Evolution: The World Of Sacred Device (Dreamcast Game)
Reviewed by Brian Schell
One of my all-time favorite Console-based RPG games is the Playstation Classic game, Lunar. The graphics weren't as high-tech as they could have been, but the storyline and the overall writing was great. Evolution is very similar in style and game play and borrows many features from Lunar.
The storyline is basically this; you are Mag Launcher, the young head of the Launcher family of adventurers. Your father disappeared a few years ago while hunting for Evolutia, the most powerful Cyframe ever developed. Cyframes are cybernetic add-ons to your body which double as both your primary weapon and "super powers" in the game. Mag's own Cyframe is a big "fist" that can punch, shoot, and other activities. Your cyframe can also be upgraded to allow it to do extra damage or allow new kinds of attacks.
You work for "The Society," an archeological group that pays you to go on adventures to recover artifacts. Due to several failed missions and competition from another cyframe adventurer, Chain Gun, you start off in serious debt to the Society. To pay off your debt, you undertake several increasingly dangerous missions.
The friendly characters and monsters you will encounter really show off the graphical capabilities of the Dreamcast system. Each person you meet is very carefully rendered in classic Anime style, and the monsters each have well-done attack animations. The above-ground city locations are graphically rich and easy to navigate, but the "Dungeon" maps themselves are randomly generated and quite monotonous. A little more variety or realism in the belowground graphics would have helped tremendously.
As far as strategic elements go, a large percentage of the game is spent in combat with various creatures and boss monsters in the mazes. The combat system is a cross between Lunar and Final Fantasy, leaning more toward the Lunar system. As usual in this kind of game, you gain a few experience points for each enemy you defeat. Defeat enough enemies, and your character gains a level, which increases attack strength, Cyframe energy points and hit points. Save your Cyframe points (Similar to spell points or mana in other games) for attacks against the level bosses and otherwise only use the Cyframe in emergencies. Use any equipment upgrades you can get to increase your cyframes abilities.
Another point not immediately obvious is your position in combat affects your attack strength. If you are in the front ranks close to the enemy, you hit them harder and do more damage; if you cower in the back, you take less damage, but also do less damage against the enemy. This doesn't matter so much against the regular evil critters, but once you start fighting bosses, this trick can make all the difference.
Another tip- Your resident healer, Linear Cannon, can heal all characters within the same rank (or row) as herself. It's best if you can keep all your characters in the same rank. Sometimes this conflicts with the previous tip since Linear doesn't have much attack power (Is that a frying pan she hits with?) it's usually a good idea to keep her in the rear and away from the enemy.
I have two "rants" concerning this and many other console games. Would it have killed the designers to hire just ONE person who actually speaks English as a first language to do the English subtitles? Just seeing a phrase on screen like "Naolin you have just picked up" always snaps my attention away from the action of the game and it makes the whole game seem sloppily made. Just look at the name of the game, "The World of Sacred Device" Shouldn't that be DeviceS? And another thing... Who came up with the concept of SAVE points in games? Why can't I save my game anywhere I want to? Why only in certain spots? It looks like a cheap trick to make you stretch your limits and increase the danger to the character artificially.
Overall the game has great characters, adequate storyline and boring mazes. Some of the graphics are great, while others are substandard. Looks great, less filling, Three out of Five stars.
Evolution: The World of Sacred Device, by Ubisoft
Req: Dreamcast & VDU Memory
For more Info: http://www.evolution-rpg.com
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