On October 20, 1995, Enix released Quintet’s Tenchi Sōzō, a spiritual followup to their earlier ARPG Gaia Gensōki, or Illusion of Gaia, in Japan. Nintendo localized and published the game as Terranigma in Europe and Australia—but unlike Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma never officially made it to North America.
Terranigma was, at its core, a dungeon-crawling action RPG similar to Zelda, but its story dealt with an alternate version of our Earth instead, with the main character, Ark, acting as a sort of guide to the evolution of the planet and its inhabitants. On his journey, Ark raised continents, revived plants and animals, resurrected the human race, and watched and influenced humanity’s growth throughout its history.
If you wanna to read more about the game itself and the things that made it a real, genuine SNES classic, check out Peter Tieryas’ three-part retrospective that he published on our reader forum, TAY:
But, since this a Dayshot post, we should probably celebrate the anniversary with some art. Luckily, the fandom has been quite active over the years:
Time and Space by Vincent-Northwind
The Underworld Tribute by ObstinateMelon
Terranigma Poster [restored] by caffate
Tenchi Sōzō 20th Anniversary by 灯
Crysta from Terranigma by Borvar
Terranigma Underworld Remake by FixelCat
Dayshot is an image-based feature that runs every morning, showcasing some of the prettiest, funniest game-related screenshots and art we can find. Send us suggestions if you’ve got them.
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