Secret of Evermore

Secret of Evermore is an action role-playing video game developed for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995/6. It is an offshoot of the Mana series and bears many similarities to the Secret of Mana game that preceded it, but it is technically not part of the series' canon.

The game is centred around a boy and his dog who have been transported to a corrupted utopia dimension of Evermore and have to make their way back. As mentioned earlier, the game borrows much of the Secret of Mana's gameplay mechanics such as the inclusion of real-time battles and ring-based menus, and is even based upon the same engine.

Whilst the game received a warm reception from the critics, it was widely considered to have not matched that of the quality of Secret of Mana, which raised a high bar. Nevertheless it had gained a cult following from the fans, and is renowned for the quality of its soundtrack.

Gameplay
The main characters portrayed in the game are an unnamed boy and his pet dog, who has unique shape-shifting abilities. The player views the game from a bird's eye perspective, and can interchangeably switch between the boy and the dog as necessary.



Both characters have to navigate through the worlds of the dimension, and fight enemies along the way; battles are carried out in real time. The player has a selection of four different styles of weapons to choose from - a sword, axe, spear and even a bazooka. As well as battles, the weapons are required to break down obstacles that hinder the player's way.

In addition to the conventional weapons, one of the main gimmicks featured in the game is the art of alchemy. The characters visit alchemists present in each of the worlds and gather ingredients for them to prepare an 'Alchemy Formula', which is composed of magic. Each of the formulae come with different effects for the player to take advantage of during battle.