Secret of Evermore (1995)

Wow, this is hard! No wonder I struggled with it as a ten year old... I'm not sure I even cleared the first town. Well, I have now, and I've figured out the sniffing to find stuff mechanic. I'm just moving slowly and trying to incorporate grinding into my exploration a bit so I'm prepared for what's next.

The soundscapes without music are very interesting. I know I didn't like it as a kid, but I think it's kind of cool now. Looking forward to the rest!

Early impressions:

+Easier to figure out what your objective is. NPCs actually repeat what they want you to do if you need a reminder.

+Haven’t had a problem with hit detection yet

—Much harder than Secret of Mana so far. Enemies hit harder and have more erratic movement. There’s also one less partner.

—Level design so far has been either tedious or confusing.

—Alchemy system replaces the more standard spell system from Secret of Mana. Using different resources for different spells is more annoying than just having an MP pool you can restore by resting at an inn or using an item.

—Music is not as good imo

—I don’t like the visuals. I can’t say the aesthetics are bad, but I just don’t like the setting. Less colorful and vibrant than Secret of Mana. I’m also a bigger fan magical fantasy than I am of time travel.

—Single player only. I wouldn’t make use of the multiplayer anyway, but it’s worth mentioning since Secret of Mana had 3 player co-op.

+-Can’t decide what I think of the MC. They’re kind of a dork, but that’s also kinda endearing. Always making weird movie references and they take everything in stride.

I said I’m not a quitter, but that’s also before I started the game. I’m having second thoughts now lol

I beat this right after finishing Secret of Mana. It uses pretty much the same combat and UI systems but it works better with only a single character. I enjoyed the plot and progression, particularly how the weapons were spread out enough to get use out of them all and how they improve with technology as you travel through time. I did not care for the somewhat complicated alchemy and trading systems.

I ended at level 39 and mostly used spears. The character uses them like a moron though, with the overarm javelin style, completely failing to take advantage of reach. They have the highest attack power though, which is why I used them. Swords and axes have better reach and I may have preferred them for bosses. I know my save state in the final battle is using the best sword. All spears were maxed, as well as the best sword and claw axe. Other weapons in order of use are: bronze axe (2.6), gladiator sword (2.55), bone (2.4), crusader sword (1.9), knight basher (1.87) and atom smasher (1.5). My most used alchemy were heal (4.7) and cure (1.3). Everything else was barely used and less than 1.0. Double drain, energize, one up, barrier and fireball had some use.

Overall the game is almost as good as Secret of Mana. My notes give it 7/10 but since I gave SOM a tiny boost this game can get one too, so 7.2.