Secret of Evermore is an
action RPG developed and published by Square Soft (now known as
Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo. It was released in North
America on the first of October in 1995, and to PAL regions in
February the following year. It stars a teenaged boy and his pet dog
(both named by the player) who end up stuck in the world of Evermore
and must work together if they wish to ever get home.
We open up to a black
and white flashback of Podunk, USA, 1965. A malfunction in a lab atop a mansion results in a massive flash of
light. Then we jump thirty years to the present where our main
character and his dog are leaving a theater. I wonder what's playing?
The dog spots a cat, chasing it into the mansion we just saw, now run-down and abandoned. They come across the lab hidden at the top (I guess an underground lab was just too mainstream) with a large machine inside. The dog begins chewing the wiring, activating the device and sending them to the land of Evermore. Maybe he should have gotten a goldfish.
The dog spots a cat, chasing it into the mansion we just saw, now run-down and abandoned. They come across the lab hidden at the top (I guess an underground lab was just too mainstream) with a large machine inside. The dog begins chewing the wiring, activating the device and sending them to the land of Evermore. Maybe he should have gotten a goldfish.
Since Secret of Evermore
is an action RPG, that means there are no random battles. Fighting
happens in real time with enemies coming at you as they would in an
action or adventure game. The only difference is you gain experience
points through fighting them and level up as time goes on. The battle/item system is pretty much
the same as in Secret of Mana, where you charge your weapon before
you attack.
Evermore is split up
into four parts: Prehistoria, Antiqua, Gothica, and Omnitopia. Each
area represents a moment in time. Prehistoria speaks for itself,
filled with cavemen and dinosaurs, and you find your primary weapon
being a bone; Antiqua, based in ancient antiquity, has a Colosseum and pyramid; Gothica is all medieval castles with a strong dragon population;
and Omnitopia is a futuristic space station that you get to see a
little bit of before escaping to Prehistoria. Your pet also changes
form in each of the four areas going hand in hand with the location's
theme, from a prehistoric wolf to a robo-dog.
You can switch between the human or his dog
at any time in the game with the AI taking control of who you're not
using. With the human AI you can set him to be defensive in battle
or go all out; with the dog, you can have him attack any nearby
enemies or search for alchemy ingredients.
Alchemy replaces the
usual magic systems that you'll find in other RPGs. Instead of magic
points you need to find ingredients for your Alchemy Formula.
Alchemy Formulas are given to you from other alchemists that you
meet throughout the course of the game. It's recommended that you
set your dog to search for ingredients and only have him ready to
attack anything that moves for bosses and stronger enemies you meet
out on the field. If all goes well your dog will lead you to a spot
where an alchemy ingredient is being held. Otherwise, he'll just be
sniffing at the ground all day. You can also manually control your dog
to search, whether you're controlling the main character or his dog. When you have the right ingredients you'll be
able to cast magic on enemies.
There are four kinds of
weapons in the game: sword, spear, axe, and a bazooka. I'm not even
kidding, you actually get to fire a bazooka! Of the first three weapon types,
there's a version in each area of Evermore. As they are used, the
skill level rises, up to level three, and with each level increase you get a new charge attack you can use
in battle. Some weapons are also needed in order to remove obstacles
such as plants and rocks.
Another thing that
changes across regions is currency. In Prehistoria they exchange
talons for goods and services; In Antiqua it's gemstones; Gothica,
gold coins; and in Omnitopia we have credits. If you find
yourself in one region with only the currency in the previous
region, don't worry. There are people who will convert your currency
over to that region's so you'll be good to go.
Cons: Overall,
this game just bores me. I like the world and how it's setup, but
there's nothing that really pulls you in. The main character's
personality is just bland and his biggest traits from what I can see
is looking like Archie from the Archie comics and sprouting off about
B movies when he finds himself in a new situation. I know this is
back in the 16-bit era, but come on, we got Final Fantasy VI one
year before this came out. I know Square Soft has a more interesting
protagonist in them.
Searching for
ingredients is a tedious experience. It makes me
long for the simpler magic systems in other RPGs than saying, “Oh,
wow, this is so cool and original!” or whatever they were going
for. It felt like they were trying to go for something different and
in the end it just wasn't executed that well.
Another thing that
annoys me about this game is the save feature. You can only save your
game at a certain point and you have to perform an action before you
can do it. In the first town you find in Prehistoria you have to pay
a man to sleep in his inn and then the game gives you the option to
save. Further on in the game you have to shop for items (you don't
have to buy anything so that's one silver lining) and only then can
you save. Would it have been so hard just to have a save icon or
something? This is just ridiculous. It feels like they're trying to
be different and standout when all they're doing is making things
unnecessarily complicated.
Conclusion: It's
a game with an interesting setup, but lacks a hook to pull you in and
keep you interested in the characters, and for an RPG the characters
are just as important, if not more so, than the world. It tries to
be unique and just comes across as a chore in the end.
I'm
trying something a little different this time around. Instead of
rating it by ten I'm going to rank it by Get it/Try it/Skip it, inspired by
the Buy/Rent/Pass setup that other reviewers have used.
Therefore...
ToriJ
Says: Try it.
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