History Videogame / IllusionOfGaia

* IFellForHours: There's a part where you jump from near the top of the Great Wall and plummet all the way down to a basement level. The drop takes almost ''ten seconds'' (don't ask us how Will doesn't die).

* InventoryManagementPuzzle: Will can carry no more than sixteen items, and as you fill those slots with precious, finite Herbs, freeing up space for new quest items gets tricky late in the game. The 50 Red Jewels seem like a headache waiting to happen, but fortunately they can be sent off to the Jeweler at any time. [[GuideDangIt Sadly, not many players figured this out, causing a few to drop herbs or use them prematurely to make room, which can't be replaced.]]

* NeverSayDie: You "lose your life" instead. And then there's an Angel Tribeswoman you can find standing where the sun is shining. Will compares it to "sleeping, as if the spirit's drawn out" if he examines her.

** ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:The Jackal himself, who exists to demonstrate the evil in the hearts of King Edward and Queen Edwina by hunting down Will and Kara. His chasing you is referenced in a throwaway line when you first meet the Moon Tribe not that long afterward. Then in Euro, someone mentions seeing a person who looked like he was chasing someone, and just before you leave, you're told someone has come to see you, and the player would expect the Jackal, come to finally end his role in the plot, only for it to be Hamlet in an accidental Bait And Switch, but only in-universe. Then you reach Dao, there's a young lady in an alcove who quietly gives Will a piece of paper, and suddenly the BGM cuts off as Will notices the picture of a jackal, the Calling Card of the notorious mercenary. Sure enough, just as you're about to finish the Pyramid, the Jackal shows his face, having taken Kara hostage as you were collecting that last Hieroglyph.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: Subverted when it's revealed that [[spoiler: Seth isn't actually dead.]] Played straight later on, with [[spoiler: Hamlet's]] death being a major surprise.

* {{Atlantis}}: Actually Mu Continent, the Pacific Ocean equivalent. The developers were found of depicting Mu in their games; it appears again as a side quest in ''Terranigma''.

* BattleCouple: Jack and Silvana, the DualBoss [[UnholyMatrimony vampires]] of Mu. Though not all is well in paradise. If you kill Jack first, Silvana will say she's glad he's gone.

* ButThouMust: If you refuse to give the Crystal Ring to the king, he'll throw you in prison for having the nerve to refuse him. If you say yes, Will will hesitate, and the king will throw you in prison for lying. Granted, Will doesn't know that [[spoiler:the ring was on his flute all along]].
* CallingCard: The Jackal carves a picture of a...well, a jackal, to mark the places where he's been. An easy-to-miss NPC ends up foreshadowing his return to the plot.

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience:

* DifficultySpike: Mu, where the blobs and skeletons of previous levels are suddenly and unexpectedly replaced by rock-hard enemies that can become temporarily invincible, teleporting monsters with homing shots, a water depth puzzle, and a [[ThatOneBoss particularly difficult]] DualBoss. Ankor (sic) Wat is another spike, though mercifully there isn't a boss at the end of it.

** The Jackal is also never referred to by any other name.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Hamlet the pig allows himself to be cooked and eaten so a village doesn't have to starve. In a re-translation of the game from the original Japanese, his sacrifice makes more sense; the tribe was cannibalistic, eating its own people to survive, and Hamlet willingly throws himself into their fire so that the tribe doesn't eat the party...or more of their own.]]

* InventoryManagementPuzzle: Will can carry no more than sixteen items, and as you fill those slots with precious, finite Herbs, freeing up space for new quest items gets tricky late in the game. The 50 Red Jewels seem like a headache waiting to happen, but fortunately they can be sent off to the Jeweler at any time.
* InvisibleToNormals: Itory Village is like this, invisible to the human eye until a song from the village is sung (or played on a flute, in Will's case).

* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: [[spoiler:Remember that Crystal Ring Kara's father wanted so badly? Turns out it's in Will's flute.]]

* LawOfOneHundred: Collect 100 DP to earn an extra life (up to 9). If you die with any extra lives, you respawn in the same room where you died. If you don't have any lives, you'll still respawn, but at the beginning of the dungeon.
* LegacyBossBattle: With Solid Arm, a boss originally from the first game in the series, ''VideoGame/SoulBlazer'', who's [[GuideDangIt only fightable]] if you [[GottaCatchThemAll collect all fifty Red Jewels]].

* TheLoad: Kara often makes a nuisance of herself early in the game, but improves [[CharacterDevelopment as her character arc advances]].

* TheMaze: Mountain Temple. The manual even suggests drawing a map as you explore the area.
* MessageInABottle: Will and Kara find one...while adrift at sea themselves. You eventually get a chance to help the people who wrote the note when you storm the Diamond Mine and set them free. In return, they give you a song to restore Lance's memories.

* MysteriousMercenaryPursuer: The Jackal chases Will throughout the game, but only shows up once near the end.
* NeverSayDie: You "lose your life" instead. And then there's an Angel Tribeswoman you can find standing where the sun is shining. Will compares it to "sleeping, as if the spirit's drawn out"

* PaletteSwap: Most enemies have more powerful versions with a different colour scheme (and sometimes different attacks), but it's most noticeable in the Sky Garden. There, every enemy on the underside is a tougher PaletteSwap of those on the overside.

* PunnyName: The pig's name is ''Ham''let. [[spoiler:He ends up turning himself into "roasting Hamlet" to save the party from being eaten]].

* PsychicPowers: Will's friends make a big deal out of his telekinetic powers early on. He also has some sort of ill-defined, seldom used predictive power that only comes up three times in the whole game. [[labelnote:And they are: (SPOILERS)]]{1} making whichever card, out of the four Lance lays down, is the Ace Of Diamonds; {2} making whichever [[WireDilemma wire]] you choose in [[StrappedToABomb Erik's bomb]] the one that defuses it; {3} warning the player that [[AreYouSureYouWantToDoThat they picked the wrong glass]] in a RussianRoulette knock-off.[[/labelnote]]

* RussianRoulette: The Russian Glass game. [[spoiler: Your opponent is [[DeathSeeker playing to lose]].]]

** Later in the game there is a WireDilemma, but both wires are the right one. The bomb only explodes if the timer runs out ''and'' you haven't beaten the accompanying DualBoss yet.

* StrappedToABomb: Happens to Erik at one point, in one of the [[DualBoss more]] [[TimeLimitBoss frustrating]] [[ThatOneBoss boss fights]]. [[spoiler:It only explodes if you haven't defeated the boss yet. If you have, it's a dud, even if you let the time run out.]]

* AccidentalTruth: If you tell the King that you don't have the ring, he insists that you must have it and has you thrown in the dungeon until you tell him. You can't tell him a thing, because you genuinely have no idea where it is, but [[spoiler:all the way at the other end of the game, you find out that you ''do'' have it -- it was on Will's flute all along]].

* BattleCouple: Jack and Silvana, the DualBoss [[UnholyMatrimony vampires]] of Mu. [[spoiler:Though not all is well in paradise. If you kill Jack first, Silvana will say she's glad he's gone.]]

* CallingCard: The Jackal carves a picture of a...well, a jackal, to mark the places where he's been. [[spoiler:An easy-to-miss NPC ends up foreshadowing his return to the plot.]]

* TheLoad: Kara starts out as one for the team until CharacterDevelopment sets in midway through the game. Erik is a low-key one since he is basically a TagalongKid whose only contribution is getting kidnapped by the Vampires. [[spoiler:That said, he took enough of a level in Badass that he worked up the nerve to try and free the slaves in Freejia, which lead to his capture, sure, but it also led to Will finding out about them and storming the Diamond Mine since Erik overheard the location being mentioned.]]

* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Neil's parents were killed by their servants on the Moon Tribe's orders, and Seth dies somewhere between Angel Village and the Pyramid, as his spirit turns up on the roof of the Tower Of Babel.]]

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: The CometOfDoom that drives the plot is responsible for the fall of many of the civilizations whose ruins Will explores. Will has to prevent it from happening again.

!!This game is an example of:

* BattleCouple: Jack and Silvania, the Dual Boss [[UnholyMatrimony vampires]] of Mu.

* CallingCard: The Jackal carves a picture of a...well, a jackal, to mark the places where he's been.

* FusionDance: The endgame, where Will's friends and the spirits of those who love and guide him join with him to power up his final form.

* HeroicBSOD: Poor Neil briefly goes through this after [[spoiler: his parents are revealed to be [[DeadAllAlong Moon Tribe spirits]]]].

* ItMustBeMine: Kara is drawn to the ring worn by the Incan Queen's mummified corpse. [[spoiler:As the reincarnation of the Light Knight, [[ChekhovsGun she needed that ring to be able to get inside the Tower of Babel]].]]

* LandmarkOfLore: The game's dungeons include real locations like Angkor Wat, Nazca, the Great Wall of China, and the Great Pyramid, as well as mythological locations such as Mu and the Tower of Babel.
* LaserGuidedKarma: It's implied that many of the comet's victims were horrible people who effectively lost their own souls through their evil deeds. Case in point, [[spoiler:Neil's parents]], who have been using their company as a front for the slave trade in Euro.

* TheLoad: Kara starts out as one for the team until CharacterDevelopment sets in midway through the game. Erik is a low-key one since he is basically a TagalongKid whose only contribution is getting kidnapped by the Vampires.

* MaamShock: Will addresses ''Queen Edwina'' this way, pleading for her help while being dragged away by the king's men. She is not amused. Will doing so is a bit less outlandish than it sounds, considering that in RealLife, you're expected to call the Queen of England "Ma'am" after first addressing her as "Your Majesty" (as mentioned in ''Film/TheKingsSpeech''), but it may not apply here.

* MessageInABottle: Will and Kara find one...while adrift at sea themselves. You eventually get a chance to help the people who wrote the note when you storm the Diamond Mine and set them free. In return, they give you a healing song (for Lance's memories).

* MusicalAssassin: Again, Will and his flute.

* NeverSayDie: "It's horrible when someone loses their life" and similar dodges abound.

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: A whole colony of them live in a secluded place underground. They apparently die if exposed to sunlight for too long, and they're rumored to be the form into which humans will evolve.

* PsychicPowers: Will's friends make a big deal out of his telekinetic powers early on. He also has some sort of ill-defined, seldom used predictive power [[spoiler: that serves as a red flag in the Russian Glass game, and makes whatever wire you pick to disarm a bomb automatically correct]].

** The Russian Glass game ''does'' have a wrong answer, [[AreYouSureYouWantToDoThat but you're given a chance to back out of it]], unlike the safe glasses.

** For humans, it's 'Lilly' rather than Lily.

* StrappedToABomb: Happens to Erik at one point, in one of the [[DualBoss more]] [[TimeLimitBoss frustrating]] [[ThatOneBoss boss fights]].

* WeHardlyKnewYe: Seth, who is left behind in South Cape with Lance and Erik until all three suddenly show up on the Incan Gold Ship, then apparently gets eaten by the giant sea monster that destroys the ship. [[spoiler:He's not exactly dead, though, having turned into the same sort of sea monster. He's eventually able to communicate a message to the party explaining that this means he cannot return to them.]]
* WhiteSheep: For all her flaws, Kara is a much better person than could be expected of someone raised by the amoral and power-hungry king and queen of Edward Castle. The same goes for [[spoiler:Neill, the child of parents who ran a company involved with the slave trade]].
* WhoDares: If you refuse to turn over the ring to the King, he will say "How dare you say such a thing to me!!"

''Illusion of Gaia'' describes its setting as the "age of exploration". In practice, it's that special blend of MedievalEuropeanFantasy and UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain that {{Eastern RPG}}s are fond of mixing up, with an extra dash of the Victorian plus an emphasis on [[LandmarkOfLore Landmarks of Lore]] and explorers. The father of [[KidHero Will]], is one such explorer. Father and son went on an expedition to {{the Tower}} [[TowerOfBabel of Babel]], but a ''completely mysterious something'' went wrong and only Will made it back home. How, he doesn't know, but it did awaken his psychic potential, whatever it was.

The game was once planned to be localized under the title of ''VideoGame/SoulBlazer: Illusion of Gaia'' back when Enix's U.S. subsidiary was planning on publishing the English version themselves. Despite this, ''Soul Blazer'' and ''Illusion of Gaia'' are not actually related to each other storywise outside a certain enemy character from the former having a cameo in the latter game. Later on, Nintendo planned to localize ''VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}'' (originally titled ''Tenchi Sōzō'') under the name of ''Illusion of Gaia 2'', leading fans to treat all three games as part of a loose trilogy.

** The game states that the comet causes rapid evolution by [[spoiler:speeding up time]], so that organisms mutate faster. However, organisms cannot evolve, only populations -- once your chromosomes combine, you're stuck with that DNA. Granted, this ''could'' potentially work if it was ''mutating'' the organisms, similar to radiation, which is probably the original intent. [[spoiler:Of course, in that case, it would not be the biological superweapon the spirits claim it to be,]] since it's extremely rare for radiation to result in positive mutations.
** The game claims that a camel's hump contains water. It does, in the sense that all organic matter does, but it's a storehouse for fat.

* BittersweetEnding: As foreshadowed earlier in the game, [[spoiler: the comet's light has an unnatural effect on the evolution of the planet ''itself''. By defeating Dark Gaia, Will and Kara stop the cycle of destruction, [[NoOntologicalInertia enabling the world to assume its proper shape]] (real-life, modern-day Earth of the 1990s). Will and Kara go there to live new lives, with no memory of their adventures or feelings for each other.]] Happily, [[spoiler: Will and Kara vow before returning to Earth to find each other - and the final scene of the game shows Will, Kara, Lance, Erik, and even Seth (but not Lilly, for some reason) together again, in a modern-day school.]] Furthermore, while the people of the Earth are happy, [[GreenAesop their lack of awareness of the spirit of the earth makes it sad]].

* BlindIdiotTranslation: This game's English translation is particularly bad. While the basic story is intact, a lot of subtext, jokes and even crucial plot information are gone. The dialogue often can't tell if the subject of its sentence is singular or plural. A few lines that were meant to be someone's thoughts are spoken out loud instead. There are more than a few proofreading fails, like when Kara is referred to as "Karen" (as she was in a draft of the translation seen in the beta), or the spot where "violinist" was misinterpreted as "violent". The game even has a few lines said by ''the wrong character''. Some more accurate translations in areas containing particularly bad grammar (as well as [[{{Bowdlerise}} the censorship issues]]) can be found [[http://www.terraearth.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1926 here.]]

An ActionAdventure game with RPGElements for the SuperNintendo, developed by Quintet. Enix (now Creator/SquareEnix) published the game in Japan, and Nintendo published it worldwide, with release dates of November, 1993 (Japan) and September, 1994 (North America). It was released in Europe in April, 1995 [[MarketBasedTitle under the title]] ''[[MarketBasedTitle Illusion of Time]]''. The game revolves around the adventures of Will, a boy with PsychicPowers who winds up having to SaveTheWorld from an ancient evil that wiped out the legendary civilizations of the past. The game never met the levels of success that ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' or ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' did, probably because it is short, but it is still well-remembered by many.

''Illusion of Gaia'' describes its setting as the "age of exploration". In practice, it's that special blend of MedievalEuropeanFantasy and VictorianBritain that {{Eastern RPG}}s are fond of mixing up, with an extra dash of the Victorian plus an emphasis on [[LandmarkOfLore Landmarks of Lore]] and explorers. The father of [[KidHero Will]], is one such explorer. Father and son went on an expedition to {{the Tower}} [[TowerOfBabel of Babel]], but a ''completely mysterious something'' went wrong and only Will made it back home. How, he doesn't know, but it did awaken his psychic potential, whatever it was.

'''Kara''': I got it! They're not hungry! My grandpa said that only humans attack living things when they're not hungry.\\

* SkewedPriorities: Kara won't let Will eat fish on the raft at first because the fish are "innocent creatures." In this case, part of her CharacterDevelopment is learning that there really isn't much choice, and that it's just the way things work.

The game was once planned to be localized under the title of ''VideoGame/SoulBlazer: Illusion of Gaia'' back when Enix's U.S. subsidiary was planning on publishing the English version themselves. Despite this, ''Soul Blazer'' and ''Illusion of Gaia'' are not actually related to each other storywise outside a certain enemy character from the former having a cameo in the latter game. Later on, Nintendo planned to localized '' VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}'' (originally titled ''Tenchi Sōzō'') under the name of ''Illusion of Gaia 2'', leading fans to treat all three games as part of a loose trilogy.

* BraggingRightsReward: You gain absolutely ''nothing'' for collecting all 50 red jewels aside from access to the BonusDungeon and its BonusBoss. Oh, and you have to fight him using Will (instead of the stronger Freedan or Shadow) so it's probably a longer fight than most of the others put together. Since you have [[WhatTheHellHero to reveal the whereabouts of an escaped slave to an incredibly sinister hooded slave trader]] to get all 50 gems, you could say that this is just LaserGuidedKarma!

* MaamShock: Will addresses ''Queen Edwina'' this way, pleading for her help while being dragged away by the king's men. She is not amused.

* GuideDangIt: Finding the fifty red jewels, almost half of which can be LostForever. The red jewel in the fisherman's pot is a double example; the manual ''has'' a guide, which tells you that's where the jewel is, but it fails to mention the condition for the pot appearing -- it's [[RandomNumberGod randomly decided each time you enter the area]].

* LostForever: The game's [[FollowThePlottedLine highly structured plot]] results in several points where the characters take one-way trans-ocean trips, making backtracking to collect items you might have missed (mostly those Red Jewels) impossible. The last of these occurs around the midpoint of the game, so after that you can actually skip something and go back for it.

** The Russian Glass game ''does'' have a wrong answer, but you're given a chance to back out if you try it, unlike the safe glasses.

** The dog that rescues you is named [[VideoGame/SoulBlazer Turbo]].

* GhostLights: Will [[ISeeDeadPeople talks to dead people]] quite a bit. They take the form of tongues of spectral fire.

* LawOfOneHundred: Collect 100 DP to earn an extra life (up to 9), allowing you to respawn in the same room when you die (albeit not at full HP).

* MaamShock: Queen Edwina is appalled when Will innocently refers to her this way. Not the most polite way to address a ''queen'', Will...

* AnimeHair: [[spoiler: The Jackal, of all people,]] has a blond, spiky, and ridiculously tall hairdo.
** Some might have interpreted it as aztician-styled hair ornament, due the readability of the sprite itself.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: The game states that the comet causes rapid evolution by [[spoiler:speeding up time]], so that organisms mutate faster. However, organisms cannot evolve, only populations -- once your chromosomes combine, you're stuck with that DNA. Granted, this ''could'' potentially work if it was ''mutating'' the organisms, similar to radiation, which is probably the original intent. [[spoiler:Of course, in that case, it would not be the biological superweapon the spirits claim it to be,]] since it's extremely rare for radiation to result in positive mutations.
** Another biology fail: The game claims that a camel's hump contains water. It does, in the sense that all organic matter does, but it's a storehouse for fat.

* BittersweetEnding: As foreshadowed earlier in the game, [[spoiler: the comet's light has an unnatural effect on the evolution of the planet ''itself''. By defeating Dark Gaia, Will and Kara stop the cycle of destruction, [[NoOntologicalInertia enabling the world to assume its proper shape]] (real-life, modern-day Earth of the 1990s). Will and Kara go there to live new lives, with no memory of their adventures or feelings for each other.]] Happily, [[spoiler: Will and Kara vow before returning to Earth to find each other - and the final scene of the game shows Will, Kara, Lance, Erik, and even Seth (but not Lilly, for some reason) together again, in a modern-day school.]]
** Furthermore, while the people of the Earth are happy, [[GreenAesop their lack of awareness of the spirit of the earth makes it sad]].

-->Kara: "It's as if we've become spirits[[note]]gods[[/note]]..."
* BraggingRightsReward: You gain absolutely ''nothing'' for collecting all 50 red jewels aside from access to the BonusDungeon and its BonusBoss. Oh, and you have to fight him using Will (instead of the stronger Freedan or Shadow) so it's probably a longer fight than most of the others put together.
** Since you have [[WhatTheHellHero to reveal the whereabouts of an escaped slave to an incredibly sinister hooded slave trader]] to get all 50 gems, you could say that this is just LaserGuidedKarma!

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience (goes hand in hand with DarkIsNotEvil): Subverted for most of the game, then [[DoubleSubversion double-subverted]] at the last minute.

* DreamMelody: Will has his grandmother's lullaby, which turns out to be the key to revealing her village of origin and an identifying call. Also, a couple dungeons have background music that turn out to be versions of other melodies.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep / NoNameGiven: Your opponent in the drinking game is simply called "The Opponent".

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler: Hamlet]], then later [[spoiler:the Jackal]], both of which get ''burned alive''. The latter's is particularly gruesome.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Bosses seldom have much in the way of context. The major exceptions are the vampires and the final boss, who are discussed quite a bit in advance of their actual appearances.
** Sand Fanger is mentioned ahead of time if you happen to talk to the right NPC in Watermia, though it's described more as a dangerous beast than a malevolent antagonist.
* GuideDangIt: Finding the fifty red jewels, almost half of which can be LostForever.
** The red jewel in the fisherman's pot is a double example; the manual ''has'' a guide, which tells you that's where the jewel is, but it fails to mention the condition for the pot appearing -- it's [[RandomNumberGod randomly decided each time you enter the area]].

** [[spoiler: Viper (the Sky Garden boss), and the vampire couple both help you get to the top of the Tower of Babel.]]
** [[spoiler: BonusBoss Solid Arm compliments Will's strength upon defeat and (seemingly) transports him back to the Tower Of Babel to save the world.]]

* KidHero: All of the protagonists appear to be in the neighborhood of 12-15 years old. Will is a bit taller than his friends, so presumably he is a little older, but definitely no older than 15. Will's cousin Neil is the only exception, appearing to be in his late teens or early twenties.
** Lilly celebrates her 15th birthday at one point in the game, so it can be assumed that the ages of the other kids are in that area. Erik is likely the youngest, and Will is just a tad taller, so possibly older.

** The Moon Tribe looks like a spirit enemy from ''SoulBlazer''.

* ShowDontTell: Will narrates the story in some of the more plot-heavy bits, but the translation has an unfortunate habit of turning his narration into dialogue and his dialogue into narration. It's particularly confounding in the raft sequence, in which it magnifies the StrangledByTheRedString aspect of Will and Kara's romantic relationship.

* SupremeChef: Grandma Lola, probably - as often, the translation is inconsistent. ForeignQueasine is also involved. Her signature dish is snail pie, but Will thinks it smells delicious and Grandpa Bill ate four slices. On the other hand, she made some soldiers sick with a different pie, so it could be that she's a LethalChef and Grandpa Bill just has very unusual tastes.

* TheUnfought: [[spoiler: The Jackal. He's killed by a booby trap triggered by Will's flute in a cut-scene just before the actual boss battle of the Egyptian temple.]]

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: [[spoiler:The approaching comet grants humanity amazing power, causing them to be driven mad and change into demons.]]
* YinYangBomb: [[spoiler:In the end, Will (the Knight of Darkness) and Kara (the Knight of Light) perform a FusionDance to become a souped-up version of the Dark Knight Shadow, with a new move, the Firebird.]]

* [[DefrostingIceQueen Defrosting Ice Princess]]: Kara, who gains a great deal of humility the longer she spends away from the castle.

* [[spoiler: EarthAllAlong: After defeating the comet, the world assumes its natural shape, which is that of present-day Earth.]]

** [[EleventhHourRanger Tenth Hour Ranger]]: Shadow himself.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Viper (the Sky Garden boss), and the vampire couple both help you get to the top of the Tower of Babel.]]

* HeroicSacrifice / SomeoneHasToDie: [[spoiler: Hamlet the pig allows himself to be cooked and eaten so a village doesn't have to starve. In a re-translation of the game from the original Japanese, his sacrifice makes more sense; The tribe was cannibalistic, eating its own people to survive, and Hamlet willingly throws himself into their fire so that the tribe doesn't eat the party...or more of their own.]]

* RegionalBonus: Beyond the increased difficulty, the international versions of the game have bug-fixes and graphics alterations. Some are for {{Bowdleri|se}}zation purposes, but others add flavor to the game. For instance, the second boss went from run-of-the-mill giant bird to winged Babylonian-style statue.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFajPdNlRjQ#t=1m16s Here for those, who want to see the bird in action without the statue on its head.]]

* ThreateningShark: There is a tense moment with a school of sharks during the shipwreck, but it turns out that [[ImNotHungry they're not hungry]].
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Of the [[TwoGirlsToATeam two girls on the team]], Lilly has a [[OneOfTheBoys boyish attitude]], while Kara is stereotypically feminine and under-prepared for the rigors of adventuring.

** The Skeleton head enemy from VideoGame/ActRaiser is in Angel Village.
** The Moon Tribe looks like a spirit enemy from SoulBlazer.