Terranigma is one of the best Action-RPGs to ever get released!!
Terranigma (known as Tenchi Souzou in Japan) is the third and final in the Soul Blazer series. The series consists of three games (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia/Time and Terranigma) which are all unrelated, but still seem to be counted in the same series. Terranigma unfortunately didn't see a release in North America but it did however reach Japan during Late 1995, and PAL regions during Late 1996. Terranigma is a brilliant SNES RPG and simply the best in the unrelated trilogy. This is a spoiler-free review so anyone who hasn't even heard of this game can read this.
THE GOOD
Interesting scenery and story which has never been done before, Gameplay is brilliant, soundtrack is memorable.
THE BAD
Not the best use of moonstones, only one playable character.
Graphics
The graphics are wonderful. They are some of the best i've seen on the console. They're pretty much perfect! Not too colourful, in fact the colour use is also perfect. The field graphics I also find very nice! Everything is detailed. 1995 and 1996 seemed to be good years for graphics!! I have no complaints about Terranigma's graphics.
Sound
RPG Soundtracks seem to always be fantastic, especially in the 4th and 5th Gen!! The music heavily changes depending on the scenery and it's all very good. It kinda has it's similarity to FFVI's soundtrack but surprisingly, the soundtrack isn't composed by Nobuo Uematsu. The soundtrack was composed by Miyoko Kabayashi and Masanori Hiki, two composers I haven't heard of. And since they did a brilliant job with Terranigma, I give them credit!!
Gameplay
Terranigma is an Action-RPG so if you're familiar with Zelda or pretty much any other Action-RPG then you'll get used to Terranigma very quickly. You can Level up in the game and have your stats increased every time you do so. There are several dungeons in the game Ark will get through. At the start, you will be zooming through Towers in the underworld but it starts to get better when you enter the overworld. The overworld is shaped liked our planet so you will be able to get around easily. In the underworld you'll be resurrecting the continents so you can actually enter the overworld. Ark is unfortunately the only playable character in the game, but he is the only character you need really. The scenery in the game is wonderful. Every level has it's own significance in the game whether it's a big area like Zue or even just the small town of Crysta. You help a lot of people in the game such as regular humans, or even animals that need your help. Terranigma contains hours of fun and you will most certainly not get bored of it. The game splits into four huge chapters. The first chapter involves around the underworld and restoring the continents. Terranigma has great replay value. Yes you will most likely want to play it again after completing it, it still has that fun. The bosses are also very good and have interesting ways to kill them. Terranigma has brilliant gameplay!!
Controls
I'm not a big fan of the controls, i've definetly seen better. But they're still not too bad.
Storyline
Ark, the hero of the game lives in the town of Crysta which happens to be in the underworld. One day, he breaks a jammed door open and frees a little creature in a box. Suddenly, the entire village freezes and Ark has to go and resurrect the Overworld as well as rescuing his village. The story turns from something simple into something very brilliant, like pretty much every RPG out there.
Overall
Terranigma is impressive!! It's the best in the unrelated trilogy and I hope to see this re-released/remade one day. It's the best SNES RPG never to be released in North America and is the best SNES RPG that got released in PAL regions. If you enjoyed the Zelda games, Chrono Trigger, Soul Blazer/Illusion of Time or the Seiken Densetsu games, you will definitely enjoy Terranigma. You'll be able to find Terranigma in English as it got released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand (PAL regions), but for the NTSC region, you'll have to import or emulate. But nevertheless, Terranigma is awesome and must be played at all costs!!
9.7/10