Secret of Evermore

Square's first American-made title is sure to be a hit with its 16-bit devotees, but Secret of Evermore doesn't reach the heights achieved by Final Fantasy III and Chrono Trigger.

Podunk Punk

The action starts when your hero, a young man from Podunk, U.S.A., and his faithful dog stumble across a time machine. You end up in a prehistoric village, trying to find your way back to Podunk, but before you're safely home, you'll fight the standard array of prehistoric creatures, time- jumping bad guys, and other assorted miscreants.

Although you start with a lowly bone for a weapon, you trade up to more powerful weapons like axes and spears. You also find various Alchemy power-ups, such as fireballs, though you must find the ingredients in order to activate them. All this hunting for the Alchemy seems like a lot of work for such a minor payoff since the graphics illustrating the spells are a few escalators down from previous Square titles.

But the most disappointing element of Evermore is the bland story line. You never care about the characters or what they do, regardless of how long it takes them to do it.

Sputtering Spells

Graphically, the game will remind role-players of Secret of Mana -- down to the annoying bar-charging weapon meter and cute, colorful graphics.

Some bosses, like the giant bug, are huge, but oddly enough, unimpressive. Lots of bite but no bark.

Which leads us into the sounds, which are all bark and no bite...literally. Along with some eerie background music (and annoying drum beating in the Prehistoria stage), what you hear most in this game is your dog barking -- constantly. Otherwise the sounds are standard RPG stuff.

The revolving circular menu takes some getting used to. But the action moves pretty fast, though you'll find you're gritting your teeth at the weapon-charging meter.

The Secret's Out

Evermore is no Fantasy, but it should satisfy true Square fans. Square hasn't lost any ground in the current batch of RPGs, but the Secret to its continued success will be a title other than this one.

Delayed slightly so Square could bring out Chrono Trigger first, this is Square's first title developed exclusively in the US. In the 1950's, a group of scientists created an artificial dimension called Evermore, a place that would allow them to live out their peaceful fantasies. Then something went wrong, and they became trapped there. Thirty years later, a young boy and his dog stumble over the equipment in the scientists' decaying mansion, and are accidentally transported to a world that's not as peaceful as it was meant to be.

Evermore is a big game, full of humor and terrific graphics. It's big, it looks great, and I liked it a lot. The magic system, based on alchemy, is new. You have to find and use all sorts of mystical ingredients in various combinations to form spells, instead of Magic Points. Because the world of Evermore was created from the fantasies of a number of different characters, there's a lot of variety as you move from area to area, and the game uses action instead of standard battle screens, just like Square's own Secret of Mana.

Evermore isn't quite the flawless experience we've come to expect from Square. All the parts are in place, but an RPG should have a strong story to back up the pretty visuals and game mechanics, and Evermore doesn't. The game concentrates far too much on the action and puzzle side, and not nearly enough on the human elements that should be driving those events.

Don't get me wrong here, it's a great game and I encourage you to run out and buy it. Have a ball - I did - but it plays like a first novel reads, and mostly I can't wait to see what they do next.

RPG powerhouse SquareSoft is at it again. The same company that brought you Secret of Mana and the Final Fantasy series is all set to release its first game developed entirely in the U.S. Checking in at a whopping 24 Mbit (the same size as FFIII), Secret of Evermore looks like it's got all the goods.

Dr. Sidney Ruffleburg and his hard-working team of scientists have succeeded in creating their own universe! With its medieval castles, prehistoric jungles, and futuristic cities, the wondrous world of Evermore was designed as someplace they could retire to and live out their lives in a peaceful fantasy. With a tremendous blast of energy, they transported themselves there.

Many years later, a boy and his dog stumble across the Evermore project in the basement of the doctor's mansion and accidentally transport themselves to another dimension. Trouble is, Evermore ain't exactly peaceful anymore. The once-fabulous place has decayed into a decrepit and dangerous world, and it's a long, long journey back home.

The game boasts 256-color graphics that blend Square's always excellent pixel art with SGI rendered backgrounds and creatures, and the screens we've seen so far look superb. We'll have the complete story next month, but in the meantime, feast your eyes on these preproduction sketches and rendered art. Does it look good? Mmm, mmm, yeah! It looks finger-lickin good!

Oh yeah! The same company that brought you Final Fantasy III has broken through with their first title developed completely in the US. This 24-meg monster throws the player into the fantasy world of Evermore, once a peaceful place, now a nightmare gone haywire. The game boasts SGI rendered 3-D graphics and the same sprawling storyline and incredible music we've come to expect from Square. Expect it some time in May.

Secret of Evermore is a game released by Square Soft in North America back in 1995 and in Europe and Australia one year later. Secret of Evermore is a role playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) following a boy and his pet dog in their journey to a fantasy world created by an eccentric inventor. Both the boy and the dogs are controlled by the player through the world of Evermore, composed of separate realms. The gameplay is quite similar to the one in Secret of Mana, featuring real-time battles, a ring-shaped menu and the option to briefly switch between two characters.

The game is the only installment released by Square in North America and was criticized for not being up to the standards with the developer advertisement.

The gameplay consists of an aerial view setting, with the boy and the dog navigating the terrain and fending off hostile creatures. Because the player can only control one character at a time, the other one is always controlled by the artificial intelligence. The player can find refuge in towns or cages, where they can also regain hit points and even purchase restorative items and equipment.

The player collects experience points in battles which can improve their level and stats, such as evasion and strength. The equipment can be changed, the status of the characters can be quickly checked by using the Action Ring system, idea introduced for the first time in the Japanese game Secret of Mana. The battles take place in real time. Each time a pre-set amount of damage will be done to and enemy, depending on the weapon and not only.

Each time a weapon is used or the character runs it causes the gauge to fall at 0%. Afterwards this should quickly recharge. The main idea is really good, pointing out a in real life a weapon will not be able to recharge automatically so fast.

There are four different weapons in the game: swords, spears, axes and bazookas. Most of them have their own four versions, and using them repeatedly will increase the player’s skill with that weapon. By using a specific weapon for a long time the player can increase the attack range, for example for a spear.

There are four worlds in the game: Prehistoria, Antiqua, Gothica and Omnitopia, and the shopkeepers in e ach of them take different kinds of money.

Secret of Evermore was a really popular game back when released, just like Secret of Mana. No less than 725 users voted the game on GameSpot with a total average of 8.6, while four critics rated it with 8.1 out of 10.

Secret of Evermore follows the adventures of a brave boy and his dog. A scientist creates the world of Evermore so he and his pals can live there in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, an evil entity has different ideas....

Enter the young lad. While exploring the abandoned house of the scientist, they unknowingly get thrust into the world of Evermore. Now, they must find out the secrets of Evermore in order to save it and themselves.

The Secret Of Evermore is a perfect example of what makes an exemplary RPG. You've got an interesting cast of supporting characters, tons of mon- / sters and things to do. Also, all combat is in real time, which is key because nothing is more tedious than round after round of turn-based combat.

Weapons aren't your only mode of attack. Much like Ultima, you can mix certain ingredients (which are found throughout Evermore) to create magical effects. To learn such spells, you must find alchemists and speak to them about the necessary ingredients.

A unique feature that adds a new dimension to the gameplay is your dog. There are two things that you can do with the pooch that will help you greatly in your quest. One is that you can use him as the main character, instead of the boy. This is helpful when the boy gets weak because the computer-controlled characters are less likely to be struck in battle. The other clever feature is the ability to change the dog's function during the game. There is a meter which you can move to the right or left to change his primary function. Move it towards the left and the dog will spend more time sniffing out hidden objects and ingredients. Move it to the right, and he will concentrate on attacking monsters, to lessen your burden.

Secret of Evermore is also an important game because it's the first SquareSoft title to be developed in America. No longer do you have to wade through poorly translated dialogue and weird Japanese cultural references. Those good old boys from the U.S. of A. have made a game that s easier on the American palate as well as chock full of American B-movie references.

All in all, Evermore is a superb game. With plenty of stuff to do and places to explore, it's one of the most dynamic RPGs to come out this year.