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miloscat · 6 years ago

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[Review] EVO: Search for Eden (SNES)

For my game club this month, I picked this one. I have no history with it but its premise—you are a creature with magical evolving powers, who can take on different forms over the course of history—intrigued me, and seemed like it would make for good comparative discussion.

The SNES game is a follow-up to a PC-98 RPG, but with more of an action focus. There are still RPG elements as you accrue Evo points and use them to improve and change your creature, but the core is sidescrolling combat and light platforming. The main problem is the combat is shallow and repetitive. And despite the game spanning much of the course of biological history (starting as a fish, with subsequent chapters based on amphibian life, dinosaurs, mammals, and early humans) the playstyle and controls never change much.

I was also overly optimistic about comparing experiences with other players, as despite there being various options, the most expensive one is usually the best and there aren’t significant branching evolution paths. The exception is the dinosaur chapter, with a choice between biped, quadruped, and the secret bird form; and the eventual option to become humanoid.

Having said that, there are things to love. Seeing your creature change and improve is satisfying in a way, and there are some fun secrets to discover such as the aliens who have been manipulating the natural course of evolution. The game personalises and explores broad biological trends in a fun way, such as sea life being resentful of land life. The fantastical elements were nice too, with giant insects, yetis, humanoid bird and dinosaur people, etc. I was also pleased with a short interlude where you can become a dolphin or mermaid to save the whales from the oppression of evolved intelligent fish. At the same time you could probably learn a little something about real-world evolution, if you can look past the constant truncation of organism names, which I suppose was a technical limitation.

In terms of aeshetic factors, I liked the combination of semi-realistic environment and creature designs with cartoony elements like the eyes. The music is up and down, some of the composition is decent (although created by a renowned bigot) but many of the loops are super short, which makes grinding sessions extra tedious.

In the end I was satisfied with my choice, despite the very shaky combat and necessity of grinding trying their best to tamp down enjoyment. I feel if Enix could have had a third shot at this concept it could have really worked, but EVO is still a little bit special in itself.

#almanic #enix #evo search for eden #46 okunen monogatari #snes #review

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party-of-rpg-muses · 4 years ago

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A Look At Stuff You Probably Never Heard Of: E.V.O.: The Theory of Evolution

Oh, boy. This one is something special. And in case this name seems familiar, trust me, we’ll go into that later. This may be one of the oldest games I’ve ever taken a look at. Today, we’re taking a look at... E.V.O.: The Theory of Evolution!

E.V.O.: The Theory of Evolution was a Japanese-only JRPG game released in 1990 for the NEC PC-9801, a Japanese-only home computer. There, it was known as “46 Okunen Monogatari ~The Shinka Ron~”, or “4.6 Billion Year Story: The Theory of Evolution”. It was developed by the Almanic Corporation with Takashi Yoneda as the head director, who also designed the famous ActRaiser game for the SNES/Super Famicom. And Enix (yes, the same Enix that would later merge with Squaresoft to become Square Enix) was the publisher.

The game itself is a fictional story based heavily around evolution, but with science-fiction elements.

The intro goes over the creation of life, from the Big Bang to multi-cellular organism. At the game’s proper beginning, the player takes control of a Thelodus, an ancient jawless fish that primarily inhabited the sea floor, having been found by other Thelodus. After exploring for a while, a bright flash sends the other ancient sea-dwelling creatures into a panic, some even turning violent, as the Elder kicks you out, believing you had something to do with it.

Once that happens, the 4.6 Billion story begins. The player also meets with a mysterious woman named Gaia, who says the player has a destiny and will be keeping watch throughout the ages.

The Theory of Evolution is a top-down game with the player moving in four cardinal directions and when encountering another creature, a turn-based battle commences. In battle, there is a normal attack, Special (which has different abilities such as Defend and Recover, but other such as Stalk, which can stun an enemy, Jump to lower enemy defense, and a few damaging abilities), and an Escape ability.

As the player wins battles, they gain EVO Genes, which are used to upgrade your stats. Endurance increases defense, Attack increases power, Wisdom teaches new Special moves, and Vitality increases health. And upon reaching the limit of any one, the player will evolve and change into a different animal, moving either down or to the side of the Evolution Chart.

It is also worth noting that it’s impossible to move up the chart and there are several made-up creatures, such as the Theriarodon in the image above, which the game acknowledges to be made up solely for the game.

The game itself is divided into 5 discs, with the first having the intro cutscene and is needed to start the game, always being inserted into the first slot. There’s also quite a bit of music, ranging from upbeat and cheerful to mysterious and uncertain with each era having their own theme. But there are also some tracks that are repeated, like when entering a strange area or the battle music.

Now that we’ve reached the end, it’s time for the Final Recommendation: Never Let Go Of It||Get It||Hold Onto It||Try It||Consider It||Stay Away From It

Okay, let me knock a few things out of the way. In case it wasn’t obvious, this game is very similar to the SNES game, E.V.O.: Search for Eden, a side-scrolling game where you eat animals to evolve in something akin to a competition to evolve and reach Eden. However, they’re both developed by the same company, with Theory of Evolution coming out 2 years before Search for Eden. The development team for Search for Eden was also comprised of younger staff who wanted to make things more “interesting”.

And no doubt you’ve noticed some things that don’t fit with history and evolution, such as the “Evolution Rush System Control” from the second image, or the Neokawamatepis from the fourth. The game occasionally delves into science-fiction. In the game, it’s largely out of nowhere, but the manual gives a detailed timeline of the events from the Big Bang to the start of the game, with you as a Thelodus. Some of the images can be seen here. The game also has the likes of Lucifer as a major antagonist.

And yes, I used an emulator with a translation ROM. The project was done by a group known as “46 OkuMen”, who translated the game from Japanese to English and released the ROM online for anyone to use.

As for the ROM itself, everything seems to be in order, but there are issues with movement. As in you move very quickly, making it hard to make precise movements. It can be difficult to walk down a narrow path and you’ll have to make several attempts to line yourself up. And depending on the creature you evolve into, you could move even faster, making things even harder. And I couldn’t find a way to slow down my movements, only the text speed.

The game also possesses somewhat of a difficulty curve as after each chapter, you’re back at the bottom and have to work your way up. Thing is, in the first chapter, the ocean, there are initially two creatures; jellyfish and other Thelodus. But the Thelodus are way too strong for you, so you’ll have to fight jellyfish and avoid the other Thelodus until you can increase your stats. I also want to mention that there are times where you have to evolve to progress, like evolving into a fish that hand handle the depths of the ocean or fresh water.

Not to mention, as I stated, you’re back at the bottom at the start of each chapter. That also means you lose the Special moves you gained in the previous chapter, with the exception of Recover and occasionally Defend.

Another issue is that things are automatically done when you walk up to something; fighting an enemy, talking to an NPC, etc. However, it can be pretty easy to get locked in. Near the end of the game, you enter the home of Carnivorous Primates, who will repeat the same lines over and over again. And it’s not uncommon for one to start speaking right after he finished talking to you, especially if he’s going in the direction you’re standing.

And finally, there are a number of “bad endings”, attained when evolving too much in a certain direction; such as Endurance while already on the far right of the chart will cause a bad ending. But there are other ways, such as drinking from a disturbing pond until you evolve into a Slime or accepting Lucifer’s deal, causing you to become a demon.

Also, there is something I have to mention because it’s VERY important! There will be times where you’ll have to go over terrain that will damage you, like desert terrain or water. As you move, you’ll take damage and the screen will flash green. And that’s every step you take, so the screen will flash rapidly several times a second. So if you’re going to play the game, BE CAREFUL as there is a danger of epilepsy. If you want to play, turn the brightness of your computer down and don’t play in the day.

All in all? I say give it a try. I consider it to be a fairly enjoyable experience, despite the issues. And with that all said and done, I’ll see you all next month.

#46 Okunen Monogatari #outofexp #A Look At Stuff You Probably Never Heard Of

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