Terranigma (SNES)

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Description

The planet known to its inhabitants as Earth is composed out of two realms - the surface, or Lightside, and the underground world, or Darkside. Two cosmic forces, called God and Devil by the humans, were fighting each other fiercely until their final battle in Antarctica led to a catastrophe: the continents of the surface world submerged into the ocean, presumably eradicating all life on the Lightside.

Meanwhile, the isolated underworld, consisting of frozen crystal mountains and lava rivers, continues to exist. A young boy named Ark grew up in Crysta, the only remaining village on the Darkside. One day, he and some other boys hear mysterious voices coming from beyond a door the village elder forbade them to open. Unable to resist their curiosity, the boys open the door, and Ark finds a box with a strange creature inside. By opening the box, Ark inadvertently causes all the villagers to be turned into stones. In order to bring them back to life, Ark has to find five towers within the dangerous Darkside and eventually restore life on the surface of the planet.

Terranigma is an action role-playing game. Ark levels up after having completed an important quest or cleared out an area. He can attack enemies with various weapons, using different techniques: pierce, leap, dash, etc., resulting from the combination of three basic actions - attacking, running, and jumping. Special objects called Magirocks can be collected and converted into rings, which act as one-use items capable of casting magic spells.

The game is closely connected to and often regarded as the final part of a trilogy, the first two games being Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Alternate Titles

• "天地創造" -- Japanese spelling
• "Tenchi Sōzō" -- Japanese title

Part of the Following Groups

• Gaia series
• Gameplay feature: Interior decorating

User Reviews

Basically interesting, but has a few flaws compared to other RPGs of the time	Bregalad (968)
"Haunting, But Fulfilling"	Lou Smith (6)
Strangely Depressing	Tom White (14)	unrated
An Archetypal Journey (but YOU won't know it)	Remus Celloco (4)

Critic Reviews

GameTrip.net	Apr 21, 2010	10 out of 10	100
Nintendo Life	Apr 19, 2009		100
RPGFan	Apr 27, 2000	94 out of 100	94
Jeuxvideo.com	Jul 02, 2010	18 out of 20	90
Player One	Jan, 1998	90 out of 100	90
Total! (Germany)	Dec, 1996	1.75 out of 6	85
Video Games	Jan, 1997	85 out of 100	85
Mega Fun	Jan, 1997	80 out of 100	80
Legendra	Jul 09, 2004		80
Thunderbolt Games	Oct 25, 2004	4 out of 10	40

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Trivia

Hidden room

There's a hidden room accessible by entering a trashcan located in the empty lot of Neo Tokyo, after defeating an enemy you'll be transported to an office where you can chat with a group of chickens hard at work programming. These fellows are actually Quintet, and they even explain that they are working on Illusion of Gaia 2 !

Title

The literal translation of the title Tenchisôzô into English is something along the lines of "Creation of Heaven and Earth". Which is exactly the content that the game deals with.

Releases

Although both of the other Gaia games were released in North America, for unknown reasons, Terranigma was not, even though an English translation was done for its UK release.

Information also contributed by Zovni

Related Web Sites

• OC ReMix Game Profile (Fan remixes of music from Terranigma.)
• Terranigma (article in the open encyclopedia about the game)