Gaming Anniversaries September 1- Illusion of Gaia

Illusion of Gaia

Released September 1, 1994- Illusion of Gaia

Illusion of Gaia graced the North American market on this day in 94′. For the Super Nintendo.

Illusion of GaiaAnother fantastic RPG game developed by Quintet and of course, published by the RPG powerhouse, Enix. However, in the North American market, the game was published by Nintendo of America!

Meet Will, a normal kid. One day, his father just vanished, forcing him to live with his Grandparents. One day, he stumbles into “The Dark place” where he meets a strange being known as Gaia. Gaia immediately tasks him with saving the world from a Comet coming to destroy the Earth and reveals that Will holds secret powers. He can transform and even move things with his mind. Further to that, a strange girl appears in Will’s house. Asking for help to run from a forced marriage. It turns out it’s Princess Kara, and her father King Edward is forcing her to marry a man named the Jackal! Will agrees to help her, and in the process, save the world. But not without getting into a pile of trouble, meeting colorful characters and solving brain melting puzzles along the way!

It turns out it’s Princess Kara, and her father King Edward is forcing her to marry a man named the Jackal! Will agrees to help her, and in the process, save the world. But not without getting into a pile of trouble, meeting colorful characters and solving brain melting puzzles along the way!

The game is actually a part of a trilogy of games. Including Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma. This makes for quite a lot of gameplay, with deeply different stories and game elements. The entire series is considered one of the best on the Super Nintendo.

Reception

The game is published by Nintendo in North America. Creating a frenzy of merchandise. Along with the usual Nintendo Power cover attention. Likely furthering a frothing demand for the title.

This fantastic Action Role-playing game had received scores in the 80% range, with some critics lauding it for its musical score and gameplay elements. In general, though, the puzzle solving and the world was what garnered the most attention.  Ultimately, Illusion of Gaia sold over 650,000 units worldwide in a very short time. A common consideration is that other more famous games sold in the low 300,000 unit range. making Illusion of Gaia quite the outlier.

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