GAIA GENSŌKI
( Illusion Of Gaia / Illusion Of Time )
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ガイア幻想紀
©1993 Quintet/Enix
Mariko Ohara / Moto Hagio / Yasuhiro Kawasaki
Release: 1993-11-27 (¥9800)
Cartridge (Backup Ram) SHVC-JG
Role Playing Game
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Released in America as
ILLUSION OF GAIA
( SNS-JG-USA )
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Released in Europe as
ILLUSION OF TIME
( SNSP-JG-XXX )
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Gaia Gensōki is an action/Role Playing Game developed by
Quintet and published by Enix. The game tells the story of
a young boy called Tim (aka Will) and his adventures that follow after he goes
on a journey with his father to the Tower Of Babel. There, things
don't really go according to plans and the boy wakes up later, in his house,
with seemingly no memories of the events and no trace of his father. Tim
decides to embark on the journey that will take him all around the world of Gaia,
where he will make new friends such as the cute Karen (aka Kara) and her
pet pig, or a mysterious dandelion girl called Lilly.
Tim will learn about many mysteries, about the ominous approaching comet that may
destroy the world, about his own psychic powers and how they in fact relate to
Gaia. He will also learn about Freedan and Shadow, two of his
alter-ego forms, and how to control and use their powers. Gaia Gensōki
is an action/RPG and the gameplay is closer to titles such as Zelda than other traditional
RPGs such as Final Fantasy (the action actually doesn't stop when the player
battles an opponent). Will levels up if he manages to defeat all the
monsters and other creatures found in each area and this task is made easier with
the monster finder radar he carries around. Interestingly, most of the
areas in the game actually exist on Earth and Tim visits locations
such as the Great Wall of China, Inca ruins or the popular
Nazca lines.
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Gaia Gensōki is often associated with the Soul Blader series.
Soul Blader (aka Soul Blazer) can be seen as a loose-knit and somewhat
disjointed series by Quintet - it started with Soul Blader (aka Soul Blazer)
for the Super Famicom in 1992, followed by Gaia Gensōki in 1993 and
Tenchi Sōzō (aka Terranigma) for the Super Famicom in 1995.
See Soul Blader for more information.
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In an interview, Quintet mentioned that Gaia Gensōki was developed at the same
time as Actraiser 2, and that actually meeting the set deadlines for both games was very challenging!
They were however really pleased by the quality and polished they managed to bring
to Gaia Gensōki (and rightfully so!). But the success ultimately came with an unforeseen challenge! The game
happened to be very well received overseas too, and Quintet had to make English,
French and German versions as well! They mentioned that the process was quite an ordeal for
them - a game like Gaia Gensōki entirely relied on story and
making sure that they could scrupulously check
that the text was properly translated was, as they say, an amazing struggle.
But well, looking back at it, I believe that they did a tremendous job!
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Teaser text from the American version:
Journey into the Dark Side of an Ancient Civilization:
Radiating an ominous light in its path, the Chaos Comet threatens the
existence of the planet. Battles erupt and a tentative peace is returned
to the lands. Danger lurks as the Chaos Comet orbits and dreadful
beasts lie waiting.
In the Age of Exploration a boy named Will is born. Tragedy strikes
during an expedition to the Tower of Babel separating Will from his
father. Telekinetic forces awaken as Will returns top South Cape. Armed
with his transformation abilities of two great warriors, Will must save
the planet.
Gaia, Will's guiding spirit, bestows magical powers and advice along
his journey. With the help of his friends Will must battle relentless
enemies and solve the puzzles of the ancien ruins. Patience and
knowledge are essential to reunite this father and son.
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Game's story from the American documentation:
THE COMET OF AGES
In a civilization so ancient that nothing of it remains today, the first great
flowering of human knowledge produced remarkable breakthroughs in the
sciences of biology and genetics. These nameless ancients used their
knowledge to create new forms of plants and animals that would make
life better on earth. Inevitably, some people twisted
the science and molded violent beasts of war with hideous intelligence.
The monsters terrorized the people and the civilization began to crumble.
In the end, two forces fought over the earth, the Knights of Light and Darkness.
The ultimate weapon used in that war was a comet that blazed with radiation
and a strange light. The coming of the comet destroyed that race and mutated
many people and animals into evil forms, which then hid in the deepest recesses
of the world. In the ages that followed, from the time of the Egyptians and
Babylonians to the Incas, the comet continued to return every 800 years.
And with the return of this Chaos Comet came times of darkness, destruction
and disease. Fragmented legends of the comet's effects and clues about its
origin were passed down to the civilizations that followed. But as those nations
rose then fell and time turned their works to dust, only a few treasures remained
hidden in the most ancient ruins of the world.
Our story begins in the age of exploration, a time of great discoveries when brave
explorers drew back the dark shrouds of fable and shed light on the ancient wonders
In that time, a party of adventurers from the seaside town of South Cape set off to
unlock one of the greatest of mysteries--the legendary Tower of Babel. Olman, the
leader, led his fellow townsmen and even his son, Will, into the tower. But then
something happened and the expedition was lost without a trace...except for one.
Unfortunately, young Will couldn't remember what had happened, how he
had been saved, or even how he had managed to return home after his ordeal.
Even stranger was the fact that Will now possessed the power to move objects
through thought alone.
The Illusion of Gaia follows Will and his companions as they seek the answers to
the lost expedition. As they begin their journey, they don't suspect that it will
eventually lead them around the globe or that the fate of the planet lies in their
inexperienced hands. They'll have to learn and grow and mold their characters into
the stuff of heroes as they face the monsters created by the comet in past ages.
Not all of the friends complete the journey. Some may turn aside to discover new
destinies. And along the way, help may arrive from unexpected quarters--from Gaia,
the spirit of the earth, and Freedan, a powerful knight, and from the mysterious Shadow.
But Will must go the entire distance, fighting every battle and returning to the Tower of
Babel where he must attempt to end the plague of the comet and to find out what
happened to his father. And where Will goes, you go as well.
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Game Staff (Copied from the American version end credits) :
STAFF
Original Story
Mariko Ohara
Character Designer
Moto Hagio
Game Designer
Tomoyoshi Miyazaki
Game Director
Masaya Hashimoto
Main Programmer
Akira Kitanohara
Background Designer
Hasashi Yokota
Object Designer
Junichi Ishida
Hitoshi Ariga
Graphic Designer
Naoko Suzuki
Takahiro Ohura
Kouji Yokota
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Sound Composer
Yasuhiro Kawasaki
English Text By
Scott Pelland
Tim Rooney
Robert L. Jerauld
Title Coordinator
Mary Cocoma
Quintet Staff
T. Harashimoto
S. Kita
K. Sugaya
T. Turu
R. Takebayashi
M. Tsuruno
Y. Sashida
M. Kobayashi
Enix Staff
Yukinobu Chida
Keiji Honda
Yasuyuki Sone
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Art Direction
Hideki Yamamoto
Takashi Ootsuka
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Technical Support
Sadao Yahagi
Kenjiro Kano
Enix America Staff
Tsuneo Morita
Paul Bowler
Paul Handelman
Jake Kazdal
Special thanks to
Dan Owsen
Hiro Yamada
H. Kuroda
A. Shigeno
K. Kuwabara
M. Sumita
Y. Sasaki
N. Suginaka
M. Kakizawa
A. Arai
K. Wakabayahi
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Director
Masaya Hashimoto
Assistant Producer
Kazunori Takado
Producer
Shinji Futami
Publisher
Yasuhiro Fukushima
Copyright
1994 ENIX
1994 QUINTET
1994 MARIKO OHARA
1994 MOTO HAGIO
1994 YASIHIRO KAWASAKI
Licensed to Nintendo
Thank You For Playing
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G
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Japanese Guidebook
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European Guidebook
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
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Gaia Gensōki is a gorgeous game. Graphics and sprites are
fairly large and very well drawn with hawk-like attention to detail. I also love
the fact that enemy encounters are not round based but follow instead the
formula set by others such as Legend of Zelda. And, ultimate delight,
they are not random and once a monster is defeated, he is gone for good.
I originally played this game in Japanese and, even if I missed most of the
story plot, language was not much of a barrier. Puzzles are usually easy to
solve (some of them are rather hard though but never stop you for too long)
and the game is fairly linear and accessible. All in all, Gaia Gensōki
is a great and very enjoyable game where every moment feels like it has been
lavished with incredible care and attention.
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