An RPG Classic Comes to America at Last With Terranigma

An RPG Classic Comes to America at Last With Terranigma 

It only took, what, 30 years? 

Back in the olden days, when you could count the number of bits powering a video game console with just your fingers and toes, Europe always got the short end of the stick. Especially when it came to console RPGs. Japan made ‘em, the best of them got an English translation for North America, and then… well, in all but a few cases, that’s where they stalled out. Every once in a while, one of them would make their way to Europe, but that happened pretty rarely. And you never saw a role-playing game skip the U.S. altogether and go directly from Japan to Europe. Never… save for one special instance. 

Terranigma for Super NES, aka Tenchi Souzou (The Creation of Heaven and Earth), is that rare exception. Developed by Quintet, a studio that spun out of the legendary Nihon Falcom in the late ’80s, Terranigma was a Zelda-esque action-RPG that concluded Quintet’s loosely themed 16-bit “divine intervention” saga that began with ActRaiser and continued with SoulBlazer and Illusion of Gaia. Aside from generally combining action elements with touches of role-playing and a heavy focus on narrative, all of these games placed a heavy emphasis on the spiritualism.  

ActRaiser literally placed you in the role of a very Judeo-Christian God—capital G—as you guided the human race to thrive (with the help of a cute little cherub) while occasionally descending into the mortal realm to kick evil’s ass yourself. SoulBlazer took a more animistic view of spirituality as you liberated the trapped souls of pretty much everything in the world—people, animals, bugs, plants, furniture—from the clutches of a greedy tyrant. And Illusion of Gaia spanned the world while teasing a running game-length side quest that rewarded you for completionism by forcing you to make morally compromising choices.  

Terranigma brings that line of game development to its conclusion with the biggest adventure Quintet ever created for Super NES: A game that embraced role-playing elements more completely than any other title in their “saga.” Many Super NES fans place it in the same esteemed ranks as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It is, quite simply, a fantastic adventure. A classic. And until now, there’s never been a way to play it easily and legally in America. You could do one or the other, by pirating it (aka the easy but illegal way) or by importing a copy of the game, modding your Super NES to accept a European cartridge, and finally hooking it up to a television capable of displaying Europe’s PAL-standard video (aka the legal but extremely not-easy way).  

But sometimes the secret is just to… do nothing. Eventually, the universe comes around to your favor, and from time to time, god—lower-case G—helps those who don’t bother helping themselves. Case in point? Terranigma is finally coming to the U.S., meaning you can finally play it easily and legally… and on modern platforms. Even if you have never lifted a finger to experience it before now. 

Courtesy of our friends at Clear River Games, Terranigma will be coming to PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series next year—but preorders will be opening much sooner than that! This is the moment America’s elder RPG nerds have been waiting for all these years. And this time, they won’t even have to move heaven and earth to play it. As it were.