Fair warning, this look at Quintet's biggest Super Nintendo game is going to be rife with unmarked spoilers. If you haven't already played Terranigma, then drop everything and do so. Seriously, don't even humor the idea of skipping out on a masterpiece. Anyone not already well-familiar with the product I'm about to discuss should leave right now, unless they want their first experience to be tainted. Still, and this is being said with all sincerity, even a cynical bastard such as I can't get through this game's ending without a face drenched in tears. It's so beautiful.
Since I'm being honest, this is not a review I wanted to write. Terranigma is a grandoise epic about Earth's resurrection. Note the word; the creation of Earth and all its inhabitants already happened. However, the planet is trapped in a cycle controlled by Light and Darkness. Every, oh I don't know, 4.6 billion years; there's an apocalypse that wipes out everything. My estimates could be way off, but the point is that the world is governed by endless death and rebirth. A young man by the name of Ark inadvertently opens Pandora's Box, setting off the latest round of planetwide destruction. Now he can't go back to his home in the underworld until resurrection duties are finished. Bringing a dead planet back to life, uncovering a diabolical plot, and breaking the cycle shouldn't take more than 15 hours. Nevertheless, there is a gravitas to the adventure that makes it extremely difficult to discuss. I keep getting held back by this belief that whatever is said has to be significant. Every line must provoke thoughts, every paragraph a whirlwind of complex analysis.
This is about the time the cynicism takes over. Being a cynic is easy, especially these days. How am I supposed to believe in the dream that's being sold to me? Terranigma, for all its ideal visions of the future, failed to consider our complete inability to learn from the past. With every passing day, we drift further from the society that actually seeks to better each other's lives. Imagine how easy modern life could be if we didn't have a Dr. Beruga to deal with. Instead, we have dozens. The saddest part is that these madmen that hold all the wealth and power can't even be mistaken for geniuses. I can't look at a game that believes so hard in a bright future without wanting to see it crushed to bits. We had our chance, and we blew it. Stop with the reminders of what could've been, it just comes off as hokey self-indulgent schlock.
Granted, the Earth depicted in this game is nowhere near a utopia. Apparently, the frequent cycles have done little to avoid the atrocities humans have inflicted upon each other. Everyone caught in the time loop might play a different role, but the events that shaped the world (as horrific as they've been) remain unaffected. Still, there's an undercurrent of hope and a belief in humanity that makes me want to wretch. If Ark can break the cycle, then surely a new age will begin. There's a part of me that sees it all play out and thinks that his dreams aren't dead yet. Holding onto inspiration is hard, because simply trying to live does so much to rip it out of my hands. Nevertheless, Ark sacrificed everything to share his dream, and I can't just wallow in self-pity until the remaining years tick away.
Or maybe I can? Terranigma is a work of fiction after all. What if the Earth it depicts isn't ours? Maybe we're just a hundred or so years away from the big reset, one of many Earths that got lost in the cycle. I say this because, even with all the tragedy that had occurred in the "perfect" world, there's still a sense that everyone has a place in it. People have fulfilling careers, take care of each other, and there certainly isn't child slavery like in Illusion of Gaia, or you know, the real world. It's just my interpretation, and it wouldn't be surprising if Quintet seriously believed in us but only had so much development time to work with. Corners were cut, and the undesirable aspects of society were reduced to a handful of scenes. I noticed that the painter at the height of his success no longer paints and instead stares wistfully out his window. Sucks for him. Still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about the unhappy artist. That's one of the themes uniting the ideal world we'll never be able to live in. Things shouldn't exist to be commodified. Yet, again, we're so far from away such idealistic thinking that I don't even know why I brought it up.
As for the game itself, there's simultaneously a lot and very little to talk about. Here and now, I'm going to suggest the Redux romhack. Along with a much-improved translation and numerous tweaks, the hack fixes two of the original game's biggest problems: Bloody Mary and Dark Gaia. Instead of being the two outliers that are somehow a hundred times tankier than anything else in the game, these bosses represent noticeable yet manageable jumps in difficulty. Players no longer have to rely on specific magic ring setups and/or over-leveling to finish the game. A lot of work was put into balancing the combat difficulty. Monsters hit harder, status effects are more common, and these are all great changes. Level-ups and equipment upgrades are still valuable, but mastering the spear and knowing enemy behavior goes a lot further.
In terms of movement and combat mechanics, going from Soulblazer & Illusion of Gaia to Terranigma is a revelation. The amount of freedom Ark has in his steps is astonishing. Enemies also move with a level of finesse that makes the previous titles almost rigid. Interactions shared among the hero and his adversaries might be a bit lacking compared to the best action-adventure titles, but they're still really impressive. Tactically diving through foes with the dash attack always feels great. Adversity staying on the squishier side makes battles flow really well. I just really like how there's this constant motion. Actions lead into other actions, and there's almost never a reason to stop and wait. Running and jumping, especially in the 16-bit age, has rarely been this good.
By this point, Quintet has mastered the art of the dungeon. Each demon-infested locale is extraordinarily paced. The goal is almost always to reach the end and defeat the boss, but the way there is often broken up by a variety of great encounters and puzzles. At no point does the game lean too heavily into fighting or problem-solving. Bloody Mary's Castle is still amazing, but I also have to recognize the merits of The Great Lakes' Cave, Louran, Zue, and numerous other dungeons. They all do quite a lot to differentiate themselves, ensuring that repeat playthroughs never get dull.
And really, it's like I said way back; there's a lot of magic to experience. I complained a lot about the state of the world, but its beauty is undeniable. The resurrection scenes still blow me away. The characters, even if some are underutilized and disappear for large chunks of the narrative, are convincingly realized. Seeing a city develop is also really interesting. Maybe not as interesting these days, but eh... it has charm. I'd say the only parts of the game that really feel dated are Columbus being one of the good guys and the citizens of Yunkou speaking semi-broken English.
There's probably a lot more I should say about Terranigma, but I've scoured the four corners of this wasteland of a brain and turned up very little. Wonderful game, truly, but there's always going to be a disconnect. It's a vision of a world I'll never be a part of. Sucks for me.
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