Terranigma (1995)

I've been going through the Quintet SNES games and saved Terranigma for last given its stellar reputation. My expectations were high coming in, and while it mostly delivered on those and I'd probably still rank it as the best Quintet SNES game, there were more things I didn't like about this game than I initially thought there'd be.

Terranigma's presentation is outstanding. The graphics are beautiful. Ark's sprites are so emotive. The music is wonderfully melancholic. Numerous tracks from this game have made it onto one of my many playlists of video game music.

The gameplay is good, though there are a few pain points. Like Illusion of Gaia it is a top-down action RPG, though you do have the option of grinding levels. There is a sense of momentum to Ark's movement that I have some mixed feelings about. While it is fun to see Ark skid to a stop after a run, I'm not sure if this serves the gameplay other than to make Ark feel just a bit clunkier to control than some of the protagonists in previous Quintet titles. Navigating up and down ledges was also not quite as smooth as I think it should've been. It's kind of hard to explain, basically you can't jump down a ledge from a diagonal angle which results in your vertical movement feeling slightly janky.

The magic system is basically useless except for one boss battle, and even then it doesn't really matter if you don't mind level grinding. Though I do think the system itself is intriguing and could have worked if they made the spells a bit more useful, I think it overall could have been cut entirely. I mean, the final few bosses explicitly don't allow your use of magic!

Terranigma's narrative and themes are interesting to chew on. The story and translation are definitely the best of the Quintet games, and I loved the ambiguity of the ending. There is a clear throughline of philosophical thinking from Actraiser to Terranigma surrounding creation, destruction, rebirth, humanity, dualities, and more. About halfway through the game however I feel that the narrative becomes a little rudderless as you're left exploring trying to find the next thing to do in the main quest or side quests.

I wish there was a little bit more content to uncover in the underworld. The time I spent there was surprisingly short and limited only to the beginning (which now that I think about it was really just an hour long tutorial) and the very end. Exploring the inside of the planet is such a cool concept, I think they could've done a tad bit more with it.

Overall I really liked this game and would recommend it to anyone. The presentation alone is enough to carry a playthrough, and despite some of it's flaws I think its likely that most people would take something away from this game.

Preliminary: Yesss I love the cozy first village music and colors and dialog so far. I needed something nice like this. And to think it's a spiritual sequel to Illusion of Gaia and my most beloved Soul Blazer!

Ehhh I was already feeling like opening doors and other mechanics of the game were awfully slow. I was telling myself to just embrace the slowness and nice music. But if I'm understanding this menu mechanic correctly... Ok phew the actual use of the menu is much more streamlined, it was just the introduction that involved opening doors and walking and whatnot.

Not sure why this shopkeeper wasn't frozen but I love the music in the shop :-p

Early Game

Very strange world map. I just hope teh combat holds up to the great village gameplay and music. (tho ugh a dungeon-y tune of course for the first tower)

I really really like this so far. The tower music is unfortunately dungeon-y, but the combat was intuitive and fun so far. I find myself grinding just for the fun of it, killing tehse large statue type monsters that leveled me up after just one kill. I haven't had to turn to a guide but I'm sure I will and might as well pull up maps now just to be sure.

Beautiful screen and beautiful tune

As always with this series I like the Dark Cloud-esque rebuilding concept.

Ugh same meh dungeon tune for the second tower. Otherwise I'm loving this so far

In a pleasant surprise, the combat is a highlight of this rather than bogging it down. I love how fluid it is, how I can run and leap-attack and hit two of them then run to the next enemy and get used to the exact distance I leap etc. almost gives that Castlevania 1 feeling hard to explain but the precision of distance to attack, and the collision masks are nice and intuitive. I also like that the pot-throwing and puzzles (so far) have been intuitive and even included hints to help.

Ok the attempt at platforming is not so solid, including the platform collision masks etc.

Ooo just realized about the jump attack (as opposed to the dash jump I should've called the leap attack earlier) And I love to combine dash then jump attack, even more powerful!

These cutscenes with the pretty music showing the new continents as you bringt hem back is such aesthetic! I'm even doing the optional things so this is a good sign for the overall game.

Yesss okay so this was all a longwinded intro of sorts. Now starts the very clear connection to the prior games, and the bringing back of animals/npcs/charactesr. i LOVED that about Soul Blazer. Only complaints so far are the repeated dungeon-y tunes and the font is a bit hard to read.

Interesting. So I can swim now. Zelda/Metroidvania esque

The Parasite boss and its music were quite boring. But nice soon after, some nice tunes namely near the Ra Tree and I like seeing the representation of Central America topography etc.

Some of the mechanics namely int he platforming and throwing objects, well like the collision masks of both those, are messy. The bird boss reminded me of the Zelda bird boss trope and the resurrecting of the wind reminds me of Tomba.

As I get furhter into the game, I am finding that the combat controls and other quirks weren't as tight and nice as I first felt. As the enemies get faster, teh responsiveness of you being ready for another attack or being reayd to run or block etc feels less and less excitingly fast.

I was feeling it a lot more again tonight but then I get to a boss with the same boring mechanic where you can't reach it or hurt it for too much of the battle. I will never enjoy a mechanic like that. (The Zue boss). Yesss luckily I was rewarded with a graet sunrise screen

I wish teh dialog and sentimentality had stayed as fresh and well-done. And some of this repeated dialog with this lion cub is... just lame. (And the Mud Man "boss" there was elongated and kinda lame too). I love love love the idea of the different continents and wandering across them and how they vaguely represent real topography, but I bet I would've been annoyed trying to find the location of the actually enter-able places without having this guide to reference. More than Magirock locations and tips for bosses, that's what I used the guide for :-p

The combat is starting to drag a bit as I approach mid game (I am about to get to Chapter 3). And I am tired of enemies waiting for me at the bottom or top of a ladder/vine, a la Ghost n Goblins. It's too bad cuz tihs had such momentum at the start, but rather than getting more exciting with time, it's just getting more tedious with time and repeated music.

Great another boss with long-winded segments you can't hurt it and the same dungeon-y tune (the post-Yeti boss in the Tibet level). Meh. I will sleep on it tonight but thinking this will be a 3 or 4 star and move on. It started so strong though... And I am curious where it goes from here after bringing back humans...

Yep, I'm done after this. It's too bad cuz I like so much about this, but every boss battle has been so lame. And the rest of the game has started to dull from its initial luster. Plus, these repeated songs are all the ones I was least into.

Look: 8/10

Sound: 8/10 I know I was complaining about it but some of the tunes are so great. It's just that the meh or decent ones were the ones repeated the most.

Play: 8/10 I simultaneously love the controls and find them fluid and responsive, while also somehow finding them frustrating during mid-game (and I assume onward). Worst of all are the boss battles. Dry and fundamentally influenced by my least favorite videogame mechanic: frequent and lengthy periods of not being able to harm the enemy, plus sometimes high hitpoints like with the boss that got me to stop. Neither of those mechanics are interesting to me: have the mechanics be if you can get a hit in despite the attacks--great--and a lengthier battle isn't inherently a harder battle or, most certainly, not a more interesting battle.

Feel: 8/10

Attachment: 8/10 I'd likely not forget this game, its ties to Soul Blazer, and its first bits. But it seems Soul Blazer is the one of this trilogy for me. (Part of me also wants to return to this to finish this boss battle by deliberately dying, then equipping a different weapon--I read that it has a weakness possibly?--since I found the mechanic of the bats easy to dodge with the dash-attack invulnerability, I just got sick of waiting aroudn so much to be able to attack and was only doing 5 hits of damage after a game of very little grinding being necessary). But still, the qualms with the Play still stand, Soul Blazer is still preferred regardless, and it's time to prep for PS1 era, not be bogged down by good 4-star SNES games.

Overall: 8/10

Completion: Shadow phase of the Yeti boss

Playtime: 7 hours

This title is a standout action-RPG that remains a hidden gem of the original PlayStation era. The MC is called Ark, a young, spirited hero living in a secluded village, his journey isn’t just about defeating monsters or collecting loot, it’s about reviving the entire world from a state of lifelessness. As you progress, you witness continents, civilizations, and nature itself being restored, giving the game a sense of scale and purpose rarely seen in RPGs of its time. It has a similar vibe to the title called Soul Blazer, sharing a lot of similarities, not just when it comes to their narratives.

Gameplay in Terranigma blends fast-paced, real-time combat with exploration and puzzle-solving. Dungeons are cleverly designed, and towns feel alive, each with their own unique characters and stories. The controls are tight, and the progression system balances character growth with equipment upgrades and abilities. One of the game’s most impressive aspects is its narrative: it evolves from a simple adventure into a deep meditation on life, death, human ambition, and the consequences of one’s actions.

Emotional moments are surprisingly frequent, and certain story beats are still remembered as some of the most touching in 16/32-bit-era RPGs. Visually, Terranigma uses colorful, detailed sprite work and vibrant environments, creating a world that feels both whimsical and expansive. The soundtrack ranges from energetic battle themes to hauntingly beautiful melodies that enhance both exploration and story-driven moments.

Although it was never officially released in North America, the game has gained a devoted fanbase over the years, praised for its originality, depth, and emotional resonance. For anyone interested in classic RPGs, Terranigma is more than just a game, it’s an experience that lingers long after the console is turned off. This is definitely a must-play for fans of JRPGs in general, I highly recommend not skipping this one, despite it not having any modern re-releases.

Story (4.5/5) | Characters (4/5) | World (5/5) | Gameplay (4.5/5) | Visuals (5/5) | Music (4/5) = 90% overall score

Going into this game I didn't expect it to immediately enter my top 5 favorite SNES games, but this game really did blow me away in it's presentation and how much fun I had with it. I'm really happy to have finally played through this and feel I appreciated it a lot more as an adult with context.

Terranigma is the culmination and most polished take on the themes that Quintet and Tomoyoshi Miyazaki's themes and ideas. The premise of the story is that a young man opens Pandora's Box and must leave his village in the Underworld to restore and resurrect the surface of Earth. For most of the game, the story takes a back seat as Ark goes about this task. However, in the 11th hour at the game's ending the story fully reveals itself and makes you question everything you did up to that point. Those who expect a game's story to provide heavy exposition and to explain itself thoroughly may be disappointed by this, but I honestly really enjoyed the story that was told more through the themes and the feelings they evoked and even found myself a little emotional at the very end of the game.

Terranigma and it's characters are the methods to which the game really dives into it's philosophy of light and dark and how they must exist together. The game will often pose you with moral questions that there is no answer to, especially later in the game when you are restoring and expanding humanity. The reoccurring characters are all enjoyable, though not heavily developed. I should note that one of the side characters is the only black representation I've noted in a game of the SNES era. At the beginning of the game a lot of the game takes place primarily in dungeons (some of which are, admittedly, a pain in the ass to explore) whereas the end of the game is primarily focused on exploration and the optional side quests of building and developing the economy of various towns which change and evolve with your support. The combat itself is simple but very satisfying as the controls in the game are very tight for an action RPG and Ark has a ton of combat moves that reward constant movement. The two primary issues I have with the gameplay are that Ark starts with all of the combat actions and leveling up only increases your stats so progression isn't super satisfying (though it is very necessary as some bosses can be very hard if you're not the right level). Also the magic system in this game is completely forgettable and I didn't use it once.

Graphically this game is one of the best looking games on the SNES and has very detailed and well animated pixel art. The world resurrection scenes in particular are pretty stunning on this hardware. This really makes the world feel alive for a 16 bit game and a treat to experience. The music of this game is great and almost always fits the mood the game wants you to feel, especially the sense of loneliness that is pervasive at the beginning of the game.

Time to Complete: 20 hours

Favorite Chill Theme: Evergreen

Favorite Action Theme: Light and Darkness