Quintet's console role-playing game Illusion of Gaia features a large cast of characters.
Player characters[ | ]
Will[ | ]
- Japanese: テム
- English beta: Tim
- The main character of the game. Will takes on many forms, but this one is most likely his true form. He also reverts to the form of Will when he is not in a hostile area.
- Will was born and raised in the seaside town of South Cape. His mother, Shira, died while he was still young. One year prior to the events in the game Will accompanied his father Olman an expedition to the Tower of Babel, which met with some sort of disaster. Will somehow returned to South Cape alone, though he doesn't remember how. Will is a skilled flute player, and carries a flute he found in the Tower of Babel with him everywhere. The flute seems to be connected to the psychic powers Will starts exhibiting after returning from the Tower of Babel. While at the start of the game his abilities are limited to weak ESP and psychokinesis, he gains more powerful abilities later.
Freedan and Shadow[ | ]
- Japanese: フリーダンFurīdan, シャドウShadō
- English beta: Freedan, Shadow
- Freedan is a dark knight, and Shadow is a humanoid construct of energy. Will has the ability to take on the shape of these two beings by utilizing statues of them in the Dark Space. In the final stages of the game, Will takes on the form of Shadow seemingly unaided. Whether this is his own acquired ability or a property inherent to the comet and Tower of Babel is unknown. It is also unknown if Will simply takes the forms of these beings, if he is actually replaced by them and takes their place as a statue for brief times, or if they are spirits who possess him and use him as an avatar. Whatever the means, these beings are completely benevolent to Will during the game despite their fearsome nature.
Will's party[ | ]
Princess Kara[ | ]
- Japanese: カレン姫Karen-hime
- English beta: Karen
- Kara is the daughter of King Edward. She has lived most of her life within the castle walls, always dreaming of a life of excitement outside her “prison of silk and gold”. It is when she decides to run away from the castle that she meets Will, though it is not long before the castle guards come for her and her true identity is revealed. When Will is summoned to the castle, Kara confides to him that she is afraid of the strange turn toward cruelty she has observed in her parents, and wants to leave the castle for good. When Will breaks out of the castle dungeon later, he takes Kara with him. Though Kara's spoiled and willful ways tend to get Will and the others into trouble, she is eager to earn Will's approval. Over the course of the game Will and Kara fall in love.
- When Kara follows Will into the Tower of Babel near the end of the game, she learns that she is the descendant of the ancient Light Knight. She and Will join together to become Shadow and destroy the comet. Though she and Will are reborn into new lives in the drastically different restored world, the final scene of the game shows that they are reunited.
Hamlet[ | ]
- Japanese: ペギーPegī
- English beta: Becky
- Hamlet is Kara’s pet pig, and a smart one at that. Hamlet follows Kara everywhere, and is said to have a “pig power”. He aids in Will’s escape from the prison in Edward’s castle, and later follows the party to Euro. Shortly after meeting up with Hamlet, a savage tribe of starving children captures the party. Hamlet sacrifices his life to save the team and provide food to the tribe. Erik then makes a comment “to eat or not to eat”, alluding to the famous Hamlet Soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
- The game seems to imply that Hamlet is Shira reincarnated to watch over Will, but then Hamlet is apparently revealed to have a soul distinct from Shira's at the end.
Lance[ | ]
- Japanese: ロブ Robu
- English beta: Rob
- Will’s best friend, and a member of the seaside gang. Lance and Will have much in common. Lance's father joined Olman to explore the Tower of Babel, leaving Lance at home. Like Will, Lance lost his father during the expedition. Despite this experience, Lance has an adventurous spirit. When Lance notices Will acting strangely, he leads Seth and Erik on a trip in search of him, inadvertently joining Will in his quest to find the Mystic Statues. Lance eventually falls in love with Lilly, and the two settle down together in Watermia after finding Lance's missing father. Lance is seen reunited with Will in the new world at the end of the game.
Seth[ | ]
- Japanese: モリス Morisu
- English beta: Morris
- Seth is the more reserved member of the seaside gang, and the one who usually wins their card games. He is very intelligent, and seems to have retreated into his studies in order to escape from his bad home life; his parents are constantly fighting. It is Seth who first describes Will's powers as psychic abilities. Seth is eaten by a monstrous fish known as Riverson not long after the journey begins.
- The party encounters Seth in a few other instances throughout the game. While escaping Mu in an undersea tunnel, Seth communicates with them via Morse code and explains how his spirit has united with Riverson, the monster fish who ate him. Seth is also seen for the final time as a spirit at the top of the Tower of Babel, and goes on to be reborn in the new world.
Erik[ | ]
- Japanese: エリック Erikku
- English beta: Eric
- Erik is the final member of the seaside gang, and the least mature. His home life is very comfortable; his family was the first family to move to South Cape and also the richest. Erik is excitable - he alerts the other boys to Kara’s presence in South Cape, and though he expects everyone to be as excited as he is, no one cares. When he joins Will to search for the Mystic Statues, Erik is naïve and easily frightened, but he ends up becoming one of Will's most stalwart companions. Erik risks his life to save slaves, is held hostage by vampires, and is known to make several comedic comments through out the game. Erik later returns to South Cape via Neil’s airplane, and is seen again in the new world.
Lilly[ | ]
- Japanese: リリィ Rirī
- English beta: Lilly
- Lilly is a girl from Itory village, a village founded by remnants of the Incan people who hide themselves from the rest of the world. Like most of the people of Itory, Lilly has a unique ability - she can change herself into a dandelion puff and float around as she pleases. The elder of her village sends her to help Will escape from the dungeon at Edward Castle. She appears again soon afterward to escort Will and Kara to her village to show them that Will’s grandparents are quite safe. From there, she continues to travel with Will on his quest for the Mystic Statues. She later falls in love with Lance.
Neil[ | ]
- Japanese: ニール Nīru
- English beta: Neil
- Neil is Will’s long lost cousin who lives alone in a cottage near the Nazca Lines. After disappearing Neil took up inventing, and has created many devices from the telescope to the camera, but his best work of all is his aircraft. Neil applies his considerable intelligence to helping Will search for the Mystic Statues so he might eventually solve the mystery of the Tower of Babel. Though great, Neil's inventions always lack something essential - for example, his airplane crashed into the sea, forcing the team to encounter the vampires.
- Later in the game it is revealed that Neil is the heir to the Rolek company, the largest trade company in the world. Will discovers Rolek is in fact a front for the slave trade, that Neil’s parents had been killed, and that Moon Tribe spirits were impersonating Neil’s parents so that he would learn the truth. After some soul-searching, Neil decides to take over as president of Rolek in order to bring an end to the slave trade. He helps Will near the end of the game by flying him to the Tower of Babel in his new airplane.
Other characters[ | ]
Gaia[ | ]
- Japanese: ガイア Gaia
- English beta: Gaia
- In her own words, Gaia is "the source of all life". Will first encounters Gaia by entering a portal that connects to a dimension known as Dark Space. Gaia explains that Will can enter the Dark Space because he is the chosen one. During the game, the player will return to Dark Space many times to heal and save their game. Gaia also offers advice about the area, a warnings about future dangers, and occasionally new special abilities.
Olman[ | ]
- Japanese: オールマン Ōruman
- English beta: Olman
- Will’s long lost father. Olman is said to be an exceptionally great explorer. During his last journey to the Tower of Babel, on which Will joined him, Olman went missing. It is eventually revealed that Olman died in the Tower due to the altered flow of time there. He went on to become a spirit, watching over Will. Olman and Will reunite at the end of the game, where he imparts all of his spiritual enlightenment to Will. At that point he takes Will to the top of the tower. Olman meets with Will and Kara one last time after the before world takes its proper shape. Olman says that Will and Kara may never meet again in the new world; however, they are together again.
Grandpa Bill and Grandma Lola[ | ]
- Japanese: ビルじいちゃん Biru-jiichan, ローラ あちゃん Lola-achan
- English beta: Grandpa Bill and Grandma Lola
- Bill and Lola are the parents of Shira, Will's mother. They look after Will when his father disappears. Bill is a famed architect who helped design the prison under Edward Castle. Lola has a reputation as a good cook, but lately has begun to create odd dishes because of her worry for Will. She taught both Olman and Will the melody of Itory Village, which she hums to herself when she is worried. The game implies, but does not state outright, that Lola (and possibly Bill as well) is an Itory villager. Lola in particular has a prophetic power, and she predicts Will's journey.
King Edward and Queen Edwina[ | ]
- Japanese: エドワード国王 Edowādo-kokuō, エドワード王妃 Edowādo-Ōhi
- English beta: King Edward and Queen Edward
- King Edward is the ruling monarch of the continent where South Cape is located. He and the queen seem to be falling into corruption and evil, to the growing consternation of their daughter Kara. The king is depicted as a very greedy man who will throw anyone who opposes him into the dungeon, and the queen hires a hunter called the Jackal for unspecified reasons near the beginning of the game. They order the Jackal to search for Olman’s ring at Will’s house to no avail, and they later send Jackal out to track Kara.
Jackal[ | ]
- Japanese: ブラックパンサー Burakku Pansā
- English beta: Black Panther
- Jackal is the bounty hunter hired by Queen Edwina to carry out “odd jobs” for the kingdom. Under the employ of the king and queen Jackal raids Will’s house in search of Olman’s ring. Later he is sent out to search for Kara, and follows Will's party during their adventures. Jackal finally reveals himself to Will when he takes Kara hostage in the Pyramid, and reveals that he knows Will’s secret of transformation. Will plays his flute to trigger one of the Pyramid's traps, fatally burning the Jackal.
Gem the jeweler/Solid Arm[ | ]
- Japanese: 宝石商ジェム Hōsekisho Jemu
- English beta: Jeweler Gem
- Gem the jeweler offers rewards for any red jewels Will finds. Gem always states that he is a master of disguise who “controls the 7 seas”. He appears in every town and always changes his appearance. Gem's true form is Solid Arm, a boss who appeared in the game Soul Blazer as Metal Mantis. If the player finds all 50 red jewels, Gem takes Will to his secret mansion, where he tells Will of how after Blazer (the hero from Soul Blazer) defeated him Solid Arm was put to sleep and his power sealed in 50 red jewels. He maintained a physical human form and manipulated the labor trade to use forced laborers to search for the jewels. When defeated, the soul of the Solid Arm claims that Will is stronger than Blazer and sends Will to the Tower of Babel.
Riverson[ | ]
- Japanese: リバイヤサン Ribaiyasan
- English beta: Riverson
- The fish who eats Seth and destroys the Incan Gold Ship, separating the entire party. Although he is never actually seen by the player, Lilly describes him in the original Japanese as ferocious and large like a demon. Later in the game, Seth's form changes to that of Riverson's, and Riverson informs him that evolution is being affected by Dark Gaia's comet. Nothing more about Riverson is revealed, but Riverson's name is a mis-Romanization of Leviathan.
- It is worth noting that Riverson is stated to be a species rather than a singular creature in the original Japanese. Seth has been reincarnated as one of those creatures, and it is in fact his fellow Riversons/leviathans who informed him of the comet. He goes on to imply that Riversons/leviathans are evolved humans (and presumably, like all evolution in the game, that evolution happened because of the comet).[1]
Demons[ | ]
Castoth[ | ]
- Japanese: ラヴァーボディ Ravābodi
- The guardian of the Incan ruins. A giant red creature resembling the traditional Judeo-Christian depiction of devils, he rests at the bottom of a massive pit, only his head and claws visible above the ground. Castoth's challenge level was increased in the North American and European versions of the game. In the original Japanese version, this boss could be damaged at any time; in the later releases, it can only be damaged after knocking its claws away.
Viper[ | ]
- Japanese: ハイウインド Haiuindo
- A bird monster with a statue of a man's face for a head, it guards the Sky Garden; when Will kills it, the Sky Garden loses its' levity and plummets into the ocean. Viper appears again at the end of the game and assists Will's ascent up the Tower of Babel. In the original Japanese release Viper simply looked like a large blue bird. Its sprite was altered in later releases to increase interest.
Jack and Silvana[ | ]
- Japanese: ジャックモンド Jakkumondo, シルヴァーナ Shiruvāna
- A vampire couple; they seek the Mystic Statue hidden on Mu. They often bicker amongst themselves, and as the only boss characters to have any dialog, they also have somewhat of a back story. Near the end of the game the vampires appear to Will and Kara and explain that they were affected by the light of the comet at some point. As a result they cannot die. They must wait for the comet to be destroyed before their souls can rest.
Sand Fanger[ | ]
- Japanese: サンドファンガー Sandofangā
- A giant centipede that dwells near the Great Wall of China. It can lay thousands of eggs, and secretes a bodily fluid that is very helpful in curing disease. The fourth Mystic Statue is within its body.
The Mummy Queen[ | ]
- Japanese: ファーロス (Fārosu)
- The Mummy Queen has the ability to split herself into several smaller spirits. When first encountered the Queen appears as a beautiful woman, but as she takes damage in battle she begins to decompose into a sickly green form, and finally she reverts to her mummified form shortly before her destruction. She holds the fifth mystic statue.
Solid Arm[ | ]
- An armored preying mantis monster with a head of bright red hair. He is an optional bonus boss and a cameo character from Soul Blazer, one of few bosses whom the player can only face as Will. Also known as Jeweler Gem.
Chaos Comet[ | ]
- An artificially created comet produced by a lost civilization. The light radiated by the comet affected the evolution of living beings and even the planet itself; when war broke out, the comet fell into wicked hands and was used as a weapon. Though the comet was eventually sent hurtling into space, it returns every 800 years, destroying civilizations and mutating entire races into monstrous creatures.
Dark Gaia[ | ]
- As the Gaia which aids Will throughout the game represents life, Dark Gaia represents death itself; it attacks when Will and Kara, in the form of Shadow, are about to destroy the comet.