Gaia Master (ガイアマスター) is a fantasy board game developed by Capcom and released only in Japan. The original version, Gaia Master: Kamigami no Board Game (ガイアマスター ~神々のボードゲーム~, roughly "Gaia Master: Board Game of the Gods"), was released on the original PlayStation console on April 20, 2000.
GAIA MASTER Jiggar
Gameplay
It was later ported to the Dreamcast, under the title Gaia Master: Kessen! Seiki-ō Densetsu (ガイアマスター 決戦！世紀王伝説, "Gaia Master: Decisive Battle! Century King Legend"), on June 28, 2001 and later to the Game Boy Color, under the title Gaia Master Duel: Card Attackers (ガイアマスターDUEL カードアタッカーズ), on June 29, 2001. Promotional and character artwork was done by Kinu Nishimura.
Gameplay
As a willing participant in the game, a player chooses a hero from eight different characters including Jiggar the Treasure Hunter, who hunts for gems or Princess Tiara, she of the privileged class whose luck factor in the game awards her with bonus parcels of land.
Upon the throw of the dice, a player moves the allotted spaces on an expansive board broken up into squares. Landing on a property square opens up the option of purchasing it. Essentially, the player is joining the landlord class and may eventually build stores on his/her plots of land which doubles the rent other players have to pay if they land on it. Hoarding adjacent properties eventually helps to build up a mini-fiefdom which exacts payment from hapless opponents to build up the player's treasury.
Battles and events are also triggered when players land on certain squares, or when cards are thrown to ignite a fight. The game uses Zenny as its currency and the item also pays the rent. At the end of the day, the player with the most Zenny wins.
Story
Every one hundred years, a gnome known as Gaia Master and his floating kingdom appear in the sky. This entity regards man as mere pawns to be used in a board game akin to Parker Brothers' Monopoly. Apparently, medieval monopoly machinations make for much mirth.
Characters
Promotional artwork by Kinu Nishimura.
- Jiggar the Treasure Hunter - He is still a young boy. He is looking for a magic elixir that can cure all disease. Standard Weapon - Bowie Knife.
- Meg-Meg the Warrior - She used to work at a blacksmith making weapons and then became a great warrior. However, she is still looking for a boyfriend. Standard Weapon - Battle Axe.
- Princess Tiara - She has led a secluded life under her father's protection until now. She doesn't really understand the ways of the world, but she has a kind and strong heart. She becomes an angel knight in battle. Standard Weapon - Rapier.
- Galahad the Paladin - He is a famous knight that wanders the land fighting evil and helping people where he is needed. He is looking for a sovereign to guide him. Standard Weapon - Claymore.
- Sinbad the Bandit - He is an unknown who came from the desert. He is looking for a suitable woman who seeks adventure like he does. Standard Weapon - Jyanbya.
- Samurai Warrior Yasutsuna - Yasutsuna comes from the Eastern part of the world. He is a warrior with great honor and he is looking for another great warrior to battle. Standard Weapon - Katana.
- Ninja Master Hayate - Hayate comes from the Eastern part of the world. He is a mysterious Ninja and silently crept into the Gaia Master world. Standard Weapon - Kunai.
- Goliath the Rogue Priest - Goliath is barely a priest. He is very devoted to three things: money, women and beer. However, he still strives for perfection--to cultivate his physique. Standard Weapon - Mace.
- Agathe the Witch - Agathe is not an evil witch. She is tired of cursing people and is very lonely. She often recalls her loneliness to herself. The last time that she ventured out into the world was the Great Council of the Witches. Standard Weapon - Gypsy Tower.
- Songoku - Songoku is a famous Chinese fable character. He is a clever half-monkey that travelled with a Buddhist priest. Standard Weapon - Priest's Staff.
- Dante - ???? Standard Weapon - Infinity Gun.
- Dark - ???? Standard Weapon - Blacksword.
- Variel - A tiny blue fairy. She is the player's guide in Story Mode. Standard Weapon - Pixie Knife.
Stages
The game has seven stages in total:
- City of the West Wind (西風の都)
- Mirage Ruins (陽炎の遺跡)
- Green Sanctuary (緑の聖域)
- Bushido Castle (ブシドーキャッスル)
- Ruined Country of the Ring (円環の廃墟の国)
- Demon City Pandemonium (魔都パンデモニアム)
- Tokyo 199X (東京199X)
Trivia
- Princess Tiara was originally planned to be in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom as a playable character, but wasn't included due to time constraints.[1]
- Agathe appeared in Doctor Strange's ending in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Credits
PSX Version [Gaia Master: Kamigami no Board Game]
- Cast
- Toshihiko Seki as Jiggar the treasurehunter
- Taichiro Hirokawa as Galahad the Paladin
- Emi Shinohara as Meg-meg the warrior
- Banjo Ginga as Goliath the rogue Priest
- Ryuzo Ishino as Ninja master Hayate
- Akiko Yajima as Princess Tiara
- Chikao Otsuka as Samurai warrior Yasutsuna
- Nachi Nozawa as Sinbad the bandit
- Keiko Han as Agathe the witch
- Rica Matsumoto as Magic monkey Son Gokuh
- Etsuko Kozakura as Belial the Pixie
- Katsuji Mori as Dante the diabolus
Character Design: Kinu Nishimura
Planning: Hirokazu Fujisaki, Yasuhiro Seto, Osami Okano (Nexus Interact), Masaki Hashizume (Nexus Interact)
Programmer: Masahiro Atsuji (Nexus Interact), Shinichi Sato (Nexus Interact), Daiki Kawanishi (Nexus Interact), Kazuaki Suzuki (Nexus Interact), Atsushi Motouchi (Nexus Interact), Masahiko Kato (Nexus Interact), Issei Shiono (Nexus Interact), Kiyomi Kaneko, Masatsugu Shinohara
Object Designer: Chie Fujimoto, Kimio Yamazoe, Katsumi Toda, Hideaki Katagiri, Akemi Kurihara, Takenori Kimoto, Hideki Ino, Yuji Imamura, Hiroo Nishimura
Scroll Designer: Akiko Nagashima, Kazuki Nakayama, Etsuko Hirose, Kiyoyuki Suito
Sound: Masafumi Ogata (AMS co., ltd.), Toshio Kajino
Sales/Planning: Motoyoshi Ito, Noriyoshi Tanaka, Saori Ogawa
Marketing: Hiromitsu Furubeppu, Koji Nakajima
Publicity: Junichi Nagai, Yuko Nakamura, Ryosuke Hagiwara
Customer: Shigeharu Shimizu
Character Rights: Hiroaki Yanagiguchi
Software Manual: Masako Honma, Yumiko Uchida
Director: Tomohiko Saito
Producer: Tatsuya Minami
Executive Producer: Yoshiki Okamoto
Special Thanks: Atsushi Tomita, Naoto Tominaga, Haruo Suzuki (Nexus Interact), Hiroshi Horiguchi (Two-Five), Hitomi Matsumoto (Two-Five)
©Satomi Iwase/Media Works Inc.
Capcom All Staff, and You
Support Company: Nexus Interact
Presented by: Capcom
Dreamcast Version [Gaia Master: Kessen! Seikiou Densetsu]
- Cast
Jiggar: Toshihiko Seki
Galahad: Taichiro Hirokawa
Meg-Meg: Emi Shinohara
Goliath: Banjo Ginga
Hayate: Ryuzo Ishino
Tiara: Akiko Yajima
Yasutsuna: Chikao Otsuka
Sinbad: Nachi Nozawa
Agathe: Keiko Han
Son Goku: Rica Matsumoto
Belial: Etsuko Kozakura
Dante: Katsuji Mori
Character Design: Kinu Nishimura
Planning: Tomohiko Saito, Akiteru Naka
Programmer: Kazumasa Yamanouchi, Hiroyuki Yamashita
Object Designer: Kimio Yamazoe, Hideaki Katagiri
Scroll Designer: Akiko Nagashima, Etsuko Hirose
Sound: Toshio Kajino
Director: Hirokazu Fujisaki
Producer: Tatsuya Minami, Koji Nakajima
Executive Producer: Yoshiki Okamoto
Special Thanks: Capcom All Staff, and You
Presented by: Capcom
Game Boy Color Version [Gaia Master Duel: Card Attackers]
- Seisaku Staff
Planner: Dai Mizuguchi & Project Gaia Master
Programmer: Naoaki Hashimoto, Yuichirou Satou, Noboru Nishizawa (APS), Yoshinori Ozaki (APS)
Graphic Designer: Masanori Oose, Kazumi Yogi, Akemi Ootaka, Seiji Sato, Asami Deguchi
Planning Support: Riki Ikegami (APS)
Director: Dai Mizuguchi
Producer: Yukikazu Ozaki
Executive Producer: Tomoaki Fujimoto
- Capcom Staff
Producer: Tatsuya Minami, Koji Nakajima
Support: Hirokazu Fujisaki
Sound: Seiko Kobuchi
Special Thanks: Makoto Maeda, Tadahiro Mukaide, Kaju Ishii, Yuji Ootou, VSP, All Capcom Staff & All Takumi Staff & Original "Gaia Master" ~Kamigami no Board Game~ Staff, ....and You
Reprogramed By: Takumi Corporation
Presented By: Capcom®
Gallery
Character artwork
Box art
References