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Squaresoft's early history with the Occident was marked by many failures, setting aside the notable NES achievements of Final Fantasy and Rad Racer (yes, that was a Square game). In hindsight, the most obvious outrage Square committed was depriving the English speaking world of so many titles worthy of localization (Final Fantasy II and III, Front Mission and Gun Hazard, Treasure Hunter G and Tobal 2, and the epic Seiken Densetsu 3) any of which we would have gratefully traded for the combined high-profile wretchedness of Xenogears and Chrono Cross. Another notable failure came with the transition from Ted Woolsey's perfect localization of Final Fantasy VI to the horrendous freak show of offensive language, Ebonics, and grammatical curiosities perpetrated by Final Fantasy VII's ill-equipped Japanese translators. Squaresoft should have done whatever was necessary to retain the highly imaginative Woolsey, especially after his foray into game production belly flopped, or just left the job to Babblefish.
On the other side of the ocean, Japanese gamers were affronted by "Final Fantasy USA" for the Super Famicom, which they probably shrugged off as typical lazy American oafishness. However, I hasten to add, we were not to blame. Westerners received that game under the title Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, a game intended to indoctrinate Western gamers into RPG fandom by playing to their tastes, which are for retardedly simple fetch quests reminiscent of Candyland, and with no plot to speak of, apparently. Final Fantasy USA anticipated another staff of underachiever's appropriation of a flagship moniker, the ill-fated Secret of Evermore, which was made in the Occident. SoE fails in every category where Mystic Quest succeeds, and vice versa. Perhaps, had the two teams come together they might have made a damn fine game. Then again, they might have ended up with Xenogears. The worst failure of all, of course, was the participation of American filmmakers and the shrewd non-participation of American filmgoers in the Spirits Within debacle.
Secret of Evermore is a worse game than Mystic Quest, which is at least mildly amusing in its insistent affront to your intelligence. However, I am sadder when I think upon the former game because of its noble attempts to emulate the successes of Secret of Mana while giving the game its own unique flavor. In the end, all that matters is that the game is long, tedious, and faltering at every step. The plot unravels like a Saturday morning cartoon show, thrusting a boy and his dog into a world that is prehistoric, Medieval, and futuristic in turn, battling against generic baddies like bugs and robots, (though I vaguely recall an evil butler). The battle system retains Mana's tiresome charge-up attack routine, since we Americans were not privy to Seiken 3's notable advances in that area (see my review for why I blame Nintendo), and the dog functions as a useless non-playable character.
Evermore depletes much energy in its concern with its exasperating Alchemy Combination System, as I imagine the Japanese might call it, which entails trading, combining, buying, and selling bones, potions, metals, quills, feathers, top hats, laundry baskets, car batteries and fish sticks in order to progress in the game. The selling point of the game is its graphics, which are so-so. The visuals lack the imagination of Seiken 2 and 3, offering by way of compensation the pseudo 3D effect of Donkey Kong Country that was all the rage back before Super Mario 64 blew all that crap out of the water. My saddest memory of this game I wanted so badly to root for was the ending, which left us on a cliffhanger. Clearly the makers of Evermore were hoping to make a sequel. Instead, they were all given pink slips.
Is there any redeeming feature to America's failed Square game? As a matter of fact, there is. The game does sport a mighty fine score by a couple talented young composers named Jeremy and Julian Soule, which can be enjoyed independent of the loathsome cartridge into which it is packed. The score utilizes live instruments and high quality synthesizers, giving it something of the feel of a film soundtrack, while having its own unique sound. I would recommend connoisseurs of game music check out this soundtrack, an act comparable to retrieving valuables from the sunken Titanic, as it compares favorably with a Hitosishi Sakimoto OST, and certainly kicks the crap out of anything Motoi Sakuraba has drudged up, for that matter. For anyone considering trying this game on emulation, I would recommend not bothering, as screenshots and the soundtrack convey everything short of mind-numbing repetition that the game can offer. As for Secret of Mana fans looking for a successor worthy of the original, it exists. And it sure ain't Legend of Mana. It's called Seiken Densetsu 3.