Evergrace is everything I want out of the medium of video games.

Is this game "good" in a traditional sense? Obviously not. The game's tumultuous development from PS1 to PS2 resulted in the game's scope being both cut back, while awkwardly lurching onto new hardware. This game feels like a strange in-between of a 5th and 6th generation more than any Dreamcast release. The plot is borderline incomprehensible, with key elements of the plot being inaccessible to western players due to a translation error with the bestiary. There are sections of the game that drag on for entirely way too long. There's an eclectic collection of stats that are incrementally increased through random drops from specific enemies, and even then, you won't notice a ton of difference. Combat is slow and lurching. Instant death from the environment is a constant. This game isn't polished in the least bit.

You'll never play anything like it though. Not even the sequel. I got this game at launch, and it's stuck with me throughout my adolescence as this alien, haunting action RPG.

Noriko Meguro's character designs and art direction are in full display here. I love how each of the game's disparate cast are instantly recognizable, even translated in game as clunky as they were. The world design is phenomenal. The skies have this pale, sick green color to it. The "trees" are bare spikes that have more in common with nuclear waste disposal barriers than foliage. There aren't any stock enemy designs in the game, the closest thing to "recognizable" is a boss halfway through one of the routes that looks like a demon. It feels like all the best parts of Morrowind's art direction, without ever feeling the comfort of a more mundane space. The entire game feels like you're in this hostile, foreign land and any respite you manage to get is something you carved out.

Kota Hoshino's soundtrack supersedes the game's own popularity at this point. The in game tracks differ from the original compositions, but not in a way that detracts from the overall experience (if anything, having a more subdued version of Buying Goods at Palmyra is a good thing). Nothing else, outside of Forever Kingdom, sounds close to this game. The highlight track for me would be Omen, the track that plays during the final cutscene/credits track. There's an assumption that this game has a very amateurish, ill fitting soundtrack (partially due to the fact that, as of the time of creating the OST, Hoshino didn't know how to read sheet music). I think the soundtrack fits the game's atmosphere perfectly, and I have a ton of respect for Hoshino for pulling off what he did.

The voice acting, at least in the english version, is terrible. It's never boring, and it instantly careens into "so bad it's good" territory. Don't play with an undub, it's part of the fun.

The large collection of equipment (that you can and HAVE to visually customize!) is admirable. Some players might have reservations with the fact that none of it is going to look like you're walking around in a traditional western suit of armor, I find that to be a selling point. Each piece of equipment also comes with abilities that have either use in combat, or exploration utility that you can only come across through experimentation. While a lot of my runs do devolve into "hit everything with the piko-piko hammer that's inexplicably the second best weapon in the game" (no prizes for guessing the first, check the dev), you are rewarded for exploiting elemental weaknesses and dressing for success.

The story requires external reading to fully understand, due to the game being the car crash that it is. That being said, fully understanding what this game's story isn't impossible and was rewarding to piece together, and unique enough to where I don't want to talk much more about it here. The main "antagonist" never shows up in the game at all and is mentioned only a few times.

All of this adds up to a game that's resonated with me since I picked up a copy back in 2001. A lot of this review just devolved into me saying "damn this game is weird" twenty different times, but I've played so many games and very few of them have such a distinct personality like Evergrace does. It's a challenging work of art to stumble through, one that requires patience. Having 100 percented the game, despite its glaring issues, it's a challenge that's rewarded me enough to call this a game I would put in my top ten. You want something different? This game will give you something different.

Among the Fromsoft titles of the early 2000s, Evergrace holds a special place in my heart. The feverish atmosphere, the unique character designs, the unorthodox but soulful soundtrack by Kota Hoshino, it all comes together for the one of the most unique experiences in the Pre-souls Fromsoft catalogue. Of course the game is far FAR from perfect, the gameplay is more or less average, and the story fails to tell itself, requiring the player to 100% to even understand it. Clearly this title was a rushed launch title for the PS2, but it's still quite enjoyable in the way it came out. It's pretty amazing how the director of Evergrace Yuzo Kojima would go on to produce Elden Ring, and honestly playing through Evergrace you can see its influence not only in ER's imagery but also in gameplay mechanics found throughout the souls games. If you're a Fromsoft fan interested in their pre-Souls era, I recommend Evergrace as a place to start!

It's always interesting to go back into From's catalogue and just see they have always been iterating and never stopped. Evergrace is kind of like them transitioning their first person action titles into third person, with somewhat success(?). The game feels underdeveloped I guess?, or maybe it was design just the amount they wanted. Definitely feels like they just popped out a PS2 game and thats it.

However, it has cool ideas that don';t really get super extrapolated on. Weapons/Armour can have spells attached to them, and they all cost durability (much like DS1 weapons with special attacks). There is a pair of shoes that can hover slightly, but its literally only useful in one spot of the game.

I also really like the stamina system in this game. It is a power bar like Minecraft or From's older titles. Wait for it to be full to do 100% damage with your weapon. It is tied to your health however, so the lower your health is, the quicker it actually takes to recharge your bar. This doesnt affect weapon damage, just makes your swing rate higher basically. Trade off having low healthy, for fast recharging stamina dps.

The main problem this game has is the camera though. Fromsoft had not yet learned what to do with the right thumbstick and made it so that flicking it any direction swaps your weapons. I admit it is better than pressing Circle then Triangle really fast, but man, this game really needs Lock On or better camera control. The secret boss of The Shadow Tower (Oh yes, its also in the game) is in this fucking arena with zero depth perception (Hello 4 king) with this fucker who flies and if your camera gets fucked up, oh well! Most of the time the camera is fine but sometimes it is really really ass.

The story is whatever, not much to it I think. The music of course is wonderful and beautiful and other wordly and godlike. So over this game is kind of not a fully developed game I feel, but its still pretty cool for what it is.