"An excellent rpg that some people will really like...read on!"

Hello my fellow Nintendo Gamecube owner. I am reviewing this excellent game after playing it quite a bit after receiving it for Christmas. I have no real bias towards it since it isn’t my money that bought the game and I play plenty of other rpgs on my Dreamcast and PS2. I rented both evolution games for the dreamcast, swearing that I would get around to purchasing them some time, but at the time too many top quality, time consuming games were coming out for the dreamcast, and I never got around to it, that is until I learned about this game coming to my gamecube. Although I never did complete either evolution game in a rental, I can be pretty sure that evolution worlds this: 2 dungeons and some battles on an 8th imperial army ship from the first evolution game and all of the second evolution game. In many ways this is good because Evolution 2 was vastly superior to its prequel, but I was under the impress that it was the full version of each game. This is not a problem though, since you still have about 20-30 hours of gameplay depending on your skills. The first evolution game was nothing but a dungeon crawler, but the second had a lot more depth as far as creating a living, breathing town and engaging story was concerned. Anyway, here is my review of this game, if you can manage to read all of it that is.

Graphics: 6/10

It is somewhat of a mixed bag here. Some of the textures, especially in the dungeons, aren't that good, think of what you saw in Super Mario Sunshine. This is kind of a problem when the only major difference between the dungeons, which are randomized and not all that detailed, is the texturing on the walls and floor. Some are better than others and the over-all graphical quality of the game does get better once you go on to the second town. The character models in this game are simply awesome, on both an artistic and technical level. Characters all look very unique and fit well with their personality, and are made up of bright colors and quite a few polygons. The same can be said for the monsters. Another problem is the animation, it is pretty poor too for the most part, some of the skill moves look pretty damn good, but most of the monsters and your normal attacks are very robotic. Both towns in this game are very detailed, in doors and out, and look as impressive as the characters too. So basic, when you are in one of the two towns, everything looks awesome, but in the dungeons, battling, things look a bit worse. Also, there are quite a few humorous and...cool looking attack and power-up moves, but aside from the character models, the towns, and most of the attacks, this game could look better. The ability to have the camera zoom just behind your character and far away from it is a very good one too...

Story: 10/10

I actually think the story is great. Not only is almost every thing in this game fully-voice acted (the only thing that isn’t voice acted are the characters thoughts when you go up to an object) but most of the cut-scenes are quite lengthily. I was quite surprised at how long some of them went on. The characters all have quite a well-formed personality and most of the situations are kind of amusing. Although it isn’t as cinematic and deep as your Final Fantasy game, it also avoids most of the lame cliché’s of the rpg genre too. You actually are given a reason to bee searching all of these huge dungeons. It is a mix of fmv and in game cut scenes, mostly in game though. Trust me on this one though, there is a ton of story development in this game, a lot more than you are lead to believe. Some of the “battle grunts” are a bit lame but most are good.

Control: 10/10

Characters move perfectly, and I really, really like the fact that you can jump. It doesn’t look stupid and it gives you quite a sense of freedom. The menu is perfect too. That is about all I can say...

Sound: 9/10

This is some of the best music I have heard for any game, definitely in my top ten along with Zelda: OOT and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. There isn’t a great deal of music, my guess is about 10-12 tracks max, but it is all very well done and fitting to every situation. You will hear the dungeon exploration and battle music quite a bit though, since a large portion of the game, and you might. Like I said early, every character has voice acting for everything they say, and for the most part it is very well done. Mag himself sounds a bit too upbeat and nerdish, but the rest of the voices are very fitting and not done cheesy at all. Pepper and Gre are particularly well done. There isn’t a great deal of sound effects either, but there is enough to bring life to the battles, characters, and monsters. Basically, this would get a 10/10 if there was more sound.

Gameplay: 9/10

Well yes, I will admit that it is a tad repetitive. The fighting system is fairly deep, it will definitely please people who are really into rpgs, but it wont alienate those that aren’t. It is quite similar to most other turn-based rpgs, it has all the basics, and it certainly isn’t dumbed down in anyway. It isn’t all that innovative, but there a few things, like emphasis on your characters placement in battle, the talents each character has that cost nothing to use but can only be used occasionally, and some pretty sweet special moves, that set this game apart from Final Fantasy or Skies of Arcadia. The game is actually pretty hard; I had to restart 4 hours into the game because I simply could not defeat a certain boss that will go un-named, but I am guessing most will find it to be medium difficulty. The fact that none of the battles are random is a good plus, its nice to be able to pause the game, heal, then walk into a battle when you want. Some of the monsters are hard to avoid and will go after you though. This game has hardly any puzzles in it, so the dungeons are just mazes were your objective is to find the stairs to the next floor, get items from chests, and battle any monsters you see. This may sound boring on paper, but this game somehow manages to make its simple formula fun and engaging.

In Summary:

Despite its few flaws, most of which involve the games general direction itself, this game has a lot of charm too it, and offers a lot to people who like rpgs and have an open mind. The atmosphere is mostly upbeat and most things are colorful. This isn’t a dark, depressing, and epic adventure but it is certainly one some people will enjoy. If you prefer tons of good, solid battles and a unique, and some times amusing story over longer rpgs with dungeons full of puzzles and endless cut scenes, this is your game. Others may like this game too though, give it at least a rental. I hope this review gives you a good picture of what this under-rated game is like, even though I didnt edit this well. This is a no-brainer for gamecube-only owners who are even slightly interested in rpgs.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/02, Updated 12/30/02