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This second cousin to Secret of Mana was strange and unique for its time

Have you heard of this one? Secret of Evermore is (I think) a cult classic, but it doesn't have the same status as something like Earthbound (not even close). In fact, I think it often gets overlooked. This was the first (and last) game to be developed by Square's USA team. That's right, this is not a JRPG, although it feels like one. It's an action RPG in the vein of Secret of Mana that was published by Square Soft and released in 1995 for the SNES. Some players were irked that it wasn't a direct sequel to Secret of Mana (considering that it had "Secret of" in the title and also borrowed the ring system). Evermore is actually its own game, and being the very first effort from this team of rookies, it's quite an achievement.

The story follows a boy and his dog in an American town called Podunk. They're just walking down the street when suddenly a cat appears, causing the dog to chase it into an abandoned building. It just so happens that the duo find themselves wandering into a time machine, which promptly activates and sends them to a strange world called Evermore. This fantasy world is broken up into four distinct areas: a prehistoric area, a Roman/Egyptian area, a mideival area, and a futuristic area. The boy (who doesn't have a default name) is always spewing out B-movie references, which is quite funny. Suffice to say, the boy and dog must find a way home, and along the way, they meet people who are also from Podunk. What's going on? The mystery element of the story is excellent, and you will want to see what happens as the story unfolds.

The gameplay is basically the same as Secret of Mana's. The ring system will allow you to quickly use attacks, change weapons, equip stuff, and well, do everything. What's different is the alchemy system, which requires that you collect certain ingredients to use certain spells. This is a cool idea, but it can be a pain when you cannot find a particular ingredient. However, there are certain characters in the game who sell you ingredients, but they will only sell you a select few. The combat also follows what SoM did, as Hero has an attack guage, meaning you can only attack once and then must wait for the gauge to refill to 100% if you want to do maximum damage. Unfortunately, Evermore also follows SoM's footsteps in having you level up each weapon individually (which is quite tedious). Spells also can be leveled up, so you will want to use them as much as possible.

Overall, the combat is good, although some enemies can be a huge pain. Like SoM, the game can be a bit buggy when it comes to hit detection. Sometimes you will completely miss an enemy, but they'll hit you, causing Hero to get knocked back. The bosses, which often look great, can either be too easy or too hard (with some cheap attacks), and these fights can drag on a little too long. You can switch anytime between the boy and the dog, although you won't want to play as the dog until the end of the game when he has an awesome overpowered laser attack, but you will have to switch back and forth sometimes in order to solve puzzles. One neat feature is that the dog will change appearance in each area you visit. This isn't really explained in the game, but it's a cool addition that the developers could've left out.

The dialog here is very good. Interactions between the hero and other characters can be legit funny, and it's refreshing to see an honest-to-goodness American boy in an RPG! You can tell that the developers loved Final Fantasy games because (if you're observant) you can see the entire cast of FF6 in the coliseum crowd, and later in the game, Cecil (from FF4) will sell you his wares in Ebon Keep, explaining that he went on his own adventure and has now married Rosa. These are easter eggs in a time before easter eggs were a thing in games.

The game's music is excellent. Composed by Jeremy Soule, the soundtrack is quite different from what we've heard from either Final Fantasy games or even SoM. At times the music is completely ambient, such as the jungle (jungle noises) and the Nobilia market (sounds of people conversing). These moments make the world feel alive as you hear the sounds of either creatures or people who inhabit this strange world. The actual musical themes are also wonderful, often sounding mysterious and unsettling, which makes you feel that you're in a strange world. Nothing is ever too bombastic. In fact, I don't think any songs use brass, instead choosing woodwinds, drums, and piano.

Evermore's biggest flaw is its dungeons. They're huge and maze-like, far more than other RPGs. The problem is, they don't make any rhyme or reason, so you'll just wander around looking for how to progress, and you'll get lost. Then you'll start backtracking, and you'll say "Where did I come from?" The maze-like design wouldn't be so bad if the dungeons were smaller, but they're huge! This kinda ruined the game for me. There are a couple times when this is incredibly awful. One is when you control the dog and have to go in and out of vents in order to find your way to the banquet room in the castle. Even with a walkthrough, I could NOT find my way out. Another is the Dark Forest, a typical "lost forest" section in which you have to go in certain directions in order to come out the other side. This would be fine if the game gave you little hints where to go, but instead, it's completely random. I followed the walkthrough, and it was just "up, right, left twice, down twice, left, right" and it went on FOREVER. Believe me, unless you're a very patient person, you will need a walkthrough to get through the dungeons. It's such a shame.

Final Verdict: 3 Stars--It's Okay

I wanted to give this game 4 stars, but the frustrating maze-like dungeons is what knocked it down a bit. Seriously, if they had fixed the dungeon design, I think this would be a truly great game. As it stands, Sectret of Evermore is a good game, and I think it should get more attention. It's a Western RPG that plays just like a JRPG (which is great if like me, you don't like Western RPGs). You should give the game a try. It's got an excellent story, strong gameplay, stellar music, but those dungeons hold it back. It's especially sad that we never got a sequel or follow-up. It's fun to wonder what might have been if this game had done better. Unfortunately, I don't think this game has ever been rereleased, so the only way to play it now would be either on the original hardware or emulation.

Here are some of my favorite songs from the OST: