#Illusion of Gaia

1262 messages · Page 2 of 2 (latest)

tawdry socket
#

I think they’re fixed. You get specific ones in specific places on the map

jolly linden
#

they are fixed, yes

marsh hill
#

Was there any in-game hint that a letter has appeared on your inventory or you were just expected to look at the manual?

jolly linden
#

you were expected to look at the menu or figure it out/look at the manual

#

old video game logic

tawdry panther
#

They say it in the manual. I think it says in game that the enemies drop a gem when you defeat all in a room during the prison escape, which is referring to the “stat gem” you get but it isn’t a super clear explanation.

#

Many games of this era go on the assumption you read the manual and don’t tutorialize everything.

jolly linden
#

yeah but manuals also didn't always have a full ass guide to the game in the manual

marsh hill
tawdry socket
#

It wasn’t really random. He gave it to you when he left. You were just asleep

#

I agree with your point, though. But it seems to be a theme throughout this game. Like when you wander around the ||condor|| until a ||spirit|| suddenly shows up

tawdry socket
#

As a kid I got so stuck there

south ginkgo
#

At the boss rush now - the one game mechanic I don’t miss about retro games

fresh portal
#

Better than another one of these dungeons. The last few were meh.

marsh hill
#

Wow the sand snake was so easy , even with will

marsh hill
#

Ok i talked to everyone now can I please ride the kruks?

tawdry socket
marsh hill
#

I was having a blast at the Great Wall of china but being stuck again in this water village makes me want to kill. I am sure I talked to everyone in town at least twice

random flower
marsh hill
random flower
marsh hill
#

Yeah I read that guys letter twice

#

The will I mean

random flower
marsh hill
random flower
marsh hill
random flower
#

Hmm.

#

Have you talked to your friends again?

marsh hill
#

They are all in the same house right ?

#

Looks like I hardlocked myself for some reason

#

If there was a tricky thing to do the manual would say it

random flower
#

You shouldn't be hardlocked. Hmm. I'm seeing the suggestion to talk to Neil, then the rest of your friends, then Neil again

marsh hill
#

Wait where is Neil ?

random flower
#

He should be in the house with your friends

marsh hill
#

Oh yeah Neil is the invention guy right ?

random flower
marsh hill
#

That’s so stupid .

#

I always talked to them in counter-clock wise order .

#

And it looks like their memory is erased when you leave the house so when I come back in and speak to Neil again he doesn’t remember I already talked with everyone .

frigid cairn
#

What’s up with these weird scorpion neck guys at Angkor Wat? Very frustrating.

#

Behold, the gripping combat in Illusion of Gaia.

tawdry panther
#

You have to get them to extend their heads out then hit the heads 2-3 times before they return to destroy them. Then the body becomes vulnerable to damage.

#

So you want to be hitting the head away from the body.

frigid cairn
#

I had to use the psycho charge thing. Normal attacks wouldn’t do it.

random flower
#

I didn't use the body slam on that thing. I just bait it to extend its head and then slap it twice.

frigid cairn
#

Watch my video. I hit them a lot more than twice.

frigid cairn
#

Finished this one off. It isn’t bad. But it wasn’t particularly good either. I probably really would have enjoyed it if the translation was good. Maybe not though. The story was pretty out there. I did like the focus on the combat, but for some reason it felt bland to me. Just too basic and repetitive maybe? I don’t know. I like the way Terranigma controls a lot better. It’s a shame they went with a standard xp based leveling system instead of using this one in Terranigma though. I did like this system a lot.

acoustic arch
#

i feel like this game could really use some sort of magic system or something. just an extra element to the combat. soul blazer had magic even

fresh portal
frigid cairn
fresh portal
#

Did you get all the upgrades? 2 hits always did it for me.

frigid cairn
#

I thought I had. But it’s possible I missed one. Not going to go looking for it now. 😆

south ginkgo
#

At final boss now, but the second phase kicking my butt. Putting it down and will try again later

frigid cairn
bitter horizon
#

Think I’m near the final boss on this one. I’ve not had much time this month and always wanted to play this so have focused on it. I’ll be done before the end of the month to keep my streak going (hopefully)

fresh portal
#

You got this. There are several days left.

south ginkgo
fresh portal
#

I never blocked in the last battle, just dodged and used a few herbs.

random flower
#

Block would've helped tbh. I kept leaning on Shadow's evade, which honestly is kind of less convenient to use than Will's i-frame attacks

#

Aura is just so long.

frigid cairn
#

Block makes the last fight almost trivial, really

glacial shore
#

Wait you can block in this game? lol

glacial shore
#

I've ben playing the Quintet games in order ttho so this is probably a big downgrade from the ppl who played Terranigma

tawdry panther
#

I thought it was very cool in the day considering it came out before Terranigma and also we didn’t get Terranigma.

tawdry socket
glacial shore
#

oh

#

I didn't realize that worked as a block

#

I mostly iframe through attacks with the slide or use freedans slash which blocks shots

tawdry socket
fresh portal
#

I really miss the time when I would study game manuals before playing because they existed.

frigid cairn
#

They were more exciting when you took them to school, since that was a close as you were going to get to paying for next six hours or so.

golden gorge
#

OK, I finished the Pyramid, can someone tell me how much is left in hours?

glacial shore
#

so like 2 hours at mos tI'd think?

tawdry panther
#

Reading the manual of the game you bought/rented on the car ride home.

frigid cairn
#

Or save states. Whatever.

golden gorge
#

Finished the game. Final remarks: I think I liked it more than most. I don't really consider it an rpg, but a top-down adventure game. I liked that it was more focused in that I didn't have to wander around the overworld trying to figure out what to do and where to go next. I also liked that it was more combat focused and had less puzzles than say Zelda. Combat was nothing special, but good enough for a game of this size. I liked the story, even if at times it wasn't conveyed perfectly, whether due to translation or not. I liked the idea of comet influencing evolution and that the story had some darker elements like slavery (I wish they didn't censor cannibals in English version). Definitely appreciate when it's something more than just save the princess or defeat the baddie that wants to rule the world. And if I understand the story correctly, it's a bitter sweet ending in that || you change the earth lush with trees for one "overgrown" with buildings, which isn't exactly good for earth, but that's just natural part of human evolution. || took my 13 h 20 mins, so hltb is pretty accurate. ps f Erik, all my homies hate Erik

#

Oh, and the final boss was meh

alpine surge
#

I'm also finding myself enjoying this quite a bit - and am shamelessly referring to a guide the moment I feel lost or stuck because I'm quickly running out of time. Just got to the ||Mountain temple|| so I'm hoping there's enough time

frigid cairn
marsh hill
random flower
frigid cairn
#

Game took me just over 13 hours. If that helps.

marsh hill
marsh hill
random flower
marsh hill
#

That’s a great game tbh . Having a blast .

random flower
#

3 hours after the Pyramid? Really? I could see one, maybe two

marsh hill
#

Someone said 2 , someone said 2-3 . And now you say 1-2. So the mean points at 2 hours

frigid cairn
#

Yeah… I said 3, I spent like an hour fighting the Egyptian queen boss. No save states, so…

acoustic arch
#

im in mu right now is it gonna be tight to finish by end of month?

#

my guess is yes lol but i think i can probably do it

frigid cairn
#

Yeah, that’s a bit tight. You’re like halfway through.

acoustic arch
#

yeah kk. if i do a couple hours a day i should be fine.

alpine surge
#

Just saved ||outside of the pyramid.|| Feeling good about the progress made tonight - hopefully I can get a few more hours in tomorrow, cause next week is busy

bitter horizon
#

Just finished… I can never decide if I like Boss Rushes or not… really annoyed also as I missed 1 Red Gem somewhere along the way and got 49/50 😂

marsh hill
bitter horizon
# marsh hill You’ll never know the secret

I will just have to live with it 😂 Work has been kicking my arse and we recently upped our Doggo numbers to 6 so they take a lot of my time, hence why only beating one GotM this month!

marsh hill
#

Tbh 49/50 is very good

#

Especially given how the gems are hidden .

#

You basically have to press a on every pixel lol

bitter horizon
#

Also, I let the credits role and now realise there is a proper end screen! I didn’t know 😁

golden gorge
#

I didn't even get to 30 gems, had like 28 or 29

marsh hill
fresh portal
marsh hill
#

Then those gems are kind of pointless

fresh portal
#

The first 20 are cool because of stat boosts.

frigid cairn
fresh portal
#

Time for a snack!

alpine surge
#

Woooohooooo! I never played all the way through this as a kid, despite starting it (and liking it) several times. Finally finished it, and I had a good time! Those "get through the whole dungeon without taking any damage" achievements can go right to hell, though...

#

I also think I missed one strength upgrade in one of the early dungeons, but I capped out on both health and defense

tawdry panther
#

Waiting in line is peak gameplay.

glacial shore
#

Just finished as well, p fun game all around i think i missed a few upgrades

#

Ill check my stats but my health was only 39/40

marsh hill
frigid cairn
marsh hill
#

What would be your top 3 dungeons ? (Not counting the bosses)
Me :

  1. Great Wall of great china
  2. Pyramid
  3. Diamond mines
acoustic arch
#

Im still pretty early but I like the sky garden and that was one of the ones I remember better from my first playthrough

marsh hill
#

Yeah sky garden would probably be my number 4

#

No 5, after the macabre palace at sea side

glacial shore
#

Great Wall of China nd Pyramid are probably my favs as well

dense grove
dense grove
random flower
#

My top dungeon was Mu because a) it gave me pushback and b) it didn't make me Free the Dan even once

golden gorge
marsh hill
random flower
#

Including all five of the dungeon bosses

tawdry panther
#

Freedan:
Cool sword
Cool hair
Badass
Strong
Is a Dan

Will:
Has flute

acoustic arch
#

is "Is A Dan" a positive or a negative

glacial shore
#

a positive

dense grove
#

Freedan can't even break a wall. He is just all Synthol.

tawdry panther
versed field
#

I was sweating finishing this - my first GOTM after just joining the server, and with a toddler and a heavily pregnant wife I barely have time any more

#

The second half of this game flew by - the bosses were no joke, a weird mix of bullet hell and cupboy

normal fog
normal fog
south ginkgo
#

Finally finished that last boss battle

#

Overall enjoyed this and the dungeons and exploring. Didn’t drag out longer than other snes rpgs

#

Still not sure what was going on with the story - need to watch a YouTube breakdown

versed field
#

That story was all over the place

#

Not sure if we're doing spoilers here, but the closing credits sequence - while still having Ankor Wat as a major destination left me really scratching my head

random flower
#

Like I don't get it either. It's kind of anti-purpose

#

I just feel like it's more badass and more of a flex to clown on your enemies without your battle transformation powers I guess

#

As far as the story goes, yeah there were translation issues, but I feel like it's also kind of an early effort to do darker and more serious stories in a still extremely limited medium in general. Like the SNES was so limited that enough text meant you had to solder more chips onto the PCB

#

Which, like. This is a known thing, and also known to be one of the technological influences that led to divergences between western RPGs and JRPGs, because Japanese, being heiroglyphics, is way more compact and lets you fit a lot more exposition and chatter and etc. in the same crushingly limited ROM space

versed field
#

That's super interesting, I didn't start seriously start playing RPGs until PS1, when there was a lot more room for text. I'd be curious to see a direct translation, because I was left scratching my head about what to do next a bunch of times

#

It's also possible I'm a dummy haha

random flower
versed field
random flower
#

(Even I have never accomplished that.)

#

(a Kick Me Sign run is definite bragging rights tho)

random flower
#

Pokemon interestingly actually rewards you with faster learning speed for babby forms

#

I wonder how much this was an entirely game balance/tradeoffs decision and how much of it was influenced by things like actual developmental science, because it's well-understood that children (and a lot of unevolved forms are basically juvenile forms or even outright larval forms) have learning abilities that adults do not

versed field
#

When it come to TPC I assume the majority of their decisions are made with new players in mind - I feel like the EXP boost to "young" mons was done to allow people to evolve them asap

#

Apart from the legendary dogs they do just about everything they can to not skill or luck-gate their games

random flower
versed field
#

oooh, you're right. I have a toddler, and watching how fast she's picking up language is insane. If adults could do that we'd all speak 10-15 languages easy

glacial shore
#

all the Quintet stories are rly vague but tend to have a pro environment story with science going too far

#

I feel like Soul Blazer delivered it a lot nicer than IoG

#

I'd really appreciate a retranslation because of the Quintet games I've played this one deifnetly has the most effort put into telling a story but it's very confusing here

amber thorn
#

The first boss. 😔

tawdry panther
#

Something something human progress being at odds with nature.

random flower
#

Children also have some other interesting cognitive abilities adults don't, like differences in their attention. I think one of the reasons we diagnose so much ADHD in children is that we frequently fail to understand that their attention is inherently diffuse: their brains have not yet committed to determinations of what stimuli need to be considered important and which need to be discarded, so their attention is much more... I said diffuse, but I could also describe it as sort of radial as opposed to focused?

#

Like children can't necessarily tune out irrelevant stimuli the way adults can, and in turn they also can notice things that an adult would have tuned out. I remember when I was a kid, I could recall things I wasn't paying any attention to, but if I don't pay attention to something now it may as well not have happened.

#

I could also describe children's learning abilities in terms of bloom: throughout pre-adolescent childhood, children rapidly and easily form new neurological connections that are less powerful and focused than adult ones but also are less metabolically expensive, about half of which will later be discarded as irrelevant in adolescence. But during that initial calibration period, basic skills develop real quick

#

(source: I actually am studying psychology and just left adolescent psych with an A, though I haven't studied non-adolescent developmental psychology in detail yet)

versed field
#

Yeah, I took early childhood development a long time ago, it's wild how much differently their brains work than an adult's. It's what I try and remember to make sure I'm being an even handed parent haha

tawdry socket
#

I seem to be lost in mt kress

versed field
#

To tie this back into the pokemon discussion, it would be interesting if they ran with the "development " idea even further and made natures/abilities fluid until the final evo, much like adolescence/childhood

versed field
random flower
#

I didn't get lost in it but I could see how you could

amber thorn
random flower
near slate
#

We need an emoji that captures the essence of - W I D E -

tawdry socket
#

TIL Illusion of Gaia predicted TiVo

tawdry panther
tawdry socket
#

When will sees the ||vision (hah!) of the future in ankor wat|| one of the buildings says TiVo on it

tawdry panther
#

Well dang

#

I didn’t notice.

acoustic arch
#

god that worm was obnoxious

tawdry panther
acoustic arch
#

god do i really have to go all the way back after getting the teapot lmao

tawdry socket
dim zealot
#

Oh look, a free Dan.

dim zealot
#

With references to Incas, Columbus and even China, this feels like a homebrew D&D world where the DM nicked most of the lore off the Forgotten Realms and just slapped their own map into it.

marsh hill
#

Yeah it’s all over the place

frigid cairn
#

I didn’t care for the story at all. I’m sure the translation is bad, but I’m not sure I would like it any better with a good one.

acoustic arch
#

kinda reminds me of an edutainment game lmao with you visiting all these ancient civilizations... except without the actual educational content

dim zealot
#

You know, this also reminds me a bit of Centy.

#

I had no idea what was going on with the plot and was just there for the ride.

acoustic arch
#

man i am in ankor wat but the monotony is getting me really hard lol. might have to stop full clearing rooms just to finish in time. i walk into a room, check the map and see "39 monsters" and groan

frigid cairn
#

angkor wat was probably my least favorite dungeon.

acoustic arch
#

yeah all the enemies are so obnoxious

#

they get too specific with what u have to do to fight them so it turns into a lot of waiting

frigid cairn
#

this game loves making you wait.

tawdry panther
#

Waiting is peak gameplay.

#

Bring back long load screens. Burn all the SSDs.

acoustic arch
#

im very glad i waited in that one line at least lmao

tawdry panther
#

It’s one of the greatest lines in gaming.

dim zealot
#

These "companions" are actually the worst in this game. Why come with me if all you're going to do is sit on your ass at the dungeon entrance and wait me do all the work?

acoustic arch
#

yeah this might break my streak lol im still in andor wat and i have some shit to do today... im close but idk if ill have time to bring it home

dim zealot
#

Yeah, need to see if I'll finish as well. Mechanically, it feels pretty solid but I don't feel too engaged with it.

acoustic arch
#

this dungeon is annoying as fuck lol its turning into a bit of a slog. needed a little more combat depth so that they could do more to make enemies harder than to just give them iframes or obnoxious movement patterns

versed field
#

I always fancied myself a big RPG guy - but what I've realized is I really like the "number go up" parts, returning to lower level areas and just destroying everything with one attack. This game rewards patience, figuring out enemy movement patterns and coming up with a plan, not at all something I'm interested in when trying to blast through the last 2-3 hours of a game

#

Also - "39 enemies" and one is a shrub that can only be hit with Friedan's dark friar skill, so you'll need to backtrack through this area again

dim zealot
#

Yeah fucking hell Angkor Wat.

marsh hill
acoustic arch
#

please just teleport me out of the dungeons lmao

#

Well fucking rip then lol. Finished ankor wat

#

Isn't it just one more dungeon and then the boss rush or something? I have a few hours I think I can do it

marsh hill
#

You’ll make it

acoustic arch
#

yeah kk. I only have like 3 hours before I gotta go out tho so it's tight

marsh hill
#

Just know that you won’t get lost anymore.

acoustic arch
#

good lol. Just have to make it out of ankor wat first lmaooooo

acoustic arch
#

gonna use a walkthrough for this last dngeon just to get it done faster lol

dim zealot
#

same

marsh hill
#

There is really no need for a walkthrough for this one .

acoustic arch
#

err i mean the pyramid not whatever the final dungeon is

#

i dont get why this game dosent use more buttons lol why do i have to equip aura, why cant it just be on x or y

versed field
#

The button scheme plays out like they were confused by having more than two buttons.

#

You only use the shoulder buttons to power up Young Will's pyscho spin, otherwise you never use 'em. Very strange

acoustic arch
#

pyramid done

marsh hill
acoustic arch
#

guide saved me from wasting time doing rooms in the wrong form at least

#

boss rush done im gonna be fine lol

#

done. weird game lol. final boss was pathetically easy at least

marsh hill
acoustic arch
#

i mean this one u could just stand in the center and mash and occasionally press shield or aura lol

#

once i figured that out it was smooth sailling lol

tawdry panther
dim zealot
#

That was certainly a game.

#

The bosses and couple dungeons were really fun.

normal fog
#

The cut off point for completion approaches. I have but one question:

Why is no one talking about ||the pig cooking itself||

fresh portal
#

We did

slim cobalt
#

Game is pretty dark

acoustic arch
#

Sort of but also it doesn't really give the dark subjects enough space to breathe lol

#

I did like it but I think you could cut out like at least a third of it and I would probably like it better.

tawdry panther
normal fog
zealous ocean
normal fog
zealous ocean
#

Yeah

tawdry panther
#

Do you think ||Hamlet|| was ||tasty||?

slim cobalt