Soul Blazer Trilogy Complete Series Retrospective

Рет қаралды 24,651

Күн бұрын

My review of Soul Blazer trilogy of games on the SNES. New to the channel? Subscribe here: kzfaq.info_c...
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#SoulBlazer #IllusionofGaia #XygorGaming
Chapters:
00:00 - Soul Blazer
05:39 - Illusion of Gaia
12:35 - Terranigma
20:58 - Quintet and the Soul Blazer Series in Context

Пікірлер: 111

@Xygor 2 жыл бұрын

What was the most memorable part of the Soul Blazer trilogy to you? Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through KZfaq membership by clicking the JOIN button above!

@SwashBuccaneer 2 жыл бұрын

Soul Blazer is still one of my favorite games to this day.

@theopatino2379 2 жыл бұрын

I love this series! Terranigma definitely need a Trials of Mana quality remake, with the originals remastered or re-released in emulation(like Collection of Mana)

@ZetaCancri 2 жыл бұрын

Out of the three, I've always loved illusion of Gaia the most.

@renegadetoltec6180 2 жыл бұрын

In Actraiser. Death in the deserts of Kasandora. The music changes. The heartbreaking song "Sacrifice" plays after you find them. Powerful moment.

@Faygris 2 жыл бұрын

Terranigma is and will always be my favorite game of all time 💙

@lord_woodhaven6426 2 жыл бұрын

Illusion of Gaia was pretty formative to my childhood so hearing that Terranigma is somewhat of an upgrade from that really makes me want to play through that. I agree that IOG has been unique in it's use of ancient real world locations and pairing that with an emotional and introspective storyline made it such a beautiful game.

@gJonii 2 ай бұрын

iog was one of my favorite games on snes. With emulators, I played Terranigma like 10 years later, and... Man, it's easily my favorite in the "series"

@SilverGreeneye 2 жыл бұрын

Oh, I love this series! I must admit, though, I had nightmares after playing through Beruga’s Lab and learning Ark’s true purpose for the first time. I was in college at the time. On later playthroughs, the bodies in the tubes and the zombies in Louran weren’t half so graphic and traumatizing as I remember them. Still, so much creeping dread in that game. It definitely sticks out the most in my mind, even if Illusion of Gaia is my favorite.

@lawrencemcstephens308 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic series, for sure! To this day, I've never played Soul Blazer, though I do remember hearing about it in the '90s. I did, however, get Illusion of Gaia as soon as it came out! My parents bought me and my brother the special pack with the T-shirt included, and I wore it for my 7th grade yearbook photo! The game moves me to tears every time I play it to this day, and I just completed a playthrough a few months ago. Terranigma I heard about sometime in the late-1990s and was pissed off to hear that it got released everywhere but North America! Especially with Illusion of Gaia being one of my all-time favorite games! Well, fast-forward to last year, I did a little recon on eBay and found a repro cart playable on my North American SNES! Bought it immediately and am in the middle of the playthrough right now! It is an absolutely mind-blowing game to experience, especially the tunes that are perfectly suited to the various places and situations Ark finds himself in. It really does more fully immerse you in the game, and like Illusion of Gaia, moved me to tears in a few places. Truly a profound experience, and a masterpiece of SNES gaming!

@Jamie-nx2cg 2 жыл бұрын

Soul Blazer is a great RPG. Was thinking about this one today and bam, there it is in my feed. Great choice!

@Xygor 2 жыл бұрын

Glad it came in at the right time!

@darinstaley1993 Жыл бұрын

Terranigma was the first game of the Soul Blazer trilogy that I played. I liked the story and music

@jeremyparsons2944 2 жыл бұрын

Soul Blazer is my favorite of the Illusion of Time trilogy.

@markkatain7891 2 жыл бұрын

QUALITY CONTENT! You deliver great information, with excellent pacing and presentation- no fluff, irritating skits/shenanigans, or over the top "character". Thank you for giving this series some well deserved attention. I found Illusion of Gaia first and loved it much later as an adult, and then found out about Terranigma, which stands as my favorite game of all time. I'm hoping this series gets an official revival, remaster, or something on modern platforms so more people can play these games. Terranigma easily stands amongst the SNES titans such as Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, and others- had it been released in North America, I think it would have been hugely successful. Thank you for the awesome content as always!

@Xygor 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the awesome praise, really glad you liked it! Many more to come!

@FatherDragonMusic 2 жыл бұрын

Keep the fire BLAZING! Remake the Blazer trilogy!

@ChaoticHoly 2 жыл бұрын

One thing you missed early on is that "The Master" from Actraiser is "God", and the God that sends one of his warrior angels into the world in Soul Blazer is The Master/God from Actraiser.

@madsli Жыл бұрын

I remember when playing terranigma for the first time, I thought the magirocks were single use items, made me terrified of using them and it took a long time before I understood that spent ones return to your inventory.

@hubi0079 2 жыл бұрын

Terranigma was truly a game that made you feel something and care about the game world. I can feel some events emotional impact many years after my first playthrough. Examples are the shock about lifeless lightworld, -the plot twist and death of the dark world girlfriend and companion monster (Fluffy in my language version.), -the death and rebirth of Ark, -Arks return to the dark world to end it all and Arks last dream as a bird wich makes me teary everytime i think about the scene. Was there ever a official reveal about the last, last scene when the light girlfriend was sitting in a house and then opens the door? The only other game i played with similar feelings i remember was in Death Stranding when you go with Lou to the incineration plant for the supposed last time.

@chrisray9653 2 жыл бұрын

Terranigma's first big surprise is that after leaving your idyllic village you realize that you are in Hell, and then later on that your landlord is Satan.

@TVans-vs3gn Жыл бұрын

Well; that reminds me of something 🌍

@anonamatron 2 жыл бұрын

That Square Enix building is in Shinjuku. I discovered it when I stayed in a hotel in Shinjuku, knowing absolutely nothing about the area except that the hotel was right next to a subway/JR entrance and therefore convenient. I woke up the next morning, opened the window, and bam... SQUARE-ENIX. I did some fast googling and found that yes, I was indeed staring at the headquarters of one of the greatest heroes of my childhood.

@rgbcrafts Жыл бұрын

Oh, I finally played and finished these three goldies a couple of years ago, after getting back a SNES. Only need to finish both Actraiser games now. Terranigma is a blessing. Probably a heavy weight challenger to Chrono Trigger if it would land on NA territory.

@towermoss 2 жыл бұрын

My most memorable experience: getting the t-shirt that was included with IoG...that and getting all but one red gems 😞

@HyperDefective 2 жыл бұрын

I remember the same! Got mine at Toys R Us. I didn't even know it came with the shirt, I just remember thinking the game looked like Zelda so I wanted it. I was stoked to wear the shirt to school lol

@richm4100 2 жыл бұрын

I played all 3 for the first time back to back last summer and loved them all

@dan47483 2 жыл бұрын

Love all three of these so much.

@NightFlyStudio 2 жыл бұрын

Quintet also went on to develop a Japan only PS1 Action RPG after The Grandstream Saga named Brightis. It's mediocre at best but it does have some decent music. You can play through without a translation.

@ampeater777 2 жыл бұрын

My dad was what got me onto games. Up until the GameCube every game we had was because he wanted to play them. My mom wasn't so much but a very fond memory is that she beat the shit out of illusion of gaia. She not only got all the red gems, years before the internet or walkthroughs even existed, she managed to beat castoth (or as we called him, the red guy) untransformed in normal will form. Which I still find to be unbelievably difficult to this day

@adventureoflinkmk2 2 жыл бұрын

It helps that the instruction manual had an entire strategy guide built in lol

@ampeater777 2 жыл бұрын

@@adventureoflinkmk2 that booklet went into the trash the moment the cartridge was pulled out. This was the 90s my fellow kid

@adventureoflinkmk2 2 жыл бұрын

@@ampeater777 ope You missed out dude, I tend to keep my manuals for as long as I could.. even though eventually they got lost in some way

@ampeater777 2 жыл бұрын

Wasn't my choice. I was a small child at that point. I didn't even know what an RPG was until my aunt gave me a copy of Chrono trigger and boy that took my kid brain a long time to figure out

@bigmoose204 2 жыл бұрын

I don't have a distinct memory but illusion of Gaia reminds me of the days of watching my brother play it

@arselcrusader5600 2 жыл бұрын

Played Soul Blazer and Terranigma on an emulator when I was still in Elementary. Loved both games but Terranigma will forever occupy a special place in my heart, somewhere even close to Megaman and Breath of Fire, that just means its way way up there. The only thing that annoyed me about this game is that 2 levels spelled victory or defeat. Guess it's my fault though since quick save allowed me to power through against bosses with literally 1-2 damage, making Bloody Mary and Dark Gaia a complete project to beat. Really didn't take the hint that I was underlevelled lol

@HyperDefective 2 жыл бұрын

Ah yes, the classic strategy of "save state every time you make more progress against the boss until you finally beat it out of sheer luck and persistence"

@VampiresCrypt Жыл бұрын

Terranigma is a masterpiece, So is Star Ocean and Far East of Eden Zero! Thankfuully we will get an epic Suikoden remaster soon :D

@eppskevin 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot for the shout out to us funk heads! It’s about time for yearly play through of all 3 of these! This was great as usual.

@Xygor 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@alexrush4140 Жыл бұрын

Terranigma was one of the first ROMs I got into back in my emulator days

@Xygor Жыл бұрын

It was a great one to play without a US counterpart!

@embazle Жыл бұрын

Another near and dear fave. It goes for $120 minimum right now on ebay to bid for. I'm hoping to reclaim this long lost treasure. Loved the story, very emotionally engaging with all the characters and worlds. Such a great game!

@Xygor Жыл бұрын

Absolutely!

@TheLuchaDork 2 жыл бұрын

Buying Terranigma's Swedish (English) release for $50 and its OST CD years ago for $100 were two of the best decisions of my life.

@oakleygleason7145 2 жыл бұрын

I'd absolutely adore HD-2D remakes of this trilogy!

@galloe8933 2 жыл бұрын

Once, long ago I ended up with an ZSNES emulation pack (From Limewire of all places), and one of the games that came with it was Terranigma, in Dutch. 14 year old me had no idea what he was doing, but it was fun to do!

@sammylane21 2 жыл бұрын

Terranigma's story made me a bit emotional but the story tone is all over the emotion map.

@Dorelaxen 2 жыл бұрын

That final scene, though. DAMN.

@ColdFlame53 5 ай бұрын

Playing illusion of Gaia now really loving it! Cant wait to get to Terranigma!

@noname72390 Жыл бұрын

This series deserves a remake like how suikoden detsu 3 got.

@Xygor Жыл бұрын

Or at least remasters!

@luvlybaluga 2 жыл бұрын

Terranigma, like Chrono Trigger and Seiken Densetsu 3... are some of the few SNES games that can still look and sound amazing even today.

@Sparkbomber 2 жыл бұрын

I love all three games. They all do have the theming of saving someone, the world, etc.... But at a personal cost. As for the most memorable parts? -Soulblazer- Resurrecting areas in portions by defeating enemies is what stands out the most. The toy worlds inside Dr. Leo's laboratory were also very neat. Even if its old and dated... its still an amazing game. -Illusion of Gaia/Time- I'd say the comedic bits just lighten the rather dark story. The real world analogue areas are a definite highlight of the game, especially if you also played Sid Meier's Civilization II around the same time. -Terranigma- A must play game. It literally ranks up with Chrono Trigger for me as a game that cranks everything it can out of the SNES and puts most contemporary 3D games to shame. Musically a masterpiece, gameplay wise as well. Though some enemy attacks have iffy hit detection and some Bosses, like Bloody Mary, deserve the capital letter. Magic otoh was... bad, especially with the storage limit for magirock and the damage done by spells. Most memorable for me though is the way your choices impact town development. Rudimentary maybe in areas, but... It just is a phenomenal game.

@tonypacino7034 2 жыл бұрын

I remember the first time I heard doctor Leo's music in the game and I thought wow

@stest2935 2 жыл бұрын

Played SoulBlazer and Illusion of Gaia and they are 2 of my favorite games. Hopefully get a chance to play other Quintet games this year.

@johnlowe1255 2 жыл бұрын

you really missed out, terranigma is better than both

@orangejjay 5 ай бұрын

Please do a full on Illusion of Gaia retrospective like youve done for the Square games you've covered. Not many channels Im willing to set aside a third of a day to watch but your retrospectives are the exception. ❤❤

@Xygor 5 ай бұрын

I did, it's in this video

@smokeldogg 2 жыл бұрын

Listen, if you’re like me and want a remaster/remake of Illusion of Gaia, Soul Blazer, and an official North American release of Terranigma then you MUST buy Actraiser Renaissance.

@serielmcleod1900 2 жыл бұрын

Love your series

@Xygor 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, glad you like it!

@michaelfloodine 2 жыл бұрын

3:31 Agreed and why don't more people talk about this game.

@nivlheim09c97 2 жыл бұрын

whoa whoa whoa! Terra Nigma is in? riiiiight?

@zparklebugz424 4 ай бұрын

I consider Illusion of Gaia to be my favourite game released on the SNES!💖 ... Terranigma was really good too!

@bajra79 2 жыл бұрын

Spot on!

@ConejoZing 2 жыл бұрын

Just noticed the retro Enix Quin designs! Made to appeal to "Nickelodeon" (Mysterious Cities) kids or girls.

@tiagocosmos 2 жыл бұрын

I LOVE Terranigma but i have yet to play Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia, though I did play quite a bit of the latter I haven't gotten far in it. Last year i crossed off several of my SNES backlog (seiken densetsu 3, Treasure of the Rudras, Live A Live) maybe this year i'll cross these off my list.

@TVans-vs3gn Жыл бұрын

And? Made any progress? I'll add Bahamut Lagoon & Tengai Makyō Zero (Far East of Eden)

@AJHyoton Жыл бұрын

Love it when Soul Blazer gets more attention, if not enough love. Terrific game. Sold only 70K copies. Had no TV commercials and only one ad in one magazine. Pretty criminal that it was outsold by Home Alone 2 and James Bond Jr... probably. They did not make the same mistake with Gaia. Nintendo took the distribution in hand personally and sold over four times as many copies. Very good game, though I might like Soul Blazer better. Not sure. It was certainly criminal in a way that America did not get Terranigma, but thanks to people who do homebrews, we do have it now. I even found a very nice box, manual, and even a map/poster that makes a CIB version that I value as much as the original Quintet games. All six have their own shelf. If they remake Terranigma, they should not go 3D or have voice acting or any of that modern shit. All Terranigma needs is a good fleshing out or expansion. My theory is they ran out of room, and with all the weapons and armor that never need to be used, extra dungeons, bosses, enemies, and characters could elevate that game to the level of Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy 3. You couldn't even use magic on the last bosses. As is, the game is terrific, but I have a strong feeling it just did not match Miyazaki's ambition for it due to pressure, deadlines, and the fact that the Famicom and SNES were becoming dated and its days were closing.

@Xygor Жыл бұрын

Thanks for all your thoughts! Yep, Soul Blazer is super underrated.

@your-hermajestyismypronoun7372 Жыл бұрын

I would kill for a remake of Soul Blazer

@Xygor Жыл бұрын

You never know, they've been remaking a lot of classic RPGs lately!

@your-hermajestyismypronoun7372 Жыл бұрын

@Xygor Gaming Hey, I just randomly stumbled upon your channel, and I'm listening to your videos while gaming. I wish you all the best with your channel. You have a very pleasant voice that would easily lend itself to voice acting.

@bryantnonya8704 Жыл бұрын

I feel like soulblazer was the original design of what became actraiser and they probably released soul blazer because of actraisers popularity. That would explain why they have a similar story but I'm just spitballing here lol.

@tarvoc746 2 жыл бұрын

Enigma is better translated as mystery or conundrum. Latin doesn't really have a word for what we normally think of as a puzzle.

@akadlibking325 Жыл бұрын

Please tell me oh great one of og content, oh lord that beckons my hearts eye on nostalgic hardware that costs way to much... Which does thou knowest may be the best way to play Illusion of Gaia? I fell in love with it at age 11!! Any advice on how to play it again wouldn't you let an old man know. Im 39 and hamlets death still makes me cry. My MHW pig is even named Kara. Yup, i turned a princess into a pig. Seriously... How? 🎉

@artisticautistic9664 2 жыл бұрын

Granstream saga is friggin hard. I loved that game but it kicked my a$$

@corvusala 2 жыл бұрын

Want an HD2D collection!

@travisflint7616 4 ай бұрын

Maybe it's nostalgia talking, but I just could not get into Terranigma. I LOVED Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia. I've beaten both of them many times. But I played those as a kid. When I was in my late teens/early 20's, I heard Terranigma was the third game of the trilogy so naturally I wanted to try it. I didn't get very far. I just didn't feel engaged with it. I tried it again a few years later and had the same feelings. That's okay though, because I still adore Soul Blazer and Gaia. I wish they were more accessible. Great video retrospective.

@insaneasock3156 2 жыл бұрын

I've been clamoring for a SoulBlazer Trilogy release for years. Even if it was released in the way or Collection of Mana.

@matthuck378 2 жыл бұрын

I'd love to see this trilogy get the Octopath treatment as remakes. But I'd be happy with just a simple, high quality, Steam port...

@smashadamsgoldenchild2516 2 жыл бұрын

I have a emulator system but I cant find Terranigma can any good samaritan point me in the right direction to get an English version of terranigma downloaded(I would be playing it on an SNES Everdrive)

@TVans-vs3gn Жыл бұрын

You got it by now?

@smashadamsgoldenchild2516 Жыл бұрын

@@TVans-vs3gn no not yet lol

@jackp.3605 2 жыл бұрын

I played illusion of gaia first as a kid but I'm pretty sure the basis of my belief in reincarnation comes from playing soulblazer

@anonamatron 2 жыл бұрын

Mine comes from the concept of eternal hell. You're in it right now. A place full of suffering, pain, and gnashing of teeth. Look around. You live here now, and after you die, you'll come back here (in what form, I don't know, I would assume something comparable to what you are now). If you don't want to stay in hell, Jesus has offered a way. Be like him. Now, you don't have to be Christian to follow that. There have been other prophets that sought to enlighten people. Once you learn what you need to learn here, you go to heaven. If you don't like the word heaven, replace it with whichever word you like. You'll go to a better place. I don't know if it will be THE BEST place, but it will be better than this. I don't know if it's a higher dimension, or just somewhere else we can't currently access, or what.. but anyway, given sufficient personal growth and/or good deeds, you'll go there. Where there is, I haven't totally figured out. There's a lot of writing that seems to suggest Jesus was talking about THIS being where His Kingdom will be. I think this concept of heaven is simply Earth, but full of enlightened moral people. Why is it hell and full of suffering right now? Well, there's a lot of people causing pain and suffering here right now! Maybe if we clean the place up (through awareness and knowledge, not by forcing anyone to do anything... which is tricky!) we'll find we don't need to go anywhere. Anyway, hell is eternal..... until we learn.

@jackp.3605 2 жыл бұрын

@@anonamatron "maybe if we clean this place up ourselves"? But you said it yourself, this is hell. There is no cleaning hell, only maintenance of said hell, if that

@celathianaaron6057 2 жыл бұрын

🍻

@MyMomSaysImKeen 2 жыл бұрын

7th Saga soon

@eduardo0379 2 жыл бұрын

The ending of Terranigma has a kind of bitter taste to it. I won't spoil it but that game hit me in the gut with it's ending. I know that was the intent but still, that one was harsh.

@kiyoaki1985 2 жыл бұрын

"Tenchi souzou" is the Japanese name for the book of Genesis, it's pretty obvious why they didn't directly translate that title. "Terranigma" is a weird name though that I suspect was just decided on by some western localization team. I love Terranigma but I recognize that it was a really poorly balanced game with a lot of odd decisions about gameplay. The magic and xp system are straight from a turn based RPG, but dont fit in here at all. Of the three games, Soulblazer has the best actual gameplay, but i like these games for at least experimenting and taking chances

@TVans-vs3gn Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the insight regarding the game title!

@user-tn4ik2pi3r Жыл бұрын

Umm terranigma is not cheap and getting it is crazy hard. The English pal version is $160 but it’s not usually available on USA eBay and when it is, people want 400+. U have to go on uk eBay and beg someone to ship to the USA. Then u need a specific adapter to play on a ntsc snes which is rarely available. I was translating eBay pages from German to find one. It took 3 months for someone to post one. It’s not just u need one brand of adapter but a specific revision of it and it’s not marked on the package or cart anywhere which version it is. Super hard to play Terrangima legit

@Chale1288 2 жыл бұрын

Soul Blazer is more related with Actraiser.

@davidsabillon5182 Жыл бұрын

✌️

@Xygor Жыл бұрын

Hope you liked it!

@davidsabillon5182 Жыл бұрын

@@Xygor very much so. I probably won't get to play all these cool old school RPGs so your channel is the next best thing. Thank you 🤝

@CorinianSalame Жыл бұрын

I don’t know why but I have always hated the sprite work in Illusion of Gaia, even as a kid. Just not a fan of the style - love the look of the other 2, 2 of my top 10 SNES games

@alejandrofrancetich4607 2 жыл бұрын

@7:55 Spoiler alert!! 😅

@ballroomscott Жыл бұрын

Personally I hate games where the monsters don't respawn.

@Xygor Жыл бұрын

That was a really unique concept, wasn't it?

@madsli Жыл бұрын

Funny how you use final fantasy 5 to indicate seriousness, arguably the silliest final fantasy game.

@ProphetWing Жыл бұрын

I don't see why Square Enix shouldn't/wouldn't resurrect the Soul Blazer Trilogy for a new generation of gamers. They've already done the same with ActRaiser.

@lutijn7398 2 жыл бұрын

it's funny how everyone in america just loooooooooovesv earthbound, probably because the whole setup of the game looks like any american town, and it isnt a bad game, but terranigma is so much better haha. its almost karma it was never released there cause we didn't get earthbound.

@dava00007 2 жыл бұрын

Interesting video, but I could not stand the TV like constant recaps, it's annoying and it feels like you think we are stupid.

@fahdkhan Жыл бұрын

I think it was just 3 separate videos that were stuck together to make it easy to find in one place. Could have worked better as a playlist, but I'm sure there's a youtube marketing reason why this worked better.

@blueseanewt2138 Жыл бұрын

You know I really hate the modern Nazi thing, it is cringy and a bit depressing especially since it is a sign of people not setting the table of brotherhood. That said I really really hate Governments determining these things it sets a bad precedent that government can choose what symbols you can display and while that can be used for good it can also be used for bad.