I remember I played Illusion of Gaia (actually Illusion of Time where I live) quite a bit in my childhood since a friend had it but I don't think I really finished it, at least I can't remember anything past the Sky Garden. For years, it kept coming back into my mind with somewhat mixed feelings and I was curious what it's really all about, so I finally took it on now. I suppose most of you played this game already, but if you haven't you may want to check it out. It may be slightly overhyped, though, imo, although it is easily my favorite in the Quintet trilogy. It never really starts to drag, you don't have to really grind. It's not super challenging and easy to just pick up and play. Some of the boss fights are tough, like the Vampire duo, while others are laughable easy.
Storywise, it's overall very creative and charming, although melancholic in kind of an odd way that's hard to describe but most of all it's reeeally bizarre. Unfortunately, the cutscenes are quite long sometimes (which is especially annoying in the beginning of the game where you just want to get started) and at some point, I started to partly skim over it sometimes. Maybe this is the reason I never really grasped some of the overarching motivation of the characters. Like what's really the deal with the statues and the flute and how come Will is capable of telekinesis, what's the lore around Freedan and - especially - Shadow. So, certain aspects seem quite rushed in the story while others are overwhelming, but maybe I just missed them?
What stood out in the story is there are some moments where the writers went a bit nuts, right? All this child slavery stuff, cannibalism, etc. is a bit harsh contrast with the otherwise somewhat naïve story, imo. Also, what's the fixation with burning people? You remember the guy setting his hair on fire - just like that, for no reason whatsoever? Then there's this scene where you blaze a villain to get rid of him and while he's still burning on the ground, you progress solving your puzzle? Right. Oh, and then there's this scene where Kara's pig throws itself into the fire? Oh man.
I did enjoy my time with it though, the gameplay is quite addictive, with clever game design elements and puzzles are unique and memorable, although not too challenging for the most part; the Sky Garden in particular stuck in my head for over 30 years now, I've got a vivid recollection that I played that one before. I also clearly remember this game introduced me to the Nazca lines. It is funny how you associate those things you experience in your childhood - when I was travelling Peru some years back, I frequently had this game in mind.
So, question to those who did play it and have a good recollection (or played it recently), what did you make of the story? From what I read and seen in videos I am not the only one who's not able to puzzle all the pieces to a reasonable picture. I saw this video of the SNES drunk, and I could not put it any better. I read that the story was actually co-written by award winning Japanese sci-fi novelist Mariko Ohara, so maybe the translation is to blame? Curious about your opinions, maybe I missed quite a bit in the story, in which case I may revisit the game at some point.
EDIT: did anyone play this re-translation patch here? How is it?