A Game Born out of the Legacy of Secret of Mana
When Square began developing Secret of Evermore, however, Secret of Mana had already been a success in both North America and Japan. Secret of Mana (known as Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan) had already been a huge success in 1993, and a sequel was in high demand. But during the development of Seiken Densetsu 3 (or Trials of Mana) in Japan, Square decided to take a different path with North America.The challenge was clear: Square wanted to create a title with the same action RPG feel but tailored to American sensibilities. To accomplish this, the company set up a new Redmond, Washington studio and brought on an in-house development team led by programmer Brian Fehdrau, who at the time was fairly inexperienced in game development. The concept? To make an RPG that was "American-flavored," a game with a distinct feel that also nodded towards Secret of Mana.
Development: From Vex and the Mezmers to Secret of Evermore
The game originally came into being with the name Vex and the Mezmers, with the story being about spell casters who could explain and take readers into fantasy worlds. The concept was tempting but would eventually go in a completely different direction. Later on, the game's story was altered to a more conventional boy and dog situation being transported to a strange fantasy realm where they would need to discover an odd experiment gone wrong in order to return home.One of the most interesting aspects of the development process was that the Secret of Evermore team basically had to reimplement some of the systems put into place in Secret of Mana. Although the two games share the same ring-menu-based combat, the developers of Secret of Evermore could not plagiarize the code. Instead, they had to rewrite it from scratch. Similarly, Square's internal development tools, S.A.G.E. (Square's Amazing Graphical Editor) and S.I.G.I.L. (Square Interpreted Game Intelligence Language), were utilized, but the lack of experience on the team left much of the game having to be built from scratch, sometimes with little more than a skeletal design manual from Square Japan.
The Unlikely Star: The Dog
The game's hero, as with so many RPG heroes, is left in a world beyond his understanding. But the unique hook of Secret of Evermore isn't the boy—it's his dog. During the course of the game, the dog is mutated to fit the individual environments of the world he and his owner are traveling through. The dog had originally been intended to be the second playable character, but it was decided to focus on a single-player game instead. With that aside, players can nonetheless move freely between the boy and his dog at will at any time during the game, a feature that set Secret of Evermore apart from the other RPGs of the period.The Alchemy System: A Break with Mana's Magic
Whereas Secret of Mana followed the typical magic and summon system, Secret of Evermore took a different path with an alchemy system. Instead of casting magic in the traditional sense, players could gather items and enemy drops within the world and combine them in order to create various potions and effects. This added a layer of strategy to the game where some potions were upgradable over time and could be utilized in combat, giving a fresh twist on RPG tradition.The alchemy system added another layer of complexity, as 22 ingredients were found across the game's diverse worlds. Certain ingredients were not found at all, such as meteorite dust, and some, like water, were fairly easily obtained. The player could only cast a specific number of spells at any one time, so they must make tactical choices as to which ones to bring along as they made their way through the game's levels.
Secret of Evermore's Release and Reception
Secret of Evermore was released in North America on October 1, 1995, and received positive reviews at first, with criticism being directed towards the game's unique visuals and innovative gameplay. The reviewers complimented the game's alternative visual style, commenting that it was more realistic but less vibrant than Secret of Mana's. A wider variety of the game's environments was also a positive aspect, as each world had something different in terms of setting and atmosphere.But the game's story and humor weren't to every critic's taste. Some believed the characters were too ordinary and the humors—such as jokes regarding non-existent B-movies—were confusing rather than funny. While the gameplay was itself quite good, the story was criticized as being as ineffective as the story of other RPGs of that era.
Arguably the biggest issue Secret of Evermore suffered from, however, was in comparison to Secret of Mana 2 (or Seiken Densetsu 3). Released a day before Secret of Evermore in Japan, Seiken Densetsu 3 was the widely accepted follow-up to Secret of Mana, and its North American absence translated into colossal ire. Many fans unfairly thought that Secret of Evermore was meant to be a substitute for Seiken Densetsu 3, and that led to disappointment. The reality is that Secret of Evermore was a standalone project that was separately being developed from Seiken Densetsu 3 and was never going to be a substitute for what was missing because the game didn't have an official English release.
The Legacy of Secret of Evermore
Despite the controversy and years passed, Secret of Evermore has still maintained a devoted fan base. It has never been re-released onto newer digital platforms like the Virtual Console or PlayStation Network, so it really is kind of a cult classic of sorts to newer gamers. But to players that experienced it back in its heyday, it remains a game that can be revisited.While it didn't meet the same popularity as Secret of Mana or Secret of Mana 2, Secret of Evermore carved out its own niche. Its mix of American storytelling, tactical alchemy system, and wacky humor are all aspects that make the game one that fans of retro RPGs continue to enjoy.
Just like the continuously evolving dog that grows larger throughout the game, Secret of Evermore evolved into a game that, although possibly underappreciated by many, still holds a permanent place in the hearts of those who hold its secret.
Secret of Evermore was, in many respects, prematurely ahead of its time. It provided a sense of how Square would do business outside of the parameters of its typical RPG fare, blending innovation with the essentials that made Secret of Mana so popular. While the game never received the acclaim it deserved, it remains an underrated classic—a classic that still holds up today and is remembered warmly by those lucky enough to view it at its initial release.