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Post by Nester the Lark on Jan 30, 2009 20:32:23 GMT -5
I was a huge fan of Secret of Evermore on the SNES back when it came out, and one of its few supporters at the time. I even used to have a website devoted to it. (I claim to have been the first person on the Internet to provide exact directions to the Sting formula.) However, the game ended up with a bad reputation because... I guess, because it wasn't Secret of Mana. The comparisons were inescapable. But most damning of all was the perception that somehow Secret of Evermore was the reason that Seiken Densetsu 3 (aka Secret of Mana 2) was never released in North America -- which is a complete myth, and it's sad how many people still believe it to this day. But maybe the preference has more to do with whichever game you played first. Most people who took an interest in Evermore were probably fans of Mana. My first, however, was Evermore, and I only had the chance to play Mana as a rental. But I finally had the chance to really get into it last November when I downloaded it on the Virtual Console. I played most of the way thru the game, and to be honest, I was a bit disappointed. But who knows how I might've felt if the situation was the other way around. It seems to have a better reputation nowadays, being recognized as the whipping boy that it was. I don't suppose it'll end up on the VC any time soon, but since it's unlikely Square Enix will ever remake it, I wouldn't rule it out either. I thought I'd try to start a conversation about it, because I wanted to know how you guys felt about the game. Are there any other Secret of Evermore fans here? In case you're interested, here is a really good interview with lead programmer Brian Fehdrau. Hardcore Gaming 101 is also working on an article for it, but it hasn't gone on the main site yet. It was posted on their forums for people to search for errors (of which there are many).
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Post by Wildcat on Jan 31, 2009 10:37:26 GMT -5
I have Secret of Evermore (I got it with Secret of Mana and my 2nd model SNES), but I haven't gotten too deep into it. I've been thinking about getting around to my heap of SNES games, so maybe I'll consider this one to be one fo the first I try out. ^_^
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Post by Nester the Lark on Jan 31, 2009 23:11:40 GMT -5
HG101's Evermore article went up on the main page today, and as a response, 1up.com's Jeremy Parish has written his own article about the game. It's a good read, and he explains how Evermore was not only forward thinking for its time, but also could've set Square up for a better understanding of the Western market today. I'm glad to see the game getting this kind of attention. It's not often thought of as a classic, but it should be.
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Post by Dasher Misire on Feb 1, 2009 19:54:24 GMT -5
I really want to play it especially for the Cecil Harvey cameo. So cool.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Feb 1, 2009 20:58:29 GMT -5
I love that cameo! I was a big fan of Final Fantasy IV back then, and it was so cool to run into Cecil in Secret of Evermore! Definitely one of the most memorable moments for me.
BTW, for those who missed it in the classic commercials thread, here's the one for Secret of Evermore:
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BeamClaws
Balloon Fighter
Beam claws closes the gap with his excellent foot speed!
Posts: 934
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Post by BeamClaws on Feb 17, 2009 1:58:14 GMT -5
I played this game, at first I was like: "this game stinks." But then I was like: "No wiat, it's really good, I should just stop comparing it to Mana". I think Mana was beter, as Evermore seemed a little too slow (I'm a sucker for the fast paced, 1 reason why I like MMX better than classic), but the game was really original, my only gripe is the lack of 2-player, one thing I REALLY loved about mana is my sister.
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Post by Dasher Misire on Feb 17, 2009 16:35:53 GMT -5
Only back then Nester? FFIV's my favorite game ever, tied with FFIX, though I doubt I could be so in love with it if I played the SNES one today (the translation). Back then playing it, you must have had no other choice huh. Still, good game. So is the game worth getting? Over say, Chrono Cross for the PSX or Secret of Mana (well I have the answer to that, it seems)?
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BeamClaws
Balloon Fighter
Beam claws closes the gap with his excellent foot speed!
Posts: 934
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Post by BeamClaws on Feb 17, 2009 16:58:57 GMT -5
It's definetly worth it, but I can't say over Secret of Mana or Chrono Cross, Becaus I think Mana's better and I never played Chrono Cross.
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Post by Nester the Lark on Feb 17, 2009 18:04:31 GMT -5
Only back then Nester? FFIV's my favorite game ever, tied with FFIX, though I doubt I could be so in love with it if I played the SNES one today (the translation). Back then playing it, you must have had no other choice huh. Still, good game. Well, as I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm generally not interested in turn-based Japanese RPG's these days, so I probably wouldn't care to play FF4 now. But I played thru it enough back then, and I have good memories. The translation isn't that good by today's standards, but it was pretty much par for the course back then. Altho, I wouldn't appreciate the removal of the "spoony bard" line. It's a classic. It'd be like taking the "our princess is in another castle" line out of Super Mario Bros. I've never played Chrono Cross, but I'm apparently one of the few that likes Evermore over Mana. But as I stated in the first post, that's probably because I played Evermore first. I think it's definitely worth getting if you can accept its American design mentality, and don't intend to dwell on comparisons with Mana.
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BeamClaws
Balloon Fighter
Beam claws closes the gap with his excellent foot speed!
Posts: 934
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Post by BeamClaws on Feb 18, 2009 15:40:30 GMT -5
I can come up with reasons I like Mana better: Realism. Some games make a game more realistic and take away from the game play, Mana did this with running, you can only un in one direction and have to wait when you stop. In Evermore, you run until you run out of energy. Difficulty. Evermore has unforgiving difficulty from the start. Mana has it just right. Graphics. Evermore's graphics start out unpleasing to the eyes. First a lab, then a prehistoric wasteland.
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Post by Savage Adam on Feb 18, 2009 22:19:10 GMT -5
Did somebody say Chrono Cross?!?! Best game ever. srsly. Everyone go play it. Right now. And don't give me any of that "Chrono Trigger iz superiarz!" crap. Chrono Cross is the better game and you all know it. YOU ALL KNOW IT.*is something of a Chrono Cross whore* But, to stay on topic, uhhhh....... ima go download both "Secret of" ROMs right now. *runs* (And by right now I mean tomorrow)
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Post by Hiker of Games on Feb 19, 2009 10:38:12 GMT -5
I loved Evermore. When I first got on my RPG kick (jump started by the tag team effort of Super Mario RPG and FF7), Secret of Evermore was among the many games I went back to play and so was Evermore. I got stuck in Mana and found the game boring anyways, so never made the effort to get myself further. I also got stuck in Evermore, but I was endeared to the game by the hero's quips.
So later when I ran into the Evermore cartridge, I couldn't resist picking it up. the game has some amusing memories associated with it. My family used to have one of those large vans that have shutters on the windows and big huge comfortable seats. It also had a TV in it... and this was back in the 90s, mind you. We had a power inverter and we were on one long cartrip (and this was before I ever had a Gameboy), so I got to take my SNES with me to play. This was cool of course, but presented a specific problem. Car stops (like for gas or food) meant game over and I was always rushing to be able to save my game, many times losing progress as a result.
Ultimately I think I got up to the third world... maybe further than that. Either way, one time the game shut off and I lost my save data. I never worked up the drive to finish it again, but I did enjoy the game a lot. Though I still feel silly that I don't think I ever worked out (until later) how to correctly cross the desert (by taking the boat)! I remember walking past that multiple screened monstrosity several times.
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Post by Wildcat on Apr 1, 2009 21:55:52 GMT -5
This was bumped by me on mistake - there was a posting of an interview with Brian Fehdrau on NintendoLife (which combined VC-Reviews, Wiiware World and the mother site into one), and it was just the same interview that Nester posted above. Sorry!
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Post by Hiker of Games on Apr 2, 2009 8:40:21 GMT -5
I haven't posted here in over a month and I came back just because this thread had a post!
YOU'VE TRICKED ME FOR THE LAST TIME!
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Post by Wildcat on Apr 2, 2009 9:52:56 GMT -5
lol Sorry. I will consider playing Evermore soon so I can talk about it properly.
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