Secret of Evermore

1995 video game

Secret of Evermore is an action role playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in North America on October 17, 1995, in Australia in February 1996, and in Europe in March 1996. A Japanese release was planned to follow the North American release by a few months but was ultimately cancelled. The story of Secret of Evermore follows a boy and his shapeshifting pet dog as they are inadvertently transported to the fantasy world of Evermore. The player guides both characters through Evermore, a world composed of separate realms, each resembling a different period of real world history: "Prehistoria" (prehistory), "Antiqua" (classical antiquity), "Gothica" (the Middle Ages), and "Omnitopia" (an imaginative future world). 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 two characters. Despite similar game mechanics and a similar title, it is not an entry in the Mana series. Secret of Evermore is unique in that it is the only game developed by Square designers in North America. The game received positive reviews upon its release for its graphics and gameplay but was criticized for not being up to the expectations many reviewers had based upon the developer's previous Japanese role playing games. The game's North American development, Mana like game mechanics, and ambient music have since helped it to develop a cult following.

Secret of Evermore takes many of its interface and gameplay aspects from Secret of Mana. The game consists mostly of an aerial view setting, where the boy and his dog negotiate the terrain and fend off hostile creatures. The player may choose to control either the boy or the dog, with the other being controlled by the game's artificial intelligence. Both characters can find refuge in caves or a town, where they can regain their hit points or purchase restorative items and equipment. Upon collecting enough experience points in battle, either character can increase in level with improved stats such as strength and evasion. Options including changing equipment or casting alchemy spells; checking status can be performed quickly by rotating through the game's Action Ring system. Combat takes place in real time. Located below the player's hit points is a percentage gauge that determines the amount of damage done to an enemy, as well as how far the player can run. Swinging a weapon or running causes the gauge to fall to 0%. It then quickly recharges, allowing the character to attack at full strength or to run at full sprint once it is full. The gauge may also fill up to allowing the player to use charged attacks with equipped weapons. The protagonist wields four different styles of weapons throughout the game: sword, spear, axe, and toward the end of the game, bazooka. The sword, axe, and spear get replaced with a more powerful variant in each realm, resetting their skill levels. In addition, the dog's body transforms based on the theme of the area that players are in: in the world of Prehistoria, the dog is transformed into a feral wolf; in the Antiqua region, he becomes a greyhound; in Gothica, he takes the form of a fancy poodle; and in Omnitopia, he becomes a robotic dog that resembles a toaster and is capable of shooting laser beams.

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 causes the area to flood with a white flash of light. Thirty years later, the game's young protagonist is leaving a theater when his pet dog chases after a cat on the street. The boy hurriedly follows him, eventually reaching a large, abandoned mansion. He discovers the hidden laboratory with a large machine built in the center. 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 tailcoat 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. In each realm, the boy encounters a citizen of Podunk involved in an original experiment gone awry 30 years before. Professor Sidney Ruffleberg and his three companions were transported to Evermore but are unable to leave. Each of the three companions acts as the ruler of his or her world: Elizabeth, the Professor's niece, is the tribal chief of Prehistoria; Horace Highwater, curator of the Podunk Museum, oversees Antiqua; Camellia Bluegarden, a portly librarian, is the Queen of Gothica; Professor Ruffleberg monitors everything from Omnitopia, with his android butler, Carltron, alongside him. Within Prehistoria, Antiqua, and Gothica, the boy and his canine companion aid Elizabeth, Horace, and Camellia in thwarting attempts by Podunk citizens' robotic clones from ruling their respective areas. The duo finally returns to Omnitopia and finds Ruffleberg, who explains everything. He and his butler Carltron once engaged in chess matches. Ruffleberg outfitted him with an intelligence chip to make him a more challenging opponent, but the upgrade backfired making 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 canine companion break into Carltron's room. The area is guarded by android clones of the boy and his dog, along with a giant mecha version of Carltron. At the last moment, Ruffleberg appears and deactivates Carltron, who promptly freezes in place. With Carltron's defeat, the monsters plaguing Evermore disappear, but the world itself grows unstable. The boy returns to each world to collect Ruffleberg's companions, taking them back to the real world. In doing so, Evermore's destruction is averted, and it continues 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 he is not as docile as the professor believes.

In early 1994, the development of Secret of Evermore began at SquareSoft, the Redmond, Washington, office of the Japanese parent company Square. The concept of a boy traveling with his dog through a world based on cheesy B movies was dictated from overseas. Square Soft began work on the detailed storyline. This led to popular culture references and dialog that are distinctly American for a mainstream console RPG. The game's associate producer and writer, George Sinfield, decided they would be familiar to American players. The game's working title was Vex and the Mezmers. Producer Alan Weiss's original concept had a group of magic users who "could tell dream stories and transport the listeners into the experience, virtually". During a storytelling session, Vex is trapped and starts to corrupt the dreams. The game was to have the player find Vex and defeat him. Sinfield asked for its name to be changed. The studio had a naming competition which resulted in Secret of Evermore; composer Jeremy Soule claims to have been the team member who submitted the name "Evermore". Many elements of Secret of Evermore were copied from Secret of Mana because they had proven to be effective. which spawned Cavedog Entertainment, while the rest of the team spread to other Seattle area game studios like Electronic Arts, Boss Game Studios, Microsoft Game Studios, and Gas Powered Games, among others. Secret of Evermore was released on October 17, 1995, in North America. In 1996, it was translated into German, French and Spanish for the non English speaking market in some PAL territories, including Australia and New Zealand. Some PAL versions were packaged in a large box and included a strategy guide.

Jeremy Soule composed and produced the score for Secret of Evermore, his first video game project. In high school Soule was a big fan of video games, but he felt most of their scores "lacked drama and intensity". After completing high school, Soule created an experimental demo showcasing what he felt video game scores should sound like. Soule was hired by Square Soft after they had reviewed the demo to score Secret of Evermore. Soule describes it as a mix of ambient sounds and low key music. The soundtrack was released on a CD containing 29 tracks, the first eight of which are arranged versions of the original sound. The disc was published by Square and was only available initially to those who pre ordered Secret of Evermore.