History YMMV / Terranigma

* AwesomeButImpractical:
** Apart from the useful Grass Pin or Wind Pin, most players won't end up using the Magirock system mostly due to not having a good explanation on which rings work when and where. Each ring takes a certain number of Magirocks to use, so making a Grass Pin "costs" around four Magirocks (you don't lose those Magirocks, though; when the Ring or Pin is used, those Magirocks go ''back'' into the inventory to be reused for another ring or pin). By the time they get to Bloody Mary (the boss that you actually ''can'' use Electro Rings on), many players will have to desperately search for the information that they need in order to beat her.
** Topping out your character isn't worth it that much, as the final 6 levels require ''double the EXP gained over the previous 44'', and the reward for persevering is only 46 life points, 9 strength, 11 defense and 6 luck.

* NationalStereotypes: Yunkou depicts a highly unflattering portrayal of China. The townsfolk there do not speak properly unlike the other people around the world, and the town itself is polluted and unclean, with a brownish coloration outside and ugly pipes and vents on the insides.[[note]]This is actually TruthInTelevision as Mainland China is notorious for environmental degration due to urbanization (not helping the issue is that compared to other countries China has lots and lots of Coal Plants around) with Beijing being the prime example.[[/note]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We don’t see Meilin, Perel, Meihou, Fyda, or Roy after [[spoiler:taking over Beruga’s airship. Since the airship crashes in Australia and Ark goes underground again, we don’t know if they actually survive or not. It’s heavily implied that Fyda and Roy don’t make it, but the whole situation is pretty vague.]]
** [[spoiler:The game dialogue makes it very clear that Fyda and Royd definitely won't make it, and I personally think it's actually pretty important for their character and story arcs that their story ends with them finding each other and then sacrificing themselves together to save Ark. The other three never enter the airship, and are thus probably alive.]]

** [[TheChessmaster Dark Gaia]]/[[{{Satan}} The Devil]] is the ruler of the Darkside who plans to take complete control over the world. Creating the village of Crysta and [[PlayerCharacter Ark]] to be used as his pawns for world domination, Gaia, posing as [[spoiler:the village's Elder]], manipulates Ark into opening Pandora's Box and crystallizing everybody in Crysta. Tricking Ark into awakening Dr. Beruga from his slumber in order to use his resources to start another [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt apocalypse]] and rule over a new world, Gaia brainwashes Elle's Darkside counterpart into killing a baby Ark, before later taunting Ark about how his entire life was a lie.

** Jean's political position isn't "refined communist" so much as it is pretty clearly liberal Keynesianism: He isn't in favor of the state using taxes to build up nationalized production, but rather to fund private enterprise and innovation and create demand. And yes, Louis unites the populisms of the left and the right - specifically the religious right, with his rhetorics about how technological advancements don't make people happy and they should emphasize community and spirituality instead.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: This game is often nicknamed as "The European VideoGame/ChronoTrigger". As in a JRPG that got some people of the other side of the Atlantic pretty jealous because it was not released there. Although the game wasn't as financially successful, it got a very devoted cult following.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The entire Astarica sequence. [[spoiler: Some unknown voice commands Ark to drink from a goblet, which sends him into a fever dream featuring expies of various allies, culminating in a scene where Overworld Elle acts out-of-character and kills two people before mocking Ark who apparently dies from drinking out of a goblet.]] Nothing within the game hints at any of this and never comes up ever again. Ark even comments to this effect afterwards. The only reason to even watch this in the first place is to get one Starstone after it, which are key items to complete the game.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The entire Astarica sequence is a subversion. [[spoiler: Some unknown voice commands Ark to drink from a goblet, which sends him into a fever dream featuring expies of various allies, culminating in a scene where Overworld Elle acts out-of-character and kills two people before mocking Ark who apparently dies from drinking out of a goblet.]] Nothing within the game hints at any of this and never comes up ever again. Ark even comments to this effect afterwards. However, you get one Starstone after it, which are key items to complete the game.

* EvenBetterSequel: While ''VideoGame/SoulBlazer, VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'' and ''Terranigma'' are only loosely considered a trilogy, with the latter two being more like {{Spiritual Successor}}s than sequels, ''Terranigma'' is widely considered to be easily the best of the three, and a big improvement over ''[[ContestedSequel Illusion of Gaia]].''