Welcome to the 88th issue of the GBAtemp Recommends Revival Project! This is a weekly feature where we share some our favourite games and the occasional "something else". Some may be well known, others I feel have been ignored but all are fantastic and deserve at least a play.
The first ever American developed SquareSoft game with a nice little 80's family sci-fi story...it didn't sell because RPG gamers are dicks. 
[prebreak][/prebreak]The Secret of Evermore used the Secret of Mana engine but had a more "real world" and 80's family sci-fi look to the game. You play this young lad who along with his dog, gets transported to a fictional world of Evermore. In Evermore you start off in a Prehistoric style land called Prehistoria, from there you have to find your way out and get through other eras like Antiqua (an ancient civilisation world), Gothica (Medievil) and Omnitopia (futuristic). The prehistoria is actually fairly dull and has turned a lot of gamers off but once you get out of it you find yourself into an engaging RPG.
The battle system is pretty much the same as Mana, its done in real time but its a little more limited with only a few type of weapons. The dog can also help you in battle, though all it can do is bite it does change breed in each of the era from Wolf up to robotic pooch. Disappointing battle system aside it is lifted by the lovely use of alchemy! This masgic system is a personal favourite of mine, you'll meet other alchemists as you travel who play around with certain ingredients to make some nifty potions. You'll need to collect ingredients so you can make potions but that isn't much of a chore at all. Your trusty canine companion will help you with this by sniffing the ground and digging up the items. Potions will help you heal yourself, increase your level among other things. Of course the more you fight or mix potions, the more chance you have of leveling up to become more powerful.
Outside of theme, another great thing about the game that makes it more than just another RPG, is how you use currency. While other games in the genre may have the same type of currency (even those which involve time travel or different worlds) this one has its own type of currency for each of the time periods. Not only that but also each type has its own exchange rate. You can also buy and trade items in the Antiqua and Gothica worlds and sometimes trading is cheaper than using currency. This adds a little strategy to the game as you'll get to learn whether or not to buy or trade.
Graphically this game is amazing to look at, each time period looks different enough to the last one. The sprite & backgrounds are very well made, detailed and animated. It is such a treat to look at. The sound is my only complaint about this game, though it has a good quality its just dull and mediocre. The music is completlely forgettable.
The game didn't sell well despite its great reviews and the team behind it was sadly sacked. For whatever reason gamers (who are dicks btw) just didn't want to play a RPG in this style and story...assholes. They'd rather play a generic fantasy title that has been done a million times before...basically the same reason why Earthbound got left behind in Japan for the 3rd game. To hell with a quirky, humorous story full of charm, lets just play a game with by the numbers magic shit instead. The staff from the development team later on became Humongous Entertainment who went on to create childrens point and click adventures like Putt Putt, Pajama Same & Freddi Fish. They also made the excellent strategy game Moonbase Commander. Nowadays they might fucking awful games in the Backyard Sports range. What a bloody waste.
There are some people who claim that this game is bad, I reckon that they've only played the first time zone as the rest of the game is an excellent and well made title. In a genre full of fantasy themed games its refreshing to see one that is different. In my opinion RPG fans owe it to themselves to give this underrated, overlooked gem a long play. Sure the game may be simple for seasoned RPG players but the story and theme really keeps this going and had this come out on the GBA/DS people would have been more open to it.
