A look back at: Illusion of Gaia

This is one of those games that almost feels like it really is standalone given its title, but really it's part of the same franchise that Soul Blazer is in. Although this game is actually really a distant sequel in which the so-called "Blazer War" happened long ago.

And then after playing through Illusion of Gaia I realize it's a faux-RPG. It's got mostly Zelda moments in it, really, where the actual RPG thing is really just gaining attack, defense, or HP upon killing every monster in an area. Then you tie in the actual linearity of the game's plot, and then you realize something. If you end up missing something like a stat gain or a healing herb, you're not gonna be able to backtrack to get it. And that sucks. Oh, I did mention the healing herb, which is the healing item in the game. There's actually a finite amount to find. And then there's the Red Jewels which can be found in a lot of places, except that it's easy to miss just one of them.

So what does Illusion of Gaia do that Soul Blazer does not, or should I say what do I like about this game? Well, transforming Will into Freedan or Shadow is quite neat, and there's a number of unique abilities that are really nice to use. The telekinesis thing in this game is a lot more important than it ever was in Soul Blazer, as it actually blocks some projectiles. Many dungeons and dungeon monsters stand out well, and some of the locations are somewhat based off of real world stuff*. The weird lives system is an okay mechanic in nature, but I never really see much use of it.

There's not a whole lot for this plot, although it's quite interesting that Will gets all the companions he finds on his journey, and almost every named character is memorable. There's less of creating a world from ruin and more of just the traditional adventure going around for this game. Again, many locales really do sell you on how good they are presented. That's certainly fine and all. It's certainly not a favorite of mine after looking back on it, though.

*though, you'll look at this map and scoff because it's not really our real world.