
Like everyone else we love the whole SNES Mini thing, but with a total of 21 games we also had to accept that many big names would be missing in action. One of biggest third-party producers missing is Quintet, which is surprising considering its incredibly prolific output during the SNES years, which included such timeless classics as God-sim ActRaiser, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, the quirky Robotrek, ActRaiser 2 and the magnum opus only localized in Europe - Terranigma. We will sadly not be playing any of these titles come the end of September.
But that doesn't keep the fan community down, and efforts continue to this day to use byuu’s MSU-1 media enhancement chip to bring new life (and sound) to old classics; this time it is none other than Terranigma that's being given the chance to shine in the spotlight. This is a risky task, because the original SPC chiptune soundtrack easily ranks as one of the finest uses of Ken Kutaragi’s chip in the whole SNES game library.
Now thanks to the combination of the hacking efforts of Redscorpion, the exquisitely rearranged digital soundtrack by Martin Denk and byuu’s magical chip, there's a reason (not that it's needed) to re-play Terranigma, at least if you have the means to play a modded version. Lend your hears to the following video of the patch in action.
For now all we can do is hold on to the hope that as it has already happened with Square’s “Mana” trilogy, perhaps Quintet’s Gaia trilogy* will be given new life and another chance, potentially on the Switch? If you’re a fan of Quintet, give us your best memories of playing its games in the comments section.
*Writer's Note: A fourth Sony PlayStation exclusive title was released between 1997 and 1999 worldwide: “The Granstream Saga”.
Comments 14
Unrelated but the SNES had some great sounding music on the games that appeared on it.
Back on topic, VC on Switch can't happen soon enough.
Cool! I actually just picked up this game on an SNES cartridge from Etsy yesterday, complete with manual & case, and I'm really looking forward to playing it. This is very apropos.
Incredible game. The first game to make me shed a tear, what an ending!
Would pay full price to have this game on Switch!
My heart skipped a beat when I seen the name. I kind of hoped it was a surprise inclusion in the upcoming SNES Classic Mini.
My favorite era of gaming. These types of games are what solidified me as a gamer and Nintendo fan. Although being in the US...I never heard of this one. Looks awesome, but there is NO topping Chrono Trigger or FF6.
This game is such an underrated gem on the SNES and it probably has one of the best stories, music, and gameplay to have ever existed. I'm glad it is still talked about today
@SLIGEACH_EIRE i did the same thing! Man those snes rpgs were grandiose!
I've heard fantastic things about this one, but it's never been released out here in North America as far as I know... My only way to play it would be to import an European SNES.
The SNES sound chip was the best for RPGs but otherwise I prefer the sweet tones of the YM2612
Its called the Soulblazer Triology. NintendoLife I am surprised you did not know this.
I will be downloading this as the music from this game is amazing.
I hope this gets released on the Switch. I'm really surprised this title didn't make the SNES mini. One of the greatest RPGs.
Terranigma is undoubtly one of the best games on the SNES. For me it's right up there with similar stand-out SNES games of that era: A Link to the Past, Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Earthbound, Super Mario RPG, Shadowrun.
For me it was the swansong for the SNES, together with Harvest Moon and DKC3, the three final SNES masterpieces released in 1996 before the N64 hit the market.
Terranigma is the only one in the trilogy I owned, and I've beaten it many times, I loved it! I haven't played the predecessors Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia/Time. They're some of the games I've been waiting the longest for, to finally play, re-released on VC or as a collection.
From what I've seen about the games, they are all different from each other gameplay-wise, but still in the topdown action-adventure/RPG genre.
Terranigma is obviously the most advanced, longest, and nicest-looking of the the trilogy and arguably the best SNES RPG of all time. And its soundtrack will forever be revisited by me as long as a I live.
@the8thark I always called it "Gaia Trilogy". This whole post is my responsibility, not NL's. However, it would seem I am not the only one calling it that. Quoting from Hardcore Gaming 101:
"Quintet was founded by two former members of Falcom - programmer Masaya Mashimoto, and scenario director/game designer Tomoyoshi Miyazaki - who left during the development of Ys III. The loosely knit franchise of sorts is affectionately referred to as the Soul Blazer series, or "Gaia Trilogy". Quintet was already responsible for what was Enix's most beloved game that didn't have "Dragon" or "Quest" in the title, ActRaiser."
To be honest, your comment was the first time I ever heard anyone call it the "Soulblazer Trilogy" since the name of the original game is actually "SoulBlader" in Japan. Anyway, hope you (re)enjoy the game!
Would buy this at any price on the Switch.
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