Ok I'm pretty chuffed that in the course of playing this game I thought several times "hey, this soundtrack sounds pretty Dragon Quest-y", and when I get to the credits it turns out than a certain Mr Sugiyama did the music for this.
There's a lot of things I like about this - I'm just really amused that this evolution-themed game also includes the Garden of Eden, and thanks to its outlandishly nonsensical plot would probably piss off both evolutionists and creationists. Seriously, as far as I can tell, the plot is "primitive fish evolves into mammal and then enters the Garden of Eden to have kids with Earth-chan and give rise to civilization". WHAT?!
On a more serious note, E.V.O. boasts a pretty robust (if scientifically inaccurate) evolution system especially considering the hardware constraints of the time. Eating fallen enemies nets you 'evolution points' which you can use to modify various parts of your body to create any number of mix-and-match forms, and there is no one 'best' build especially in the later eras where you can either be a bird, mammal, or even stay as a dinosaur from the previous era! I also like the presence of 'prestige classes' (like the human and mermaid) that are difficult but not impossible to evolve into and involve a noticeably different approach and playstyle.
The game's main weakness is in its general structure - the stages are generally very easy and the bosses brutally difficult, meaning that you will need a lot of evolution points to spend on upgrades which translates into a lot of time spent in the stages finding an easy, frictionless (and boring) spot to grind. The game also has other issues that are commonplace in early 16-bit games: wonky hit detection that makes certain boss fights an even bigger pain in the ass, and a clumsy translation that robs many 'wham' scenes of their narrative heft.
Unrefined as a lot of it was, I do see a lot of potential in this game and wish it would get a remake or at least a spiritual sequel on a current-gen console that would do the premise justice. Such an interesting and unique idea deserves more than to just be an evolutionary dead end.
There's a lot of things I like about this - I'm just really amused that this evolution-themed game also includes the Garden of Eden, and thanks to its outlandishly nonsensical plot would probably piss off both evolutionists and creationists. Seriously, as far as I can tell, the plot is "primitive fish evolves into mammal and then enters the Garden of Eden to have kids with Earth-chan and give rise to civilization". WHAT?!
On a more serious note, E.V.O. boasts a pretty robust (if scientifically inaccurate) evolution system especially considering the hardware constraints of the time. Eating fallen enemies nets you 'evolution points' which you can use to modify various parts of your body to create any number of mix-and-match forms, and there is no one 'best' build especially in the later eras where you can either be a bird, mammal, or even stay as a dinosaur from the previous era! I also like the presence of 'prestige classes' (like the human and mermaid) that are difficult but not impossible to evolve into and involve a noticeably different approach and playstyle.
The game's main weakness is in its general structure - the stages are generally very easy and the bosses brutally difficult, meaning that you will need a lot of evolution points to spend on upgrades which translates into a lot of time spent in the stages finding an easy, frictionless (and boring) spot to grind. The game also has other issues that are commonplace in early 16-bit games: wonky hit detection that makes certain boss fights an even bigger pain in the ass, and a clumsy translation that robs many 'wham' scenes of their narrative heft.
Unrefined as a lot of it was, I do see a lot of potential in this game and wish it would get a remake or at least a spiritual sequel on a current-gen console that would do the premise justice. Such an interesting and unique idea deserves more than to just be an evolutionary dead end.
4 Comments
"Ok I'm pretty chuffed that in the course of playing this game I thought several times "hey, this soundtrack sounds pretty Dragon Quest-y", and when I get to the credits it turns out than a certain Mr Sugiyama did the music for this."
Good lord I thought this was me
Have you played 4.6 billion year story?
Good lord I thought this was me
Have you played 4.6 billion year story?
@Rensie: Didn't happen to me, but I believe it is in the game! You get to access that if you evolve into a bird (which I didn't).
@C_F: Sugiyama had this thing where he wrote chiptunes like he was writing for a live orchestra. It's not the most popular style but I actually kinda like it! Haven't tried 4.6billion year story but it looks pretty interesting.
@C_F: Sugiyama had this thing where he wrote chiptunes like he was writing for a live orchestra. It's not the most popular style but I actually kinda like it! Haven't tried 4.6billion year story but it looks pretty interesting.
Yeah I really dig the style myself, especially in DQ5
4.6 Billion Year Story goes hard with its dark story but I never finished it
4.6 Billion Year Story goes hard with its dark story but I never finished it
Rensie
1 year ago