UNITED STATES—There is something I learned about myself during the pandemic: I was always a great gamer, but as I got older my ability to game just hit the sideline because of becoming an adult. The pandemic gave me a bit more time to indulge in my favorite pastime, even more so the fact that I learned about this streaming service known as Twitch where many people play video games, build a following and can make a TON of money getting people to watch them play.
This brought me back to my childhood and what I deem one of the best video game systems of all-time: the SNES or what is known as the Super Nintendo. It was the elevated version of the NES. Trust me it’s a long story so we’ll talk about that one more later. There are so many great games and I mean GREAT games on this system. You may have the original great, if not you may have been lucky like me and got the miniature version of the system. It was re-released by Nintendo a few years ago and contained a select few games that are indeed classics.
However, I want to talk about a game that I used to spend countless hours playing as a kid: “Secret of Evermore.” How would I describe this game? A smaller scoped version of “Secret of Mana,” but just as fun and exciting. Trust me we’ll talk about “Secret of Mana” in one of our weekly chronicles in coming weeks America. To best sum up “Secret of Evermore” it involves a boy, his dog, time travel, weapons, alchemy and wicked bosses.
I have always been a fan of roleplaying games. However, I don’t want to play a game that is all about talking to people and not seeing any action transpire in the process. This game gives you action, story, and just exciting fun. I mean who knew alchemy could be so fun. Mixing ingredients and learning how to cast spells in the process, it’s amazing. That is one of the fun aspects of this game. You have to gather certain ingredients to use formula that you obtain by speaking to people in your journey to return back to Podunk. In the process, you meet kooky characters, wicked villains and a narrative that takes you through four different worlds.
Would I call this game time consuming? Absolutely, but that is the fun in “Secret of Evermore” it is a mental escape. You become so engulfed in the game your worries dissipate into thin air and that is indeed a great feeling people, a really great feeling. You get to power up your weapons and each time you reach a new level, the weapon becomes more powerful and takes a strong beating on the baddies that you have to battle throughout the game.
This game similar to its counterpart is like a puzzle, but I will argue it’s much easier to navigate the puzzle for “Secret of Evermore” than it is for “Secret of Mana.” To me “Mana” is one of those games you don’t want to stop playing until you’re near the end because if you forget where you’re supposed to go it’s hard to recount things. With “Evermore” things are a bit more clean-cut in my honest opinion America. Your pet dog changes with each new world you explore, the villains become tougher of course and the formulas you obtain become more complicated and exciting to use. There are absolutely some puzzles that will do your head in if you don’t think. Not to mention there are a few bosses if you think you can toy around with them you will learn VERY QUICK, a few wrong moves and your game is over. So don’t mess around. I know the big question you’re going to ask is do you need a strategy guide for this game? No. You can navigate this game without a strategy guide compared to “Mana,” but there are a few secrets you might be unaware of if you don’t have a history of the game, I’ll just say that.
“Secret of Evermore” is that SNES game that reminded me as a kid I was always a gamer, and as an adult that gamer inside me never dissipated. Next week, we’ll talk about the game that CAME with the SNES when it first came out, “Super Mario World.” Trust me so many people think this game is easy, but let’s just say its way harder than it looks America.
Written By Davy Jones
