Reviewing… Secret of Evermore (SNES)

Secret of Evermore PAL box

Secret of Evermore is a curious beast. At release it caused a stir amongst the press and the wider gaming community for (a) not being a true sequel to Secret of Mana and (b) taking the role of the scapegoat in light of Seiken Densetsu 3 being skipped for localisation in the West. While time has allow that last point to be corrected, it has also allowed the dust to settle so that the game can be experienced free from the enthusiasm the Seiken Densetsu franchise traditionally emanated (which in itself is a relic given the downward trajectory of the franchise in a post-16-bit world).

Back in 1996 when my younger brother and I finally joined the SNES bandwagon, a handful of games kicked-off the collection – Killer Instinct (no laughing!) and Secret of Mana, closely followed by Super Mario Allstars, Super Mario World then Zelda. Knowing my gaming habits, I would have picked up Secret of Evermore some time between May and September (thanks to Retro Gaming Australia for the reference – Secret of Evermore received a score of 92% in the April 1996 issue of Hyper), given the release date of April-ish (with a few exceptions, back in the mid-90s we didn’t really have release dates) and my historic purchase of a Sega Saturn in September (yes, it’s historic, even if it’s only in my head). After enjoying Secret of Mana (who wouldn’t?), picking up Secret of Evermore was a no-brainer. What eventuated out of that purchase though, was a bit of an anomally. The UI and a large portion of the game mechanics were familiar, but the premise was a little different and the presentation (audio and visuals) was certainly a departure from its namesake prequel.

1996-Sean didn’t really let this bother him – the game in some ways was disappointing, as it lacked a persistent connection with the familiar world of Secret of Mana, lacked polish, didn’t seem quite as broad in scope and the multiplayer was sorely missed. On the flip-side, the music was great, the locales were certainly interesting and some of the mechanics were well-implemented. The story also made a bit more sense, though this is easy to identify retrospectively given it’s now much more common knowledge that Secret of Mana suffered from being abruptly hacked together in light of the Super CD falling by the wayside, and the ongoing issues with space and programming logic inherent to localising 16-bit JRPGs.

From a historical perspective then, the game was enjoyed and appreciated, but ultimately fell shy of filling the impressive shoes left in the wake of Secret of Mana.

So what does 2011-Sean think of the game?

For me, it was an altogether different experience. It had been over 15 years since I last fired up the game, and in that time a lot has happened. Aside from getting older and having less hair on my head, we’ve had the internet come in and fill the gaps around the game’s genesis, development and its place amongst other Square RPGs of the time. Seiken Densetsu 3 has been unofficially translated, which means the blind faithful (like yours truly) can sup at the table Square denied us in 1996. There has been distance gained beyond the various threads spun of rampant fanboyism that only the changing guard of 1996 could have produced.

Perspective, as it is, continues to be an interesting creature, and in the context of this review, has made Secret of Evermore a better game.

The soundtrack continues to impress despite its differences in thematic composition to Kikuta’s soundtrack in Secret of Mana. Especially worthy of note is its progressive implementation of atmospheric noise in place of background music during some key areas (Hardcore Gaming 101’s excellent thoughtpiece lists a few poignant examples). The game looks far less “squishy” now that I can play the game in 60hz, it controls well, the worlds are imaginative, and alchemy is fun when you get your head around it. I even enjoyed the collect-a-thon in the markets, though I admit to seeking some help from GameFAQs on that one to clear things up.

I’m not saying the game isn’t flawed – it is, but it doesn’t mean the game is any less endearing. The writing is a little hokey, but at least it isn’t the fragmented mess that was Secret of Mana and there are some nice (predictable) spins in the narrative. The graphics teeter between very good and drab depending on the world you’re playing in – world three is an example of the good, while the swamps in world one float the other way. Multiplayer continues to be a sticking point, but I appreciated the functionality offered by the dog in tracking down ingredients this time, rather than sulking about the lack of multiplayer.

Even the game length was well balanced. There are a few spaces where tedium kicked in (such as the dessert in world 2 or the grinding required when levelling up your weapons), but it wasn’t enough to present a roadblock to progress. Being time-poor these days, it took about a month or so of casual play during weekends to finish up the game, which was perfect for me. The 60+ hour marathons common in later generations was thankfully absent, which for me is also part of the appeal of 16-bit JRPGs. Interestingly, the game length seemed pretty reasonable from 1996-Sean’s perspective, despite the price of entry – I don’t have the docket, but I’m pretty sure my (now-defunct) local independent game store charged $89 for the game, which equates to $128.23 today. Despite this, I don’t recall ever feeling short-changed by the game.

So, Secret of Evermore – flawed and often misunderstood, but ultimately a very solid game.

Belated Sakura Wars: So Long My Love gallery

So, NIS released the bilingual Sakura Wars: So Long My Love back in… April? I actually grabbed it on pre-order back then and took a handful of pics to celebrate its release, along with other Sakura Taisen games I have lying about. Full gallery is below, or you can check out the dedicated page as an alternative.

Gaming sessions – 16 November 2009

Erm, I was going through my backlog and realised I had a couple of sessions I forgot to post earlier, so here’s one from November last year, where I demonstrate my rusty Panzer Dragoon 2 skills on the Saturn ๐Ÿ˜€

Has Sega finally got it right with Sonic 4?

Catching up on all things nerdy, there have been some leaked videos of Sonic 4 on YouTube:

Okay, I just checked and they’ve disappeared off YouTube ๐Ÿ˜› So, thanks to the magic of Kotaku, they’ve hosted it themselves and it’s looking really good. I also agree with others that have stated his walking animation looks a bit goofy, but otherwise it looks fantastic. I’m really looking forward to this release ๐Ÿ˜€ I believe the Lost Labyrinth levels are the best demonstration of how “right” Dimps have it, as it’s fusing elements from the Labyrinth Zone in Sonic 1, Hydrocity Zone in Sonic 3 and Tidal Tempest Zone in Sonic CD with all sorts of awesome. Thumbs up.

You know, it reminds me of a great column (well, comment within a review, as I just found out thanks to Google :P) over at Dave’s Sega Saturn page in a Sonic R review that suggested that if Sega weren’t comfortable doing a 3D Sonic on the Saturn, they should have pushed the 2D envelope and made an amazing 2D Sonic game. I just think it’s amusing that they’ve gone back to 2D for Sonic when there has been a push since 1999 for 3D Sonic games, and while I’ll admit that I really enjoyed Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast (and the sequel as well, though there was some douchebaggery with aspects of it), the rest of the games since have been really disappointing.

I mean, just imagine a super-awesome 2D Sonic game on the Saturn – great audio handled by the machine’s magic audio chip (shame about the lack of hardware compression though :P) that continued in the electro-synth style of the original Mega Drive games, great sense of speed and massive playing fields, copious animation and colour, lashings of alpha blending (remember that the Saturn had no troubles doing transparencies in 2D [see Guardian Heroes, Silhouette Mirage and Keio Yugekitai 2] – it was applying them to 3D objects where the problems came in), the mind boggles.

Anywho, I’d better finish up this ranting as there’s one more entry to add before I head off to play some classic Mega Drive games to celebrate Easter (remember yesterday’s rant?), but before I go I’m going to add a plug for sega-saturn.com (i.e. Dave’s Sega Saturn page), because that was one of the greatest Saturn resources online when I first got the internet circa ’96/’97, and was the place I used when I gingerly dipped my toes into the wider waters of imported games ๐Ÿ˜€ It makes me feel very nostalgic checking it out again. That, however, is a topic for another post in its entirety!

Seasonal gaming habits and associations

This one’s a little left-of-center, but I thought I’d post it anyhows.

I’ve found over the years that, just as musos will track periods of time in their lives or historical phases by the music associated therewith, I have begun over the years to do the same thing with video games. I see this happening on two levels, micro (annual seasons/events) and macro (periods of time).

The most recent/up-coming example of Micro Gaming Associations (let’s give it a fancy acronym – MiGA – yeah!) would be Easter. And it’s a completely irrational.

Back in March 1993, my brothers and I pooled our resources and sold off our Sega Master System, all our controllers (bar one or two we left behind, came in handy for 1-button games like Sonic or Sonic 2 on the Mega Drive) and all our games in order to pool the $300 for a Sega Mega Drive (original model, without the serial port though) pack that included Sonic 1 and vouchers to get Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (boo!) and Columns (uber). I’ll leave the full, drawn-out story for a later post, but suffice to say we picked one up and come Easter, we had a Mega Drive, and it was the greatest thing to ever happen in the history of the universe to my pre-pubescent brain.

So, I still remember clearly on the morning of Good Friday, after partaking in copius amounts of hot cross buns (yum), I jumped in front of the telly and played – of all things – Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker. It was an awesome game in 1993, and while it’s probably a bit on the rubbish side, is still a lot of fun today. If you’re irrational like myself.

So, for the last couple of years I’ve gone to the habit of digging out Moonwalker and give the game a crack around Easter time because of the association with the season – in fact, if you check out my 10 April 2009 gaming session gallery, you’ll find a few pics from the first stage of Moonwalker ๐Ÿ™‚ The same thing may happen this weekend ๐Ÿ˜€

Thus, when Easter comes around, you can count on me firing up the old 16-bit beast and having a crack at Moonwalker. But what about other seasons? Let’s have a think…

MiGA list:

  • Seasons –
    • Summer: Shenmue (Dreamcast), Asuka 120% Limited (Saturn), Wonderboy in Monster World (Mega Drive), Sonic 2 (Master System)
    • Autumn: Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker (Sega Mega Drive), Super Mario All-Stars (SNES), Donkey Kong Country (SNES), Secret of Mana (SNES), Sonic 2 (Sega Mega Drive), Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast), Ico (Playstation 2)
    • Winter: Phantasy Star 4 (Mega Drive), Rocket Knight Adventures (Mega Drive), Ghostbusters (Mega Drive), TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist (Mega Drive), Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES), Super Metroid (SNES), Dragon Force (Saturn), Magic Knight Rayearth (Saturn), Vampire Savior (Saturn), Saturn Bomberman (Saturn), Sonic 1 (Master System)
    • Spring: Road Avenger (Mega CD), Sonic CD (Mega CD), Thuderhawk (Mega CD), Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter (Sega Saturn), Panzer Dragoon (Saturn), Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn), Mortal Kombat (Mega Drive), Street Fighter 2: Special Championship Edition (Mega Drive)
  • Holidays –
    • Christmas: Shenmue (Dreamcast), NiGHTS (Saturn), Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn), Story of Thor (Mega Drive), Sonic 2 (Master System)
    • Easter: Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker (Mega Drive), Golden Axe 2 (Mega Drive), Sonic 2 (Mega Drive)

It’s a bit illogical and extremely inconsistent, but I thought I’d share anyhows ๐Ÿ™‚

So what about Macro Gaming Associations (MaGA to keep things going) – for the purpose of my ranting and raving, I’ll use these to define where particular games emphasised or are representational of a period of years or within a particular generation of game systems. This one’s still a bit hazy/inconsistent compared to the former which I’ve spent more time thinking about, so bear with me for this more randomised list. Note that like the above, these are representational of my personal bias, hence why some systems/games aren’t represented and why some games that may have come out in other periods are represented out of date. Where games represent the period and were ported to numerous systems, I’ve placed them in favoured order of association. Thus, if a game came out on the C64 and arcade but I spent more time playing the C64 version, that gets preference, even if the arcade original was much better.

  • Decades –
    • 1980s: Asteroids (Atari 2600), Pitfall (Atari 2600), Enduro (Atari 2600), R-Type (Commodore 64, arcade), TMNT (Commodore 64 [platformer], arcade), International Karate (Commodore 64), The Last Ninja (Commodore 64), Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja (Commodore 64, Amiga 500, arcade), Wizball (Commodore 64), Combat School (Commodore 64), The Great Giana Sisters (Commodore 64), Bruce Lee (Commodore 64), Outrun (Commodore 64, arcade), Afterburner 2 (Commodore 64, deluxe hyrdraulic arcade cabinet), Wonderboy (Commodore 64), Space Invaders (cocktail arcade cabinet), China Gate (arcade)
    • 1990s: Wing Commander (DOS), Space Quest 3 (DOS), Warcraft 2 (DOS), Police Quest 2 (DOS), Double Dragon 2 (NES), Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES), The Flinstones (NES), Advanced D&D Collection series (Commodore 64, DOS), Sonic 1-2 (Master System, Mega Drive), Wonderboy 1-3 (Sega Master System), Alex Kidd in Miracle World/Shinobi World (Sega Master System), Sonic 3 + Knucles (Sega Mega Drive), Gunstar Heroes (Mega Drive), Story of Thor (Mega Drive), Phantasy Star 2/4 (Mega Drive), Super Mario World (SNES), The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES), Secret of Mana (SNES), Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn), NiGHTS (Saturn), Guardian Heroes (Saturn), Saturn Bomberman (Saturn), Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn), Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast), Soul Calibur (Dreamcast), Daytona 8-way linkup (arcade), Last Bronx (arcade, Saturn), Sega Rally 2 (arcade), X-Men vs Street Fighter (arcade, Saturn), Dead or Alive (arcade, Saturn), House of the Dead 2 (arcade, Dreamcast), Street Fighter 2/CE/HF/Super/Super Turbo (arcade), Metal Slug (arcade, Saturn), King of Fighters ’96 (arcade, Saturn), Crazy Taxi (arcade, Dreamcast)
    • 2000s: Shenmue 1-2 (Dreamcast), Dead or Alive 2 (Dreamcast, arcade, Playstation 2), Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast), Chu Chu Rocket (Dreamcast), Powerstone 2 (Dreamcast), Gauntlet Legends (Dreamcast), Ico (Playstation 2), Kingdom Hearts (Playstation), Viewtiful Joe (Gamecube), Tales of Phantasia (Gamecube), The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (Gamecube), Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBox)
  • Generations (in order of preference/emphasised experience) –
    • 8-bit: Atari 2600, Commodore 64, NES
    • 16-bit: Mega Drive, SNES, DOS
    • 32-bit: Saturn
    • 128-bit: Dreamcast, Gamecube, Playstation 2, XBox

Like I said, irrational, huh?

I think a special point needs to be made on the inclusion of the PS2 and the whole 128-bit gen note above – it’s actually all to Wifey’s credit that I had a big love of the PS2 in the last generation, as I was irrationally opposed to it on principle (being a bit of a Sega fanboy :P), but it garnered quite the soft spot in the end. It was also the first time I’d been in a financial position to actually get use of all the consoles in a single generation, so it’s quite interesting in that respect.

To be honest, I think I like the first list based on MiGA better than the second, as I feel like I’m making more of a randomised, generated list of games tied to extremely large swaths of time with the MaGA list, and the former seems more personal in its choices… but then again, when I think back on time periods, those are the games that stand out, at least at the moment I’m writing up this post.

I’ll have a thorough chuckle if either of these concepts get picked up anywhere else, or how many people throw on the rose-tinted glasses and look back on their classic games like this. I suspect I’m not the only one, but at the same time I don’t think I have my finger on the pulse in any way.

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed that long-winded return to retro gaming blogging. I promise I’ll start getting back into regular posting from now on!