Secret of Evermore: Difference between revisions

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An action [[RPG]] modeled heavily from the SNES' [[Sleeper Hit|surprise hit]], ''[[Secret of Mana]]''. Despite rumors to the contrary, ''Evermore'' is ''not'' the sequel to ''Secret of Mana'', but was made from whole cloth by Square USA (now part of [[Square Enix]]), and is one of the company's few games to have been developed entirely in the United States. It also featured a highly atmospheric soundtrack from newcoming composer [[Jeremy Soule]], who went on to provide soundtracks for such classic games as ''[[Dungeon Siege]]'', ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] III'' and ''IV'', ''[[Guild Wars]]'' and the ''[[Total Annihilation]]'' series.

The game stars a [[There's No B in Movie|B-movie-loving]] [[A Boy and His X|boy and his dog]], who stumble upon an abandoned mansion in the middle of [[Everytown America|Podunk, USA]]. After a mishap with a mysterious-looking device, the boy and his canine companion get transported to [[Another Dimension]], and find out that four other people have been trapped inside for decades, the disastrous result of the Evermore experiment 30 years ago. His goal becomes to explore this strange new world, learn the history of the Evermore project, and find a way to get everyone back to Earth. While the story isn't nearly as involved as it might sound, the game isn't without its highlights, the aforementioned soundtrack being one of them, the subversions of some path-of-least-resistance video game economic tropes being another.

The game stars a [[There's No B in Movie|B-movie-loving]] [[A Boy and His X|boy and his dog]], who stumble upon an abandoned mansion in the middle of [[Everytown, America|Podunk, USA]]. After a mishap with a mysterious-looking device, the boy and his canine companion get transported to [[Another Dimension]], and find out that four other people have been trapped inside for decades, the disastrous result of the Evermore experiment 30 years ago. His goal becomes to explore this strange new world, learn the history of the Evermore project, and find a way to get everyone back to Earth. While the story isn't nearly as involved as it might sound, the game isn't without its highlights, the aforementioned soundtrack being one of them, the subversions of some path-of-least-resistance video game economic tropes being another.

The game itself is rather short, compared to ''Secret of Mana'' and other Square-Enix titles; it's also extremely linear, with no side-quests and a straightforward 'defeat the villain' premise. Otherwise, ''Secret of Evermore'' is fairly entertaining, with the boy constantly comparing his predicament to various (fictional) movies, and the dog shape-shifting into different forms, depending on which part of the game-world they're in.

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* [[BBW]]: In the real world, [http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/snes/soe/characters/camillia.shtml Queen Bluegarden] isn't afraid to flaunt it. Good grief.

* [[Beard of Evil]] / [[Evil Redhead]]: {{spoiler|Carltron}}.

* [[Bee Bee Gun]]: The notoriously inconspicuous "Sting" spell. It launches a small swarm of bees at opponents.

* [[Bee-Bee Gun]]: The notoriously inconspicuous "Sting" spell. It launches a small swarm of bees at opponents.

* [[Bonus Boss]]: "The Faces".

* [[Boss Arena Idiocy]]: The first phase of the final battle consists of destroying some Fans and Speakers, which are virtually indestructible unless you hit bombs at them.

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* [[Broken Bridge]]: There is an actual broken bridge in Crustacia cutting off access to the west bank of the river. Only the dog can jump across. There is also a raised drawbridge in Gothica cutting off direct access to Ebon Keep.

* {{spoiler|[[The Butler Did It]]}}: As anyone who's read old crime novels would expect. [[The Untwist|Seriously]].

* [[The Cameo]]: Cecil Harvey from ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' shows up as a shopkeeper in Ebon Keep, and even [[Shout Out|makes references to his adventures from that game]].

* [[The Cameo]]: Cecil Harvey from ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' shows up as a shopkeeper in Ebon Keep, and even [[Shout-Out|makes references to his adventures from that game]].

** Also, during the [[Gladiator Games]] in Nobilia, you can see [[Final Fantasy VI|Terra, Locke, Mog, Strago, Relm, and Umaro]] in the spectator stands.

* [[Canine Companion]]

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* [[Dinosaur Doggie Bone]]: "Well, it's not exactly a stick, but it'll do."

* [[Dolled-Up Installment]]: The game's original title was just "Evermore"; "Secret of" was tacked on to cash in on the success of ''[[Secret of Mana]]'', as well as the recycled use of the ring menu system. However, this plan worked against the game's favor when Square decided not to produce an English localization of ''Seiken Densetsu 3'', causing ''Mana'' fans to believe that the decision was made to avoid competition with ''Evermore''.

* [[Eleventh Hour Superpower]]: Energize. See Game Breaker on the YMMV page.

* [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower]]: Energize. See Game Breaker on the YMMV page.

* [[Empathic Shapeshifter]]: The Dog, whose appearance is determined by what area the Boy is exploring. Feral wolf for Prehistoria, sleek jackal-esque dog for Antiqua, pampered poodle in Gothica, and mechanical Toaster-Dog (with [[Frickin' Laser Beams]]!) in Omnitopia. He looks like a fairly normal terrier breed in the real world.

** Toaster-Dog is also a [[Game Breaker]], landing critical hits [[For Massive Damage]] with almost disturbing frequency.

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* [[Everything Trying to Kill You]]: Most egregious in the desert area, where the player is attacked by a malevolent ''tumbleweed.'' This stuff doesn't just defy the laws of physics by rolling against the wind; it actually ''[[It Can Think|chases]]'' the boy and absolutely will not turn aside until it has [[Collision Damage|collided]] with him. After it has either landed a hit or been blocked, it blows away in random directions.

* [[Evil Knockoff]]: Elizabeth, Horace, and Camilla each have robotic clones of them running around and making trouble. Clones of the boy and his dog are encountered during the [[Final Boss|final boss]] fight.

** There's also a battle on a bridge, where the Boy has to fight three clones of himself. Which leads to the line, "[[If My Calculations Are Correct|According to my calculations]], [[~~Twenty Percent~~ More Awesome|you're three times stronger than yourself!]]"

** There's also a battle on a bridge, where the Boy has to fight three clones of himself. Which leads to the line, "[[If My Calculations Are Correct|According to my calculations]], [[20% More Awesome|you're three times stronger than yourself!]]"

** The third to last battle involves a clone of the Boy (no harder thsm any of the three aforementioned ones) and the Dog (who is a much stronger opponent)

* [[Eye of Newt]]: The alchemy ingredients, often taking the form of chemicals, minerals, or various flora.

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* [[Flashback Effects]]: The prologue is told in [[Deliberately Monochrome|Deliberate Monochrome]].

* [[Follow the Leader]]: Designed as an ''[[Earthbound]]'' killer, and released four months after that game did.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: After taking out the Guardbots with his bazooka and descending down a floor iris, the Boy runs into his dog again, which barks a greeting at him. At first, you notice something off about it, but you figure maybe it's just all the metal around where the Boy's currently located distorting his barking. Turns out that it was an [[Early Bird Cameo]] of the Toaster Dog.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: After taking out the Guardbots with his bazooka and descending down a floor iris, the Boy runs into his dog again, which barks a greeting at him. At first, you notice something off about it, but you figure maybe it's just all the metal around where the Boy's currently located distorting his barking. Turns out that it was an [[Early-Bird Cameo]] of the Toaster Dog.

* [[Garden of Evil]]

* [[Girlish Pigtails]]: Fire Eyes.

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* [[Our Founder]]: A statue of {{spoiler|Carltron}} decorates Nobilia square.

* [[Perverse Puppet]]: [[Meaningful Name|Mephista and Old Nick]], a pair of enormous, staring marionettes from the land of Gothica. The king just ''loves'' to watch them dance . . .

* [[Power-Up Letdown]] / [[Useless Item]]: The Magic Gourd, which serves absolutely no purpose other than to deprive you of a valuable [[Shout Out|Chocobo Egg]].

* [[Power-Up Letdown]] / [[Useless Item]]: The Magic Gourd, which serves absolutely no purpose other than to deprive you of a valuable [[Shout-Out|Chocobo Egg]].

** There's a spot in the Desert of Doom where you can get free 99 Rice and Spice. Trade this for something profitable in Nobilia and you can accrue the 10,000 Jewels a monk is asking for to buy an Amulet of Annihilation in Crustacia (the shipwreck place). He also throws in a Chocobo Egg, as he probably feels guilty about selling you a piece of crap. You can use this to trade for The Magic Gourd, and you can get your Chocobo Egg back when you reach Ivor Tower in Gothica.

* [[The Present Day]]: Released in October of 1995, takes place a non-specific date from that same year.

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* [[Scary Shiny Glasses]]: Elizabeth's Call bead animation.

* [[Scenery Porn]]: The game is surprisingly beautiful in certain places. ''Especially'' Gothica. The music helps add to the atmosphere, as well.

* [[Schizo Tech]]: Evermore was specifically designed to be so.

* [[Schizo-Tech]]: Evermore was specifically designed to be so.

* [[Shifting Sand Land]]: The [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|Quicksand Field]].

* [[Shout Out]]: When the Boy and Dog are exploring the Rufflebergs' dilapidated mansion in the introduction, he finds "a chainsaw, a mummy, and a balloon animal". A chainsaw and mummy are also found in ''[[Maniac Mansion]]''.

* [[Shout-Out]]: When the Boy and Dog are exploring the Rufflebergs' dilapidated mansion in the introduction, he finds "a chainsaw, a mummy, and a balloon animal". A chainsaw and mummy are also found in ''[[Maniac Mansion]]''.

* [[Simple Score of Sadness]]: The music for "Abandoned Ebon Keep".

* [[Sprint Meter]]: Shared with the [[Charge Meter]]. If you power up any weapon to level 3, you can use the sprint button to run almost indefinitely.