Collection essentials #243 & 234: Secret of Evermore (SNES, USA & Spain releases)

LONG POST INCOMING ABOUT A CHILDHOOD FAVORITE

Secret of Evermore is a rather unusual game for its time right off the bat, because it was released by Japanese company Squaresoft…only it was developed by their North American branch which had never happened before or since, and the game didn’t even see a release in Japan at all. It’s an action RPG, a genre that at the time was dominated by Japanese games, and it has gameplay elements you’d expect in a Japanese action RPG while having the flavor of a Western title. The game is clearly inspired by “Secret of Mana”, another Squaresoft game that did originate in Japan, and it obviously borrows quite a few gameplay elements from that game. But there’s no actual connection between the two titles, and actually features cameos of characters from the Final Fantasy series instead.

The story of Secret of Evermore revolves around a boy and his dog, both of which don’t have an official name and must be named by the player. The boy chases the dog into an old abandoned mansion with a laboratory inside that transports them to a mysterious world called Evermore. There are a few different areas of Evermore loosely based on the real world with some fantasy elements thrown in, such as one based on ancient Roman and Egyptian culture and one based on the Middle Ages. The dog changes form depending on which world he’s in. It doesn’t take long for the boy to meet a person who is from the proper real world, and he sets out on a journey to try and figure out a way to get home.

Secret of Evermore’s gameplay resembles Zelda a bit, but it has more RPG elements and some twists. For one thing, you can’t attack with your weapon rapidly and expect to win, due to a simple stamina system. When you strike, your character will be tired for a few seconds, and you CAN attack again during this time, but it will do very little damage. Your other attack option, which is not subject to stamina, is using alchemy to cast spells. Instead of depleting a certain amount of “MP” to cast spells like in most RPGs, in Secret of Evermore you have to expend a certain number of ingredients (such as water, wax and ash), and you can find ingredients either by having your dog sniff them out while traversing the world or by purchasing them at certain shops. There are quite a few spells to learn and weapons to get. Using the same weapon or spell many times will lead to it growing stronger. Sometimes it’s worth investing in a new weapon or spell that starts out weaker than what you have, but will grow to be stronger eventually.

Secret of Evermore mostly has large dungeons that are maze-like. Not everybody likes this design, but I’ve always been fine with it. I find that if you’re observant, they aren’t so bad. The dungeons do sometimes incorporate puzzles, though not as much in your average Zelda game.

A clear strength of the game is the dialogue. I think this game really benefited from being written in English as its primary language, rather than getting a translation from Japanese. There are many humorous lines and wisecracks, such as one where the main character marks that some enemies who magically come down and attack you from a window decoration were a “pane in the glass”. 

The soundtrack is another standout. A lot of Evermore’s music is ambient, and does a great job at setting a tone for the strange worlds you’ll traverse. And I’m quite fond of the more traditional tunes the game has as well. The Ebon Keep theme is one of my favorite somber songs from a video game.

A glaring and perplexing flaw of the game is the complete lack of a two-player option, despite the fact that there are two playable characters on screen at all times. You can freely switch between controlling the boy and the dog at pretty much any time, but you cannot have a second player pick up a controller and move the mutt. This is especially odd considering that Secret of Mana was particularly well-liked for having cooperative multiplayer.

Speaking of Secret of Mana, that game garnered itself a high reputation and is often considered a classic. Secret of Evermore, on the other hand, had a more mixed reception. I, on the other hand, have the reverse opinion. I think Secret of Mana is one of the most overrated games on the console, and it’s not going to make my list. I’d explain why, but that’d take too long. Evermore directly addresses some of the annoyances I had with Mana, such as better AI for your computer-controlled characters, less annoying status effects from enemies, and more that (again) I won’t be getting into here.

My history with this game dates back to…well, I forget which year it was exactly, as it may have been 1995, 1996 or even 1997 I suppose. One day I was with my dad, and he said to me, “Sam, what if there was a game called…’The Secret’? Or how about…’The Secret of Evermore’?” So my reply was something like, “Dad, you’re making that up.” But he kept bringing it up and teasing me about it as days and weeks went by, occasionally remarking “Sam, let’s go play ‘The Secret of Evemore’!” and such. Back then, the internet was very new and we didn’t have it at home, and I didn’t subscribe to any gaming magazines or anything, so I had no realistic way of finding out whether such a game existed. Then on Christmas morning, I opened my big gift, and you can imagine how my dad and I grinned when I saw that this seemingly-made-up game was actually real. We got the strategy guide for the game, too. And it soon turned into one of my favorites. The American cartridge shown in the photo is my original copy, though the box it came in was reacquired later. I still have our original strategy guide, too, though it’s not in the best of shape.

Years later, I revisited this game as an adult, playing through it in 2018. I was interested in seeing how it would hold up, given that some people don’t care for the game very much. And I was pleased to find that it was still highly enjoyable. Of course, nostalgia and familiarity certainly helped me enjoy it, but I still found it to be a more-than-respectable game. The main flaws I discovered from replaying it were that it’s a bit too easy if you know what you’re doing, and the boss fights are kinda lame and too easy.

A couple years after that, I had taken up learning Spanish. Some SNES games got a “big box” release in certain European countries with a guide or hint book, and it turns out Secret of Evermore got such a release in Spain. Since I was able to actually understand the language, I soon became extremely interested in obtaining this version of one of my childhood favorites, and I was thankfully able to find a darn good deal for it before very long. 

I wouldn’t call Secret of Evermore one of the objectively top SNES games, as it is a bit more flawed than some of the big classics on the system. But the style of the game appeals to me greatly, and I don’t mind the flaws as much as most people. It’s one of my favorite games, and I can still see myself playing through it again someday.