this guy who said he was an antiques dealer and I told him I still play my SNES every day. He goes to his car and comes back with an Illusion of Gaia cartridge and left it to me as a tip! Its s really fun and mysterious game but still so cozy. I remember kids talking about it on the playground a little bit but I didnt get to play it back then, still worth your time today!

[@euroj8172]

This comment deserves 100 thousand likes. Awesome Tip

[@reevescorp]

wow i remember when we where talking about this whith my brother

[@reevescorp]

the best game

[@seansullivan5965]

A kingly gift

[@gehteuchnixan8256]

No trashtalk, no webcam, no "look at my fancy setup"... just showing the game and bringing back childhood memorys. Thank you for that.

[@pepelefrog1121]

Woke and DEI liberal socialist kids brought that.

[@NintendoComplete]

This right here is one of my favorite SNES games!

[@mattsneed4569]

I have this one in my Super Nintendo library myself.

[@spawnofnerds1843]

Definitely in my top 10

[@mattsneed4569]

@@spawnofnerds1843 Should had been put on the Super Nintendo Classic.

[@spawnofnerds1843]

@@mattsneed4569 plan on getting a Snes classic then hack it

[@Invidente7]

Did you fight the hidden boss?

[@robertwatson4840]

This game WAS my childhood. I loved the mysterious quality of it and how it tied in ancient sites from all around the world. I think my love for the mysteries of ancient sites was born in this game. My dad and I would play this one all the time. So many wonderful memories came from this game.

[@Joaovitor1.1]

I love Ilusion of Gaia, greetings from Brasil 🇧

[@gloriaredmon2134]

I completely understand. I was 13 when this came out. I loved it then, and I love it still at 39.

[@cashstl77]

@@Joaovitor1.1 kkkkkkk brasileiro até aqui

[@Joaovitor1.1]

@@cashstl77 claro, ksksks Ilusion of Gaia é incrível

[@fmors]

I've bought this game back in 1995 and became really obsessed to see all the ruins in real life. 20 years later I went to Angkor Wat. Now there's 4 more to go: Inca ruins, Nazca, Great Wall and the Pyramid.

[@PlayfulFruitLPer]

I remember playing this in my room when I was around 4-5 and never being able to get past the first major dungeon. But I’d always keep playing over and over to that point, exploring Cape Town and talking to all the NPCs. This game, Donkey Kong Country, Zombies ate my Neighbors, made my childhood.

[@Shervin86]

First dungeon? Me and my brother and I couldn't get past the first room where gou had to move an object from a distance...😂😂 our game was in German and we had no clue what's happening... we ended up beating th3 game eventually

[@PlayfulFruitLPer]

@@Shervin86 German?! How did that happen!

[@Shervin86]

@PlayfulFruit 😄😄 we lived in Iran, and there was no official snes games or anything there back in the 90s. So we bought all our games from Germany. Imagine... Zelda, final fantasy, Gaia, mana etc all in German 😅😅

[@zeusdarkgod7727]

​@Shervin86 lol that's great, I used to play a lot of Japanese games on the computer In middle and high school and had no idea what was going on. Did you eventually pick up any German? Oddly I do find it easier to remember Japanese writing characters compared to other people I know, but I'm not sure if that's because I was exposed to it so much as a kid or not.

[@BillTaylor-]

I had the same with secret of evermore 🥹

[@TheCrowingFly]

I still think this game was ahead of its time. Those water graphics were fantastic

[@MariaIsabellaZNN]

Whenever the jeweler randomly declares that he controls the seven seas without ever explaining what that even means has to be the funniest thing to me. I've started greeting people like that too.

[@Spindrift]

it's a reference to how he started the slave trade

[@heroinmom153]

He then becomes the hardest boss in the game

[@mrj0hnwick795]

Hamlets death is the most sadest thing in history... like terranigma, secret of mana etc... Rest in Peace Hamlet

[@snorgonofborkkad]

This is one of those SNES games I would have loved as a kid but didn’t know existed.

[@desert_lore]

I'm 32. I was lucky enough to have it when I was a kid. My dad had been told about Link to the Past by one of his friends. He bought that game and beat it. My uncle got me Illusion of Gaia for Christmas. It must have been 1995 or 96. I played it a lot but I was too young to beat it. I beat it when I was 14-15, in 2003 or so. I didn't know it was connected to Soul Blazer and Terranigma til around the time I beat it

[@MarienMelisse]

​@@desert_lore Played and beat this game around the time I was 15. Must've been around 1999. This game, Zelda en Secret of Mana will remain with me until my final days. Grateful for such experiences!

[@Shervin86]

I lived in Iran, so all my games were European and German! While I played and loved these games I had little to no clue about the story being told, HOWEVER now that I've replayed them I realize I had 90% of the stories down to a T. The same thing applied to Zelda games, Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana series and more.... Imagine playing them all with no clue about what the dialogue means and still understanding the story, minus some details! hahaha If that's not good game development I don't know what is.

[@antonious62086]

Same, so I bought it and beat it lol along with terranigma and was so happy I did. Amazing games. I'll be 36 soon, never to late.

[@theseus27]

This is simply one beauty of a classic SNES game, and I will never ever sell it. The emotional joy I had when I completed it for the first time. I was literally moved by the brilliantly composed music, and the game itself was just perfection. It's definitely in my top 10 list of SNES games. Quintet developers gets a 10/10 from me for this gem of a game. A timeless masterpiece imo! 😃 Nearly all my large collection of SNES games are boxed with instructions, and are still in good condition. 😀

[@kracktive1470]

If you dont mind , can you tell me other games you enjoyed? and do you think it would affect my enjoyment if I knew this game ending as I spoiled it to myself when I was a kid

[@theseus27]

I'll just mention some as I'd fill a whole page!! Actraiser, Secret of Evermore, Terranigma, Secret of Mana, Zelda Link to the Past, Breath of Fire 2....that's just a few. Hope that helps 🙂

[@yusakug]

I remember when I bought this, it came with a T-shirt. I wish I still had it, but it became a rag from me wearing it so much. Probably a collector's item now.

[@NintendoComplete]

I remember that! I had it too. I wore that thing til it was threadbare.

[@snorgonofborkkad]

NintendoComplete I learned the word “threadbare” today.

[@gorillazfan242]

I went to the same video rental place for years as a kid. The owner knew I was waiting for this to come out. When the video store received it they called me and I when I showed up to get it he gave me the shirt. I also wore it till it basically fell apart.

[@JaredAfrica]

i completely forgot it had a shirt included!

[@JayJayJay83]

Hah! I guess it was very thinly made... I still have it, and yeah, it's in shreds now... XD

[@WaldoBagelTopper]

I was like 8 or 9 when my brother got this one summer for his birthday. I think that I was too young to get far in this game myself, but I watched him play a lot and got equally invested with the characters and story lines. As a kid that young, I KNEW that I was experiencing something that was far beyond my level of maturity. This game covered topics such as death, grief, despair, slavery, the occult. It almost felt like a message about the condition of mankind and what we can expect unless we learn to love.

[@rhey81]

The crazy thing about this game is that its based on place you can actually visit today... Amazing concept.. wonderful game..

[@chrisregan5557]

I watched a season of Survivor at Ankor Wat and the only reason I already knew what it was was because of this game lol.

[@spoonshiro]

One of my favorite games of all time. Severely overlooked!

[@chubbygamergirl7625]

i want to point out something most people still don't know about the game... the air plane and parachute/free fall cinematic , you can hold A and yourself or the parachutes wil glow green like Will's power charging...bizzare enough it also affect the other's parachute...i came here to bring back good memories as this is the number 1 game in my heart and will always be... waiting for a remake or remaster since 20 years... i wish this game wasn't so underplayed and overlooked...everyone loved it...why isn't it well known?... @NintendoComplete , at Ankor's Wat , the snake people you don't seem to understand you have to hit the head until it breaks so you can kill them...you never noticed it

[@So_Toasty]

I loved this game so much as a kid. I rented it a ridiculous number of times in my effort to beat it but I just could not beat the boss of the pyramid level and since this was pre-gamefaqs, when strategy guide books, or maybe someone's older brother, were the only available sources of info when such difficulties were encountered, I was at a loss as to what exactly I was doing wrong (I can't recall specifically what the issue was but I did end up beating it eventually and I know that it was something so simple and small that I felt stupid that it had taken me so long to figure it out.) Anyway, this really made me want to play this game again. Both the SNES and the PSX are my absolute favorite consoles to date. They each have so many of the greatest games of all time and both were a huge part of my childhood/ teen years.

[@thejuiceweasel]

God this game was so dark... the Russian roulette scene, the raft scene, slavery, skeletons, it's a really sharp contrast compared to jollier stuff like Secret of Mana, Zelda etc... man I love this game so much, and discovering that you can actually visit lots of places from the game was mindblowing.

[@So_Toasty]

Yeah. As a kid it really didn't occur to me just how dark some of the content was though so it's interesting to look back at it now as an adult. I've noticed the same thing quite a few times when I've replayed other games I used to love. Without the naive, innocent lens that childhood seems to have imparted, a whole lot of games I played as a kid, whose stories had previously never really struck me as having any significant depth or complexity, have taken on new meaning now that I'm better equipped to really appreciate some of the more mature ideas/themes and see the subtext and whatnot. It's really made them that much better.

[@richarddavis8863]

And yet somehow it's still so comfy. Like seriously, I'll just leave the Dark Space room open on my CRT in my game room and just vibe

[@TheZombiesAreComing]

It's a prequel, Soul Blazer, was a bit dark as well

[@jasonkh4]

⁠@@richarddavis8863 leaving the Dark Space open just to vibe out in your room is a total mood 🗡️

[@adamtobiasz8793]

Finally saw the whole play one more time since I finished back when I was a kid.

[@Baximus]

Ah, Illusion of Gaia. Taught me that just because someone has a dark power doesn't mean they're evil.

[@hanchiman]

Back when Enix was their own studio and was a proper rival to Square. Enix storyline and characters tend to have alot of plot twist that I really liked

[@NintendoComplete]

Me too, I've always loved the Dragon Warrior games.

[@hanchiman]

@@NintendoComplete yeah, Dragon Warrior even back then in the NES at least beginning in DW3 had some twist and turns. One of the most memorable DW was in DW5 where in the intro, you play as the HEROs dad who kick every monsters ass but HERO got captured at knife point and DAD can't fight back and you see his life bar slowly draining while the monster keep attacking you but you can't attack back. Not to mention Akira Toriyama from Dragon Ball been the character designer for all of Dragon Warrior/Quest series.. a bit weird he never did a manga about it instead another manga artist Hori did the official manga

[@hanchiman]

@@NintendoComplete Forgot to mention, my all time favorite of Enix game was Terranigma, I dunno why the storyline of Ark kinda hit home to me personally in a way, I think at the time when playing that game, I was having alot of personal issues back then, so he sort of related to me, since Terranigma is basically a "bildungsroman". We start out with Ark as a juvenile good for nothing troll but at the end of the game we see him matured and questioning about existentialism

[@alexgainsborough4921]

@@hanchiman Yes, Terranigma is a game that is unique in its mood.

[@utopianh]

This isnt really an enix game. Was only the publisher. Quintet was the developer who made ActRaiser and the soulblazer/illusion of Gaia/terranigma trilogy.

[@ricardosallin1670]

This is a great game. Maybe not the best RPG in entire history, but still a great game. It conveys that internationalist sense of the "global village" that was talked about a lot in the 90s, that the world is one, and between the lines it remembers the ecological threat that had existed since long before the game itself. But the raft scene, my friends. It is indeed the single most poetic and beautiful scene in Snes RPGs, with that delicate and contemplative song. The monotonous solitude of the shipwreck makes them think and evolve as human beings in an unusual way in RPG plots. This could make for a real theater scene!

[@paladinandrew8538]

What a gem. This is nostalgia at its best. Thanks for this.

[@TheStrateeg]

Just finished the game. Thx for the help sometimes :)

[@frankmiranda707]

My childhood, I would play this and Chrono Trigger all the time!

[@So_Toasty]

SNES had so many classics, especially RPG's.

[@nintendoswitchonlineisabad9491]

Watching you play this is hitting me right in the feels 😃 Wish it was ported to the Switch ☺️

[@UlrichX1990]

You can play it in your mobile, just get a snes emu! :3

[@AndresRodriguez-pf1jt]

Its complicated because enix, the publisher got bought by square and now its tied up with sony playstation. Just like donkey kong 64 with Rare and xbox.

[@nintendoswitchonlineisabad9491]

@@AndresRodriguez-pf1jt Oh ok, thanks for the info Andres, what is the probability do you think of Square porting it???

[@jayfortman]

@@UlrichX1990 😃😉😚😊😚🤗😶😶😑😚☺😉🙃🙂🙂😘

[@Abpaco1]

@@nintendoswitchonlineisabad9491 I think Square Enix has preferred to release their old games individually rather than putting them on the NSO, probably because they could make more doing the former. Examples of these are old FF games, Secret of mana and recently Act Raiser. I believe there´s hope for them to re-release Illusion of Gaia on the Switch (and other consoles) but most likely would be a separated purchase.

[@cbrtMetallicA420]

One of many SNES games I was introduced to. Still love it to this day.

[@deftones8717]

This game really brings me back to my childhood. Ahh, back when life didn’t suck 😆 I love this game

[@dice_for_death]

Few say it aloud, but Illusion of Gaia has the perfect ending. Right down to the last second. Unquestionably flawless, beautiful and poetic.

[@michelletackett9489]

One of the best SNES RPGs I've ever played.

[@jessiblue3]

Same here

[@johnnym2069]

I've recently played it for the first time ever. It's definitely one of the best on the SNES, but my number one will always be Earthbound AKA Mother 2.

[@tomikagoodwin7738]

This is one of my favorite RPG games. I remember when it first came out. I got the T-shirt, Strategy Guide. It takes me back to the good days. Still have it to this day. I beat it, but would like to relive and play it again someday when I'm ready. Good times! :)

[@gedren_y8775]

Never got to play this as a kid. Now I wish I had. The adult domestic situation at Seth's house has me amazed at the writing. I want to play it just to read what the characters have to say.

[@jeffreyhutton1963]

I remember back in 1995 or so when I first played this game. I was stuck with awe and amazement, and today it's still among my favorite games for the SNES.

[@vrproject4k882]

while everyone else was playing link to the past, i loved playing illusion of gaia alongside zelda

[@maximus9490]

My favorite childhood game, gonna be a nice watch!

[@nateschumacher4553]

Oh...My...God I can't believe I had forgotten about this game. I was fascinated by this game when I was a kid. Every sound effect and visual is bringing more and more of it back into my memory. I must find a way to play this game!

[@MrEmpirestate714]

I remember getting stuck in a cave when I was a kid and having to call up the tips hotline. Had to find the area in the wall where the breeze would move Will's hair and use the flute to open the path. Great memories!

[@NoukSilver]

I still have this game, but with the European name 'Illusion of Time'. Played it loads as a kid, but as English isn't my first language, a lot of it went way over my head. I had no idea there were bits about kids in labour camps. :'D

[@LeedyFGC]

I cried when I heard that opening scene music. BRuh, you have ZERO idea what this play through does for me. Each and every moment of this game, stored core memories of my childhood. ❤

[@erwingarrymendez5590]

One of the best RPG that I’ve played before. I hope to play it again. 😊

[@joshuaguy4594]

Thank you so much for doing this Illusion of Gaia walk-through play along it has been very helpful in my times of playing this game on emulator and got me unstuck multiple times worse stuck spot was Mountain Temple area 😢😂🎉 after a few days trials I finally made it past there watching each step taken

[@yengyang5870]

90's rpg was life

[@Tekman_]

I love how Quintet recycled sound effects from Actraiser in some of their games. Like the "Sealing Monster's Lair" sound effect as the school bell.🙂🙂 (At 3:31)

[@gaddyric]

Neat! I never knew that since I never played either Actraiser

[@L3ialicous]

Omg!!!! Wow this brings me back! So damn cool!!! I absolutely loved this game. I'm so glad I came across your video.

[@PogueSquadron]

Just replayed it a couple months ago. Still so good! One of my top 10 games of all time.

[@Sludgedump]

I really appreciate you playing out the whole song for the comet fight.

[@VideoGamesAndTheWorld]

Illusion of Gaia is one of my most favorite SNES titles. It has great story and good character development and I love the multicultural atmosphere of the game. Showing the Wonders of the world and so many real world cultures of the Inca, Egyptians, the Chinese and also the biblical tower of Babel.

[@sandwichmaker9000]

lmfao let me guess, you're a White?

[@NikiWonoto26]

I still even remember the puzzle at 1:08:47 when I dreamed last night. It's very mysterious, and so is the music soundtrack. Sadly very underrated.

[@efrenb5]

Man. Blast from the past! I played this game sooo much back in the day. Knew everything by heart. Loved the instructions booklet that came with the game. They don't make them like that anymore.

[@luciebureau6815]

Someone mentioned this game in his comment about Soul Blazer. It looks really good ! And again the music made me feel like i’m in a Final Fantasy game. Nice😊.

[@aikaun4067]

My favorite snes game but I never completed it as a Kid Cuz my older bros always hogged the game back then. But in 2021 I finally downloaded it to my phone and FINALLY COMPLETED IT MYSELF!! So happy. Storyline was beautiful like all rpg's in the 90's. So sad that Will and Kara didn't end up together. 🤧🤧😥

[@theneohobbyist]

Very nice - my all time favorite video game. Although it could really, really use a fan re-translation.

[@garybernales1211]

I hope they make a remake on Nintendo Switch. I love this game.

[@solterohugo]

I remember playing this game into the morning hours!!! Loved it!!! ❤️❤️

[@bulletfreak224]

This game deserves a remake...

[@JJ-Himself]

Imagine if this was a ps5 or switch with the actually motion acting… I wouldn’t say it best final canary but it be right up there. This is 1 of my fav SNES games

[@1169218923]

Nice. I also got round to completing this game at the end of March this year. Great game.

[@servit0r]

The music in this game was espacially great!

[@Aymenos]

My first RPG ever !! I spent days playing it with my Snes ❤️❤️

[@SCARFACEPHOENIX]

Illusion of gaia was one of my favorite underrated game of my child hood and it has the greatest song of all time : in the earthen womb

[@radamanthys1212]

I began to replaying it again after more than 20 years, in snes emulator for android, excelent game, so much nostalgia.

[@LeviWilbert]

I forget exactly the sequence of events of how I came across this game, maybe I just bought it, maybe I got it for Christmas, but I remember one Christmas, we had all of my family's extended family over for Christmas but my brother's Super Nintendo had died (apparently it had been thrown across the room a few times when my dad was upset with my older brother, so I suppose it makes sense it finally gave out). Over Christmas, I begged and begged and begged my relatives to bum me some money to buy a new console, and somehow, I finally got them to give in. I had this game, and after that, all I did over Christmas break was play this game whenever I had the chance lol. I would even sneak into the living room in the morning (where my uncle was sleeping, and often slept in late), and play the game with no audio so as not to wake him. I also had the owner's manual, which had the location of all the red rubies which eventually were supposed to do something at the end of the game, but even with the owner's guide I wasn't able to get them all, but it was this obsessive mission to find all of these rubies and play through the game. I think having the owner's manual telling me where these things were kinda blocked me from just enjoying it as much as I could have, but even so I recall playing through the levels and really getting into the puzzles and mythological feel to the whole thing, especially the Sky Garden. I always got into RPG's, and this one was a rare one where my older brother didn't play through it before I got a chance to get my hands on it! (he was 'too old for games' by the time). To this day, I still have my copy of Illusion of Gaia, AND that same Super Nintendo console I got so long ago.

[@primarytrainer1]

I loved this game growing up! There was something really special about this series, Mana, Evermore, Zelda, and even Star Tropics. If anyone knows any other similar games, action rpg, cute graphics, mysterious storylines, please let me know!!

[@danielzelpher7335]

try Crystalis on the NES

[@brandonw3499]

Golden sun was on this list for me as well. So mysterious and fun.

[@frankmiranda707]

15:40 I remember that flute melody!!!

[@bodoor8172]

Never knew this game was under the same tree as Soul Blazer. As a kid I really enjoyed this game.

[@cuyo02]

With this game learned that games can deliver marvelous storys. I never seen that kind of storytelling before; maybe this game is the culprit for my taste of jrpgs.

[@chrisregan5557]

Back in those days devs couldn’t just rely on graphics (for obvious reasons) or sound quality even, which meant in order to make a good game they had to pour as much creativity, storytelling, and art into it as they possibly could and that’s what the game is to me, a literal moving work of Art. I miss those days, when 16 bit games hit you in the soul.

[@brianargueta3020]

Best game ever! It brings back childhood memories. Even though I had it in English (my native language is Spanish), it was a challenge, but I was still able to guess and understand the game. I really loved the challenge.

[@far2d28]

Just beat for the first time on original hardware and that was a fun play through thank you for the guide in cryptic parts it was a good time to be had when I had the.. illusion of time.. puns indeed however yes thank you great game

[@fourlightsorchestra]

Always wanted to play this as a kid, just found a copy at a thrift store and am playing through it now. I’m noticing it has some technical problems, little things that could’ve made for a better game, but I’m liking the story and the look of course. I wish text bubbles weren’t so easy to accidentally skip over, and sometimes it feels a little too on rails, not allowing you to travel the overworld map, and kind of shuttling you from one town to the next, even if you wanted to explore a town more before you left. Some back tracking that also seems unnecessary. Just these little technical things I have issue with. It’s a pretty cool game so far though. What it does right, it does really right.

[@stephenpeplow2870]

I grew up with this game…can be brought into tears at just the thought of it…. That being said I would change things about it if I could too 😂 Particularly the dungeons; difficulty is ridiculous and the music is the same for each of them, starts to grate on you after your hundredth time of pushing through a section you stuck or lost in. I imagine it’s easier in modern times with online guides and such, but in the 90s I would just be stuck for what felt like forever and the boss battle / dungeon themes still give me anxiety to this day.

[@WaldoBagelTopper]

@@stephenpeplow2870 The freaking vampire boss fight is where I would always go off the rails.

[@alexh2790]

This game is one of the most thoughtful games we got in the west (for snes) in that the story explored themes that left a weird feeling in your gut and the game didn't bog you down in busywork. It's one of the few snes adventures that I actually have time to revisit now and again. I always wondered if the Angel Tribe were a deliberate inverse juxtaposition of the mountain people from Soul Blazer? One live very short but meaningful lives, the other never age but are doomed to an existence of mediocrity; both are bittersweet. I guess that sums up the general feel of these games, bittersweet.

[@amybelton7647]

I’ve never seen this game before. It looks really fun!

[@KenekeBiggs]

I loved this game SOOOOOOO much! I was obssessed! This game and EVO.

[@justinhall2711]

Just completed my first play through of Illusion of Gaia, this also being the first rpg I've played. I'm hooked. The genre never appealed to me as a kid, but now in my mid 40's, it's absolutely a joy to get lost in a game for hours on end, get genuinely invested in the characters and storyline. Why have I not been aware of all this before! Edit; Suggestions on what to play next??

[@MazterP28]

I just bought this game now and am playing it now

[@millplays]

Where is Lily on the ending scene? Only Will, Erik, Lance, Seth, and Kara were there...

[@PozerAdultRacingTeam]

Wish I still had this game and my Super NES.

[@nefinerf]

I was teleported back in time, thanks!

[@eddyblanco7210]

Only the *Real Ones* remember this game. Hell, I rocked the shit outta that collector tee that came with the game(not so 'Special Edition'. It just came with a graphic tee). Still I played and played and Played this game because I ❤'D it That Much!

[@DrFlox]

That was my absoulte favorite SNES game, such a great story and music. Always had to hide it from my brother, because when we had a fight he might delete my savegames :D

[@brandonw3499]

Funny I did that to my brother 😂 I felt so bad about it as soon as I did it though 😔

[@thepooking]

Absolute belter that mate

[@ricardohuff8774]

This game to me never gets old, wish it got ported on other systems. Still got the game, need to play this again. Got a supaboy s but it do not work no more.

[@elpasadordeoro]

Thanks for this guide, it saved me in 5/6 parts 😰

[@JJ-Himself]

Imagine if they redid this game in today’s graphics an acting This will be right up there with Final Fantasy how deep the story is

[@sjgeorge3831]

This is and will always be my favorite game💕💯

[@eduardosampaio4850]

Ah, que saudade! Foi o primeiro RPG ação que joguei em 96.

[@StuffyDolly]

One of the few rpg games that I actually love.

[@franklinfleming1237]

Lol that last shark though hungry af we done 4 😛😜

[@MrChrisChef]

Never played this but just bought a snes bundle with it in. So I’ll be hammering it

[@MariaIsabellaZNN]

Love this game, probably even prefer it to Terranigma. Combat, inventory and other mechanics were better in Terranigma but I prefer the music in Illusion of Gaia (even if only by a tiny bit) and the sense of mystery and explanation. Plus the group of travelling friends seemed a lot more tight-knit than the supporting characters in Terranigma who mostly just showed up from time to time to help solve a contrived problem.

[@KenekeBiggs]

Thanks. I watched the entire thing lol beautiful nostalgia

[@dan47483]

I appreciate the quality of this capture, especially the 60 fps. Most longplays are terrible quality.

[@fumomofumosarum5893]

man, there are so many errors in this game ^^; mistranslation, typos, wrong descriptions... it's crazy! never noticed it as a kid.

[@cazamilfs8945]

Just finished the Game the only thing I passed by were the bloody red jewels 🙃

[@ricardohuff8774]

Finally got this game on my SNES classic, PS classic modded, retro gp430 handheld and now super console x pro.

[@heliodorr]

and the childhood memories train departs again ...

[@Kiet888]

51:50 was the first time when I thought shit was getting serious! Probably why it's my favourite soundtrack in the game.

[@NintendoComplete]

Probably also my favorite Van Halen album ;)

[@johnlocke2026]

In Euro, there is a hidden door in the alley to the shrine where you get a strength power.

[@mjdf122]

Good times with Soul Blazer Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma

[@vikinggaming1037]

I loved this game growing up. I got stuck at the mines though, cause I didn't know about the knights ranged attack so I ended up giving up. :c

[@s727r]

Almost finished Zelda on snes9x so was looking for something similar, this might be the one!

[@leroybanging2687]

I got stuck in the room as a kid at 44:30. Never been pass it. Randomly popped in my head just now to find this game and you’re telling me I had to hit that wall with no markings?? Great game for 44:30 mins to me. But apart from that. I had idea.

[@JLEXUS]

nostalgic opening