Asura's Wrath (PS3)
Metal Gear Solid (PS1)
Snatcher (Sega CD)
Rondo of Blood (PCECD)
Bonk's Adventure (TGCD)
Clock Tower - The First Fear (PS1-J)
Gaia Seed (PS1-J)
Metroid Zero Mission (WiiU)
Armored Core (PS1)
Rain (PS3)
Gaia Seed is a shmup made by Techno Soleil in 1996 for the PlayStation 1. Before we get into the review, we have to talk about Techno Soleil as a company because it is definitely not your traditional video game developer.
When looking them up, I could not find much information on them. It wasn't until I discovered that they are still in business, that I found some reliable information via their website through Google Translate. It appears that they made 4 video games in total and all for the PS1: Gaia Seed, Rapid Angel, TALL Infinity, and TALL Twins Tower. I suppose TALL Infinity did well enough to warrant a sequel and it was even released in North America though not until 2003 (very late in the PS1 lifespan). Strangely, there is no mention of Techno Soleil on the back of the case for the NA release. Based on the company names on the back of the NA case, I'd wager it was translated by Hamster (of Arcade Archives fame) and published by Agetec. However, they ceased video game development with TALL Twins Tower in 2000. I wonder if 9/11 had anything to do with it not coming out stateside but it was more likely low sales numbers due to everyone moving on to the PS2 and Xbox by that point.
So what do you do when your fledgling video game division flounders? You start making stuff like septic tank management software instead. In fact, their septic tank management software seems to have done so well that they started offering it as a cloud service in 2013. That's not all they make these days but that one certainly catches your attention. They also make government software, ID card software, and digital signage software to name a few.
So Gaia Seed was Techno Soleil's first game ever. It is a very respectable first try but it is far from the best shmup on the PS1. Gaia Seed's claim to fame is its shield mechanic. Instead of 1-hit deaths that are so common in shmups, Gaia Seed has a shield bar at the bottom of the screen that slowly regenerates when you take no damage. Think Halo. As such, Gaia Seed is somewhat beginner friendly for those new to shmups. I'm not great at shmups without tons of practice and even I managed to get to the next to the last boss on my second try.
Otherwise, gameplay is basic shmup affair. There are 4 different powerups and only some of them stack. Once you reach a full stack, further powerups just award points. There is also another slowing charging bar at the bottom of the screen that is your super move. The super move changes depending on what your main attack is. It is either a mega powerful forward laser or a short sustained homing attack. My biggest frustration gameplay-wise is that some of the projectiles blend in very easily with the background, especially on 4th level's boss.
Another interesting fact about the game is that the intro and endings are voiced in English by default though it is very hard to understand. If you change the voiceover to Japanese, you get English subtitles. You aren't missing much if you ignore the intro and endings. Yes, endings...you get the true ending if you just avoid getting killed by the last boss and let the timer run out. Such a strange design choice.
Gaia Seed isn't the worst way to spend an afternoon. The soundtrack is not bad at all. I probably enjoyed that aspect of the game the most. I'd give it a 7 out of 10 but that is mostly propped up by the shield mechanic and the soundtrack. I was intrigued enough by Techno Soleil's history to pickup a copy of TALL Infinity on eBay since it can easily be had for under $10 even with shipping. I'm curious to see if their single North American release is any good.
