Secret of Evermore

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Secret of Evermore

Developer(s)	Square USA
Publisher(s)	Squaresoft
Designer(s)	Doug Smith
Platform(s)	Super NES
Release date	^NA October 1, 1995 ^PAL February 22, 1996
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)
Media	24-megabit SNES cartridge

Secret of Evermore is a North American, console role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was the first game to be released by Square Co.'s overseas development house, Square USA. In February 1996, Secret of Evermore saw release in the PAL territories of Australia and Europe. For the non-English-speaking market, it was translated into French, German, and Spanish.^[1]

The story follows a boy and his pet dog as they are inadvertently transported to a fantasy world created by an eccentric inventor. The gameplay shares many similarities with Secret of Mana, such as real-time battles, a ring-shaped menu system, and the ability to switch control between the characters. The player guides both the boy and his shape shifting dog through Evermore, a world that is composed of separate realms, each resembling a different period of real-world history. Control can be passed between the two characters at will; the player will need to switch between the boy and the dog in order to solve various puzzles.

1 Setting
2 Gameplay
- 2.1 Currency
- 2.2 Alchemy
3 Story
4 Development
- 4.1 Music
5 Reception
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Setting

Concept art of the game's protagonist wielding a bone as a weapon

The plot revolves around an anonymous teenage boy and his dog, whom the player may assign names of up to thirty-four characters each (a tremendous amount at the time, when names were typically six characters or shorter).

Throughout the course of the game, the player explores Evermore's main areas, many corresponding to different epochs of Earth's history: Prehistoria resembles prehistoric times, with cave men and dinosaurs; Antiqua resembles the Roman Empire and Ancient Egypt; Gothica draws on the Middle Ages; and Omnitopia is a futuristic space station.

Searching the world of Evermore, the dog's body transforms in a manner that corresponds to the theme of the area in which players find themselves. In the world of Prehistoria, the small dog is transformed into a feral wolf, in the Antiqua region he becomes a hybrid jackal/greyhound, in Gothica he takes the form of a fancy poodle, and in Omnitopia he becomes a robotic toaster/dog capable of shooting lasers.

[edit] Gameplay

The game is comprised entirely of an aerial view setting, in which the Boy and his dog negotiate the terrain and fend off hostile creatures. If the Boy is currently selected as the player character, his dog will be controlled by the CPU (and vice-versa). The CPU-controlled character will come to the player's defense whenever enemies appear. Both characters can find refuge in caves or a city, where they can regain their hit points (HP) or purchase restorative items and body armor.

The Boy wields four different styles of weapons throughout the game: sword, spear, axe, and bazooka. The "Bone Crusher", a large femur which the Boy's dog fetches for him at the start of the game, is roughly categorized as his first sword. The range of each type of weapon increased the more it is used; for instance, spears at a high enough level may be thrown at an enemy across the screen, while the swords and axes can cut swaths of destruction around the Boy's vicinity. With the exception of the Bone Crusher, all swords, axes, and spears can cut through vegetation. Each category of weapon has four versions (one for each world the boy visits), and repeated use of them can increase their skill levels to a maximum of three, unlocking a new charged attack move with each level.^[2]

The Boy operates the bazooka during the first battle of the game, but abruptly loses it; he receives another one late in the game. The bazooka has three types of ammunition, each more destructive than the last. No charged attacks are possible, but when ammo runs dry, the bazooka can be swung as a weak club.

[edit] Currency

The protagonist haggles with a merchant in Antiqua.

In each of the four worlds of Secret of Evermore, the in-game currency will change. The shopkeepers in Prehistoria exchange talons; in Antiqua, gemstones; in Gothica, gold coins; and in Omnitopia, credits. There are individuals in each region who offer to convert the Boy's money to the local currency.

In marketplaces, the storekeepers trade in goods instead of money; examples include rice, spices, and tapestries. Some can be purchased with the local currency, but others need to be traded with other goods.^[2] A few rare items are only available through trading of this sort.

[edit] Alchemy

Alchemists are sometimes hidden in difficult-to-reach areas.

A unique element to Secret of Evermore is its system of magic. In order to cast magic, the Boy must be given an Alchemic Formula by one of many non-playable characters called Alchemists. Some Alchemists make their home in out-of-the-way areas and will dispense rare formulas if the player manages to seek them out. Unlike some role-playing games, there are no mana points needed to cast spells. Alchemy Formulas require pairs of ingredients in order to be used, most of which can be looted or bought. Another method is to command the Boy's dog to 'sniff out' ingredients; this is accomplished by the dog putting his nose to the ground and smelling for items. If all goes well, the dog will lead his human companion to a certain spot on the map, where the Boy can search and uncover the invisible ingredients.^[3]

There are over two dozen ingredients in the game; some are available throughout Evermore, and others are only native to certain environments. In the primitive realms, they appear as such items as wax, limestone, clay, and gunpowder, among others.^[2] In Gothica and Omnitopia, the ingredients become more advanced (ethanol, dry ice, etc). Only the Boy can use Alchemy.

With repeated use, Alchemy Formulas will increase in level, enhancing their curative, offensive, or support effectiveness. Although there are dozens of Formulas available to be found within the game, only nine can be equipped at a time. To overcome this, there are several Alchemists scattered throughout the game who offer to sell ingredients. In addition, they are able to manage the Boy's current Alchemy list; any formula that has already been learned can be shelved by the Alchemist for later use.

[edit] Story

The story of Secret of Evermore begins with a black and white flashback to 1965, in a small town called Podunk, USA. In a laboratory situated on the roof of a mansion, a malfunction occurs which floods the area with white light. Flash-forward to the present: The young protagonist, who has an affinity for B-movies, is leaving a theater when his pet dog chases after a cat in the street. The Boy hurriedly follows after him, eventually reaching a large, abandoned mansion. He discovers the hidden laboratory with a large machine built in the center.^[3] When the dog begins to chew on some wires, the pair find themselves transported to the surreal world of Evermore, beginning in the space station Omnitopia. A butler dressed in a white tuxedo greets the boy when he appears, only to lock him in a room with several attack robots. The Boy manages to escape in a shuttle pod, where he finds his dog holed up in the cockpit.

Upon crash landing, the Boy is confronted by his feral-looking dog.

The shuttle crash-lands in a dense jungle on top of a plateau. When the Boy emerges, he finds a ferocious-looking beast has replaced his small terrier. He decides to perform a test to see if the wolf and his pet dog are one and the same; he tosses a stick for the wolf to fetch, only to receive a giant bone instead. The Boy shrugs this off and assumes that it is the same dog.

In each of the four realms, the Boy will encounter a citizen of Podunk involved in the original experiment gone awry 30 years ago. Prof. Ruffleberg and his three companions were transported to Evermore, but are unable to leave. The boy quickly learns that the regions are manifestations of those citizens' personal utopias. Each of the three companions act as the rulers of his or her respective world: Elizabeth, the Professor's niece, is the tribal chief of Prehistoria; Horace Highwater, curator of the Podunk Museum, oversees Antiqua; Camilla Bluegarden, a portly librarian, is the Queen of Gothica; Professor Ruffleberg monitors everything from Omnitopia. Alongside him is his android butler, Carltron.^[4]

When the Boy finally returns to Omnitopia and finds Sidney Ruffleberg, the Professor explains everything: He and his butler Carltron used to engage in chess matches. Ruffleberg outfitted him with an intelligence chip to make him a more challenging opponent, but the upgrade backfired when the chip made Carltron more malevolent. He sabotaged the transporter to Evermore and designed the hostile beasts roaming the game. With Ruffleberg's help, the Boy and his companion break into Carltron's room; there they challenge android clones of themselves, along with a giant mecha version of Carltron. Ruffleberg reappears and shuts Carltron off before he can do any more damage.

With Carltron's defeat, the monsters plaguing Evermore disappear, but the world itself has grown unstable. The Boy returns to each of the worlds to collect Ruffleberg's companions, taking them back to the real world. In doing so, Evermore's destruction will be averted, and it will continue to exist without them. After the credits roll, a final scene shows Professor Ruffleberg returning Carltron to his old task of cleaning the lab. Carltron grins and rubs his hands together, implying that he is not as docile as Ruffleberg believes.

[edit] Development

Development on Secret of Evermore began in early 1994. Contrary to what the game's title implies, it is not in any way related to Secret of Mana; the original title was simply "Evermore". Square's marketing department was responsible for changing the title, possibly to capitalize on the megahit Secret of Mana.^[5] The concept of a boy traveling with his dog through a world based on cheesy B-movies was dictated from overseas, whereupon Square USA began work on the detailed storyline. This resulted in pop culture references and dialog that are distinctly American for a mainstream console RPG. The game's associate producer and writer, George Sinfield, figured that making such references would be familiar to American players.^[6]

The size of Secret of Evermore was an early issue. It was decided that the game would be single-player to preserve memory because it originally planned to be only 12-megabits.^[6] The game would double to 24-megabits at the end of development. Using computer software, including SGI Indy II and Alias workstations, the game's artwork and design were mapped out using three animators, four background artists, and a 3D rendering artist.^[6] It was put together using the company's SAGE (Square's Amazing Graphical Editor) program, led by programmer Brian Fehdrau. Rather than having to hand off their work to the programmers, the artists and designers were able to test their ideas directly using the SAGE program. Using another unique company program, SIGIL (Square Interpreted Game Intelligence Language), Secret of Evermore was made into a final product.^[6]

There is a persistent misconception that Secret of Evermore is, or was released in lieu of, a follow-up to Secret of Mana. There is no evidence to support that Secret of Evermore's release had any effect on any translations of Square's Japanese titles. A member of the programming team made an appearance on the GameFAQs Secret of Evermore forum, where he revealed that Secret of Evermore was a not related to, or created in place of, Secret of Mana 2, and that the team that created Secret of Evermore would never have been assembled were they not working on Evermore.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Music

Particularly of note is the score composed by the video game composer Jeremy Soule. While still in high school Soule was a large fan of video games and he felt that the scores in most games "lacked drama and intensity"^[7] and after completing high school created an experimental demo showcasing what he felt video game scores should sound like. Soule was hired by Squaresoft after reviewing the demo and was promptly given the task to score Secret of Evermore.

Because of the limited success of Secret of Evermore, Squaresoft produced only a small number of albums, making it to this day the rarest Squaresoft album produced.

Secret of Evermore Complete Soundtrack Tracklist
Disc 1 (54:42) "10 PRINT Hello World" - 1:51 "Variations of Castle Theme" - 3:18 "The Secret of Evermore" - 5:30 "Ancient World" - 1:58 "Greek Temple" - 2:28 "Pirate" - 1:17 "Ocean Theme" - 1:16 "Merchant Theme" - 1:18 "The Queens" - 2:00 "Flying" - 2:52 "Greek Temple" - 2:41 "The Scientist" - 1:02 "Introduction" - 1:38 "Puppet Song" - 1:10 "Mini Boss" - 0:56 "Greek Temple II" - 2:01 "Cecil's Town" - 1:03 "Over the Waterfall" - 0:21 "The Rat's Chamber" - 1:17 "White Castle Town" - 3:10 "Quick Sand Field" - 0:54 "Dark Castle" - 2:30 "The Tinkerer" - 1:27 "White Castle" - 1:28 "Freak Show" - 2:24 "Dog Maze" - 2:15 "Final Boss Music" - 2:00 "Ending Music" - 1:14 "The Return" - 1:23