Revisiting Secret of Evermore - SNESdrunk

[@FlameJackstar]

Say what you want about the gameplay, the atmosphere is simply incredible.

[@paulnewhouse5126]

absolutely!

[@princealbertz]

Agreed. SOE was mesmerizing in its own special way not any other SNES game can replicate it. There was something special and calm and serene about it

[@frozenaorta]

It is. Phenomenal ambiance. Yet somehow the gameplay still manages to be pretty tedious and often boring. Lot of missed potential in this one.

[@bigsweaty8088]

Excellent point

[@princealbertz]

MultiTarded SOM seemed corny and predictable where as SOE was more of young adult in the 90’s reading a serious novel book

[@LilDeuceDeuce]

I love that every other channel in my sub box is doing year end retrospectives and looking forward to 2020, while SNES Drunk is just putting out a regular video like it's 1995 forever

[@SNESdrunk]

Thanks for noticing, that's the idea. I don't have a whole lot of interest in following gaming in real-time when there's thousands of games that are already out there.

[@LilDeuceDeuce]

I agree, great video!

[@chaser5616]

Lildeucedeuce ,wow last time I heard that name is from tomska video,nice to know you like retro gaming too :D

[@ag-ue1oe]

@Tony M. SUIKODEN II thats the shit man. best thing there is

[@patbrewster479]

Wow a snes channel doing old school videos, who would've thought🙄🥱

[@blackbeardddd]

One of the most forgotten and underrated games on the snes! One of my all time faves!!

[@MatthewHyatt]

Agreed!

[@KainsAddiction]

Dude this game was absolute garbage lol

[@sean.durham999]

I love this game. I got it for my 16th birthday and was hooked. Jeremy Soule's composition is so memorable for me. And, I love how there is no love interest in this story. It's just a boy and his dog. Not everything has to revolve around a goddamn romance.

[@BigCowProductions]

Preach it, brotha! Our culture is so damned prurient

[@richardmyers5732]

So damn refreshing. Love the soundtracks from both SoE and SoM 👍 Hey if you like old and new video game soundtracks you should check out a website called OCREMIX. They remix everything from Megaman and Final Fantasy games to Zelda games. Also Google SoE remix and you might find one in particular I really liked. The stillpicture on KZbin shows the top halves of the boy and dogs face in "real life" form. Not every song is remixed but the ones that are remixed are pretty damn cool

[@wjb4578]

Um, the other big RPG games of the time weren't love stories either. Chrono Trigger was mainly a group of strangers traveling through different eras trying to save their planet from being devoured by an alien. Secret of Mana was about three strangers also looking to save their world from an evil emperor. Same with FF6/FF3US - a group of strangers trying to save their world from a clown(?). Even other snes games not developed by SquareSoft had none or very minimal elements of an epic romance. It wasn't until the next generation of SquareSoft games on PlayStation where the epic JRPG romance ballad became central to the theme, alongside with a world-saving quest. Cloud and Tifa, Squall and Rinoa, Zidane and Garnet.

[@stoneocean0065]

​@@wjb4578yeah but they had love interests so there was something like that

[@digitalworms]

I totally agree I personally loved this one to!

[@xebatansis]

The first boss is so iconic: Fighting a giant bug that ate itself through the carcass of an even bigger bug.

[@OmniTorch]

Wow never thought of it that way.

[@michaelp4122]

This is really interesting! I still need to try this game, I feel it is love/hate.

[@maddo-hq9jr]

Yeah, todays games are too fancy. We had to play with bugs!

[@biz0unc3]

It's still one of my favorite games on the SNES. I loved the part with the market place myself! Either way, I really appreciate a well thought out opinion on anything, and you did very well here.

[@subtlewookiee]

Granted I haven't played the game in 25 years but I too remember loving the marketplace.

[@justsomebody-1665]

Funny, I was actually very surprised to hear him criticize the marketplace. I always thought it was pretty fun puzzle. But I was a kid with plenty of time to kill I guess? I definitely preferred this game over Secret of Mana back in the day though.

[@TheLibran1]

I liked it a lot too but wasn't fond of the 15 minute time limit in the sense that there isn't like a secret way to skip it when your done or something. You do need the 15 minutes at first to figure things out, it might seem like too long in a vacuum but imagine trying to do it in 10 minutes the very first time you played? What bothers me most is that once you leave an era you can't go back, so the strongest armor and weapon are there but you can't like progress in the game and come back later your stuck there unless you want to give it up. They don't tell you its there so you could miss it, like its a reward for having fully figured out the marketplace to some extent. But once you know its there? Its a damn pain. Because the dynamic changes to one of reward to "man - I have to stay without leaving this era?"

[@Dustinisnotavailable]

Agreed! That was one of my favorite parts. Then again, I had that marketplace guide that was in an issue of Nintendo Power back then.

[@PedroSoze]

The marketplace was fantastic. As a child, and as an adult when I replayed it. This game is in my Top 5 SNES RPGs.

[@ZeroUm_]

Hah, the market is one of my favorite parts. Way back then I loved spending the weekend with my mom and a notebook, writing down all possible paths to make the best run of that area.

[@FinalBaton]

love it too! did the same thing back then

[@galaxybounce1002]

Marketplace was fantastic. Found it really fun and immersive

[@MrHyeron]

Hell, I did a frigging map of the whole thing, along with the best "route" to get everything in time.. One of my most memorable SNES moments, in one of the best SNES games. I still love it to bits.

[@uberfreak2]

Same, that was my favorite part! I make sure to get every relic, even the ones that are probably useless

[@luvmenow33]

Ha! The old days of gaming when you had to draw your own maps! Espically if it was a First Person View dungeon crawler where you absolutely had to draw a map or forget about it. I remember playing Ultima Exodus on the NES and having a frigging full notebook for that game. Gamers nowadays heads would explode if they had to map a game out. Lol

[@Mrbigdaddymanamale]

Love this game. One of my most played. I can understand the critique, but this game had amazing writing and absolutely charming worlds. I was transported as a kid, living vicariously though this boy and his pet dog as they shared a beautiful adventure. The gameplay wasn’t the selling point for me, this was my rabbit hole to wonderland.

[@Humbird00]

You're right. This video is much better. I somewhat disagree on some points out of personal preference. I actually loved the marketplace. It's my favorite puzzle in the game. But I can understand the time limit being frustrating, especially for players who don't enjoy puzzles. Fortunately it only counts down to an easy boss fight and afterwards you can take your time with the marketplace. Mazes in general don't bother me. So maybe that's why I'm able to enjoy this game much more than you. It's one of my favorites. I have fond memories as a kid of mapping out the infamous Forest maze on graph paper and feeling the accomplishment of figuring out that navigational puzzle. The marketplace was a similar experience as I wrote down all the deals and figured the best solution myself.

[@BigGahmBoss]

This game is near and dear to my heart, and I know that's mostly nostalgia. This was one of the first rpg's that truly hooked me, the other being Chrono Trigger. I've replayed both in adulthood and still love them. They still hold up.

[@nowonmetube]

They are great games!

[@jamesmiller5331]

Same

[@jamesmiller5331]

Having found out recently that Jeremy Soule did the soundtrack.. that really was not much of a surprise. Certain songs on here still stick with me today.

[@jamesdavis3757]

I've played through this game on three separate occasions kid, teenager, and adult. I loved it all three times and one of my Top 5 for SNES.

[@mattthewalkout]

2027 - Revisiting Revisiting Secret of Evermore

[@DoomRater]

"They call her fire eyes for some reason" I bet she started a fire using her glasses.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Actually it's because she can shoot explosive lightning bolts from her eyes.

[@Chud_Bud_Supreme]

Lol, that never occurred to me. Maybe she liked to burn ants with her glasses

[@sektorispiar2988]

It's actually because the prehistoric citizens think her shiny glasses look like fire. The game has an animation that highlights the sparkling glint of her spectacles.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

@@sektorispiar2988 Um, no, I'm not joking, it literally is because she shoots lightning bolts from her eyes. After you come back from the Bugmuck with Strong Heart, she demonstrates by lighting the campfire outside her hut, then gives you your first set of Call Beads to let you summon her for powerful fire attacks. She even SAYS this is why she's called "Fire Eyes".

[@sektorispiar2988]

@@ArcaneAzmadi oh yes, I remember that now. You're right! I was thinking of the very first time she introduces herself; she's a bit more coy about explaining herself at that point.

[@cmedtheuniverseofcmed8775]

I got to admit this gem is really defined by Jeremy Soule. I believe this was the first game he ever did music for and it really gave the atmosphere to the setting to it.

[@PYMs3d]

Totally. The whole game is fine, but soundtrack is so great.

[@LucatheDingo88]

I'm glad you decided to give this game a better review, I never really understood the hate this game got. Seems to be from people that like Secret of Mana not liking this game as much. I suppose the reason I liked it more was cause for one thing at the time I played Secret of Evermore I didn't even know Secret of Mana existed. I actually didn't end up playing Secret of Mana till like the late 2000's. Another reason I'm nostalgic for this game is it was one of the first RPG's I had ever played, as a 90's kid my family had like 4 RPGs on the SNES and they were..... Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest The 7th Saga Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars Secret of Evermore We maybe got the SNES in like 1994, and my family still played SNES games well into the next console generation, as we didn't have alot of money back then and made due with what we had, and even into the twilight years of the console there was still alot of quality titles to enjoy, and at the time Secret of Evermore was like no other game I had played, both storywise, presentation wise, and gameplay wise. I also loved it's beautiful and often nightmarish world. Even today I can't think of any other game that comes close to what this game did. This game is very nostalgic for me, and I think not playing Secret of Mana helped in that regard, it was also one of the first RPG's I figured out how to beat all by myself (and this was also much later, like the early 2000's when I was in middle school) as I wasn't very good at them when I was younger. There were things like healing items, stats, and buying that I didn't catch onto when I was younger, as when you're a kid I just wanted to pic up and play the game, I also had learning disability where I could not figure out how to read till I was in my early teens. So being able to go back to this game years later and finally figure out how I was suppose to play it definitely felt like a huge personal accomplishment at the time.

[@napoleonfeanor]

Being from Europe, there were hardly any RPGs released here. Mystic Quest Legends (the game you also had but it didn't have the Final Fantasy name attached as 7 was the first one released in Europe and Mystic Quest without the Legends added was the gameboy predecessor to SoM) was the only turn based one in German. The rest were action rpgs: SoM, Illusion of Time, SoE, Terranigma were the only ones. I think there were some which only came in English but I was in elementary school during the SNES era hence not knowing English beyond obvious video game terms. That got me into emulation early thanks to German fan translations. It's so odd they didn't even bring the easy Mario RPG here to Europe, not even an English only one.

[@Kuchenwurst]

I did enjoy the marketplace very much. In fact, it's one of my favorite parts of the game - and I still haven't found something like that in any other rpg to date.

[@CainMadness]

I adore the market place section of the game. I grew up playing things like Elite and what not. 'Trade this for that" kind of mechanics are my jam.

[@TheSLX]

Same, for some reason I always look forward to my first nobilia visit in every playtrough.

[@schnubbi13]

I like the market place section itself a lot. But what I don't like is that you have to get everything done in a time limit when you reach it the first time. It would be much better if you could take some time to explore and understand it the first time you play it

[@Dhalin]

@@schnubbi13 You ... don't... have to get everything within the time limit. All you need is the Tier 2 armor (you get the Tier 3 armor out of pots in the Colloseum if you have the T2 armor equipped). Kill the boss, come back out and do the rest of your shopping at your leisure.

[@galaxybounce1002]

Marketplace was one of my favourite parts of the game. Really fun and immersive. Glad other people feel the same way

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

Happy New Year's Mister SNES drunk and may you have a wonderful 2020!

[@Cowclops]

I'm here from the future with some bad news about 2020

[@Maximusbyronus]

The main character's design appears as if he was inspired by Marty McFly!

[@justsomebody-1665]

that... makes way too much sense. How did I never realize this

[@frankfrankerson8127]

He was

[@sektorispiar2988]

Yeah! It's that orange "lifejacket"-looking vest of his. And the bluejeans.

[@maxwuup2152]

After all this time, it totally is inspired by McFly, thanks for the eye opener

[@brandonwilliams6119]

It would’ve been cool if we could navigate around with a Hoverboard on the world map

[@Herearetheundead]

This game also really made an impression on me as a kid, that still makes me remember it now! Truly an amazing game.

[@monkehm]

Secret of Evermore is my favorite game of all time and I'll be the first person to tell you to just pull up a walkthrough for all the dungeons and mazes. There's also a couple of things you can miss but it's not that bad, I think it's a couple of alchemy spells and a trinket or two. And the one thing I will say about the bazaar, as awful as it is, you can come back later on and have all the time you want to get everything (again, just use a walkthrough). Those issues aside, it's such a dark, atmospheric, interesting game and I've never played anything quite like it.

[@jmlkhan5153]

I agree. Best game ever, for you and me at least. I've SEARCHED for twenty + years and never found anything like it

[@MikeSmith-is3su]

This game is still very nostalgic for me, but back then i think we put up with a lot of crap because we didn’t know any better. I still love it though.

[@marianocinquegrani7595]

I love how you can go back to an old review and redo it, I wish more reviewers did it! It shows how you are gaining experience on the subject and we can learn with you. For this and everything else, yours is one of my favorite channels, I really enjoy your content. Happy new year to you, I hope you have a nice celebration! :)

[@roy4173]

I love how after playing so many bad games, it's given Snesdrunk perspective.

[@eduardhojman7973]

One of my favourite RPG on SNES.😍 A masterpiece on SNES 🙌🏻. In fact, you won't gonna find something like that this days. For me, is in Top 3. 🥰 To bad it got forgotten... I would love to play a remake from it. 🥰 Happy new 2020 year !!! 😃😙🎼🎉🎈🎊🍾🥂

[@jayosh8622]

Mannn... I rented this from blockbuster back in the day. I was a kid with a successful weekend neighborhood door to door lawn mowing enterprise lol I fucked around and got so intro this game that i easily justified and followed thru with a plot to "lose" the blockbuster copy and pay for it myself lol the fact i was able to keep my save file AND the game in the 90's totally made up for having to pay a little extra. No internet and it being summer coupled with blockbuster being at the entrance to my neighborhood led to me pulling it off with zero parental involvement. God i miss the 90's And this game. Tl;Dr: I FUCKING AGREE WITH Y'ALL 100% LOL

[@presidentsnow7315]

I really LOVED this game. It's almost as good as Chrono Trigger and Zombies Ate My Neighbors in my opinion.

[@nezatrebovan]

Try CrossCode. You won't be disappointed

[@fukngroovnkc3700]

@@jayosh8622 The last Block buster left in the world just called me..... They want their cartridge back asshole

[@Justforvisit]

" In fact, you won't gonna find something like that this days." You also did not find anything like that even back in the day :D

[@ripster8766]

This channel rocks, it’s so nice to have a quick deep dive reference for all these games. Good job!

[@murpux1]

Colosseum waiting room has a hidden room where you can get even BETTER armor for the fight, not wasting market resources. Spend those on things like armor polish, sun stone, and moxa stick instead!

[@TardustheToasty]

I am terribly surprised to see this right now, and happy to see you revisiting Evermore. It is definitely a game that looses its luster the longer it is going. As if the development had to be rushed after the second world. Well, thank you for your second look, shining a spotlight at my most played game. Played it just yesterday actually. Something like this will likely never be made again. You did the game justice here. What a nice way to start a new year. Oh yeah for anyone who cares, have a good new year and may it go well for you on the first day and beyond.

[@napoleonfeanor]

True, it felt like the two later time zones were less flashed out. Future one was kinda lame

[@Chud_Bud_Supreme]

I thought your critique was fair. Although this game was one of my favorites, even I admit it was flawed You didn't mention how it's possible to soft lock yourself in the first part of Gothica. You need a stupid Amulet of Annihilation to go to the freakshow to advance the story. The amulets are hidden around that area, but you can also use them to buy better tier equipment. If you don't manage your inventory correctly you can screw yourself over and be unable to progress I always thought that was a stupid beginner's trap

[@Vile23]

I got stuck in that loop as a kid. Was there a limited number of Amulets you could obtain?

[@Chud_Bud_Supreme]

@@Vile23 IIRC, there were three amulets hidden around Ivor Tower. One in Lance's house where you could also obtain the gold breastplate for free, one hidden in a secret room behind one of the houses, and one in a hidden patch in trees outside the town. You could also find a new spell for Horace outside town somewhere With three amulets, you could buy the dragon helmet and the magicians ring to complete your armor set, then buy a ticket to the freakshow When I was a kid, I started over the first time and just bought some amulets in Nobilia at the bazaar. Then I later found those secrets. That game had a ton of hidden goodies, and I have OCD so I had to find everything

[@KajDarkwind]

Oh god, I completely forgot about that part, but now I remember that happening to me my first (attempted) playthrough.

[@richardmyers5732]

@@Vile23 If you wanted to you could just buy as many as you wanted with bags of rice because of the hidden unlimited rice/spice spot right outside the market 😲 The funniest part about the amulets is if you use any form of profanity in naming the kid or the dog, the skull captain of the desert will call you a potty mouth and charge you 3 amulets to get across rather than just the 1 lol The dialogue was friggin awesome in this game 👍

[@Chud_Bud_Supreme]

@@richardmyers5732 That's amazing, I never knew either of those facts

[@orsonriven]

Funny story, the engine is similar to secret of mana, but it’s actually the sage and sigil system built to make this game, the head of the development team did a nice interview a few years back talking about making this game. Good read.

[@acentaur010]

Secret of Evermore is a phenomenal game in itself. And it's vastly superior to Mana games, if we are comparing, though I'm not as SoE is its own IP. The story in all areas is really well done. The magic is a lot of fun (once you find Crush and Lance). And the scene where you run into Cecil and Rosa from FFIV, brought tears to my eyes! I do have to complain about the market area, and the forest maze, though I have a Nintendo Power that lays out these area in great detail. 9/10 game! Must play for everyone! :D

[@malkav3119]

SOE is still one of my all time faves! Love it to death! 🙂 Btw in the german version it is set in Grossostheim in germany 😉

[@Kuchenwurst]

... Where Nintendo Germany used to sit, of course. :D

[@TheNecrofluff]

That was always so amazing as a kid because we lived just a few minutes away from Grossostheim! It made the game feel really special to me :)

[@ClydeLelou]

In the french version, it's Pontoise in France.

[@ThatGuy-ky2yf]

@@ClydeLelou Bruh I had no idea there were European versions

[@nowonmetube]

And the translation is even funnier imo

[@mcskatcat4582]

hands down my favorite game as a kid, thanks for making this man... despite crapping on it for 6 years lol

[@an3582]

One of my favorite games ever.

[@0Fyrebrand0]

As someone who hoards consumables in RPGs and never uses them, this is absolutely not the game for me.

[@Dhalin]

@@ThatFetcherFargoth Pretty much, this. The consumables in the game are (mostly) cheap. And once you learn what spells are actually worth leveling (hint: you only need one offensive spell and 2 healing spells, pretty much ever the entire game and their ingredients are easy to come by and rather cheap). In fact, if you level the only offensive spell you need, you can make _profit_ by leveling the spell. You get more money than you spend buying the ingredients.

[@proudlarry8225]

It's a lot like how in Final Fantasy Adventure you have limited charges on all your weapons but you just buy more. I mean, everything has charges in real life, it's just some things we take for granted how many charges they have without realizing that they are not 100% renewable. Like how many times our fingers are capable of pressing a button before the muscles fatigue temporarily or the joints irreparably wear. Actually, I hope I didn't just inflict some severe existential dread upon you.

[@Dhalin]

@@proudlarry8225 But... those examples *are* examples of renewable charges. Your muscles get tired, you go to bed that night and they get refreshed over night. However, a better example would be a piece of equipment you use every day. I remember when I was a kid, I had an aluminum baseball bat that I'd swing around and bat balls with all the time. It eventually developed a crack in the middle of the bat and one day it simply broke. One would never think a metal ballbat would break, but it did. But then I used that thing for like 6+ years.

[@proudlarry8225]

@@Dhalin They only seem renewable because you're not 60. Muscles won't hold the same tension or number of charges before refreshment, and degenerate when you become feeble and can tear or even snap their tendons, both somewhat repairable by surgery but never to the same capacity. Joints are definitely not renewable, though their total durability can be extended through proper care and treatment.

[@TheK1ngFiasco]

Fantastic re-review. You've gotten so much better over the years that I've been watching you, and I'm glad you've come back to revisit this one. Happy new year!

[@bensutter6483]

Then there's me, thinking that the market is one of the coolest things I have seen in any game anywhere. It builds the world so well, it's fun to see what kind of different deals you can get, and it's far and away more interesting then simply going into a menu and purchasing everything one after the other. The market is one of the HIGHLIGHTS of the game to me and I wish more games utilized a barter system.

[@Kuchenwurst]

Indeed! I couldn't have said it better.

[@galaxybounce1002]

100% agree

[@rogerr.8507]

2:21 Fire-Eyes Glasses Girl: It means she can start fires using the magnifiers on her coke bottle glasses. Your welcome.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

When are we getting "Is Mars Needs Lumberjacks worth watching today"?

[@TheLakabanzaichrg]

The only thing you need to know is that you shuld watch that instead of Mars need Moms

[@Keristan_aka_christianhulen]

I just recently completed playing through the whole game, and personally I love the game so much. It had a really good atmosphere about it and the way you level up your weapon and Magic skills was very fun and addictive. I remember getting upset when the game was over because there wasn't any more to play. Just my opinion, of course.

[@chainsawhijinx4039]

I was 14 when this released, I remember being legit "doctor's note, you're missing more than three days of school" sick, watching "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" on cable. My Dad surprised me with the game and strategy guide when he came from from work. I did indeed finish it. I'm sure the guide made the marketplace section tolerable. After completion, I recall loading up my end game save and playing the final boss fight countless times over the following months. I don't believe reviews were too kind to the game back then, but man oh man...nostalgia is an ever demanding mistress. I need to revisit this in the future.

[@zebatov]

I was 10 1/2 and I didn’t get into these kinds of games until much later. I think the first action/RPG I played was Baldur’s Gate for PS2 when I was seventeen. So I missed out on a bunch of great games.

[@JesusSaves86AB]

I was 9 and remember being blown away by it, I liked it much more than SoM.

[@あらすとる]

Nice revisiting! I really appreciate you giving this game a fair chance. I concur on the flaws you mentioned, and I understand it can be a deal breaker for some, but this is a case that I think the positive outweight the negatives. Not having this game be a 2 players compatible on the other hand was a bold move on Square of America's part. Overall, I like this game very much and is a part of my childhood that I treasure a lot. It being one of the few (action) RPGs that got to Spain helped a lot.

[@OGNoNameNobody]

It's a good thing to look back an say "I still feel the same, but my words could have been better..." I'm sorry SoE isn't still to your liking, but I appreciate the expansion on your reasoning, along with the tempering on the borderline vitriol from the original critique.

[@MrGanon360]

Secret of Evermore is one of my all time favorite games from SNES, it’s music is beautifully created by Jeremy Soule, who made music for games like donkey Kong country and even games on Gaia online, and it just takes me back to a time when I felt so immersed into the world and I fell in love with it all over again ^-^

[@TheHamerer]

This is one of my favorite games, but I'm pretty sure the game was incomplete, or just rushed at the end. This could be evidenced by the weapon progression where starting in the medieval area you get the sword and Lance seemingly at random times.

[@richardmyers5732]

Can't argue with you there. Was definitely weird how you barely got a chance to use some of them before you got the next one 🤷‍♂️

[@YukaTakeuchiFan]

It's actually a little (okay, a lot) of both. I don't have the stories on hand, but let's just say that Square of America wasn't treated particularly well, and this are reasons why this is the only game it ever had the chance to produce.

[@WallerSon]

Never actually played this one, but maaaan, does that box art bring me back! For whatever reason, I can so vividly recall seeing this box art at Video Game Powerstore every time.

[@jonbourgoin182]

Happy New Year to you and Clyde!

[@johnnyrainbow3009]

Thanks for this video, man, I was really sad about your first video about SoE as this used to be my absolute favourite as a kid. Especially because of the music and the alchemy system. And the ridiculous humor!

[@zc7372]

Could you do a review of Desert/Jungle/Urban Strike for the Genesis? That series was a huge part of my childhood and I want to hear your usual inspired take on them.

[@SuperTeeter64]

Happy New Years SNESDrunk! Thanks for all your awesome videos and being someone from Minnesota as well! XD See you next decade!

[@mikeblish7528]

This was a well done review of Secret of Evermore. I played this as a kid and liked the alchemy system at the time. It really hasn’t been done much since.

[@richardmyers5732]

Really cool concept instead of just "Not enough MP" like every other RPG at the time 😒 Love how there's a huge list of different ingredients to go collect and how you get different spell results from different ingredients 👍

[@acidwizard6528]

I've always liked Secret of Evermore, although not as much as Secret of Mana. If Evermore had multiplayer, it would have been great. You do make valid points about the poor hit detection and the clunky ring menu system for using alchemy. Having to go to a menu to use alchemy and pausing the game in the meantime could have been done better. I should also mention that the Greco-Roman marketplace was my favorite part of the game. It was like a timed logic puzzle and I enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how to get the best stuff given the resources I had amassed. I love your channel. Keep up the quality retrogaming content, and have a wonderful 2020.

[@dannyboi7877]

That stupid freaking FOREST MAZE is 10 times worse than the marketplace. I still get rage dreams about the insane design of that place

[@richardmyers5732]

😂 Follow the owl in the trees man! But ya...pain in the ass lol. That's where the speed formula comes in handy. Raises your evade so much that nothing will ever hit you 👍

[@Estellese7]

Don't you just follow the owls in the forest?

[@marionamewontwork2681]

Made my own map when I was a kid. It took an entire weekend if I remember correctly but I always used it after that. Sadly I never made a market place guide, just always fumbled through that part :) And for those wondering why I 'didnt just google it' back in those days you bought a guide or had nothing the internet was 'new' and fresh. My house didnt even have a connection.

[@MerkhVision]

This is a much better more well rounded review than the previous version :)

[@Alianger]

You should've talked about the balance patch which groups together spells and weapon types to reduce grinding and rebalances enemy stats. And the 2-player patch. Mostly fair criticisms though regarding the dungeons there are some good ones with puzzle elements like the colosseum and pyramid, certainly a step up from Secret of Mana to me which also had shallow dungeons. Some of the mazes are tedious though, especially the dark cave. The hit detection is better than in Mana, with less of a chance to screw up a charge attack here and IIRC more of a chance to actually attack twice (if you attacked and dodged around the same time you can hold the button and attack again sometimes). But it is unintuitive to have stat-based success rate in an action game. Certain items really help here though.

[@richardmyers5732]

Down for some 2P? 😂 Honest to god...a buddy of mine and myself...we did this about 3 or 4 months ago. It's glitchy at times and can screw you over if you don't save often but man is that friggin fun 😲

[@Alianger]

@@richardmyers5732 Hehe yeah it's a bit of a hassle at the pyramid as I recall, with those switch puzzles. I remember taking notes on what not to do but I don't think I have them anymore.

[@toughbutsweet1]

This is one of my all-time favorite games. The worst parts are building up your strength in the first world and getting lost in the seemingly endless desert. But everything else is wonderful. Jeremy Soule's music is beautiful, with my favorite Queen Beauregard's song.

[@EmeraldEyesEsoteric]

I'd say the worst parts, for me, are the castle dungeons, where you are only playing as the dog, and the great endless forest, both in the third story arc. You can really get lost in both of those dungeons for hours.

[@Davtwan]

It was only released here? I wonder if there was anyone who made a Japanese patch for the game. Wouldn’t that be a change of pace for an SNES game.

[@richardmyers5732]

Crazy eh? It was rare for a game to not only be released in North America first but also to be as friggin good as it was. At least in my opinion anyway 😏

[@Appolyon]

I loved the game as a kid, although it had no coop mode. But i was glad there was a guide included. It really helped with the mazes and the market. I liked the concept of the later, although it was a little tiresome to get everything you need, especially if you want to get things later on in Ivor Tower, because you can't get everything there.

[@ralpharambe163]

I think this was the game that really wanted to make me pursue game design/development. After 20 years... Well, not all dreams come true.

[@Akiga_games]

I like the interesting take you had on this game! I feel like the developers wrote a love letter the mana series with this entry! Great details about the different aspects of gameplay. Awesome video Drunk!

[@BOB-wx3fq]

This game is great if you're on the fence, combat is fun, landscapes are cool

[@Llukario]

This was a cool title! Im playing final fantasy adventure now so I see the resemblance of the mana series here! I like that you decided to redo the video after not only becoming more knowledgeable about the game but to right your wrongs of the first video! Great content man! Awesome Review!

[@MrLuciusrm]

Is “ mars needs Lumberjacks” a prequel of “ mars needs moms”?

[@justsomebody-1665]

Yes. Mars filled up with thirsty moms and now they want lumberjacks.

[@ViciousOS]

It's a sequel, after the martians didn't get their moms, they got lumberjacks as a substitute, after all they want to be girlies just like their dear mama

[@DrownedInExile]

Mars needs Plumbers.

[@artnandez]

The only thing I remember of this game was the weird animated commercial for it back in the day with the repeated “secret of evermore “ name being sung over and over

[@MrMatt0486]

Glad you didn't change your opinion based on all of the naysayers.

[@manp1826]

I don’t know how I ever came into owning this game but I never played it. It was always collecting dust in a corner. Until I got tired one day of playing everything else. Once you actually start playing it and actually read the story and character lines…you get hooked. Its one of those games that just stick in your memory even decades. If you just play it fast to beat it your not going to like it much. One of my most memorable games that I remember every once in awhile 👍

[@maltheopia]

You know how games like Cave Story and Illusion of Gaia have a cute, cheerful aesthetic that completely belies the hideous and dark nature of their worlds? Secret of Evermore is the total opposite, with a dreary, serene, oppressive atmosphere that belies it's INCREDIBLY silly story. That's why I find it weird when fans of the game bring up its atmosphere and aesthetics as selling points. Yes, the game has incredible art and music design, and it's also completely inappropriate for this particular game.

[@gongoroth]

maltheopia The story has a definite humorous streak, sure, but that doesn’t mean that the heavy atmosphere is inappropriate. Evermore is a fairly-tale, and as much, renders the real-life dangers in Podunk as fanciful monsters from the protagonist’s imagination. Much as Dorothy sees Ms. Gulch as the wicked witch in Oz, or Hansel & Gretl see their wicked stepmother as a cannibalistic witch beyond the woods, so Evermore’s protagonist sees the passage of time and the stifling interference of technology (as illustrated in the two time periods we see of Podunk) rendered as a robot trying to conform a beautiful fantasy into a lifeless machine world. Just as the scientist tries to bring a dangerously powerful machine to a humble American everytown, our hero sees his dog literally transforming into a soulless machine (a toaster), and has to fight to keep his small-town dreams safe from the Frankenstein-like experimentation that so clearly haunts his B-movie consciousness. The atmosphere does such an amazing job at betraying the inner thoughts, dreams, and fears of an American Everyman defending his turf. That said, the funny/silly stuff are a wonderful part of this fairytale too.

[@maltheopia]

@@gongoroth I think your observation is simply projection and undue credit. Unlike games like Illusion of Gaia or even Breath of Fire 2 where there's an existential sense of wrongness beyond the cheery surface, there's nothing narratively in Secret of Evermore's plot that invites you to look beneath the surface. Within the NARRATIVE (not the aesthetics, the narrative) there's no dread, no unresolved plot threads, no thematic dissonance or contradictions. It's no Earthbound which presents what appears to be a wacky, straightforward journey but has some dark elements to it. It's just a game where the aesthetics don't match up with the story.

[@gongoroth]

maltheopia Though I disagree very much that Evermore has no thematic dissonance in its story, it’s probably safest just to call “To each his/her own” here. I tend to think the most powerful stories are the minimalistic ones (ie fairy-tales) that use archetypes to create tension/questions rather than acrobatic plot points, and in turn, I think the game’s aesthetics very much match its archetypal story. Many are not on board with me so far as story preferences, though, so I understand your disagreement. Let me just say for the heck of it that I am currently finishing up a BoF2 play-through and I adore that one as well!

[@gldmj55]

This is one of those "underrated" cult classic games that people really take personal when you don't like it. That's cool. Doesn't make the gameplay any less flawed. I got it for Christmas the year it came out and still own that original cartridge. I've lost count how many times I've given it another chance to grow on me. Still hasn't happened. But like you point out, the game at least looks and sounds great, so there's that.

[@PkmariO64]

I picked up a used copy of the game sometime last year, purely on the basis that it looked cool. Needless to say, I’ve tried to get into it, but I just can’t.

[@KeithNovember]

This game is worthy of a GOOD KZbin video that shows it the respect it deserves. It is the most underrated game of all time.

[@nnickplays9713]

Thank you for telling us all about this. I think I'll grab a patch and check it out. I hope you have a great rest of the year and a great year to follow!

[@fukngroovnkc3700]

I always remember the townsfolk mid game by the name of Cecil that makes a funny reference to final fantasy....the weirdness & unique execution of this game is epic sort of like Earth Bound💜

[@kevingodinez7630]

The game definitely has flaws but darn if it isn't one of my top 5 SNES games, and one of the games I've replayed the most.

[@richardmyers5732]

SNES is my all time favourite console and the RPG I go back to the most by far is SoE no question. SoM was a fabulous game but I definitely love this game more

[@Aeby2886]

My mom was a huge fan of this game, she absolutely loved the mazes, and puzzling through them with hand drawn maps, and as someone who didn't really enjoy combat in games she found the way you could just instead prepare ahead of time via alchemy (she kept lists of NPCs and what they had and the money types etc) to trivialize fights made it work super well for her. Naturally she was a big fan of the market too; more lists and record keeping for it, lots of back and forth across the desert lol I definitely agree with the video, I've replayed it a few times on my own since she's been gone but I basically always give up and just look up maps and ignore the market cause the games extremely easy regardless. I just thought it was interesting how to the right person all the stuff most people don't enjoy can be strengths. She was an old-school adventure gamer though playing on the commodore 64 with stuff like Zork so her patience and ingenuity for that kind of thing was much higher than mine

[@kassie2k4]

wow she zorked?? i tried it once, i also worked with some engine a friend had made for that kind of thing and had some ideas for my own MUD thing but friend disagreed with my thoughts for their engine my mom played phantasy star online on the dreamcast and gamecube as her only real engagement with gaming, she played online and was popular, had lots of friends and even a relationship at one point for a while; she refused to try other games though and resisted my efforts to teach her anything on pc

[@bes03c]

This game seems like it would benefit from some improvement patches

[@richardmyers5732]

Or just remake it altogether 😲 F**k I would buy that yesterday 👍

[@BetOnLuckyClover]

This review was much more fair than your older one, for sure. SoE was a childhood favourite of mine and I still revisit and complete it every few years. I understand and agree with some of your criticisms on it but they have never impeded my enjoyment. I'm glad you got around to doing this finally!

[@keithwaggoner2375]

one of my favs ever on the SNES. would love to see an update like the mana games got or are getting but I doubt that will ever happen.

[@MaybeeT]

Much better. Thank god you mentioned the music and atmosphere. Some of my all time faves. I agree with most of the flaws the magic is not really worth it but I do love that marketplace!

[@TheGunmanChannel]

Happy New Year Drunk!! Here's to a great 2020

[@ShonnDaylee]

LOL.... Boy that sure didn't pan out.

[@aztekno2012]

The "Menu" sound track was some of the greatest music I've ever heard in the mid 90s...

[@thenostalgiafactor5023]

Total length of video: 580 secs. Total length of "SNES Drunk": 2 secs. .34% of the video was spent listening to "SNES Drunk."

[@fencefirst2722]

Not enough

[@heyhonpuds]

More SNES Drunk! More SNES Drunk!

[@noside.foxhound]

I remember a ton of ads from videogame magazines back in the day, your review is great which pushes me to play the game even more, happy new year by the way!

[@paulnewhouse5126]

i just re bought this game again on my snes and "those damn flying skulls"!!!!

[@Dhalin]

Use the Crush spell on them. You'll make more money than you spent on the Crush spell once you get it high enough to kill 2-3 skulls with 1 spell (Lv2-ish). Then you will learn to LOVE the skulls when you get 5 character levelups in 10-15min and thousands of jewels.

[@paulnewhouse5126]

@@Dhalin yes i know, but i turn off the dogs attack just so i can get more kills to lvl up the weapons. even on the skulls.

[@Dhalin]

@@paulnewhouse5126 Why level weapons on the skulls, when there are far easier enemies to do that with? And yeah, I turn the dog's attack off too, because weapon levels are extremely important (at least the Bone, First Spear, and the Two Swords). But when given the choice of _what_ to level these weapons on, I'll take the easiest to kill enemy and just kill that over and over again until I get it leveled. And then once the weapon is done, I'll go kill the skulls with the Crush spell to get the money/XP for my character and his dog. It's all about working smarter instead of harder. XP/hr is a thing I learned from older MMOs. If you're going to grind, go grind on something worth grinding on. In Ch2, I would say that the best thing to level the sword on, would likely be those little green slimes in the Colossus. Or, if you don't want to wait that long, you could perhaps kill those guys with the staff that confuse you, but I don't like doing that. There's the spiders in the Desert, you could hang near an oasis, maybe. Or on the other side of the river, that works too. EDIT: When you get to Ch3, I usually wait until I have the flying machine, and I will go back to the Jungle (yes, the very beginning of the game), so I can just run through an area and one-shot enemies at 5-10% strength. It takes just a few minutes to level a weapon doing that. The game doesn't care what you kill for Weapon Skill progress, so you might as well pick the easiest stuff to kill. EDIT2: I realize I said that backwards: I'll kill the skulls with Crush FIRST until I am content with money/XP. THEN I will go kill other stuff to level weapons, because the Skulls can bump you up to Lv25+ (which takes less than an hour to do) and at Lv25+ you very rarely miss and there's a point where you can start killing weaker things in one hit which makes leveling stuff far faster.

[@paulnewhouse5126]

@@Dhalin what i said was just a general statement, not my lack of understanding of the game, i know how3 it works, since im almost 30 i don't have times to run around and take the time to grind as much so this play through iv just been taking out everything i see and being as efficient as possible. but thanks for he info anyways buddy!

[@Dhalin]

@@paulnewhouse5126 That was why I gave my suggestions, yes. To get more done with the least amount of time spent.

[@sektorispiar2988]

Happy New Year! Great, well-balanced review. I enjoyed most of this game, including the marketplace trading game. Two of my favorite parts are somewhat 4th-wall-breaking. (Minor Spoilers ahead!) Near the marketplace entrance is a raving doomsaying prophet-like guy who claims the whole world is in a videogame. At the end of his dialog chain he says something like "If I'm lying, may I be struck down!" You are then given a menu of 3 ways to smite him from on high by turning him into an animal or an object, but if you press the cancel button instead, he will thank you for being merciful and give you something good. The other cool semi-wallbreaking bit I remember is in Ebon Keep. There is a shop there run by none other than Cecil from FFIV! He will ask you if you have heard of his victory against the final boss of FFIV. If you say yes, he will give you a 50% "old friends" discount on all his wares!

[@Shiirow]

I preferred Robotrek.

[@weglarz]

I have so much nostalgia for this game. Remember sitting in the basement playing it with such amazing atmosphere and music. Loved visiting all the unique locations and seeing the dog change. Nothing quite like this game. I love it, but I’m not sure if I would if I didn’t have nostalgia for it

[@madlyfwipp9511]

He completed his promise barely. Lmao, he said he'd revisit Secret of Evermore in 2019 but what a clutch.

[@pablofmc]

SNES DRUNK DELIVERS!

[@frozenaorta]

Down to the wire! Haha.

[@SNESdrunk]

"Promise?"

[@frozenaorta]

@@SNESdrunk Maybe you didn't use the word "promise," but you did say you'd revisit the game in 2019, didn't you? I feel like I also recall this.

[@madlyfwipp9511]

@@SNESdrunk Look in the comment of your first Evermore Video. Though it isn't exactly a promise, it's close enough. :v

[@traviswall1982]

This is my 3rd favorite game on SNES and 2nd favorite soundtrack. Enjoyed your review.

[@slyguythreeonetwonine3172]

This sounds right. I tried playing this game years back, and this sounds exactly what I got very tired of quickly. Especially the "I am too close to the edge when it scrolls" issue.

[@StratoSwitch]

This is one of my top time all favorite games, to the point where I collect them in box and have them on my office wall. As a giant fan of the game I agree largely with your take on the down sides of this game. It does feel like work often especially using alchemy. I guess I always over looked it because of the story and the characters, I really liked both. Great vid. I was happy to watch it.

[@morganerickson439]

Jeremy Soule? He did another of my favorite games, Total Annihilation!

[@ZBR_ProXP]

And Skyrim

[@pablofmc]

Before the video even starts I want to wish you a great new year and I'll be here looking forward to your videos every week, buddy. I started watching you because you made exclusively-snes videos but your narrative is excellent, i'd even watch reviews of 70s movies if YOU are doing them. Anyways, happy new year to you and your canine companions. CHEERS!!

[@shabmaster7128]

I've always thought that with all it's warts, this is a still a personal top 10. I like it better than Mana

[@Kadaspala]

I liked the experience of playing Mana multiplayer with my siblings. But Evermore is definitely a better game in every other sense (well, aside from OST I guess.)

[@TheNextFiles288]

I found this game cleaning out my brother's car for some$ one day. I was about 13 years old. It had things soda spilled on it, dirty, just a mess. I didn't think the game would work. Being a huge snes player, I had the tools and cleaning agents for it. I absolutely git a big kick out of this game, because I had secret of mana and chrono trigger too. A big tri-fecta! I couldn't get off the snes long enough for dinner, and I faked being sick at times so I didn't go to school so I could play these games, which now I'm 39, and emulate them on my computer or phone! Your review was excellent, same here. I'll be subscribing, after I check out more of your vids😊 Good day sir

[@TreuloseTomate]

Complaining about maze-like dungeons without mentioning the forest. Ha!

[@あらすとる]

The game was a "guide dang-it" for sure. Here in Spain we got a guidebook with the game, I wonder if it was the same in the States.

[@Chud_Bud_Supreme]

@@あらすとる I never had a guide book for it. I had to figure it all out for myself when I was 12

[@あらすとる]

@@Chud_Bud_Supreme I see, nice job completing the game with no help! I remember struggling a lot in the desert, even with the booklet. I think the guide thing was done to promote these kinds of games in Europe, where we got so little games of the RPG genre. It was a book that worked both as a game manual and a nice (albeit with some errors) walkthrough of the game. If I'm not mistaken, Earthbound's manual in USA was similar in this aspect.

[@Chud_Bud_Supreme]

@@あらすとる It took me a lot of tries, and back then once I had found a game I liked I'd fixate on it and play it over and over until I beat it

[@あらすとる]

@@Chud_Bud_Supreme Same for me. Back then, I would play the games I loved a lot, specially as I couldn't have access to multiple games. I remember playing Megaman X2, looking its armor parts for hours and finding the secret attack without the help of a guide. Good memories.

[@pixerhp]

It’s good to know someone still remembers my favorite childhood game.

[@michaelbauer6852]

This game was amazing, gotta totally disagree with you. One of the best atmospheres in a game ever.

[@CainMadness]

If you pay close attention to his channel, you'll realize he often associates "I dislike a section/game" with "bad mechanic/game". Virtually everything he called a flaw or griped about, I was tilting my head at and thinking was one of the greatest features of the game.

[@Davtwan]

Shawn Cain - Uh, yeah. That’s how opinions work. They’re subjective.

[@CainMadness]

@@Davtwan He often claims something is a bad mechanic when it isn't, it's just his negative opinion of said thing. That's the point I was conveying.

[@CainMadness]

​@@ThatFetcherFargoth If I am not mistaken, I think SNES Drunk has admitted to not liking RPGs in general, so that could be a major contributor to his stance on a lot of traditional tropes and expecations of gameplay found in most of them. Especially for that era of gaming in general! Other than those damn flying skulls, I never really had problem with hit detection either, nor problems running out of mats for spells.And if I did, oh well. Going to be out grinding anyway, will get more mats.

[@psychodad4434]

While Secret of Evermore isn’t a great game like the all time classics, the fact that I can remember quite literally every detail of where I was and what else I was doing when I played it for most of my first play through should say something. Pretty unique little gem. I’d rank it higher than you did in my overall list just because of that.

[@guillaumeroussin186]

Thanks for this second video. Wish you a Happy New Year!

[@benlewis3847]

That snes drunk intro was spicier than normal

[@llgxz]

I personally loved the marketplace section. I understand how it can be complicated and convoluted at first but if you know what you're doing the rush to get everything in those 15 minutes and getting the best stuff in the game up to that point feels awesome.

[@ekahnoman7331]

It's a shame this game isn't great because it's box art gets me every time with, "woah that looks cool, I gotta play it".