[TAS] SNES E.V.O.: Search for Eden by FatRatKnight in

This is a tool-assisted speedrun. For more information, see tasvideos.org/...
TAS originally published on 2009-10-26
In E.V.O. you play as a creature who evolves by eating his opponents. Just like real life!
We recommend reading the author's notes. They are rather voluminous and contain a great deal of good information.
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The author's commentary is available as soft-subs in all of the encodes for this movie. A Lua subtitle script is also available in this run's forum thread with the same commentary from the author.

[@SargentD4]

When I was a little kid playing this game the scene where the dinosaurs died always made me sad. Seeing that scene 25 years later and I’m still sad

[@thejackal007]

I still feel this game was criminally overlooked. Always good to see it get run (and the commentary is great!)

[@jinxhead4182]

True, but it has been represented at large events in the last few years, at least. I myself only found out about this game a few years ago and it is really a lot of fun.

[@CopiousDoinksLLC]

If you think this game was criminally overlooked, just wait till you see the prequel... kzbin.info/www/bejne/j56cip5-bd2Wn6c

[@thejackal007]

@@CopiousDoinksLLC This is new to me and looks like a lot of fun. Already seeing similarities in some of the music, too.

[@Zelinkokitsune]

@@thejackal007 You'll see a whole bunch of tracks that were reused for EVO from there!

[@CaptmagiKono]

It has a hell of a lot of flaws, especially if you have played it, but it is a very interesting game for the SNES library. I think the prequel as Copious mentioned is more interesting overall though.

[@GreenZinfidel]

Turn on subtitles for the author's commentary!

[@cfdofficial6039]

Ok

[@xeroxcopy8183]

with all that sass, I really think it's just a single person who creates commentary from out of the blue

[@avalonjustin]

I'm not taking orders from a bottle of wine.

[@cfdofficial6039]

@@avalonjustin me niether

[@CaptmagiKono]

Good hint, now I wish more TAS runners did audio commentary, lol.

[@NYCZ31]

It blows my mind that life existed for perhaps 3.5 billion years before finally leaving the oceans

[@Mega_Mikey]

NYCZ31 It blows my mind that there were helmet wearing, spear wielding bird people with teleportation technology millions of years ago

[@CopiousDoinksLLC]

@@Mega_Mikey What about the shark people riding _other_ less developed sharks while shooting frickin' laser beams?? I'd really like to know where _that_ went over the last 26 million years

[@petergbrooks]

Yeah almost like it's a fantasy

[@vectorshingetsu5560]

IIRC from my playthrough, this game has practically no i-frames. I got stunlocked a lot... Watching this TAS is sweet stunlock revenge on the bosses!

[@ZorotheGallade]

If you don't have any i-frames, just use the enemy's.

[@linguicaguy]

Imagine trying to get all the RetroAchievements for this game. Nothing beats wasting over an hour of your life because you're trying to no-hit both yeti bosses, clearing the first one, only to get hit one time by the second one, making you reset and sit through the same cutscenes again.

[@ExaltedDuck]

I would love to see this game remade with a more fleshed-out soundtrack and actually-fun gameplay.

[@oscargordon5851]

instablaster

[@linguicaguy]

I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

[@turtlebreeze9114]

this game made me think about my existence on this planet and how grateful I am to be alive right now. it gives me goosebumps thinking about what life truly means, and why humans coexist with the universe.

[@CopiousDoinksLLC]

24:00 I like how Australia only has one level and it's a desert with absolutely nothing in it. Yep, that's about right

[@claramanuella539]

I've searched so much for this game, I used to play it as a kid, it's so nice I actually found it!

[@justinsmith9006]

i like the commentary, i didn't know there was tas commentaries, it makes me want to check on some of my favorite tas videos to see if they have one as well. :D

[@GreenZinfidel]

Here's a list of all the TASes on TASVideos that have commentary included: tasvideos.org/Commentaries.html

[@_nRool]

Prehistoric Fish jumps 4.6 Billion Years into the future (and off everyones heads) to marry the Sun.

[@chamberkingston7609]

*Koichi Sugiyama* did the soundtrack for this game. Before I knew it was him who did it, I always thought to myself, "Hmmm... I swear, this is Dragon Quest music I'm hearing.' Turns out I was right. He did the music for the Dragon Quest series of games as well. What an amazing composer...

[@ZorotheGallade]

In this game's prequel there is even an evolutionary path that leads you to a dinosaur called the Sugiyamin. Its special ability is singing the Dragon Quest ouverture.

[@josephbrandenburg4373]

The music in E.V.O. is really great. It's unfortunate they overused the bumbly oafish sounding songs.

[@andresraffler]

This is one of my favourite games of all time. Thank you for this

[@oumcraft]

I make a game with E.V.O. theme. please take a look. and I have Tabletopia to playtest if you like. www.kickstarter.com/projects/tragoonha/life-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth-series

[@sainkanzaki]

The commentary is really entertaining and insightful. Thank you

[@HelenShinonome]

Bruh. This is my childhood jam, it's so good to see that other people know about it :D

[@oumcraft]

I make a game with E.V.O. theme. please take a look. and I have Tabletopia to playtest if you like. www.kickstarter.com/projects/tragoonha/life-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth-series

[@tazzeboy]

Thanks alot for the commentary track!, really really enjoying it

[@ninjacat230]

Great now I have to watch the entire video again

[@segatasama]

Thanks for the commentary in the CC's!

[@klutterkicker]

Fun fact: The massive dino death shown in this game is only one of several major extinction events throughout Earth's history. Another fun fact: We're living in an ice age and have been for a few million years.

[@dansmith1661]

It is going to get cooler when Earth's Solar Orbit that warmed the planet for a decade or two goes out. NASA confirmed it.

[@GreenZinfidel]

@@dansmith1661 Well, Earth _probably_ would have gotten cooler due to variance in its orbit around the sun, but any subtle effects on temperature due to distance is now being completely blown away by the effects of greenhouse gasses warming it up. :(

[@dansmith1661]

@@GreenZinfidel It will pass or else China would be like a desert by now.

[@GreenZinfidel]

@@dansmith1661 I have no idea what your comment on China is about, but to put this in your own words, "NASA confirmed it." climate.nasa.gov/blog/2910/what-is-the-suns-role-in-climate-change/

[@dansmith1661]

@@GreenZinfidel www.naturalnews.com/2019-08-30-nasa-admits-climate-change-not-caused-by-suvs-fossil-fuels.html

[@UmCara_Qualquer]

20:53 - "Extreme dodgeball! Looks like The Dinos are losing this one!" HAHAHAHAHAHA! Nice!

[@sporedoutofmymind]

39:24 Teabagging is good etiquette after defeating an interplanetary space amoeba

[@Allafif]

I am Gaia. My father (the sun) has ordered me to basically groom a fish. It's kind of messed up.

[@KnakuanaRka]

What does this have anything to do with grooming?

[@Chi-li9sf]

Amazing, this is why I love tas videos.

[@emilyz4104]

Thanks for uploading this. It brings back memories.

[@oumcraft]

I make a game with E.V.O. theme. please take a look. and I have Tabletopia to playtest if you like. www.kickstarter.com/projects/tragoonha/life-the-evolution-of-life-on-earth-series

[@something1889]

They are the best 40 best minutes of my life (obviously from the TAS and the author's comment)

[@T3sl4]

40:23 Sun/Eden/Gaia gives bird-people "intelligence". Some years later: "Revali's Gale is now ready"

[@Anthon1996]

I've seen this game before. Same composer as Dragon Quest, by the way, and you can tell by listening.

[@OrobaSpyro]

Guess that explains the shout-out in the MS-DOS version

[@William_ben_chan]

Very interesting video, the subtitles at the bottom of the screen are very interesting

[@jeffmaesar]

Take a shot each time Gaia says ''I am Gaia" during the TAS.

[@jansenart0]

18:20 WHAT? THE HELL. IS THAT AWESOME THING!? Someone needs to break down how the sprites in this game are designed because they can't have made unique sprites for that!

[@barbedwire83]

It looks like a type of Nautilus.

[@lusio7182]

Crazy to think this was released almost 30 years ago... Japan really have some dope ass technology

[@AerysBat]

I love the commentary!

[@Tor-Erik]

I like how there are penguins on North Pole, which doesn't even mix up. There are no penguins in North Pole, unfortunately.

[@doorbellco]

Poor Yeti Jr

[@dansmith1661]

You can murder every creature you see, even the nice ones.

[@avalonjustin]

Life can be so cruel :(

[@KebaRPG]

Came here to see Final Form... Birb Form Did not Disappoint.

[@suzukiegi5699]

Watching that damn shark getting slapped around was so satisfying. That thing was an ass as a kid.

[@chriswinkler284]

I don't remember this at ALL. Just another unique game that (As far as I know) slipped under the radar. I like the idea of eating your foes upon defeating them and earning evolve points. Cool game, excellent playthrough. Thanks for the upload =)

[@Shady_Fungus]

I remember playing this game and it was the strangest thing. A lot of the bosses were interesting choices but DID NOT see that last boss coming at all.

[@qwicy]

20:56 the most savage annotation - maybe ever.

[@Mega_Mikey]

Just merkd that yeti’s parents man wtf

[@mariosonicfan2010]

Bolbox: I am the strongest creature! You shall never def- bird: yo you wanna learn how to do a *_FUCKIN INFINITE?_*

[@davemarx7856]

The yeti fight made me feel

[@T3sl4]

24:17 Turns out Gaia is toroidal. Torus Earth! You sphere-earthers have it all wrong!

[@andreupelachs115]

I am Gaia. Good TAS speedrun here!

[@jansenart0]

Of course. I come here to BEG for Fatratknight to do a commentary track on this TAS but come to find out that it was done a DECADE AGO and ONLY PUBLISHED THIS WEEK. :c

[@GreenZinfidel]

The commentary for this TAS actually has been available since it was published the first time nearly 11 years go, but it is in the form of a Lua script that needs to be run in snes9x along with the movie file. A certain publisher went through the painstaking process of manually converting that script to closed captions for the HD republication of this TAS though...

[@jansenart0]

@@GreenZinfidel Should've been more specific: running audio commentary is what I'm after.

[@capr1dust233]

EVO's bizarre adventure the fish want to be god with his stand darwin over heaven

[@T3sl4]

20:30 Gaia used FIREBALL. It's super effective! DINOSAUR fainted!

[@thebiolibrary5572]

The whole rogans arc in the final age is really weird, it feels like they meant to make it longer since the rogan king says you helped the whales, but all you ever did for any aquatic life was encourage it to leave the ocean, but the devs realized too late that the rogans arc would make the final age a bit too long, and just decided to cut it down to "Gaia wants you to fight the rogans" and didn't change anything about the whole whales stuff. They could have tied them to Bolbox too since he's the main antagonist of the final age, and could have said something like "The great one to the north granted us the power of the crystals and let us evolve here in the ocean while the whales were gone" instead of having Gaia say "Please help the whales fight the rogans"

[@ironbowtie]

"Darwin's Game"

[@gw3993]

Of course the bird would have the quickest route through the teleporter maze.

[@ProtoMario]

Were the sharks with laserbeams a reference to Dr.Evil in Austin Powers.

[@petergbrooks]

It took me 40 minutes to get passed the fish era I'm pretty sure. Oh well

[@BugsyRanuel]

now i understand this

[@dan.21]

Can someone please tell me what is the thing he does once he becomes a bird? Some sort of a kick?

[@phoenixfire2388]

The composer for this game was Koichi Sugiyama?!?! The dude who composed the music for the Dragon Quest games?! What the Hell?! As much as I like the game, I honestly thought most of the music was pretty plain and boring. Oh and awesome run btw...

[@erikanoriegarios8159]

የEVO ቪዲዮን የኤደን ፍለጋ እወዳለሁ።

[@gw3993]

I've beaten this game with mammal and human, never bird. I can't beat Bolbox with the bird. ***Update*** I beat the game as bird. I am free.

[@JunRozenovich]

Why i always hear begining if the song "Oh...you touch my tra la la "

[@isacroma7760]

O cara mostrou que a testosterona move o mundo para frente ignorando a ética, a família, as civilizações e atravessou gerações na raça resolvendo tudo na base da violência.

[@YoutubeIsAwesome]

Check the orchestral arrangement for this on KHinsider, it's top-tier.

[@Argonisgema]

I wish there was like a voiced commentary.

[@pt_saurio6261]

Rangu was here.

[@CookieficationJ]

2:08 did they just become... um hold on a second here

[@syuz3031]

なつかしー

[@FabioGnecco]

Is that true that this game has aliens ? One person in the gamefaqs board was asking about them and got me curious

[@It-is-a-Smash-Hit]

i feel like this is either a threat or a message

[@cfdofficial6039]

Good video

[@Formedras]

Friggin' Martians.

[@Firehyphen]

Didn't know Aris was a TASer

[@mqduck]

Does time in the menu naming your saved creature not count?

[@Mae-Muki]

Everyone knows that only green amphibians can jump.

[@Mega_Mikey]

3 yetis disliked this video

[@takamichinoku4167]

Damn this game looks so depressing lol. I know it's sorta telling parts of what happened on this earth and evolution but they even show dead dinosaurs with comets lodged in their backs and the babies dead :(

[@dansmith1661]

All to defeat Rita Repulsa. Woah, pop culture reference.

[@hellz23456]

Damn that's hard images 21:07

[@xeroxcopy8183]

deja vu

[@lukalzu]

Needs Remake

[@capr1dust233]

5:00 Dragon Ball Sparking zero pvp be like

[@jolly8784]

please someone explain to me how many games h

[@patitobonito4722]

EVO morales ayma ?

[@BenBlackEquinoxEngelhard]

This game had amazing game mechanics but criminally atrocious level design. Nearly every level of this game is just worthless filler garbage.

[@odinretrogaming9983]

I only go to the mammal and i don't pass there xD

[@josefkrenshaw179]

I haven't played it for a bit... but I did go through it a few times on cartridge. I've stayed a bird... I like the ability to fly and becoming a mammal always started back at level one...

[@cradle808]

:clap: -20

[@Not_Gedatchtnis]

Ojala rangugamer viera esto

[@koholintisland2167]

Was enjoying the vid, and a liberty mutual ad interrupted. Never closed a video so fast in my life. Do better.

[@ryanwilliams7270]

What a stupid game. You just fly off screen 90% of stages

[@cesar_br5848]

Lol so i challenge you try to jump like him

[@sainkanzaki]

It's a TAS of course it will zoom through stages