As a comet rapidly approaches Earth, a young boy and his friends must save the planet from annhilation.
As Will tells his friends of the happenings, they leave with him on an adventure that will change the fate and way of the world for eternity. Along the way, Will and the fellowship discover artifacts known as Mystic Statues, which are key to events to come. Wonder, mystery, sadness, love joy, good and evil await these young heroes in their journey.
Good: Bright and colorful graphics * Good soundtrack * Surprising twists * Fun real-time battle system * Story builds up and gets better and better
Bad: Bit too linear * Not too many songs on the soundtrack * Too easy * Some of the dialogue is a little silly * No buyable weapons or armor * Not many side-quests
Graphics: Illusion of Gaia's graphics are one of the highlights of the game. While they aren't necessarily spectacular, they are still very nicely done, while being generally well-detailed, bright and colorful. The animation flow is very smooth adds a nice touch.
Sound/Music: Both of these factors are clear and very well-composed. One problem with the soundtrack, however, is that there seems to be only a few songs that play during the whole game, a lot of them recycled throughout the game, most notibly dungeons. But that aside, the majority of the soundtrack is rather catchy. The sound effects are great for their events and very crisp.
Difficulty: One of the downers about Illusion of Gaia is the overall simplicity, leaving it to be more or less a beginner's RPG. Some of the battles and dungeons can be confusing and causes the player to backtrack at times, but mostly, the game is quite linear and simple.
Gameplay: Some may compare this game to be like The Legend of Zelda and Secret of Mana. Well, that's exactly what it's like, it's an overhead action/RPG. But rather than grinding for levels, powers are obtained by clearing all of the enemies in the current room of the dungeon, the number of remaining monsters in the room indicated on a map on the pause menu. The power-ups vary between max-HP upgrades, strength and defense expansions. There are also multiple forms the player may take later in the game, each serving its own purpose. Along the way, the prime goal is to find all of the Mystic Statues to continue toward the Tower of Babel, where Will and his party must go in order to stop the comet from demolishing Earth.
Control: Controls are also simple, but adds some extra fancy touches to combat, such as a running-slide, or a lunge. Otherwise, there isn't much to it aside from being able to run, use items, access menus, attack and speak/perform actions. There doesn't feel like there's anything missing, however, so everything evens out with the controls.
Overall: There's a balance between good and bad with Illusion of Gaia, although most of the game is enjoyable, addictive, maybe even an amazing experience. It isn't one to pass up if you like action/RPGs or a good story with some fun gameplay. It isn't one you will spend days on end with, but it's a satisfying and enjoyable game that grows on you as you advance further. It can be found for a good price, and the price is worth it.