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Post by Garamoth on Jan 26, 2009 16:59:15 GMT -5
Wow, the posts so far look pretty polarized one way or the other. Good thing I tried to give the article some kind of balance. As for the name "Secret of Evermore", this part of the interview is interesting (from www.super-nes.com/evermoreinterview.htm) CD: Was their a lot of emphasis placed on making sure Secret of Evermore had a very "American" feel to it?
BF: Yes, very much so. That was practically our Prime Directive, so to speak, coming straight down from Starfleet Command over at Square Co. Ltd. in Japan, our mother company. We were, simply put, to make an American-flavored Secret-of-Mana-like game. The exact details of how we did it were up to us, but what we did had to be infused with that essence. That was the basis for the creation of the new Seattle studio and its team.So I guess it did make sense to have a name similar to Secret of Mana, considering the explicit link between the two. As for Seiken Densetsu 3, you have to remember that this was the good old days where anything felt to be too "Japanese" was never released stateside. It took a while for series like Fire Emblem and and most Saga games to get here, among other things. Why was the first Secret of Mana acceptable and the sequel was not seems incomprehensible to me, though. But that's just another guess: the actual reason will forever remain a mystery... The article could use a second dose of proofreading on my part, though.
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Post by Ryu the Grappler on Jan 26, 2009 17:16:28 GMT -5
As for Seiken Densetsu 3, you have to remember that this was the good old days where anything felt to be too "Japanese" was never released stateside. It took a while for series like Fire Emblem and and most Saga games to get here, among other things. Why was the first Secret of Mana acceptable and the sequel was not seems incomprehensible to me, though. But that's just another guess: the actual reason will forever remain a mystery... It was mainly Nintendo though. Surprisingly, a lot of Sega RPGs were localized for the international market, including Shining Force, which was essentially Sega's answer to Fire Emblem. The few that Sega didn't localize themselves were brought over by third-party companies like Working Designs.
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Post by kimimi on Jan 26, 2009 21:35:36 GMT -5
Nobody ever bothered translating the awesome Surging Aura though :/
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Post by Ganelon on Jan 26, 2009 22:45:57 GMT -5
Or Langrisser II, Blue Almanac, and Rent-A-Hero (which used a modified PSIII engine as Surging Aura would later do with PSIV). I swear that if Langrisser II had been released, it would've be the most desired RPG on the Genesis. But as is, it's just another import title with anime graphics.
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Post by YourAverageJoe on Jan 28, 2009 19:14:55 GMT -5
Amusingly, the UK will see it's first ever Chrono Trigger release next month; so if S-E hate the US what on Earth do they think of Europe? They love us, man. We got Final Fantasy X International, after all.
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Post by Shinigami on Jan 31, 2009 16:31:50 GMT -5
it DIDN'T deny Seiken Densetsu 3's release. It wasn't going to happen anyway, and none of Sierra's localization resources were diverted away due to Evermore. Sierra?
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Post by Discoalucard on Jan 31, 2009 16:36:22 GMT -5
Sorry, Sierra's been on my mind recently. Meant Square, of course.
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Post by adolbundy on Jan 31, 2009 18:36:59 GMT -5
I bought SoE when it first came out and I loved it. I have tried to replay it in recent years but it is a bit too tedious for me. Some of the dungeons in that game were ridiculously brutal. I wish the game sold more, I would've liked to see what this team could've made in future games...
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Post by ommadawnyawn on Feb 1, 2009 23:34:00 GMT -5
Pretty good article, I definitely share that dream you speak of. I didn't think you gave the non-ambient part of the soundtrack enough credit though, or rather I think you should've let it speak for itself more. To me it contains some of the most beautiful music made for a snes game and while there are relatively few conventional songs on it there are almost no fillers, and the instrumentation is top notch (esp. on horace's theme, collosia and some of the gothica tracks). I also found it refreshing that the composer didn't resort to 80s hair metal/power ballad-influenced pop songs for any of the tracks, like jrpg composers often (always?) do. I realize you could argue that he should've done this though, considering the non-serious atmosphere of the game. But to me it's what keeps the game a step above average and still worth checking out today.
I think the general concensus is that the "Collosia, chamber one" track is the best one, and since you didn't even like the battle theme (neither do I) may I suggest that you switch them?
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Post by Pitchfork on Feb 6, 2009 17:11:51 GMT -5
I actually played through the game again recently. There are a few things I might like to add >_> The interview.
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Post by Garamoth on Feb 6, 2009 20:45:46 GMT -5
I'll be cleaning up the article soon... so now is a good time to make comments. Yeah Halls of Collosia was a good track too. I'll send it. I still haven't found the ambient tracks in mp3 format, though. Any help? I sent the missing links to Discoalucard a while ago... but maybe he hasn't had time to update yet. Here they are anyway: Interview with lead programmer Brian Fehdrau www.super-nes.com/evermoreinterview.htmOld posts on GameFAQs cataloguing all the weird glitches in the game www.inf.uni-konstanz.de/~kneer/androl/gf-archive-soe/003_1.html
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Post by Justinzero on Feb 6, 2009 21:46:18 GMT -5
I don't know why people dump on the game so badly. Its one of my top favorites from the 90's for sure. The ambient music, the odd story, the alchemy system, and that kick ass dog, all made for a great game. I get so annoyed with "I hated the fact it wasn't multiplayer", and "SD3 was sooo much more roxorz, like zomg Square droped the F Bomb on that". It played just like Mana, but it wasn't a cheap knock off. Sure it used the same "engine", if that's what you want to call it, but it didn't shove over emotional fantasy down your throat. You were some snotty Bart Simpson-esque kind of dude, sucked into this crazy adventure, and with your dog to boot. I even paid good cash for the "Full Color!" Brady Games guide, and I always enjoy jamming on my old saves here and there. I think the game gets shit on because its not and official Mana title, but to me that seems ludicrous. Its like saying Levi's Jeans aren't cool, because they aren't Tommy Hilfiger Jeans.
Good Game = An enjoyable experience that always begs for more, and always nets a smile. <--- Secret of Evermore did just that for me.
Great Game, and really great article.
BTW, thanks for posting that really cool interview.
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Post by Pitchfork on Feb 7, 2009 2:41:35 GMT -5
It's also worth noting that SoE's gameplay is much, much more similar to SoM's than SD3's.
Piece of advice: compare aesthetics.
I also think the article could use a bit more of a conclusion (sorry to be so persnickety!).
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Post by KeeperBvK on Feb 8, 2009 6:50:54 GMT -5
I didn't really get into this back in the days, but then again neither did I into Illusion of Time (or Illusion of Gaia, if you prefer) and when I finally bought the latter one last year and basically had an Illusion of Time weekend with a friend of mine, I started to realize what a FANTASTIC game it was. Maybe I'd feel similar with Secret of Evermore, now that I'm old enough to look past it not being another Secret of Mana...especially now that the Mana-franchise has gone way down.
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Post by Justinzero on Feb 8, 2009 12:49:25 GMT -5
The NA version was changed from the EU/JP one?
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