Fazermint's Juicy IoG review!

[Fazermint]

Introduction:
All right, I finally finished Illusion of Gaia (school's a bitch), and it's time for my review! Like with my Soul Blazer review, I'm not scaling any score, because that's useless. I'll compare it to Soul Blazer, and see which one I enjoyed the most. And of course, my trademark word, Juicy, is how you can best describe this review!

Gameplay:
Taking tay's tip of approaching IoG as an action RPG instead of a standard one, I was better prepared for this game. The gameplay was good. The concept of monsters spawning from tiles is gone, and monsters walk around regularly. They're also more creatively designed. The fighting system is enhanced, Will is more versatile than Soul Blazer. There's no magic any more, but instead we have the awesome forms! I already thought Freedan was epic, but Shadow took my cake. I miss some equipment, but I guess it wasn't needed in this game. I think IoG and SB are on the same level of gameplay for me.

Plot:
They did an honorable attempt on weaving a story into this game, but, alas. It doesn't follow a consistent line, it's not clear who the evil guy is until the end, and nothing is explained well. And the ending... 100/10 points, dude!

Boss fights:
Pretty epic, like in Soul Blazer. They were a little bit easier than in SB, save for those god damn vampires. Not much to say, other than Thumbs Up!

Graphics:
Naturally, the graphics are better than in SB. It has a little more focus on details, which is always good. It's well done in general.

Sounds:
While SB's soundtrack was dominating the sound output, it's more a sort of background music in IoG. I just didn't pay much attention to the music. I don't really know if that's a good thing or not.

Final words:
Illusion of Gaia is a great game. In terms of gameplay, IoG and Soul Blazer are pretty much on the same level. IoG is technically superior to SB, but that doesn't matter very much. I can't make a choice. I enjoyed both games a lot, and I think my conclusion is that they are equally epic.

[tay120n64]

Fazermint wrote:

Sounds: While SB's soundtrack was dominating the sound output, it's more a sort of background music in IoG. I just didn't pay much attention to the music. I don't really know if that's a good thing or not.

That actually is a really good thing. I felt the same way when I first played Chrono Trigger. On my second play, I came to realize how much I appreciated the music that I thought was nothing more than atmospheric. A few tunes in Illusion of Gaia (especially: In the Earthen Womb) really stand out for me and are among my favorite tunes in all of gaming.

Much of the jumbled and seemingly abrupt plot had to do with a terrible translation. Illusion of Gaia was butchered as badly as most games of its time. Check out Shiva Indus' translation thread in the IoG board for some insight on that.

[NoZKeY]

Another nice review!

There is something i like of IoG that i can't find in SB.. these lovely/shocking scenes like (SPOILER) when hamlet died, or the raft part. (SPOILER)


The gameplay is somehow different, but i agree that they are on the same level.

The music... both games have awesome songs. Though at my first play i didn't pay attention to SB's soundtrack..

I hope you will be reviewing Terranigma too someday...

[Fazermint]

tay120n64 wrote:

Much of the jumbled and seemingly abrupt plot had to do with a terrible translation. Illusion of Gaia was butchered as badly as most games of its time.

Aw. Didn't know that. Either some Japanese d00ds with really poor English translated it, or some English d00ds with really poor Japanese. XD

NoZKeY wrote:

Another nice review! There is something i like of IoG that i can't find in SB.. these lovely/shocking scenes like (SPOILER) when hamlet died, or the raft part. (SPOILER) The gameplay is somehow different, but i agree that they are on the same level. The music... both games have awesome songs. Though at my first play i didn't pay attention to SB's soundtrack.. I hope you will be reviewing Terranigma too someday...

I agree. The character in Soul Blazer is too distant. He's just a killing machine, while Will is some weird kid. lol

When [SPOILER]Hamlet died,[/SPOILER] I was like... DAT IS 1 EPIC ANIMAL!!

Glad you enjoyed my review And indeed, Terranigma will be the next RPG I play

[boxxleman]

I liked the review. You should review Soul Blazer and Terranigma.

[Fazermint]

boxxleman wrote:

I liked the review. You should review Soul Blazer and Terranigma.

Glad you liked it Already did SB actually. I still need to find time to play Terranigma