A Western only Square action RPG with offbeat Americana mood. Obscure but polished, off the beaten path of the genre.
Your verdict
Category
RPG1 player12+
Description
Action RPG developed by Squaresoft USA in which Alex and Emma explore Evermore with a faithful dog. Published by Square, released in Europe in 1995. Alchemy system creating spells from collected ingredients, real-time combat, three distinct eras and soundtrack by Jeremy Soule. The only RPG developed by Square's American team.
Secret of Evermore review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Square's American studio builds four worlds that each pastiche a genre: prehistoric jungle, an ancient city of white stone, a misty gothic village, a space station of white corridors. The dog accompanying the hero changes appearance in each world, a clever detail that serves both the gag and the readability of progress.
Jeremy Soule's first major project, the music deploys an orchestral score of stunning cinematic breadth for the console, from prehistories to distant futures. Each world is adorned with an immersive, spellbinding theme. This early sonic mastery already heralded the composer's prestigious career.
A boy and his dog, escaped from a small American town, end up trapped in a theme park turned real world, built by a scientist for his guests. The story plays constantly on the gap between the seriousness of the situation and an openly B movie tone, and the dog, the only faithful companion, becomes its real emotional centre.
German variant of Secret of Evermore, with a full translation and a box for the national market, one of the few Square action-RPGs entirely localised in German on SNES. The presence of a complete German-language version is notable for a publisher that then reserved most of its RPGs for Japan and America. Desirability rests on this dedicated localisation combined with the title's restricted PAL distribution.
Is Secret of Evermore still worth playing in 2026?
Secret of Evermore is the only action RPG developed by Square's American team, with a resolutely Western, offbeat tone, crossing eras that pastiche genre cinema. Its alchemy system, where you combine ingredients to craft spells, pleasantly departs from JRPG conventions, carried by Jeremy Soule's fine soundtrack. Often compared to Secret of Mana, it owns its singularity. For fans of unusual action RPGs, it is a little-known adventure that genuinely deserves rediscovery today.
