quest, finding all the Red Jewels, cannot be completed if the player fails to find some before advancing the story. Illusion of Gaia has a fixed difficulty setting. Saving is performed at Dark Spaces, which are found in combat and non-combat areas. Will can recover lost health within the Dark Spaces, and sometimes switch forms or gain abilities. Plot Setting Illusion of Gaia is set in a version of Earth that is partially historical but mostly fantasy-based. The game contains several real-world sites, such as Incan ruins, the Nazca Lines, Angkor Wat, the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian pyramids. Each of these ruins hold a piece to the final puzzle, unveiled in the legendary Tower of Babel. The story is set in the age of exploration, a period roughly corresponding to the 16th century. Christopher Columbus is mentioned. Explorers search for ancient ruins and their treasures and secrets. Many return with nothing, and some are never seen again. Will, the protagonist of the game, is the lone survivor of such an expedition. He accompanied his father, a famed explorer, on a sea journey to discover the secrets of the Tower of Babel. The explorers met with a mysterious disaster. Somehow Will made it back to his hometown, but he does not remember how. Story When the game begins, Will stumbles into a "Dark Space" where he meets a being called Gaia with a human face and a tentacled body. Gaia tells Will that he must leave his home and save the world from a coming evil. A comet is approaching, and it will bring ill fortune to the world. As he travels, Will gains the ability to change into two other forms, each with special powers: Freedan, a dark knight, and Shadow, a solid form of energy. Later the comet is revealed to be an ancient weapon from the last Blazer War, and has the power to change the shape of the world. In the ruin of Angkor Wat, Will learns that the comet's previous approaches interfered with the evolution of the world. Will and his friends travel the world and collect artifacts known as Mystic Statues. At the climax, Will and Kara reach the Tower of Babel, where Will is revealed as the Dark Knight and Kara as the Light Knight. The two knights join to form Shadow and use the ancient statues to release the ultimate