Terranigma is one of those SNES RPGs that somehow flew under the radar—especially outside Japan—which is a shame because it's fantastic. You play as Ark, this reckless kid who accidentally unleashes darkness on a frozen world, and now you've gotta literally rebuild everything from the ground up. Plants, animals, civilizations—it all comes back through your actions.

The combat feels like a smoother Secret of Mana, with this satisfying weight to your spear swings and dodges, but the world-building is what hooked me. One minute you're helping a village rediscover music, the next you're watching entire continents rise from the ocean. It's got that same "everything's connected" vibe as Illusion of Gaia, but with way more impact on how the world evolves.

Also, that soundtrack? Still stuck in my head 20 years later. If you missed this one back in the day, it's aged way better than most 16-bit RPGs.