 Over the years, Terranigma has attained a kind of mysterious aura to it. Some people consider it the lost classic RPG because it never got released in the United States, despite it being released in Europe. So first let's go over what most people do know about this game already. We know it's the third game released in the Quintet or Enex Trilogy, following Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia. It's got the same top-down adventure-style gameplay with some RPG elements mixed in. And by no means do you have to play the previous two games in the Enex Trilogy to enjoy Terranigma, and I'll talk about that a little bit later, but if you like the gameplay in the previous games you will definitely like Terranigma without a doubt. The story sadly however is not quite as bizarre as Illusion of Gaia, there's no suicidal pigs or talking flutes or vampires. It is a pretty strange story, just not as fricking whacked out as that one. It's a little tricky to talk about the story in Terranigma because there's a good twist about halfway through that I don't want to spoil, but it's about as good as any storyline twist in any Super Nintendo RPG. I'm not saying it's Shakespeare exactly, but it is very good. Anyway, you play as Ark, a boy who lives in a village that nobody's ever left. One day he opens a forbidden door, and who'd have ever thought something bad would happen if you open a forbidden door. Shockingly, the entire town freezes except for one mysterious old dude who promptly tells you what you have to do. So Ark becomes the first person to ever leave his village, only to find everything as a frozen wasteland. And it's up to him to revive everything, humans, animals, the weather, the wind, you name it, until he finds out he's in a little too deep, and that's all I'll say. The story is the best part of Terranigma in my opinion, I found myself enjoying it as much as Final Fantasy VI and the first Lufia game. That's all subjective of course, but I'm just saying it's an interesting story that clearly a lot of effort went into telling. And when you finish Terranigma, the story is the first thing you'll think of and remember when you think back on it. The gameplay takes what Illusion of Gaia did and adds a few things, there's a vast array of attacks and spells, and there's a new kind of magic system that's not exactly necessary, but it's still fun to have. There are some cleverly made puzzles to get past, and of course the sound of destroying an enemy is addicting as always. At its core it really does play like an advanced version of Illusion of Gaia. The bosses can be challenging, and it can take a couple tries to figure out what to do and how to time things. There is one boss in particular, Bloody Mary, oh my god, you really have to make sure you grind to a certain level before you face her, or you just use all the magic stuff you have, or you will be stuck on this part for a long time. So yeah, experience and leveling is a bit more open-ended than Illusion of Gaia, it's more important, and it's not just to unlock the next section like you did in that game. I will say I don't think the level design in Terranigma is quite as clever as it is in Illusion of Gaia, or Link to the Past or Lufia 2 for that matter, but that's okay, there's still some good stuff here. And really the incentive to keep playing Terranigma isn't just the gameplay, it's to allow the story to unfold, and not only that, it's to listen to this freaking awesome music. Every single track here is great, and I mean that, literally every single piece of music in this game is freaking fantastic. This is one of the very best Super Nintendo soundtracks from start to finish, and you know that's high praise considering how many other games also have tremendous music, but this is right up there with Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, Super Castlevania IV, Super Metroid, Secret of Mana, you name it, the Terranigma soundtrack belongs right there alongside it. There are two or three tracks in particular, like Light and Darkness and the Top of Saint Mountain, that are among the very best pieces of music from a technical and compositional standpoint from any game ever. My only real negative about Terranigma is that it's not always very balanced. If you are underleveled for the next area, the game will let you know immediately, and you will get your ass handed to you, but it's very easy to get overleveled as well, where everything dies in two hits or less, and you barely take any damage. It's almost like they didn't spread the level gradient far enough, if that makes sense. All it takes is to be one or two levels below what's required, and you just have no chance, but the opposite is equally applicable. It's just kind of annoying is all, not a game breaker. Anyway, I know I've said more than once that you don't have to play the previous games in the Enix trilogy before you play Terranigma, but I do think if you want to keep your expectations in check, it actually does help to play Illusion of Gaia first. And while I don't think the level design is as clever, the extra gameplay mechanics and the story and the soundtrack are as good as you'll find on the Super Nintendo. While I don't think it's exactly on the level of Final Fantasy 6 or Chrono Trigger, it is still a tremendous game and a great experience. Go find Terranigma, go track it down, it's awesome.