by Julius Albert Custodio

Created on: November 22, 2010

Terranigma for the SNES is an unknown gem of a game just waiting to be played. As an RPG, it clearly didn’t have as much fanfare as that of Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger but for what it offers, it truly deserves a spot on top just like these two. For the people who haven’t played it yet, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Sure it may be more than a decade old but it was way ahead of its time. A game like this is nothing short of phenomenal.

STORY: 4.5/5

The game’s story begins just like any other RPG with some added twists which just separates it from most games. Ark, the protagonist, is your typical curious boy who unwittingly caused harm all around him (in this case, freezing everyone minus the elder in the underworld village) and now has to “save the rest of the world from doom”. Familiar storyline aside, the real meat of the story comes in after the not-so-short prologue. Apparently, Ark has a bigger mission in store for him as the chaos he brought forth has affected the overworld. The remaining chapters are then spent rebuilding a world similar to what we have today. Yes, modern-day Earth itself complete with real-life famous people. You’ll understand it more fully if you play the actual game.

GRAPHICS: 4/5

Terranigma has near-perfect graphics for an SNES game. You can say that it drove the console’s graphic limitations to its hilt. Every frame is rendered excellently and there are no jarring issues like movement lag and choppy animations. As an example, Ark moves so deftly in battle and the same goes for his enemies. The game world is ripe for a long journey. It’s a living, breathing environment waiting to be explored. Sometimes, you just have to take it all in before you can start playing.

MUSIC/SOUND: 4/5

As far as music goes, the BGM is just a joy to listen to. Unlike most RPG music which can turn stale and annoying in a few playthroughs, Terranigma’s musical score is pleasant and in most parts, exceptional. In fact, this game is right up there with Final Fantasy VI when it comes to "ear candy" (maybe even topping it) and that’s not exaggeration.

GAMEPLAY: 5/5 (possibly even 6 or 7 out of 5 because it's THAT good)

Terranigma’s gameplay consists mainly of real-time battles similar to that of the “Secret of Mana” series interspersed with Zelda-like puzzle/adventure elements. There’s some depth to the stat growth as well so it can also be argued that it’s more of an RPG than it is an action game. The subtle city-building part of it or to be more precise, “world rebuilding”, adds another new dimension to Terranigma and further enhances what is already a pretty solid title.

REPLAY VALUE: 3/5

What this game lacks though is its not so stellar replay value, but not every role-playing game should have an open-ended game world bundled with it right? For what it’s worth, it is actually fun to play again if you’re bored and don’t have anything better to do. You really shouldn’t expect drastic changes in the whole experience though. The fun here lies in the story and the gameplay, and for Terranigma it has plenty to be proud of.

OVERALL: 4/5 (Not too shabby, considering it's one of the last games for the SNES console)

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