Evergrace
Encyclopedia
is an action role-playing game
for the PlayStation 2
created by From Software
and was published by Agetec
in North America and Ubisoft
in PAL territories. The game was a launch title
for the system in North America and Europe.
system depending on items and equipment rather than statistical upgrades. Another feature is the "Palmira Action System" which allows players to improve the physical abilities of their characters by combining specialized crystals with their armaments.
Evergrace also features a bonus dungeon that is named after a game from the same company. From Software released a first person action RPG back in the PSone era called Shadow Tower
. From Software is often known for including past game references in their latest games. The Moonlight Sword, for example, a weapon that originated in their flagship series, King's Field
, also appears in Evergrace as well as its follow-up Forever Kingdom
.
After capturing a renegade soldier who had the mark, Morpheus ordered the Empire to invade Toledo, a nearby, independent village in the Billiana forest, because they worshiped the crest and were supposedly a threat to the balance of Rieubane. The Empire would never have agreed with Morpheus if they knew his real reason for invading the Toledans: simply to acquire more test subjects.
The Empire crushed the village effortlessly, but as the flames grew higher, suddenly the Rieubane Empire, Toledo and the Human Research Lab completely disappeared. People called it the Lost Kingdom, and the land became overgrown with Billiana Trees. Many hundred years later, four villages once part of the empire banded together to establish the empire of Fontraile, but this was not to last...
Morea considered the trees to be sacred, but Solta claimed the trees depleted the land of its resources by sucking up the energy. That's when the Billiana War began, and a tragedy occurred in Darius and Sharline's family. Darius' parents were killed by Morea assassins. Sharline suddenly gets teleported out of her world.
When she awakes she finds herself in a small hut in a secret, "lost" world called Rieubane, which was sealed off long ago by magic. A woman called Sienna tends to her, saying she was found lying in the woods. Sienna warns her to remain in the hut until she returns. Sharline's curiosity gets the better of her, however, and she sneaks a peek through the door.
Sienna stands outside with a gnarly-looking old magician, who is in the process of interrogating her. But the man, Morpheus, sees Sharline and realizes that Sienna is hiding someone, which is against the laws of the Rieubane Empire. He kidnaps her before Sharline's eyes, as well as sending a firebolt into the house, rendering Sharline unconscious.
When Sharline awakes, she decides she must find Sienna and ask her about where she is and how she got here. She arms herself with a bow and starts off through the Royal Commons. Sharline takes down several monsters on the way. Then she encounters a robed woman, who states that she is in the Rieubane Empire and that no one can leave or enter. But Sharline is determined to do so. She is told of Saramad Hill, supposedly the last inhabitable place in the empire for citizens to live. She travels there, and meets an old man who gives her a special leaf in turn for a flower to place on a grave. Sharline then sees a stray dog and follows it to a field area. There she encounters a ghost, which she defeats with her bow skills. The old man tells her about the Door with three heads back in the Royal Commons.
Sharline returns and inserts the leaf she was given into the slot. The door rumbles open and she finds the robed woman once more beside a statue. The woman then tells her that the statue can transport her anywhere she wishes, and it does so. Sharline is teleported to a large lab called the Human Research Laboratory, which is where Morpheus studies the Crest and holds all his captured and twisted test subjects. Due to his research, Morpheus created the powerful Palmira armaments as well as the man-made AI crest.
Sharline makes her way through the dim halls of the facility, slaying various test subjects that run rampant through the halls. She reaches Morpheus' room, where she angrily tells him to release Sienna. Morpheus agrees, but only if she'll defeat Ammit, a gigantic genetically-twisted beast that Sharline is forced to fight.
After slaying Ammit, Sharline opens all of the secret doors and continues through to a lab room. There, she combines the Billiana fruits and extracts she finds and creates a Transport Palmira. Then she returns to the center of the facility and places the transport Palmira in the Transporter. Sharline is transported to another area on the other side of the lab, looking for Morpheus, who had disappeared shortly after she defeated Ammit.
While on the other side of the lab, Sharline wonders around solving various puzzles and fighting loads of test subjects.
version. The project proved to be too ambitious, and it was quickly cancelled.
The musical score for Evergrace was composed by Kota Hoshino
. He stated in an interview that voice
s are used as the primary "instrument" in the game's soundtrack. Hoshino recorded samples of his own voice and edited them with Soundforge, then recorded more voice samples to create what he considers to be an ethnic
sound. Japanese instruments such as the shakuhachi
and the shamisen
were also added. All the score's percussion was synthesized.
, Evergrace debuted on Japanese sales charts at fifth place, selling 75,083 copies. It fell to seventh place the following week, selling an additional 11,886 copies. After continuing to fall on the charts, Evergrace sold 134,865 copies in the region by the end of 2000.
Evergrace received generally average to poor reviews from reviewers upon release. IGN
praised the game for its innovations, including its full use of the DualShock
controller buttons and the unique "paper doll" system in which the player's avatar
actually wears the armor and clothing assigned to it. TotalGames.net criticized the game for having bland visuals and limited exploration. Likewise, GameSpot
criticized the game for its dated visuals and laggy gameplay during battles.
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
created by From Software
From Software
is a Japanese video game company founded in November 1986 known primarily for being the developers of the Armored Core, Demon's Souls, King's Field, Otogi and Tenchu series.-Games:...
and was published by Agetec
Agetec
Agetec is a US based video game publishing company that is best known for bringing Japanese titles to the US, including their flagship series Armored Core, and the King's Field RPG series, as well as their "designer series" of RPG Maker and Fighter Maker...
in North America and Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
in PAL territories. The game was a launch title
Launch title
A launch game, or launch title, is a video game released to consumers synchronously with the release of its respective video game console, meaning they are the only available games at the time of the console's launch. Several of these games are also packaged with the console...
for the system in North America and Europe.
Gameplay
Evergrace features two main characters, Darius the swordsman and Sharline the homemaker, with two distinctly different storylines and different battle techniques. The game allows players to switch between characters at any save point. Evergrace uses an experienceExperience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
system depending on items and equipment rather than statistical upgrades. Another feature is the "Palmira Action System" which allows players to improve the physical abilities of their characters by combining specialized crystals with their armaments.
Evergrace also features a bonus dungeon that is named after a game from the same company. From Software released a first person action RPG back in the PSone era called Shadow Tower
Shadow Tower
is a first-person view action role-playing game developed by From Software and released in 1998. It shares many similarities with the King's Field series of games. The game has a sequel, Shadow Tower Abyss, released only in Japan for the PlayStation 2....
. From Software is often known for including past game references in their latest games. The Moonlight Sword, for example, a weapon that originated in their flagship series, King's Field
King's Field (series)
King's Field is a console role-playing game series developed by From Software and localized into English by ASCII Entertainment . It is known for its brooding atmosphere and cryptic, labyrinthine dungeons...
, also appears in Evergrace as well as its follow-up Forever Kingdom
Forever kingdom
Forever Kingdom, known in Japan as , is an action role-playing game released for the PlayStation 2 by From Software. It is the prequel to Evergrace.-Story:...
.
Setting
The continent of Edinbury once held the largest and most powerful empire of all time: the Rieubane Empire. This empire was mostly run by Morpheus, a powerful magician, and his servants and clients. Morphius became devoted to studying the Crest, which are odd markings on one's hand, and are considered cursed because of the misfortunes that happen to the bearers. Morpheus was fascinated with the Crest and performed several experiments, thus creating the powerful Palmira armaments and the man-made AI Crest.After capturing a renegade soldier who had the mark, Morpheus ordered the Empire to invade Toledo, a nearby, independent village in the Billiana forest, because they worshiped the crest and were supposedly a threat to the balance of Rieubane. The Empire would never have agreed with Morpheus if they knew his real reason for invading the Toledans: simply to acquire more test subjects.
The Empire crushed the village effortlessly, but as the flames grew higher, suddenly the Rieubane Empire, Toledo and the Human Research Lab completely disappeared. People called it the Lost Kingdom, and the land became overgrown with Billiana Trees. Many hundred years later, four villages once part of the empire banded together to establish the empire of Fontraile, but this was not to last...
Story
Darius and Sharline grow up together on the continent of Edinbury, in the village of Solta of the Fontraile empire, home to a population of people with strange marks called crests. Darius has this mark, which he secretly conceals. Solta, one of the four villages that make up Fontraile, was currently in conflict with a neighboring village, Morea, over the issue of Billiana Trees that covered the continent.Morea considered the trees to be sacred, but Solta claimed the trees depleted the land of its resources by sucking up the energy. That's when the Billiana War began, and a tragedy occurred in Darius and Sharline's family. Darius' parents were killed by Morea assassins. Sharline suddenly gets teleported out of her world.
When she awakes she finds herself in a small hut in a secret, "lost" world called Rieubane, which was sealed off long ago by magic. A woman called Sienna tends to her, saying she was found lying in the woods. Sienna warns her to remain in the hut until she returns. Sharline's curiosity gets the better of her, however, and she sneaks a peek through the door.
Sienna stands outside with a gnarly-looking old magician, who is in the process of interrogating her. But the man, Morpheus, sees Sharline and realizes that Sienna is hiding someone, which is against the laws of the Rieubane Empire. He kidnaps her before Sharline's eyes, as well as sending a firebolt into the house, rendering Sharline unconscious.
When Sharline awakes, she decides she must find Sienna and ask her about where she is and how she got here. She arms herself with a bow and starts off through the Royal Commons. Sharline takes down several monsters on the way. Then she encounters a robed woman, who states that she is in the Rieubane Empire and that no one can leave or enter. But Sharline is determined to do so. She is told of Saramad Hill, supposedly the last inhabitable place in the empire for citizens to live. She travels there, and meets an old man who gives her a special leaf in turn for a flower to place on a grave. Sharline then sees a stray dog and follows it to a field area. There she encounters a ghost, which she defeats with her bow skills. The old man tells her about the Door with three heads back in the Royal Commons.
Sharline returns and inserts the leaf she was given into the slot. The door rumbles open and she finds the robed woman once more beside a statue. The woman then tells her that the statue can transport her anywhere she wishes, and it does so. Sharline is teleported to a large lab called the Human Research Laboratory, which is where Morpheus studies the Crest and holds all his captured and twisted test subjects. Due to his research, Morpheus created the powerful Palmira armaments as well as the man-made AI crest.
Sharline makes her way through the dim halls of the facility, slaying various test subjects that run rampant through the halls. She reaches Morpheus' room, where she angrily tells him to release Sienna. Morpheus agrees, but only if she'll defeat Ammit, a gigantic genetically-twisted beast that Sharline is forced to fight.
After slaying Ammit, Sharline opens all of the secret doors and continues through to a lab room. There, she combines the Billiana fruits and extracts she finds and creates a Transport Palmira. Then she returns to the center of the facility and places the transport Palmira in the Transporter. Sharline is transported to another area on the other side of the lab, looking for Morpheus, who had disappeared shortly after she defeated Ammit.
While on the other side of the lab, Sharline wonders around solving various puzzles and fighting loads of test subjects.
Development
From Software intended Evergrace to be released onto the PlayStation 2 in its earliest stages of development. However, even after this had begun, the development team decided to try developing a PlayStation 1PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
version. The project proved to be too ambitious, and it was quickly cancelled.
The musical score for Evergrace was composed by Kota Hoshino
Kota Hoshino
is a Japanese musical composer. He is the chief composer at the From Software video game development company, his primary compositions being for the company's flagship franchise, Armored Core....
. He stated in an interview that voice
Voice
Voice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
s are used as the primary "instrument" in the game's soundtrack. Hoshino recorded samples of his own voice and edited them with Soundforge, then recorded more voice samples to create what he considers to be an ethnic
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
sound. Japanese instruments such as the shakuhachi
Shakuhachi
The is a Japanese end-blown flute. It is traditionally made of bamboo, but versions now exist in ABS and hardwoods. It was used by the monks of the Fuke school of Zen Buddhism in the practice of...
and the shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...
were also added. All the score's percussion was synthesized.
Reception
According to FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
, Evergrace debuted on Japanese sales charts at fifth place, selling 75,083 copies. It fell to seventh place the following week, selling an additional 11,886 copies. After continuing to fall on the charts, Evergrace sold 134,865 copies in the region by the end of 2000.
Evergrace received generally average to poor reviews from reviewers upon release. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praised the game for its innovations, including its full use of the DualShock
DualShock
The DualShock is a line of vibration-feedback gamepads by Sony for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. The DualShock was introduced in Japan in late 1997, and launched in the North American market in May 1998...
controller buttons and the unique "paper doll" system in which the player's avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
actually wears the armor and clothing assigned to it. TotalGames.net criticized the game for having bland visuals and limited exploration. Likewise, GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
criticized the game for its dated visuals and laggy gameplay during battles.