Illusion of Gaia

Illusion of Gaia




Overall: 3.4

Story: 3.0

Gameplay: 4

Difficulty: 3.5




Note: This is an adventure game not an RPG




Synopsis: A young boy named Will is entrusted by a deity to protect Earth from an oncoming evil comet. The comet turns out to be an ancient weapon, compelling Will and his host of alter egos to band together with the young princess Kara to eradicate evil.



Illusion of Gaia is your typical adventure dungeon crawling affair. The only way I can describe this game is average. The dungeons are tough and long, often being straightforward, but at times completely unreasonable. The boss battles are very frustrating, but I guess this is a bit refreshing with the relative ease new dungeon based games have (if you ignore most MMOs). And the story is just ehh, but to be fair apparently the American version was watered down. Let's get to dissecting the game.

The story of the game is the same chosen one spiel we've been hearing since video games were created. In fact, you kinda just walk right into a gate to talk directly to god (or Gaia, who is the titan of Earth in Greek mythology). Gaia explains that things are going to hell and Will (a young teenager) is the only able bodied person to carry out the task of opposing this oncoming threat. From there you befriend a princess and then it turns out your family has been holding on to an artifact that the throne wants. So they try kidnapping your grandparents while imprisoning you for being cheeky. Luckily you escape and help the bratty useless princess escape with you (this makes sense how?). Someone from a secret tribe leads you to your grandparents and then you decide it's time to fulfill your destiny. There's also something about following in your father's footsteps (another commonly used trope), but I didn't really care about it.

As I said before, the American version has been watered down. The American version removes a bunch of religious undertones, which might have been the difference maker in pushing the game from average to meaningful. I mean think about all the romantic comedies you've ever seen (Along came Polly, Gigli, Couples retreat etc) . Now think of the romantic comedies you've found to be the best you've ever seen. I'm pretty sure if you compare their general plots you'll find the same generic equation being put to work. The difference maker when it comes to separating the average from the extraordinary tends to be the commentary the medium is used to make on a certain aspect of the human experience. It seems like the Illusion of Gaia was meant to be a homage to the faith and mysticism of various different kinds of ancient religions. Each dungeon represents temples of different ancient civilizations and it all works up to the final dungeon being the tower of babel (referencing the bible story concerning the tower that was built by all people of the world to reach God, conquering the tower is befitting of the ultimate act of faithful duty). These things matter because they're fucking awesome. With the American version, the preoccupation of ancient religions is hindered with pointless politically correct nods such as: removing the implication of cannibalism, changing Will's school from a sunday school to a regular school, keeping the teacher from leading Will in prayer to leading him in poem (wtf?).

There's more I could complain about, but I'm not. If you're looking for your adventure dungeon snes goodness and don't want to do Zelda, check out Illusion of Gaia. It's fun and there are some interesting narrative bits that I haven't divulged. If you're looking for a gem, pass this game.