Wishing everyone a Happy 20th Anniversary!

Exactly 20 years ago, on December 19, 1996, Terranigma was released outside of Japan, marking this day as its 20th anniversary. Maybe you'll celebrate this day by replaying the game? Or maybe just take a moment to reminisce the first time you played it. In any case, Happy Anniversary to everyone who had made this wonderful game and all the fans out there!

20 years ago #天地創造 was released on #SNES in PAL territories as #Terranigma! Happy anniversary! 🎆 #RETROGAMING pic.twitter.com/tqCFaNM9qG

— Terranigma Corner (@trrngm) December 19, 2016

Terranigma Beta Version

Terranigma, AKA Tenchi Sōzō in Japan, is an action RPG developed by Quintet and published by Enix / Nintendo for the Super Nintendo in 1995 / 1996. Unfortunately, the game was never released in the US, but managed to attain cult status in Japan and Europe, regarded by some RPG fans as one of the best role playing games on the system. Before the game was released, gaming magazines published some beta screenshots, in which we can see some interesting differences:

• It was possible to climb towers using claws / bare hands, instead than chains (it’s possible to climb some walls with claws in the final game, but only much later in the game)
• There was some sort of green plant around the HUD
• Different rooms layouts
• In the first tower, the second floor looked like the third floor from the final game

A video from the same beta version was also published in “brute press” (?) VHS Vol.24 July 1995 (【非売品】ブルートプレス Vol.24 1995年7月号). If you notice more differences, let us know in the comments below!

Thanks to Youloute, Pantalytron, Crediar and Celine for the contributions!

Source: Unseen64

Translation of the Fan Theory from 2ch Regarding the Ending of Terranigma

Carried by a bird, Ark flew above the whole world, from one corner to the other, finally descending to Storkolm.

There, Overworld Ark greeted him: “Yo, finally you came!”
Underworld Ark was dumbfounded: “Huh? Is this part of the dream?!”
Overworld Ark: “You’re not dreaming. Once again, you came into this world.”
Underworld Ark: “But wasn’t my duty finished? Wasn’t my form supposed to return to the void?”
Overworld Ark: “Have you already forgotten? You also have Light Gaia’s blood flowing in you. Now then. Let us fuse one last time. You still have some unfinished business, don’t you?”
Underworld Ark asked “What is this?” as a dazzling light emanated from Overworld Ark’s body. The next moment, Underworld Ark said: “Huh? My original form returned?!”
Overworld Ark’s voice: “My duty is now finished. From now on you will have to walk your own path. Now, go!”
Underworld Ark: “… Thank you…”

After that…

Overworld Elle: “Who could it be at this hour? It’s almost midnight…”

~ THE END ~

Tumblr

So I made a tumblr for more image dumps, screenshots, fan art and related paraphernalia. I posted a lot in the first day but after that it'll be at most a couple of images per day so your dashboard won't be cluttered.

If Terranigma Was a 3D Cel Shaded Game

Terranigma Group Playthrough on GameFAQs

Do you want to replay Terranigma? Did you never play it, or finish it, and would like that not be the case anymore?
There's a group playthrough on GameFAQs starting tomorrow, organized by veterans of the forum.
 I am pretty new to all of this but I can't refuse a chance to replay my favorite game and I'll help with what I can so if you have a question or you're stuck, post! I'll try and help you without spoiling the game. I really want new players to play a game as in the good old days: without guides, without walkthroughs. Just by their own effort and exploration and help from another human being.
See you there!

Announcement
First Chapter

Comiket Summer 2016 Terranigma Stand

If you're in Tokyo, please visit the Magirock Shop (Primeblue Shop) located at 東Y18A. Elle is waiting for you!

Sheet Music and Piano ver. for Terranigma songs by kimduy91

Another really wonderful playlist from YouTube for the Terranigma aficionado.

Terranigma Play Through

I really like this playthrough by CrombieTheZombie for being to the point, having descriptive titles and without the asinine commentary that accompanies most LPs.

Terranigma Debug Room Code

D2B0-3F2A
3FC2-37C7
EDC2-3717
4C23-3F47

Talk to the person in the entrance of the Elder's house for Debug Menu. Disable the code after you've used it, and save your game if you want. When using the 'Debug' option, you'll spend quite a while leveling up. Leave the room and enter again before talking to the person for other debug options. Each time you use the 'Debug' option, it sets your EXP to 90,000 (Level 34), adds 1 of all types of magic, adds 35 Magirocks, adds 1 of several types of armor, and adds 1 of several different weapons. It will only add up to 8 of each item, for reasons that almost assuredly relate to using the option too often during debugging and the game glitching for the programmers.

Credit to: Ugetab

What's the bird carrying Ark around?

As you can see, in English it was translated as a gull, which could mean any number of shore birds (source). If you think that's a bit vague, look at the Japanese version:

Here it is simply called wataridori, or migratory bird. Even the English translation hints to this in dialogues, showing how gull was just a short word to stand in for migratory bird which was impossible to use, given the cartridge limitations for the recurring names.

But there's more! On the one and only Japanese board 2ch someone pointed out that you'd need a really big migratory bird for this sort of task. Well, good thing there's already such a bird that is portrayed in both Western and Eastern mythology as carrying humans or transferring souls. Its name? Shirasagi, a term denoting all big migratory birds with long beaks and white plumage, such as the stork or the white heron.

And now you know what's that bird which carries Ark around in a bag, just like a baby (subject for infinite jokes among Japanese fans).

Even more, you can see how Ark's metamorphosis in the end all ties in neatly with this. After all, storks are symbols of the soul and its next voyage. The ancient shirasagi ceremony wonderfully portrays this role, with the dancers momentarily transformed themselves in the majestic white bird.

Let's just hope Ark turned back into a human after he reached Elle's house in Storkolm (lit., stork islet). It would be a tad hard to enter the door with such a long neck.

Great Lakes Fan Art

Clearlevel Graphic

Most people playing Tenchi Souzou cleared the game around the 32 level mark, in fact mean value being 33.8 (33.3 excluding the level 50 outliers).

Source

Terranigma Fan Art

Source: Pixiv

Terranigma Fan Art Batch

Terranigma secret credits to Enix

h/t to Gurk for the observation

Quintet Interview Collection

1993 Tomoyoshi Miyazaki Interview

Soul Blazer, Actraiser Designer

I wanted to write children’s books when I grew up, partly due to my parents’ influence. But I also loved games, and I wanted to do something that would make other children happy. I first started playing games in 4th or 5th grade, with things like Arkanoid and Tennis. Then, when I was in middle school, it became possible to play games at home, so my family bought me a computer. I would manually type out the code from game magazines and play games that way.

Dreams in Terranigma

Have you noticed that the game begins with a dream (the Continental Souls getting entrapped in the Five Towers) and Ark waking up, and ends with Ark going to sleep and another dream?

Ponderables: Ever Wonder Why?

• On the title screen, what place is that?
• Where does Ark get all that gel for his hair?
• Isn’t it boring in Crysta? What do people do all day?
• Where to all the people in Crysta sleep?
• Why can’t Ark hand the cooking lady the pot she asked for?
• How come Ark has to equip his clothes at the beginning of the game? Is he naked?
• Why can’t Ark carry more then nine of each item?
• And why can he buy more than one of each spear or armor? You never uses more than one!
• Why are there incan statues on the Underworld towers?
• Why do monsters explode?
• Are Cadets male or female?
• Why didn’t the fortuneteller or the merchants in Crysta freeze?
• For that matter, why did only humans and chickens freeze? What about the butterflies in the snowglasses (or whatever those tiny things are) or the pumpkins or the trees or even the grass? Aren’t they living beings? Haven’t they got a soul?
• Why doesn’t anyone notice that half the city is frozen?
• What is Elle weaving for the Elder in Chapter 1?
• Why hasn’t anyone left Crysta before Ark? I mean, they could go through the forest… or go down the river…
• In the continent ressurection scene, there’s a part where the screen zooms out of the world map… Well why is everything just a little bit different? And why is Mu there, if it hasn’t been ressurected yet?
• Who tied the rope that leads to the King of Kingbirds’s nest?
• How does grass grow so quick in Zue?
• Why are the nomads so paranoid with not talking to strangers?
• How do cities expand so fast?
• Why don’t the pictures in Sylvain Castle match their description?
• On the ship from Litz to Freedom, where does the crew sleep?
• How does Keinz get to every town before you do?
• How does Ark navigate his boat and fly his plane without a crew?
• How does Ark use the 3-Part-Rod like a normal everyday spear?
• Why does Mosque have an airfield?
• Why didn’t the monsters in NeoTokio die from the Asmodeus?
• Why didn’t LEIM die from the Asmodeus?
• Why didn’t Dark Gaia save Beruga?
• Did Royd and Fyda survive the airship crash?
• Why does Ark say, in the ending sequence, that Yomi came with him on his entire journey if he only had that Yomi (Light Yomi) with him on the last chapter?
• Why do they call it a “Time Bomb” if it’s switch-activated?

Source

Real Places in Terranigma

Here is a map of all the places in Terranigma and their real world counterparts. I made this with information from the game, Google Earth, Wikipedia and various forums and fansites.