Illusion of Gaia/Time (SNES, 1993/1994)
Graphics-8 Sound-7.5 Control-8 Challenge-7 Story-6.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
+
Plays like a more arcade-y Zelda (includes a magic flute, dashing into breakable walls, sandworm boss, a fairy companion (pre-OoT) and spots where you can jump off cliffs)
Narrator’s "voice" (interrupted by any button press)
Decent dialogue overall
Day/night effects
You can run from the get-go
Special attacks and powers (jump attack, telekinetics - pull objects towards you, shapeshifting - three different forms that you can switch between at certain points (Will/default, Freedan, Shadow), melt to move through floors as Shadow, slide through cramped spaces - later used in Sonic Colors, spin attack move - kinda like the move from Turtles in Time)
Continues the environmental theme from the prequel
No shops (instead a merchant hidden in a few towns gives you various items and powers in exchange for hidden red jewels – means you can’t hoard items but also that you have to save up on herbs to make it through the later half of the game or backtrack to save points)
Relatively dark themes like slave labour and suicide
Some good enemy and boss AI
Decent variation
Respawn in the same area that you died in
Riverson might be where Seed (FF10) came from
Some clever puzzles (pyramid, timing puzzles)
Some good satirical scenes (Hamlet)
Some good bosses (some with large sprites)
A text box tells you were you are when you enter a new area (Link's Awakening)
Somewhat original introductory gameplay
+/-
No free movement on the world map (see Soul Blazer)
Ancient biotech was used to create demons... and camels
Neil looks just like Cid from FF6
Respawn in the same area that you died in
Whack-a-mole mini-game (it kind of sucks)
The level up system forces you to defeat all enemies in each room (the enemy radar screen helps) - However, even if you miss any power-ups in a given dungeon you'll automatically obtain them all upon defeating that dungeon's boss so if you don't mind a bit of a difficulty spike you can skip some enemies
-
Minor dialogue bugs/annoyances (easy to skip the end of any dialogue because any button removes it, sometimes shows the wrong character speaking)
Dialogue is sometimes confusing and the exposition is lacking (rushed scenes near the end)
The "get item" text is extremely slow
Some dungeons are too large with many empty rooms (great wall, underwater palace)
Dialogue choices usually don’t matter (you are often forced to repeat the sequence until choosing the right answer)
Hit detection is a bit sloppy (larger sprites, your own sword can hit stuff behind you when you’re controlling Freidan)
Surprisingly dull fishing sequence
Very linear (you sometimes can’t return to a previous location to pick up items)
“You are the chosen one”
Plot oddities (upon returning to your home town after rescuing the princess you don’t tell anyone about your relatives' kidnapping and the townspeople say the same things as before (same thing with the Incan gold ship after setting sail), nobody talks about the people that turned to stone, Lance doesn’t take your advice about the present to Lilly and then they both run off so you can’t continue the game for a while (wtf!), Will's Father in spirit gathering scene: I need to talk to you (says nothing until you've talked to everyone else))
Some plot sequences are rushed (before and in Neil’s house, Incan ship, the Russian gauss player who kills himself, death of Neil’s parents, between the pyramid and the final dungeon)
Will’s own thoughts sound like something from Shakespeare (unfitting for a young boy)
Map screen only shows enemy and chest locations
Most enemies in Ankor Wat take forever to kill
Somewhat poor control options (2 pre-made configs that are both non-optimal)
Spinning move takes longer to pull off than it should (breaks flow) and is a bit hard to control
Backtracking (you’re forced to go all the way to the beginning of Ankor Wat after finding the Gorgon flower at the end of the dungeon, sky garden, great wall, mountain temple (mushroom forest), for health refills)
Uneven difficulty curve (three dungeons in a row - sky, palace, mu - then a tough as nails boss battle, Pyramid is easier than the previous dungeon, second Babel Tower boss (bird) is too easy)
Ishtar’s riddles are pathetic
A boss gauntlet in Babel Tower which includes the mummy queen you just beat in the pyramid before it
Some unavoidable hits (pyramid)
Pretty lame final boss (looks cool though)
The game doesn’t go back to the main menu after choosing to quit at save spots
Visuals are a bit of a mixed bag at times (Shadow)
Neil looks just like Cid from FF6
Repeats music tracks a lot
The towns seem to take up less time and become less interesting the further you play
Level Design-7 Frustration-7 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
+
Plays like a more arcade-y Zelda (includes a magic flute, dashing into breakable walls, sandworm boss, a fairy companion (pre-OoT) and spots where you can jump off cliffs)
Narrator’s "voice" (interrupted by any button press)
Decent dialogue overall
Day/night effects
You can run from the get-go
Special attacks and powers (jump attack, telekinetics - pull objects towards you, shapeshifting - three different forms that you can switch between at certain points (Will/default, Freedan, Shadow), melt to move through floors as Shadow, slide through cramped spaces - later used in Sonic Colors, spin attack move - kinda like the move from Turtles in Time)
Continues the environmental theme from the prequel
No shops (instead a merchant hidden in a few towns gives you various items and powers in exchange for hidden red jewels – means you can’t hoard items but also that you have to save up on herbs to make it through the later half of the game or backtrack to save points)
Relatively dark themes like slave labour and suicide
Some good enemy and boss AI
Decent variation
Respawn in the same area that you died in
Riverson might be where Seed (FF10) came from
Some clever puzzles (pyramid, timing puzzles)
Some good satirical scenes (Hamlet)
Some good bosses (some with large sprites)
A text box tells you were you are when you enter a new area (Link's Awakening)
Somewhat original introductory gameplay
+/-
No free movement on the world map (see Soul Blazer)
Ancient biotech was used to create demons... and camels
Neil looks just like Cid from FF6
Respawn in the same area that you died in
Whack-a-mole mini-game (it kind of sucks)
The level up system forces you to defeat all enemies in each room (the enemy radar screen helps) - However, even if you miss any power-ups in a given dungeon you'll automatically obtain them all upon defeating that dungeon's boss so if you don't mind a bit of a difficulty spike you can skip some enemies
-
Minor dialogue bugs/annoyances (easy to skip the end of any dialogue because any button removes it, sometimes shows the wrong character speaking)
Dialogue is sometimes confusing and the exposition is lacking (rushed scenes near the end)
The "get item" text is extremely slow
Some dungeons are too large with many empty rooms (great wall, underwater palace)
Dialogue choices usually don’t matter (you are often forced to repeat the sequence until choosing the right answer)
Hit detection is a bit sloppy (larger sprites, your own sword can hit stuff behind you when you’re controlling Freidan)
Surprisingly dull fishing sequence
Very linear (you sometimes can’t return to a previous location to pick up items)
“You are the chosen one”
Plot oddities (upon returning to your home town after rescuing the princess you don’t tell anyone about your relatives' kidnapping and the townspeople say the same things as before (same thing with the Incan gold ship after setting sail), nobody talks about the people that turned to stone, Lance doesn’t take your advice about the present to Lilly and then they both run off so you can’t continue the game for a while (wtf!), Will's Father in spirit gathering scene: I need to talk to you (says nothing until you've talked to everyone else))
Some plot sequences are rushed (before and in Neil’s house, Incan ship, the Russian gauss player who kills himself, death of Neil’s parents, between the pyramid and the final dungeon)
Will’s own thoughts sound like something from Shakespeare (unfitting for a young boy)
Map screen only shows enemy and chest locations
Most enemies in Ankor Wat take forever to kill
Somewhat poor control options (2 pre-made configs that are both non-optimal)
Spinning move takes longer to pull off than it should (breaks flow) and is a bit hard to control
Backtracking (you’re forced to go all the way to the beginning of Ankor Wat after finding the Gorgon flower at the end of the dungeon, sky garden, great wall, mountain temple (mushroom forest), for health refills)
Uneven difficulty curve (three dungeons in a row - sky, palace, mu - then a tough as nails boss battle, Pyramid is easier than the previous dungeon, second Babel Tower boss (bird) is too easy)
Ishtar’s riddles are pathetic
A boss gauntlet in Babel Tower which includes the mummy queen you just beat in the pyramid before it
Some unavoidable hits (pyramid)
Pretty lame final boss (looks cool though)
The game doesn’t go back to the main menu after choosing to quit at save spots
Visuals are a bit of a mixed bag at times (Shadow)
Neil looks just like Cid from FF6
Repeats music tracks a lot
The towns seem to take up less time and become less interesting the further you play