Review
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The closest thing to a real RPG for the PlayStation 2 in Japan
right now, Evergrace is a by-the-book action RPG with an emphasis
on customization options and a dearth of gameplay.
Yuterald and Shalami were born apart, yet both bore the "Crest"
on the back of their right hands from birth. Labeled outcasts
from society by this mysterious twist of e, the two live in
shame and fear. As the legend goes, all who lay eyes on the Crest
will suffer great misfortune. While on separate revenge quests,
the two are mysteriously transported to another world: the
desolate Rieubane Empire. Here the two heroes discover the true
destiny of the Crest-born as they are pursued by the forces of
evil, and they fight to save this cursed land.
While Evergrace's story is relatively original, its gameplay
isn't - despite a few interesting nuances. As you explore the
ruins of the Rieubane Empire from a third-person perspective,
you'll search for keys, hit switches, and perform many other
perfunctory RPG duties in order to advance. Unfortunately,
explore is a term used loosely - Yuterald and Shalami are
confined by gravity and the terrain types, making for a stiff,
by-the-book tour of Rieubane. As you wander around, enemies
randomly appear in your path to provide the necessary combat
element. Unfortunately, the combat is a strategy-free, slow-paced
affair, made so by pea-brained AI and a limited number of combat
options. Most battles require you to simply shuffle around toward
an enemy's backside, strike, and repeat until the foe is dead. As
in the Secret of Mana games, your character has a power meter
that is depleted by each strike - attack with 75 percent power
and you'll inflict 75 percent of your normal damage rate. This
wouldn't be a problem if running didn't drain your power -
exploring the world or even dodging generally leaves you
unprepared to fight, requiring you to "walk it off" before
engaging in combat. Yuterald and Shalami both maneuver with
taxing stiffness in some of the game's tighter areas, which is a
nuisance and usually results in numerous unavoidable hits.
While you choose either Yuterald or Shalami at the beginning of
the game, you can actually switch between the two characters'
paths at your leisure by using save crystals. While the two
tracks and stories are completely independent, each of the
characters will make appearances in the other's quest. In From
Software fashion, Evergrace features a high level of
customization options for the avid RPG player. In a nod to Final
Fantasy VII's Materia system, "palmira" gems can be mixed and
matched on weapons and armor to create your own unique arsenal.
For example, placing a flame palmira on a will result in a
flame of some sort. Palmira have limited uses, however, so
you will have to use these magical resources sparingly. Armor,
unlike in most games, is accurately represented on the character
models. Taking advantage of this, you can custom-color your
outfits to tailor your character's appearance however you choose.
Gifted with an eye for fashion, the shopkeeper may give you a
discount if you assemble a pleasing and color-coordinated
ensemble. Levels aren't handled in the typical fashion, either -
every once in a while an enemy will drop a "Biriyana" seed.
Consuming these magical lets you increment your characters'
stats however you please. While these are all interesting
features, they don't hide the fact that Evergrace's core gameplay
is awkward and uninteresting.
Originally developed for the PlayStation, Evergrace was
retrofitted for the PlayStation 2 to fill the system's RPG void.
Unfortunately, this shows - Evergrace isn't as graphically
pleasing as a PlayStation 2 RPG probably should be. While
Yuterald and Shalami have relatively high polygon counts and
interchangeable armor, the enemies and environment are a
different story. Sure, clumps of grass have been added and the
monsters' textures are fairly high resolution, but Evergrace
still manages to look like a high-resolution PlayStation game.
Even with these less-than-cutting-edge visuals, Evergrace's
battles are somehow subject to slowdown when more than two
enemies appear on the screen. Fortunately, Evergrace's sound
represents a stronger effort. Soothing fantasy-themed music wafts
through the environments and digitized dialog moves the story
along.
All in all, Evergrace is just shy of average - there's nothing
particularly bad here, but what little good it has is purely
incidental and generally ignorable. Scheduled to ship alongside
the PlayStation 2 this October, Evergrace is sure to face stiff
competition from Sony's deeper Dark Cloud and the number of
high-profile Dreamcast RPGs coming out around the same time. In
light of this, Evergrace is probably a game you can do
without.--Peter Bartholow--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or
medium without express written permission of GameSpot is
prohibited. -- GameSpot Review
- About this item Play from the unique perspectives of 2 characters, Darius the sman and Sharline the homemaker Special feature allows players to switch between characters at any save point Offers a unique character building system that's dependent on items and equipment rather than statistical upgrades Innovative Palmila Action System features pressure-sensitive combat and different battle techniques between characters.