In the first Toshinden, Gaia was the monstrous final boss (except on the harder difficulty settings where Sho was fought if the player beat every other character without losing). Wearing his armour, he took on the appearance of a Japanese warlord except for the 2 huge extra arms coming from his shoulders and ending in yellow claws. He would have been an extremely cheap character except for his one glaring weakness: Gaia is the second slowest character in the games. His jump, which launched him so high it gave both players time to think about their next few attacks before he landed, almost made up for it though. In the second Toshinden, Gaia has cast away his armour and is revealed to have Middle-back length silver hair and brown eyes. He wears gold-with-black-trim chest and shoulder armour, baggy red pants, and black and metal knee-length boots. His attacks had been toned down substantially from the first game; he could no longer kill in 4 hits. Also, he no longer had his impossible jump. In return, he was made slightly faster and easier to use.
Story
Gaia and his wife Kaede were both part of the Himitsu Kesshu organization that sponsored the Toshindaibukai tournaments. His wife was at that time the Uranus of the organization, making up part of the "Divine Four" (the four highest positions in the organization under the leader). Gaia himself was practically a member, but the one who would become the next Uranus thought it too dangerous to have them both in the Divine Four. Gaia, Kaede, their unnamed son, and their daughter Ellis were driving in the family vehicle when it spun out of control and exploded. Gaia and Ellis miraculously survived, but Kaede and their son were not as lucky.
Gaia knew it had been no accident, and he left Ellis in the care of an orphanage so he could pursue his family's assailiant without any hindrance. Gaia was promoted into the Divine Four, and he eventually learned that the woman who had become Uranus in Kaede's stead had masterminded what had happened. Filled with hatred for Uranus, Gaia illegally held the Toshindaibukai in search of strong warriors to aid him in his attack against her. Gaia met Eiji Shinjo at the tournament while searching for his older brother Sho Shinjo. Gaia announced his proposition to Eiji, but before Eiji could accept or refuse, Chaos, another member of the Divine Four, intervened and stopped the fight. Chaos told Gaia that he had been labelled as a traitor and marked for death. Gaia knew he had no other choice but to flee, for if Chaos had found him, Uranus couldn't be far behind, and he could not take her down on his own.
One year later, while still on the run, Gaia received an invitation to participate in the upcoming second Toshindaibukai tournament. Gaia realized that he could run all he wanted, but Uranus had an easier time finding him than she did breathing. He cast off his armour, and holding back nothing, fought against Uranus with everything he had; and this time, he was fighting with Eiji & co. Gaia fought his way to the organization's headquarters, meeting up with his daughter Ellis there. After telling her her true story, he went further into the tower and killed Chaos. Upon entering Uranus' chamber, however, he felt his heart leap into his throat upon discovering that she had already been killed. Gaia walked out of the tower half-fulfilled, half-revenge starved.
BATTLE ARENA TOSHIDEN 3 (ENDING)
GAIA
Gaia's ambitions ended up causing tragedy, but he put
his life on the line and fought to save the fighters
he had led into disaster.
The battle was like none ever seen before, but Gaia
had steeled himself for anything and in the face of
his power and resolve the evil plot was foiled. It was
his courageous stand that saved the fighters who had
been targeted by the Organization.
Having established peace and triumphed over evil Gaia
can finally sheath his weapon and lead a life of
solitude.
Gallery
Gaia, the boss character from Battle Arena Toshinden
